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dinogirl2000's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
maxsebastian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I feel very conflicted about Shadows of the Empire. As my first Star Wars extended universe read since I tried the X-Wing series in middle school, I found this book to be a very fun adventure in a world I had really missed. I have been looking forward to diving into the Star Wars extended universe for nearly a year, and I'm very glad I did it. After the third season of The Mandalorian, I quit watching new Star Wars media (yes, I haven't seen Andor), and I didn't realize how much I missed Star Wars. While highly engaging, Shadows of the Empire did not really explain the time gap between Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
This book has the greatest hits of George Lucas's characters-for the most part. Luke, Leia, Lando, and C-3PO, and R2-D2 all play prominent roles as does Darth Vader. As someone who grew up reading The Millennium Falcon: Modified YT-1300 Corellian Freighter Owner's Workshop Manual and running The Outrider in the X-Wing minifigures game, the introduction of Dash Rendar was a lot of fun. Maybe it's just because I'm nostalgic for him, but just like his missile didn't actually miss early in the book, I wonder if he's not actually dead after colliding with another ship. Although there's no Han Solo in this story, he's very present in the heads of everyone involved.
While most everyone in this book is fantastic, I was disapointed by the main villain, Prince Xizor. In a trend that extends to other parts of the cast, Xizor epitomizes beliefs about gender and relationships that are really icky to read about. There is one particular scene between Xizor and Leia (as well as a series of discussions about her that he has ahead of time) that is quite uncomfortable and worthy of a content warning.
Besides this frustrating section, this book is great. From Luke connecting with Ben Kenobi's past on Tatooine to Leia's lingering questions about Han and her relationship, I found this story to be compelling and, for the most part, set up Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. However, while the inciting incident of this book is chasing after the Slave One, the search for Han didn't really go anywhere in Shadows of the Empire. While I actually felt that the story presented was pretty compelling, it wasn't exactly what I'd been sold about this book. I really would have enjoyed a story that focused on how the team got inserted into Jabba's palace and what Luke was doing to train to become a better Jedi.
As one final note, Shadows of the Empire was released as part of a big multimedia initiative, which meant the book had its own soundtrack. While not as good as that of the original movies (I mean, what is?), listening to this book with its soundtrack was a ton of fun.
This book has the greatest hits of George Lucas's characters-for the most part. Luke, Leia, Lando, and C-3PO, and R2-D2 all play prominent roles as does Darth Vader. As someone who grew up reading The Millennium Falcon: Modified YT-1300 Corellian Freighter Owner's Workshop Manual and running The Outrider in the X-Wing minifigures game, the introduction of Dash Rendar was a lot of fun.
While most everyone in this book is fantastic, I was disapointed by the main villain, Prince Xizor. In a trend that extends to other parts of the cast, Xizor epitomizes beliefs about gender and relationships that are really icky to read about. There is one particular scene between Xizor and Leia (as well as a series of discussions about her that he has ahead of time) that is quite uncomfortable and worthy of a content warning.
Besides this frustrating section, this book is great. From Luke connecting with Ben Kenobi's past on Tatooine to Leia's lingering questions about Han and her relationship, I found this story to be compelling and, for the most part, set up Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. However, while the inciting incident of this book is chasing after the Slave One, the search for Han didn't really go anywhere in Shadows of the Empire. While I actually felt that the story presented was pretty compelling, it wasn't exactly what I'd been sold about this book. I really would have enjoyed a story that focused on how the team got inserted into Jabba's palace and what Luke was doing to train to become a better Jedi.
As one final note, Shadows of the Empire was released as part of a big multimedia initiative, which meant the book had its own soundtrack. While not as good as that of the original movies (I mean, what is?), listening to this book with its soundtrack was a ton of fun.
dangerbassett's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Would be a stellar science fiction novel on its own merits. However one of the best star wars additions.
mickb's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
muaddib8035's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
echoesofbattle's review against another edition
The most juvenile of the “adult” Star Wars books I’ve read. Always wanted to read this as a kid and I’m glad I never did.
marafov's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Bog standard Star Wars
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
3.0
"Stand back. Let's see if it will stop a lightsaber."
Han Solo is locked in carbonite, in the possession of Boba Fett. Luke, Lando, Leia, and Chewie are desperately searching for the bounty hunter, in the hopes of rescuing Han. Meanwhile, Prince Xizor of the Black Sun is angling to destroy his rival and destroyer of his family, Darth Vader.
NOTE: Based on the audiobook and what I remember of the novel I read years ago.
I Liked:
Steve Perry is given a difficult task: bridge the gap between The Empire Strikes Backand Return of the Jedi. This is difficult because he has to write an interesting book, yet keep continuity. Most authors just have to write a plausible future Luke, Leia, and Han; this job is far more difficult. And for the most part, Perry does an impressive job.
The characters were fairly strong, namely Luke and Leia. I liked how Perry lead Luke into being the sedate Jedi we see in Return of the Jedi, making him grow from the brash apprentice in Empire Strikes Back. One moment I particularly was fond of was Luke returning to Obi-Wan's hovel to build his lightsaber. I loved this little bit of continuity. Leia was also well done, conflicted about her feelings to Han, wondering how he felt, nervous, yet still strong even in the face of Prince Xizor's advances (which were fine to me as he was using pheromones on her--in fact, I thought it made her look stronger to be able to withstand his biological advances).
As for our bad guys, we rarely get to see Darth Vader in the helmet, and at the time, this novel was novel (har har) in that we got a Vader point of view. Since most Bantam books were strictly post-Jedi, Vader got omitted completely, which was a shame, as he was such an interesting character. Here, I enjoyed how Perry had Vader try to use the Dark Side to heal himself, but always fail, as his joy for being healed won out.
Lastly, I oddly liked how it was unclear whether or not Prince Xizor died (at least, that's the way I heard it).
I Didn't Like:
The first thing I didn't like was how much Dash Rendar was like Han Solo. Now, I've heard that the character was created for the game, so maybe Perry had very little choice in how Dash was supposed to be. Okay, I understand that. But still, couldn't Perry have tried a wee bit harder to make Dash unique and not so much like Han? I couldn't help but wince when I read him in a scene.
Xizor is often uplifted as this really great villain, and I am just unsure why. Sure, he plots and schemes in this book, but, partly because he is doomed to fail, nothing happens of it. All he does is exercise, change clothes, and seduce women. I wish Perry had allowed Xizor some way of winning something, just so I could be assured he was a real threat, instead of a dandified playboy. And I almost didn't even want to start reading the novel when Xizor miraculously knows that Vader is Anakin Skywalker. No one knows that! How does he?
Another problem I have is how this book feels like filler. Other than a few nice tie-ins (Leia getting the Boushh costume, the thermal detonator, Luke's lightsaber, the Bothan spies), the whole book is just filler. We all know the outcome, there is little suspense, there is little to engage us. It doesn't help when circumstances keep repeating themselves (Leia gets kidnapped to lure Luke to Coruscant, like done in Empire, Dash Rendar returns to help like Han returned to help Luke in A New Hope, Luke and Lando hide in a surprisingly dense asteroid field, and so on).
My last complaint is about Perry's writing style. I found it quite juvenile, filled with simple, embarrassing sentences. Here is one such example:
[Luke:] "Stand back. Let's see if it will stop a lightsaber."
The door would not stop a lightsaber. They went through and continued to climb.
Not only does the above excerpt contain an unnecessary and embarrassing line of dialogue made of pure cheese, the narration is boring, uninspired, and uninteresting. I have no idea how Luke sliced the door, where, if he cut a chunk or the whole thing off, if there were people right behind him or anything. In fact, all this scene does is give us filler, more padding to drag out the big escape.
Dialogue/Sexual Situation/Violence:
Light to none spattering of mild profanity.
Prince Xizor fancies himself a player and makes the moves on Leia.
We have space battles, attempted murders, lightsaber battles, rescues, kidnappings, etc.
Overall:
One of the better Star Wars novels out there, Shadows of the Empire is entertaining but not hugely memorable. Not a bad book to put on your reading list, but I wouldn't rush out to read it anytime soon.
Han Solo is locked in carbonite, in the possession of Boba Fett. Luke, Lando, Leia, and Chewie are desperately searching for the bounty hunter, in the hopes of rescuing Han. Meanwhile, Prince Xizor of the Black Sun is angling to destroy his rival and destroyer of his family, Darth Vader.
NOTE: Based on the audiobook and what I remember of the novel I read years ago.
I Liked:
Steve Perry is given a difficult task: bridge the gap between The Empire Strikes Backand Return of the Jedi. This is difficult because he has to write an interesting book, yet keep continuity. Most authors just have to write a plausible future Luke, Leia, and Han; this job is far more difficult. And for the most part, Perry does an impressive job.
The characters were fairly strong, namely Luke and Leia. I liked how Perry lead Luke into being the sedate Jedi we see in Return of the Jedi, making him grow from the brash apprentice in Empire Strikes Back. One moment I particularly was fond of was Luke returning to Obi-Wan's hovel to build his lightsaber. I loved this little bit of continuity. Leia was also well done, conflicted about her feelings to Han, wondering how he felt, nervous, yet still strong even in the face of Prince Xizor's advances (which were fine to me as he was using pheromones on her--in fact, I thought it made her look stronger to be able to withstand his biological advances).
As for our bad guys, we rarely get to see Darth Vader in the helmet, and at the time, this novel was novel (har har) in that we got a Vader point of view. Since most Bantam books were strictly post-Jedi, Vader got omitted completely, which was a shame, as he was such an interesting character. Here, I enjoyed how Perry had Vader try to use the Dark Side to heal himself, but always fail, as his joy for being healed won out.
Lastly, I oddly liked how it was unclear whether or not Prince Xizor died (at least, that's the way I heard it).
I Didn't Like:
The first thing I didn't like was how much Dash Rendar was like Han Solo. Now, I've heard that the character was created for the game, so maybe Perry had very little choice in how Dash was supposed to be. Okay, I understand that. But still, couldn't Perry have tried a wee bit harder to make Dash unique and not so much like Han? I couldn't help but wince when I read him in a scene.
Xizor is often uplifted as this really great villain, and I am just unsure why. Sure, he plots and schemes in this book, but, partly because he is doomed to fail, nothing happens of it. All he does is exercise, change clothes, and seduce women. I wish Perry had allowed Xizor some way of winning something, just so I could be assured he was a real threat, instead of a dandified playboy. And I almost didn't even want to start reading the novel when Xizor miraculously knows that Vader is Anakin Skywalker. No one knows that! How does he?
Another problem I have is how this book feels like filler. Other than a few nice tie-ins (Leia getting the Boushh costume, the thermal detonator, Luke's lightsaber, the Bothan spies), the whole book is just filler. We all know the outcome, there is little suspense, there is little to engage us. It doesn't help when circumstances keep repeating themselves (Leia gets kidnapped to lure Luke to Coruscant, like done in Empire, Dash Rendar returns to help like Han returned to help Luke in A New Hope, Luke and Lando hide in a surprisingly dense asteroid field, and so on).
My last complaint is about Perry's writing style. I found it quite juvenile, filled with simple, embarrassing sentences. Here is one such example:
[Luke:] "Stand back. Let's see if it will stop a lightsaber."
The door would not stop a lightsaber. They went through and continued to climb.
Not only does the above excerpt contain an unnecessary and embarrassing line of dialogue made of pure cheese, the narration is boring, uninspired, and uninteresting. I have no idea how Luke sliced the door, where, if he cut a chunk or the whole thing off, if there were people right behind him or anything. In fact, all this scene does is give us filler, more padding to drag out the big escape.
Dialogue/Sexual Situation/Violence:
Light to none spattering of mild profanity.
Prince Xizor fancies himself a player and makes the moves on Leia.
We have space battles, attempted murders, lightsaber battles, rescues, kidnappings, etc.
Overall:
One of the better Star Wars novels out there, Shadows of the Empire is entertaining but not hugely memorable. Not a bad book to put on your reading list, but I wouldn't rush out to read it anytime soon.
plasm4_4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mpetruce's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
2.0