Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Steve Perry (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Xizor, the Dark Prince and underlord of the criminal organization Black Sun, plots to kill Luke Skywalker to usurp Darth Vader's position with the Emperor. Perry is the first novelist authorized by George Lucas to reveal what happened to the familiar Star Wars characters between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Highly recommended for fans of the series.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Yet another prolific action-sf writer has been recruited to labor on the Star Wars series, George Lucas' stupendous mingled-media creation. The results are something of a mixed bag but, on the whole, more agreeable than not. The story takes place between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and those of Return of the Jedi, with Luke continuing his self-training as a Jedi knight and everybody else trying to track down and unfreeze Han Solo before Boba Fett delivers him to Jabba the Hutt. Unfortunately, Darth Vader is looking for his son (Luke--remember?), to turn him to the dark side of the Force, and a nonhuman criminal mastermind who makes Jabba look like a shoplifter--Prince Xizor of the Black Sun--is also after Luke, to take vengeance on Darth Vader for killing his family. We see a good deal of Vader's ambivalence toward both his son and his emperor, which led to the conclusion of Return, and Perry handles the multitudinous details of the increasingly complex Star Wars universe as competently as he deals with characters and pacing. A solid rather than an outstanding effort in the reliably popular SW canon. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (March 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553574132
• ISBN-13: 978-0553574135
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (341 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,755 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Shadows" is a crowd-pleaser...where's the film version?, October 14, 2003

By	Alex Diaz-Granados "fardreaming writer" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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 Edition re-release of A New Hope, Asp droids make an appearance, as does Dash Rendar's ship, the Outrider. And Brian Daley made several references to events from Shadows in his Return of the Jedi radio drama.)

Alex Diaz-Granados

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Continue the Thrills of STAR WARS with Shadows of the Empire, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Episode 5.5, April 16, 2007

By	Will Mindspin (I commute between Central Ohio and the Center of the Universe) - See all my reviews

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)