Shadows of the Empire

Sometimes it’s fun to just pick up something that reads as quick as a comic book. Even if you’re like myself, and have little affinity for that particular medium. Well, Steve Perry’s "Shadows of the Empire" is a comic book in novel form (yes, I know they did make a comic book version of this story). It is broken up into lots of short chapters, which is almost always a sign of a book that can be quickly read, and it is packed with action from beginning to end.

It takes place in the time between Empire and Jedi; Leia, Luke and Lando, chase Boba Fett around the galaxy in an attempt to rescue Han Solo from being delivered to Jabba the Hutt. Along the way another figure enters the picture, Prince Xizor – a leader of a powerful crime syndicate, who seeks to replace Darth Vader for the favor of the Emperor by targeting Luke Skywalker.

This book really keeps a lot of that Star Wars feeling that I usually seek when I read any novel from the Star Wars Expanded universe series. However I do have some of the problems with this book that have to do with how certain characters are portrayed. First of all, Darth Vader comes off as being way too sheepish – way more than he did when we simply look at the change in the character from Empire to Jedi. Second, Xizor is a cool character and all, but he should have simply had his butt handed to him on a plate by Darth Vader himself – he was way too powerful. And finally, there were way too many coincidental events that were used in order to make some tie ins with Empire and, more importantly, Jedi (if you haven’t read the book – when you do, you’ll know what I mean).

It reads fast, and is action packed all the way through. So, in sum, I would say that this book is definitely worth reading.

Sean's Rating