Rating: 
Summary: a great tie in to the original trilogy
Review: "Shadows of the Empire" is a novel that bridges the gap between the events of "The Empire Strikes Back" and the opening of "Return of the Jedi". Han Solo has been frozen in carbonite and is being transported by the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Luke, Leia, and Lando Calrissian are following Fett in the Millenium Falcon with the hopes of rescuing their friend before he ends up in the hands of the gangster Jabba the Hutt. There is quite a bit more going on in "Shadows of the Empire" than just rescuing Han Solo (besides, we know from Jedi that Han will be delivered to Jabba's palace).
Prince Xizor is the head of the Black Sun criminal organization. Think of an extremely powerful and global mafia, expand it to a galactic scale, and that is Black Sun. Xizor is positioning himself as the top leader under Emperor Palpatine and directly in opposition to Darth Vader. This is something that cannot be done directly, because to openly oppose the favorite of Palpatine is a death sentence. Xizor discovers that Vader is instructed to bring Luke Skywalker to Palpatine, and after finding out that Skywalker is Vader's son, Xizor puts a death mark on Luke. If Vader fails to bring in Luke, and Xizor is not implicated, Xizor will rise in the favor of Emperor Palpatine. It is a fine line Xizor walks, but what else can be expected from the leader of Black Sun?
Leia becomes aware of the threat to Luke's life, and she works to save him (even without him knowing). She begins to contact Black Sun, always a risky venture, to learn what is happening and why. This brings Leia and the other Star Wars regulars (Chewie, Lando, the droids) to Coruscant and the heart of Black Sun.
Steve Perry has written a very good Star Wars novel. It ties in to the films, gives explanations for events in "Return of the Jedi" (ever wonder exactly why Leia is dressed as a bounty hunter?), and tells a compelling story in its own right. Xizor's plotting against Darth Vader is fascinating. This is old school Star Wars in the model (and era) of the Original Trilogy, and if that interests you this is the book to read.
-Joe Sherry
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorite Star Wars books
Review: I've read other Star Wars Expanded Universe books (like the Thrawn Trilogy) and been less than impressed. Some of them are [unsatisfactory] (like the Jedi Academy trilogy and The Crystal Star) and some are good (like Dark Force Rising). That being said, I wasn't sure what to expect of Shadows. It had a huge multimedia push (toys, books, games) which makes you wonder about the quality of the source material. So I picked it up feeling somewhat jaded.All this time later, I've read Shadows at least three times and each time I like it even more. The book takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. While Luke works on his Jedi skills (and building a new lightsaber) on Tatooine, Prince Xizor plots to destroy Darth Vader's influence over the Emperor by having Luke killed. Meanwhile, Leia and Lando attempt to recover Han Solo's carbonite-frozen body from Boba Fett with the help of Dash Rendar, a smuggler like Solo. The main reason why I like Shadows so much is because of Prince Xizor: he has much more depth to him as a villian than Darth Vader does. At times I liked the character so much I wanted his plans to actually succeed; unfortunately, if they did, most of Return of the Jedi wouldn't have been able to happen. Xizor's character I found to be one of the most interesting I'd ever encountered in a novel. Perry developed him to be much more than a simple villain with a simple plan; he's infitely more realistic a character than Perry's other creation, Dash Rendar (to whom I thought was a low-rent Han Solo clone). The only real fault with the novel is that it doesn't do much with Boba Fett, but, then again, I've never got the appeal behind Boba so it wasn't that much of a fault. Shadows of the Empire might be my favorite of the Expanded Universe novels, and Prince Xizor might be one of my favorite Star Wars characters. So, it's pretty obvious that I liked this book a lot and would highly recommend it. It's vastly superior to the other Star Wars novels out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Keep It In the Shadows
Review: It's a real shame when a generally interesting story gets cut down by its own author's inability to write beyond a high school student. Alright, let's be fair, an AP student.
Having been a Star Wars fan for a long time, I was eager to read this suppliment to the trilogy. Unfortunately, the mediocre at best writing style brought me out of the book like a stray asteroid might bring a starship out of hyperspace. The simplistic wording, the unimaginative language, though they will likely not bother younger readers who notice nuances of language (or a lack thereof) less, caused me to wish the story itself was less interesting so I would have a better excuse to put the book down.
My two cents: While the story itself is full of adventure, it appears that, after solidifying it, Steve Perry just got bored or rushed and wrote it down on the backs of napkins.
My two stars: They are owed entirely to the fact that, as a loyal Star Wars fan, I'll check out anything that bears the Lucasfilm Ltd. stamp, be it prequels, scratch and sniff picture books (which, incidentally I would recommend over this novel), or even a seemingly hastily written interlude to the trilogy. Thusly, it would be wrong for me to rate this anywhere below a two.
Rating:
Summary: Recaptures the spirit of the original movie.
Review: Shadows was probably the most-hyped book in the whole Star Wars line, which I consider unfortunate. Many people went in believing all the spins, and came out disappointed. What they missed was that it's a very solid action novel which is very much in the same spirit that Lucas created. All of our heroes are here, except for Han Solo, who is encased in carbonite and en transit to Jabba's Palace. Much of the story revolves around their unsuccessful attempts to rescue him. These adventures also resolve many of the questions raised by Return of the Jedi, such as where Leia got her Boussh disguise, or exactly how those Bothans died getting the Death Star information. The other main plotline involves a previously unseen foe, Prince Xizor (she-zor), who leads the criminal empire called the Black Sun. Much of the book is concerned with the power struggles between him, the Emperor, and Darth Vader within the Imperial Capital of Coruscant. It is these political games which were the most facina
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Star Wars books Written!
Review: Steve Perry does and excellent job of bringing the Star Wars universe to life with this Novel. This novel is place inbetween Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. Perry does a great job of bridging these two movies together. As your read this book you will continually be saying to yourself, "I remember that in the movie!" Perry does a great job of showing our Favorite Star Wars characters in a deeper light and developing them more. This book is a must read for any Star Wars fan!
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed, but still entertaining.
Review: The most interesting thing about "Shadows of the Empire" and what makes it most valuable to read is the fact that its an attempt to describe the events between the far superior "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" and succeeds in explaining a few things that a die hard Star Wars fan might have mused upon after many viewings of the movies themselves. The fact that "Shadows of the Empire" sadly falls short of expectations isn't so much the ideas contained within the plot, but more because of the clumsy writing style of the author, as well as his introduction of new, but unoriginal and lukewarm characters that overall do nothing to add to the totality of this most noble creation of science fiction.
For instance, two of the most notable of the new characters failed to achieve the lofty ambitions the author evidently held for them. Xisor, the head of the largest interstellar criminal organization in the Star Wars mythos, tries too hard to be as evil and dominating as Lord Vader; instead, ending up being the stereotypical "bad guy" engulfed in a sea of self conceit while frustratingly pining away over Princess Leia. And then there is Dash, a carbon copy plagarism of the inimitable Han Solo; enough said.
I think this book had a lot of potential and could have even come off as at least a decent addition to the flourishing genre of Star Wars literature if only the author spent more time with character and plot development. Too clumsy and far too unoriginal for anyone but a diehard Star Wars fan.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Book That's Easy to Read
Review: This book is one of my favorite, if not my favorite star wars book. Dash Render is also a great character. This book explains a lot between the Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jediand is quite neccasary if you're reading them all. This book is alot of fun and not a waist of money.
Rating:
Summary: Great way to get into SW novels...
Review: This is the book that got me addicted to the entire series of Star Wars novels. There are so many missing years and adventures that the films can never capture, and here is a great place to begin. This book takes place between episodes 5 and 6. Lucas's vision for Shadows was to make everything but the movie, and they did. It is a good read, quick and fast-paced with lots of action. I would say it is a must have for fans of the movies. Be warned, this will get you hooked.
Rating:
Summary: What a Good Star Wars Story Should Be
Review: This story takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi. Bobba Fett is taking Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, to Jabba's Palace, while Darth Vader keeps searching the galaxy for Luke Skywalker. Leia is staging the daring rescue that will take place in Return of The Jedi, and Luke goes back to his home planet of Tatooine for some unfinished business, like making his lightsaber. (Pretty cool stuff)
This novel was one of the first's novels written after the first Star Wars trilogy and to this date, it is one of the best ones. You will get to meet Xizor, the head of the notorious Black Sun crime organization, and one of the best Star Wars characters of all time.
Xizor is the most powerful and wealthy creature in the universe after the Emperor and Darth Vader, and the one person that did not fear them. When the Star Wars prequels came out, I tough that Xizor, being such and important and powerful person, might appear in some form in the new movies. But sadly, George Lucas instead of taking all the millions of great ideas that the people around him had, opted instead to use his own misguided judgment in making the new movies (Jar Jar anyone?). Still, this novel is a great take on the good things found in this amazing universe.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: This was my first venture into Star Wars books, and being a longtime fan of the movies I decided to read some of the books. The plot was decent, and I enjoyed reading what happened in between Empire and Jedi(and it answered some questions about things in Jedi). Well, I dont think I can say anything positive that hasnt been said before about this book, so I'll explain why I gave it 4 starts instead of 5. There are parts in the book that borrow lines from the movies, and its hard to picture Xizor there with the Emperor. Vader also seems weak in parts of this book, and like he's Xivors puppet(which ruined my vision of Vader as being powerful and only bowing to the Emperors will). After reading this book, I will most certainly continue to read Star Wars books.
|
