Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)

One of the best entries into the star wars series for sure read this book 3 times over the years and it keeps reminding me of how awesome these books can be...highly recommended for all star wars fans!

I have read many Star Wars books and let me tell you this has been the best one yet. This was one book I was really disappointed to finish, since I loved reading it so much. Xizor is a great character, and to me an even better than character than the much loved Boba Fett. All I can say is READ THIS!!! you won't regret it!

Tha main star on this book is how the character of Darth Vader is been developed, is must to be read!!! It could be very interesting to see it on a movie-for new TV series, not for special effects, but for the plots and how Darth Vader handles and manages versus a dangerous foe as Xizor is! Also very interesting to see how Darth Vader acts as a father (no more comments to avoid spoilers) Just pick up this book and read it!

This is perhaps the BEST of all the non-movie Star Wars novels, adding depth to the Empire, to Darth Vader and to even Emperor Palpatine.
It's great to see how much attention was paid to linking things with both Empire Strices Back and Return of the Jedi, and the new characters do great in the already familiar universe.

This book has it all . Every thing from blowing the crap of TIE Fighters to Dash Rendar beating the crap out of swoop gangs . Plus it is the only STAR WARS book with empreror Palpatine and Darth Vader because the setting is between "The Empire Strikes Back " and "Return of the Jedi"

The books will never live up to the movies. But of those that are worthy of note, Shadows of the Empire is truly one of them. Prince Xizor is an excellent villain, and he serves as Vader's nemesis quite well. This book does a great job in filling that missing time period between Empire and Jedi. It's a good adventure, worth a reading, or two...or even three.

I didn't find Xixor a convincingly powerful character. There were some very corny-sounding passages. It did not inspire in me AT ALL the awe one feels when watching or reading a star wars story. but even more disappointing than the book, is the fact that many fellow readers are rating it so highly! i'm at a loss.

I'm 11 and this book is the best of the best!!! Most likely the number 1 Star Wars book ever written.It is the most intriguing book I've ever read. Steve Perry is an exellent writer but he could tell how say Xizors name, and more war and action. I also wish he hadn't made so many of the main characters die

I liked this one... I personally have never played the video game,but i like Xizor and the fact that he is so powerful without the force. He wins the award for handsomest villan,I decided after I saw the cover. Dash is all right,but pretty much just another Corellian from the rebellion. I liked the idea of an anti-bounty hunter. Guri is irrelevant,and a little too evil. I also liked hearing where Leia got the Boussh armor. Buy this one,It's good. But don't get too attached to the bad Guys.

Though I am not a Star Wars fanatic and did not read all the other Star Wars books, I found this book appealing to only the very young. It is very superficial, written in short sentences and lacking any any real depth that would normally interest an adult reader (above the age of 16). I did read Zahn's first trilogy and thought it was amazing. Zahn knew how to add insight and intrigue to his characters by doing what writers do best, use words to bring to life a world recreated in the reader's mind. Perry's writing however is very basic. It almost seems as if he wrote the book in hope of turning it into a movie script. It would play well against a visual background, but it is not interesting when a reader tries to see throught the authors mind.

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.

I've read many reviewers complain that this story is plagued with plot gaps and holes... and that's definitely true. This story was written to go along with the mass marketing project of the same name. To get the full story of "Shadows", you have to read the comic book and, in part, play the Nintendo 64 video game. When the three are in combination the story flows much more smoothly and the entire experience is more enjoyable. Without the other two the book can definitely get... annoying.

The text of the book was intresting, but what I thought was not realy that great was trying to creat another Han Solo in Dash. Did they do that because Han was in carbonate? It was real intresting on the way that they explained Darth Vader and how he did care about Luke but just the same wanted him for more power.It seemed a little weird that the Emperor couldn't tell what Xior and Darth were thinking, after all he was the most powerful man in the galaxy. I realy thought it was good but not the best and I save five and four stars for the better ones and the best.

It was the best book I read in years and since I'm not a hard core fan to the star wars back stories it made me one.The only reason it only getting four stars from me is because I thought it was so good it should have been a movie.Action packed!!Pleeease Steve Do it again.

This Book takes you through the open gap between The Empire Strikes back and The Return of the Jedi.Darth Vader And The Evil Crimelord Prince Xizor sre the two primary characters of this book.This book was great because I love Star Wars and this book falls right into what I like.

This book is quite possibly one of the best "Star Wars" books ever written, thanks to the wonderful and creative imagination of the author, Steve Perry. It has sometimes very funny humor involving Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3P0. It also has the original characters from "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi." The action is told in supberb detail and complexity, the drama is so intense and suspenseful, it leaves you wanting more. Even though this is the only "Star Wars" book I have ever read, I bet the planet of Tatooine, that this is the BEST yet.

This book happens to be one of the best Star Wars books I've ever read. I like how the author filled in the gap between the end of the second movie of the Star Wars trilogy and the beginning of the third one. What happened to Dash Rendar was kind of sad, though.

I really enjoyed this book not for the action or the introduction of numerous characters, but for the insight it gives into Vader. As we all know, Vader was not 100% evil. This book really gives you good internal dialogue for him. That was a first. What is he feeling behind the mask? I know, my review is cheesy, but if you like Vader you should read this book.

This is a great Star Wars Book. But keep in mind that it never says at the end that Dash died. It just said that he was gone. And this story does NOT make Leai look weak. Remember, she knees Xizor right where it counts. ;-) I don't see how anybody could not like this.

This was a great book, it had a good story line and decent characters. Xizor was cool. But there's enough Han Solos, which means Dash Rendar didn't need to be in this book. It was cool how the story fitted in between empire strikes back and return of the jedi.

I think that this book is a story of it's own. I would consider this an action-adventure novel with a touch rofromance that is really great. I recomend this book to all diehard star wars fans or anyone who is interested in more than just the original saga.

The book was excellent. The tension, and rivalry between Darth Vader and Xzior was good. The authour has a great writing ability as well. The only thing lacking in this book was that XZior was killed to quickly and there was no real showdown between Darth and Xzior

I'll be brief. SHADOWS is a great book and expands on the adventures of the characters we love. It moves at good pace and Xizor is great as so it Guri. It fills us in nicely between THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI. Great read.

Let me be honest...Im not a big fan of reading, But 'Shadows of the Empire' by Steve Perry is sooo good im reading it for the 2nd time. Some of the diologue in this book is so good it is even better than george lucas's. Do yourself a favor a get this book!

This book is great but it didn't have anything with Boba Fett which if it did, I would given it a ten. If you buy this book you will be pleased. Does not get boring at all. Hey Steve Perry, write another Star Wars book 'cause this was great.

I finally stumbled across this thing in a used book store and, being a Star Wars fan, decided to read it. How on earth does this person maintain a living as a writer? This novel read like the worst pieces of fan-fiction, complete with 'arousing' scenes where Princess Leia almost gets nekkid! Hoo-ha! The writing was amateurish, and there were many scenes which seemed to serve absolutely no narrative purpose whatsoever. I almost think that the Steve Perry who was the lead singer for Journey could have produced a better book.

I liked this book. It fills the gaps between Empire and Jedi, and moves along smoothly, never dragging. The action is fun and easy to understand. It has all the right elements of a great Star Wars novel. The only thing I disliked about it was how easily the new characters were killed off. They die quite undramtically, both being blown away in a ship. And yes, I think Dash was created just because Solo is not available. I didn't really think he was needed at all. But other than that, a fun read

xisor sucks .vader crushed him easily one thing i didnt like was the emperor was really flat. darth kept on having doubts about himself and palpatine...that sucked compared to the loyalty in the return of the jedi..STAR WARS RULES!!

Here is the untold story of the events that took place between Star Wars, Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi: a novel in which Darth Vader still lives and battles a villain as powerful and evil as himself; Prince Xizor the leader of the crime syndicate Black Sun.

A passable Star Wars read, but storyline needs more depth and intrigue.

In "Shadows of the Empire", Luke, Leia, Lando, and the droids seek Boba Fett in attemt to free Han, while the Evil Prince Xizor plots the death of Luke Skywalker.
An excellent book filled with new characters and exciting action.

Shadows captivates all the elements of the Star Wars universe that we find amazing. Whether it be the relationship between the characters, the space dogfights, the Jedi, etc... Shadows brings it all together in a magnificent crescendo of excellent storytelling. If you want to read Star Wars as it was meant to be, buy this book.

I had never been a big fan of Star Wars till I read this book. Sure, I was like all the other Americans who had seen the movies, but not really fell in love with it. Then I picked up this book. It usually takes me two or three weeks (at best) to read a 400+ page novel. I read this in less than 1 week!!! It was so addictive. All the insight on Darth Vader it provided. Steve Perry even described the Force!!! THAT WAS AMAZING! I tell everyone I know if they read this book, and they will become a Star Wars nerd. Not that thats bad=)

This Book is great! Luke, Princess Leia, Lando,and the droids are on a mission to save Han Solo. Meanwhile, Darth Vader wants to find Luke alive and bring him to the Dark Side. Xisor,the third most powerful beings in the dark side, wants Luke dead as part of his plot of revenge on Darth Vader.

Okay, let's start with some facts. By the time of the Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker was a full Commander. That is roughly analagous to Colonel in the modern armed forces. He was a seasoned soldier with four years of war under his belt. Somehow, I don't think that he would be acting as boyish as he does in this book, especially after the last of his innocence was pretty much stripped away by Vader's claim on Bespin. The characterization of Vader himself is pretty much right on, which is why this book got two stars, but the treatment of Luke Skywalker is simply disgusting.

I could'n put this book down.
The glory of the empire, and seeing
Xizor and Vader in their struggle to be
on Palpatine's right hand side. Xizor tempting Leia.
Seeing Xizor's Black Sun into a potential threat
to the Empire, was really interesting.
This book has to be on my 5 SW favorites.

As I read this book, I got deeper and deeper until I could not put it down. It also fills in the small gap between Empire and Jedi. Few writers attempt this probably because they assume that Jedi comes immediatly after Empire. Thats the cool concept. He fills in the gap. Anyway, it has a well developed plot. Luke and Leia are searching for Boba Fett and Han, frozen in carbonite. Perry creates a few new charactors, but the three major ones are Prince Xizor, Dash Rendar, and Guri. He also gives several humerous dipictions of masculine error. I recommend this book to all Star Wars fans!

I liked this book a lot, but Steve Perry should have wrote a lot more about BOBA FETT'S struggle to deliver Solo to Jabba's Palace. The comic book portray's FETT the best out of the book, comic and game.

I think Shadows of the Empire had a good story that was ruined by a mediocre author. Perry's habit to write the characters' thoughts tends to get annoying. I also don't like his use of cliches or having the characters say pretty dumb "jokes" and such. He also has a tendency to explain the obvious, taking some of the fun of reading a book out. The basic plot of the book was good, though, and there were a few surprises. If you are a Star Wars fan, read it. If you are a all-around SF fan, the book is not a must-read.

I have to admit that I put off reading this book, until the hype wore down. But once I read it, I couldn't figure out what all the hype was about. This book was honstly, well average. The idea of the Black Sun was phenominal, the character development was, as usual, poor.

A great Star Wars novel that is for everyone! I couldn't put it down! Steve Perry is a great author who really knows how to write. He should write more Star Wars novels. This book is highly recomended.

Shadows of the Empire is one of the best books I've ever read. It's got everything. Action, drama,suspense,romance,and betreyl. Xizor is one of the most evil villians I've ever read about. Leia is a little bit more tougher in this one and I like it. C - 3p0 and r2-d2 provide great humor throughout the book. Don't even get me started on Dash he is the man. He does a great stand-in for Han. I'm hoping to read Shadows of the Empire: Evolution soon. But I don't think anyone could outlive the oringinal.

Star Wars Shadows of the Empire is a fairly decent book with well thought out new characters: Xizor (which is pronounced Shezer) and Dash Rendar, the substitution for the missing scoundrel Han Solo. However, the characters together were lacking something. The video game is decent, but ruins the whole book, destroying the original plot. Luke Skywalker is the main character, and the book is like so many other Star Wars stories. However, it is very exciting and action-packed. It doesn't flow perfectly but overall, it's a pretty good book.

Shadows of the Empire
The Good:
Amazing storyline. The characters are well defined. This book also answers a lot of questions you may have about the movies. Where did the force increase from Luke come from? How did he get his new light-saber?
The Bad: Why not a Trilogy?
Conclusion: This is a very good book and a pleasure to read.

this book was a solid addition to the star wars books. If xizors scene's where a little more interesting this book would be given a five.I would love to see a movie of this book just to see 3P0 and R2 fly the milleniam falcon!. that scene was very funny. I thought render played a good part. He is like han alot but he is more arrogent. I epecially liked the part when he says to the droid '' listen my name is man with a blaster sbout to cook you''. That was very like han. Overall i solid book and worth reading.

I thought that Shadows of the Empire was a great story. It's the best Star Wars book I've ever read. The story was good, the plot was okay and the battle scences where cool. Dash Rendar was pretty dumb though.

This book does a good job setting the scene for ROTJ. It moves at a good pace, with a satisfying ending. Darth Vader has been well characterised. However, in light of the release of The Phantom Menace, Darth Vader's preconception of his own force skills in comparison to his son's are a little awry. Also, I do not believe that Leia could be taken in so easily by Xixor(whom incidently started my sistor off with naming every character in the book after a piece of platground equipment). Over all, a good read.

This Book Was Very good and interesting. It explained what happened between the movies "The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Return of the Jedi". It helped place the characters for return of the jedi and also had a couple new characters come into play. Dash rendar, Prince Xizor, Black sun (not really a character but a criminal orginization), and several others. I enjoyed this book and I think its worthy of being added to the starwars collection of books.

Written by an author who cannot stay with one character for more than a page at a time, jumping from place to place and forgetting the character development completely, Perry manages to entertain only the least demanding of audiences. For an adult, the extremely bad dialogue, cliches and complete lack of a decent plot (could not be more predictable) make this a torture to read

It took me awhile to get into Star wars fiction and when I did I started with the new jedi order, which I am about 10 books into. Shadows of the Empire was the first one that I read that took place during the empire and it was amazing. It read just like you would expect a quality SW plot to read. Highly recommended.

This is actually my favorite Star Wars book. Perry does an excellent job with his characterizations of classic trilogy characters (especially Vader), and he is a very visual writer. Kudos to Perry for taking on the challenge of writing a novel set in the ESB-ROTJ time lapse, and succeeding in tying up loose ends after ESB. Awesome stuff, and much appreciated by this Star Wars fan.
And a fellow Oregonian! ;-)

Shadows is, in my opinion, the best SW novel out there. It's WAY WAY better than the overrated Zahn trilogy. It presents our main heroes very well and the new ones are great. Xixor and Dash are cool, but Guri is the coolest(and toughest)! Not as good as the movies, of course, but a truly AWESOME, FUN book! Any SW fan owes it to him/herself to read this one. One last thought: GURI ROCKS!

This book is a really cool book and I think if you are a big SW fan you should read it if you have not yet.:)Some of my thoughts about the book! Xizor was defeted to easy and Dash should not of ____ befor he heard the news that he did not miss the ship:) Well I think the book was a real good one;) I hope every one reads it :)
P.S. My nickname and muds and other games is Dash

I feel that Mr. Perry did and excellant job explaining the happings between Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. Although I did not totally care for the ending. I did not have a problem with the aparent death of Dash Render, but more the way Darth Vader delt with Xisor. It needed a face to helmet confrontation. All in all I am still pleased.

Samantha, baby its gonna' be okay. There's no need to hate this book, because I enjoyed it. Granted, Dash Rendar is a pretty dorky character but I was willing to overlook that. I think the book is good if you're a Star Wars fan. It's okay Samantha I forgive you.

This book is my favorite book of all-time. The action, suspense, and great character interactions had me wanting more. I have read it twice, listened to the audio book, and will probably read it again. It is too bad that Dash died. Another review of this book said it was boring. The guy saying that was full of it. He probably didn't even read it.

These aren't the characters from the movies. The real Vader is absent from this book replaced by a insecure cardboard villian, and so is the rest of the cast.

Compared to books life Heir of the Empire, this is a very poor attempt.

Can I just say that this book is overall stupid. This book takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The main character (outside of the Star Wars people we all know and love) is a guy named Xixor. He is a powerful dude who wants to become the main henchman of the Emporer overtaking Vader. This book talks about all his plots to get rid of Skywalker and Vader bla bla bla.

This book really gets stuipd when this evil dude can emit these pheremones that make any women around him fall in love with him instantly. (You can tell that a love starved man must have written this)The scene he has with Leia is just ridiculous.

The action scenes and stuff are okay and it's not a hard book to read but some of the premises of the book are just so laughable that the book really isn't worth reading.

IF your like me and love star wars this book is a must have. It tells the story of the time between ESB and ROTJ. This books has the charcter you love and love to hate(Plus a few new ones). Very well written and keeps ture to the story line of SW. And at the end make you say to yourself, WOW all this **** happen before episode XI.

These aren't the characters from the movies. The real Vader is absent from this book replaced by a insecure cardboard villian, and so is the rest of the cast.

Compared to books life Heir of the Empire, this is a very poor attempt.

Can I just say that this book is overall stupid. This book takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The main character (outside of the Star Wars people we all know and love) is a guy named Xixor. He is a powerful dude who wants to become the main henchman of the Emporer overtaking Vader. This book talks about all his plots to get rid of Skywalker and Vader bla bla bla.

This book really gets stuipd when this evil dude can emit these pheremones that make any women around him fall in love with him instantly. (You can tell that a love starved man must have written this)The scene he has with Leia is just ridiculous.

The action scenes and stuff are okay and it's not a hard book to read but some of the premises of the book are just so laughable that the book really isn't worth reading.

IF your like me and love star wars this book is a must have. It tells the story of the time between ESB and ROTJ. This books has the charcter you love and love to hate(Plus a few new ones). Very well written and keeps ture to the story line of SW. And at the end make you say to yourself, WOW all this **** happen before episode XI.

Not that great a book. The author did a poor job capturing the voice of the characters we all love. It's basically about a bad guy that wants to seduce Leah. Lame. Just play the N64 game. It was way better than this trash.

IT WAS PRETTY GOOD, BUT THEY TRIED TO DRAW TO MANY THINGS TOGETHER AND ADD TOO MUCH TO THE STORY FOR ONE BOOK. WITH A LITTLE EFFORT, IT COULD HAVE BEEN TWO VERY INTERESTING NOVELS THAT TOOK PLACE BETWEEN EMPIRE STRIKES BACK AND RETURN OF THE JEDI.

I've only read 2 starwars books, and so far I'm not impressed. Vector Prime was down right awful and I jedi was ok. I read about 3 or 4 chapters of this book and couldn't go any further, it was that bad. Don't read the reviews for this book thinking you will be buying a decent book because you won't. The people here are obviously 12 year olds who have never read good books before, thus the 4 and 5 star reviews.

Still readable, even though the film prequels are now complete. This book covers the time period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

This one is a fairly fast read, and picks up toward the end. The ending is adequate, but seems a bit rushed. The ending space battle is too short and makes the reader feel a little shortchanged.

However, the typical Star Wars fan will still want to pick this one up, as it does delve somewhat into Vader's search for Luke between Episodes V and VI.

I have read many, many Star Wars books in my time, and so far Shadows of the Empire is my favorite by far. It is filled with all the things that made the original Trilogy great: intrigue, action and suspense. It is a great read.

Of all of the sci-fi books I have read, this one's the best! It is very descriptive, has a wonderful plot, and is a masterpiece. It has a lot of action, adventure, and comedy. All kinds of things happen in it that would normally not be expected to happen.

This is the first Star Wars novel I have read, and I must say, I am quite disappointed. The author had a great idea, but unfortunately doesn't know how to write. How this book ever got published, I will never know. His writing ability doesn't go much further than one in a high school English class. In fact, I would be greatly impressed if the author did have a high school education. I'm giving this book only one star due to the fact the author cannot write. If this book was written by a more skilled author, this book would be much more enjoyable. It had a wonderful storyline, but unfortunately, I hate to say it again, was horribly written.

This was the best Star Wars book i've ever read. It was actionful and believeable. Everyone should know what happens between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi! The new character Guri was totally marvelous. Perry should be proud of his work.

Shadow of the Empire is a great read and is a most read for any Star Wars fans. A great plot and is written perfectly. You find out what happens between Empire and jedi. Maker sure you read this book.

This book had the 3 ultimate villains. The emperor, Vader, and Xizor. This is a die hard for all Star Wars Fans. This book was so good. This book rules. This is the #1 book in the world. It was so good, and filled with action.

this book was a solid addition to the star wars books. If xizors scene's where a little more interesting this book would be given a five.I would love to see a movie of this book just to see 3P0 and R2 fly the milleniam falcon!. that scene was very funny. I thought render played a good part. He is like han alot but he is more arrogent. I epecially liked the part when he says to the droid '' listen my name is man with a blaster sbout to cook you''. That was very like han. Overall i solid book and worth reading.

This book does a good job setting the scene for ROTJ. It moves at a good pace, with a satisfying ending. Darth Vader has been well characterised. However, in light of the release of The Phantom Menace, Darth Vader's preconception of his own force skills in comparison to his son's are a little awry. Also, I do not believe that Leia could be taken in so easily by Xixor(whom incidently started my sistor off with naming every character in the book after a piece of platground equipment). Over all, a good read.

Still readable, even though the film prequels are now complete. This book covers the time period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

This one is a fairly fast read, and picks up toward the end. The ending is adequate, but seems a bit rushed. The ending space battle is too short and makes the reader feel a little shortchanged.

However, the typical Star Wars fan will still want to pick this one up, as it does delve somewhat into Vader's search for Luke between Episodes V and VI.

This was the best Star Wars book i've ever read. It was actionful and believeable. Everyone should know what happens between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi! The new character Guri was totally marvelous. Perry should be proud of his work.

This book had the 3 ultimate villains. The emperor, Vader, and Xizor. This is a die hard for all Star Wars Fans. This book was so good. This book rules. This is the #1 book in the world. It was so good, and filled with action.

Shadows of the Empire really should be a movie. The characters are portrayed perfectly and are highly detailed. I already knew most of the plotline because I have the video game for N64, but it was still terrific. Prince Xizor is an excellent enemy for both the Rebels and the Empire, which leads to the climax in which both sides are tring to destroy Xizor's Skyhook over Coruscant. Another goodguy, Dash Rendar is also introduced, along with his amazing ship, Outrider. About that worthy, I must come to his rescue: he does not die at the end, as you are led to believe. He jumps to hyperspace as it appears that he is destroyed, so that no one will ever come to find him. Really, would you expect otherwise of a guy equivalent to Han Solo. Actually, I rather think that he was included to fill in a lot of the missing personality of Han, who is still frozen in carbonate, of course. Perry even goes to the extent of explaining the preparation of a delicacy that Xizor eats, which will kill someone if it is not prepared perfectly. The quarters within which Leia is confined during her capture by Xizor are also described quite well, and are rather lavish. Vader and Palpatine are also featured rather well in this book, and you learn just how deep into the Dark Side Vader has penetrated. Luke is not as important in this story, which is actually a good thing. I believe this to be the best Star Wars story ever written, and I am certain that anyone else that reads it (at my full recommendation, of course) will agree with me. This is a must read for all Star Wars fans.