Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)
by Steve Perry
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Book Summary Information
Author: Steve PerryEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-03-03
ISBN: 0553574132
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Spectra
Book Reviews of Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)
Book Review: If you've never read a Star Wars novel before, try this one
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1996 the marketing team at Lucasfilm developed an innovative concept for a major cross-channel promotion: they proposed Shadows of the Empire, a Star Wars movie without the movie. What did this mean? It meant all the trappings of a movie were released: a novelization, a full orchestral score, a videogame, comic books, toy lines, statues, and sundry other widgets, but there was never an actual movie for them to center around. Each aspect of the campaign emphasized different aspects of the story, but the core tale was contained in Steve Perry's novel. The idea seemed to meet with mixed success, as the Shadows toys, statues, and some of the other odd products lingered on the pegs a terribly long time, but the Nintendo 64 videogame is fondly remembered by many and the score by Joel McNeely is absolutely terrific (pick up a copy if you haven't heard it before!)
Shadows of the Empire fills in some of the blank space between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, a year left largely untapped except in the Marvel comic series. Perry works hard to build a strong bridge between the two films and succeeds beautifully, exploring some of the emotional aftermath of the climax of Episode V and setting up the opening section of Episode VI. Of course, Han Solo spends the duration of this novel frozen in a block of carbonite, but the majority of the other main film characters all get a chance to shine.
The novel introduces us to Black Sun, the galaxy far, far away's leading organized crime syndicate. Black Sun is headed by the brilliant, charismatic, egotistical Falleen Prince Xizor, the third most powerful person in the galaxy after our old favorites Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. Xizor's constant preening and self-admiration make for slightly tiresome reading, but he does play a role distinct from the usual Sith and Imperial villains in other Star Wars novels. Being the third most powerful person is not quite enough for the Prince, and so much of the plot of Shadows of the Empire is driven by his scheming against Darth Vader and his attempts to kill Vader's son. The Falleen species is endowed with some slightly creepy abilities to attract mates, and Xizor almost leads Leia, newly separated from her love Han Solo, down a very unpleasant path. Fortunately stalwart Chewbacca is on hand to help Leia escape Xizor's pheromone-driven trap. This sequence was unusual reading for a Star Wars novel, and although it is deliberately rather icky, I give Perry credit for exploring these themes rather than sticking solely to action sequences.
The other main new character is Dash Rendar, virtually a "carbon" copy of A New Hope-era Han Solo. Dash is a smuggler and superb pilot who was doing a job for the Rebel Alliance when the Empire struck the Hoth base. Dash always looks out for himself first and drops sarcastic wisecracks right and left. However, maybe Dash isn't as shallow as he first appears, and perhaps by the end of the story he'll find the need to look out for others and the ability for self-sacrifice. Sound familiar? I didn't really mind this character but Perry could have made a little more effort to make him less of a second-tier Han Solo.
The story itself is a rollicking thrill-ride. Perry takes us all over the galaxy as our heroes try to track down Boba Fett and Vader and Xizor try to track down our heroes. We learn the back story of the "many Bothans" who died procuring the Death Star II plans, how Leia got the Boushh bounty hunter disguise she uses in Return of the Jedi, how Luke spent time enhancing his Jedi skills and constructing his new lightsaber, and many other interesting tidbits. The characterization of Vader maps well with the new information we learned about Anakin Skywalker in the prequels, and it's nice to see a new element introduced to the Emperor/Vader plotting in the form of Xizor. R2 and 3PO have a hysterical sequence piloting the Millennium Falcon across Coruscant (it's rare that a Star Wars novel makes me laugh out loud). Perry writes in a brisk, cinematic style, and it is quite easy to picture this novel as a good film, an Episode Five-and-a-Half, if you will.
Shadows of the Empire does a terrific job of detailing the story between the final two films in the saga. Depending on which stories a reader considers to be canon, there are either many or very few tales set during the original trilogy. Personally, I would love to see more novels covering this period of time, as well as the three years between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. These years host the only stories with the opportunity to directly explore the Vader-Luke dynamic, an element so central to the films. The ancillary products such as the toys, comics, and especially the soundtrack further enhance the Shadows experience. This book is highly recommended to everyone, including readers trying their first Star Wars novel.
Summary of Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)
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 of evil who dares to oppose one of the best-known fictional villains of all time: Darth Vader. The story involves all the featured Star Wars movie characters, plus Emperor Palpatine and, of course, Lord Vader himself.Action & Adventure Books
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