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chrisnin64's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good, pretty short. Had some good parts. Not much else to say about it.
bhrfletcher's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
a_a_ron3891's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great showcase for Luke, Leia, Chewie, & Vader with a great new villain in Prince Xizor set between Episodes V & VI.
I remember being disappointed that Dash Rendar, the new good guy, wasn't featured more for having been the protagonist of the video game of the same name.
2017 SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE RE-READ
Actually my previous review based on my memory of this book I ready 20+ years ago is pretty accurate. We jump around a lot through the Galaxy (apparently tracking events of the game somewhat). The core characters ring true, Vader is fleshed out, Xizor is an effective and interesting villain, if a bit over-done. And WTF was the author doing with Dash Rendar? Total strike-out there.
This is not a 5 star book. It's probably 3 stars, maybe 4 stars if you're really into Star Wars. Maybe it gets that 5th star because I remember being 13 years old and pedaling my bike over to Kennedy's supermarket, and buying this book for $5.99 from the wire rack next to the liquor section and fucking loving getting MORE Star Wars. That's a nostalgia 5 star rating.
I remember being disappointed that Dash Rendar, the new good guy, wasn't featured more for having been the protagonist of the video game of the same name.
2017 SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE RE-READ
Actually my previous review based on my memory of this book I ready 20+ years ago is pretty accurate. We jump around a lot through the Galaxy (apparently tracking events of the game somewhat). The core characters ring true, Vader is fleshed out, Xizor is an effective and interesting villain, if a bit over-done. And WTF was the author doing with Dash Rendar? Total strike-out there.
This is not a 5 star book. It's probably 3 stars, maybe 4 stars if you're really into Star Wars. Maybe it gets that 5th star because I remember being 13 years old and pedaling my bike over to Kennedy's supermarket, and buying this book for $5.99 from the wire rack next to the liquor section and fucking loving getting MORE Star Wars. That's a nostalgia 5 star rating.
nebiath's review against another edition
4.0
Entretenido relato situado entre los episodios 5 y 6 de Star Wars. Se lee de un tirón y es muy aceptable en conjunto, a pesar de algunos errores e inverosimilitudes en el relato, pero esto es SW, no le pediremos peras al olmo :)
macwise's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mynaught's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
_el_caballero's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
apacninja's review against another edition
4.0
A quick and interesting read from the Star Wars universe. Some of the characters behaviors aren’t totally in-line with how I envision them to regularly behave (Emperor and Vader), but that also may be because of the voice acting was a bit lacking as opposed to the other Star Wars books. (I listened to it on audible).
fandom4ever's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“Yeah, that’s the problem with our opposition – they keep thinking nobody could possibly be as stupid as we are. Fools ‘em every time.”
Shadows of the Empire bridges the gap between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Released in 1996, it was part of a huge multi-project event, getting a video game, soundtrack and more!
This was my second time reading Shadows. It’s strange coming back to this book because I had really mixed feelings the first time and didn’t really care for it. I remember there being a lot more Luke and Vader parts to this book. They are what this book meant to me but picking it up again, I was sad to discover there are less than I recalled. The few that are here though are stellar. Luke wants to believe so bad that Vader was lying when he told him that he was his father, while knowing it to be the truth. And now Luke has a new fear to overcome of the dark side creeping ever closer to him due to his parentage. Vader reflecting on Luke being his son and what that means for him is also excellent, how convinced he is that he can get Luke to fall to the dark side.
On the positive side of things, Prince Xizor trying to seduce Leia was far shorter than I remembered. It’s such a weird side-plot that is completely unnecessary and just makes me cringe. I liked watching Vader and Xizor go against each other in politics and trying to gain the Emperor’s favor.
There are important moments to the movie scenes in this book. Like actually getting to see how and why the Bothans received the data for the second Death Star. It’s in this book that you discover how Leia got the bounty hunter disguise she uses in Jabba’s Palace. We also get to see Luke make his lightsaber since the scene was cut from Episode VI.
I don’t know how to describe this book. It adds important things to the Star Wars galaxy and there were a lot of good concepts contained here, like showing how Luke went from training to be a Jedi in Episode V, to a confident Jedi Knight in Episode VI. I just think they could have been made into an even better story than what is here.