Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)

by Steve Perry

Book Overview

Shadows of the Empire illuminates the shadowy outlines of a criminal conspiracy that exists in the background of the events in the movies, ruled by a character new to us. Prince Xizor is a mastermind... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553574132
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Random House Worlds
• Length: 385 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 0.8" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Not great writing

This book seems to be geared more for children. It jumps between four parallel stories (vader, leia, luke, and xizor) far too often and the writing is elementary. The action isn't intense and the dialogue is predictable. I have read other star wars books with much greater pleasure.

Episode 5.5

This is the novel that connects the dots between Episodes V and VI. The novel starts firmly planted in The Empire Strikes Back with the Emperor's holo-message to Vader - but this time from Palpatine's point of view (and although Vader didn't know it, the Emperor was not alone). And then several months later Princess Leia wakes up from a nightmare about Han Solo being frozen on Cloud City. Many questions arise about the time between the two Star Wars sequels, and this novel has the answers. How did Luke Skywalker, severely demoralized by finding out the true identity of his father and feeling that Obi-Wan Kenobi had lied to him, go from being a Jedi padawan with incomplete training to a confident, powerful Jedi Knight in every way except for his final trial? Who completed Luke's training? How did Luke construct his new lightsaber? Why didn't Boba Fett deliver Han to Jabba the Hutt right away? Who died to make Jabba the most powerful crime lord in the galaxy? How did Leia get her Boushh disguise and thermal detonators? How did Wedge Antilles become the leader of the Rebel's elite X-fighter squadron? How did the Bothans bring the Alliance the information about the second Death Star? If the droids ever tried to pilot the Millennium Falcon through Coruscant while Han was frozen, would you ever tell him about it? Shadows of the Empire ends with Luke hiding his lightsaber in R2-D2 and recording his message for Jabba. This novel is an adventurous story very worthy of the Star Wars name. And this BOOK even has it's own SOUNDTRACK! Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire [Enhanced CD] I also highly recommend the following 5-star novels that are extremely relevant to the prequel trilogy: Cloak of Deception (Star Wars) Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul) Labyrinth of Evil (Star Wars, Episode III Prequel Novel) Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Star Wars)

What a Good Star Wars Story Should Be

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.

"Shadows" is a crowd-pleaser...where's the film version?

Steve Perry's Shadows of the Empire, first published in 1996, is the centerpiece of a Lucasfilm multi-media marketing campaign that could be summed up with the tag line "Everything but the movie." Not only was Perry assigned to write the novel, but Kenner (now Hasbro) rolled out a line of action figures, Dark Horse Comics published a multi-issue series, Nintendo released a console-based game for its Nintendo 64 system, and Joel McNeeley (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles) composed an original score. In short, all that was missing was the feature film.And what a film Shadows of the Empire would make! Although the novel is part of the Expanded Universe series that started with Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, it's the first of the 1990s-era novels to explore the six-month or so time span between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. In this smartly-written, fast-paced novel, Lord Darth Vader and his evil master Emperor Palpatine still live and Han Solo is frozen in carbonite en route to Jabba's Palace on Tatooine. On that desert planet, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa wait for word from Lando Calrissian and Han's Wookiee first mate Chewbacca that the bounty hunter Boba Fett has landed with his prized captive. But Fett has taken a detour to repair his ship, the Slave I, and has been spotted on an Imperial-held world known as Gall. Deciding it's worth the risk, and with the assistance of Rogue Squadron and a dashing and brash mercenary named Dash Rendar, Luke and his friends mount a rescue attempt.Meanwhile, on the Imperial throne world Coruscant, Vader juggles his quest to find Luke Skywalker and at the same time contend with the machinations of Prince Xizor, a cunning crime lord and Vader's rival for the favor of their mutual overlord, Emperor Palpatine. Xizor, a Falleen with great intellect, fighting prowess, and even greater ambition, seeks to usurp the former Jedi Knight-turned-Sith Lord. His plan combines the elimination of Vader's son and the setting of a deadly trap for the Rebel Alliance.Although the ending is, of course, pre-determined (the events that follow are chronicled in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi), Shadows of the Empire is an exciting and suspenseful book. Vader fans particularly will enjoy this novel; we get glimpses into the Dark Lord's personality that the movies (and their novelizations) only barely hint at. Even better, Perry uses the films (particularly The Empire Strikes Back) as a gold mine of material. The prologue, set inside the Imperial Palace, takes a short but crucial scene from Episode V and gives it new depth and meaning, even though Perry leaves the dialog intact. In the rest of the novel, the author not only creates his own adventures for the Star Wars heroes and villains, but also "sets the stage" for the "official story" as seen in Episode VI. (Indeed, other Lucasfilm-licensed or created projects incorporated Shadows of the Empire into their storyline. In 1997's Special Editi

Empires Power

I haven't read all that many star wars books. Maybe about 10? Anyway this is a book that you need to read between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The book explains how 1) Luke gets a green lightsaber. 2) In Return of the Jedi Leia says "Many bothans died retreiving this information." it explains how and why 3) And it gives a new character or three. Xizor the criminal master of the Black Sun underground crime sindicate. Guri, his personal bodyguard, and Dash Rendar, a character several people didn't like. I thought he fit perfectly into the story. The story is about the Empire searching for Luke. The Emperor wants him to join the dark side. Xizor wants to become the New Darth Vader and become the New Dark Lord. HE tries to mess w/ vaders plans every chance he gets. Both the Empire and the Black Sun send bounty hunters out to find Luke. The Black Sun wants him dead and the Empire wants him alive. The best book I've read in awhile. The character development goes far beyond any other book. Fighting scenes are amazingly described and the story is amazingly perfect. The only thing that dissapointed me was that Boba Fett was not in the story at all. It didn't matter though once I started reading it.

Continue the Thrills of STAR WARS with Shadows of the Empire

If you liked the STAR WARS movies, you'll love Shadows of the Empire. Han Solo has been captured and frozen in carbonite. Now Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, and their new friend Dash Rendar are on a mission to break him out. Set between Empire Strikes back and Return of the Jedi, it explains the events between the two of George Lucas's action-packed films. It will also give new meaning to the Shadows of the Empire video game for Nintendo 64. The game corresponds almost exactly with the novel. Steve Perry perfectly captures the action that people have come to expect from the name STAR WARS. The action is amazing,the detail makes it even more thrilling, and it comes down to a climax any reader would love. Read this book to continue the non-stop action of STAR WARS.