Tome Thursday: Shadows of the Empire

Hello everyone!

So a little while ago I did a blog post which only featured one image - and that was one for a trilogy of the Star Wars Expanded Universe books.

I've since learned that these books cover not only the post-original trilogy but also the era of the Old Republic, which is pre-prequel trilogy, and pretty much everything in between. I mean, I have this amazing friend who gives me all the timelines and titles so there's that.

Yup, I'm blessed.

But anyway, said friend DID recommend where I should actually start reading, and while my inner OCD beast is snarling that it wasn't with the chronologically first book, I'm pretty happy I read the book I did!

Because really, it was the best ever stepping stone into the universe.

It had everything - humour, characters we know and love, action, and some more humour!

I'm talking about Shadows of the Empire.

Written by Steve Perry, this book covers the time between The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, and as my friend explained, it tells the story of Luke's green lightsaber, how Leia got her bounty hunter costume, and how they eventually found Han in Jabba's palace.

Which, basically, was all I needed to know before I sat down and gobbled this up.

Like, seriously guys! This book was funny and flowed so well, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

But let's try and do this review by saying what happened in a slightly chronological manner, alright?

Right.

So on Tatooine, our heroes are kind of stuck waiting for information about Boba Fett, who, if you recall anything, is transporting Han (frozen in that wall artwork) to Jabba the Hutt. This includes but is not limited to Luke taking over old Ben Kenobi's home and Leia having to fend off creepy members of the male species trying to pick her up.

Also, Chewie shows his teeth a lot. Let's just say he ain't happy anyone's taking an interest in Han's princess.

So Leia, Lando and Chewie figure out they may need to team up with another smuggler/informant to get to where Fett is and try and grab Han before he ends up with Jabba.

Meanwhile, Luke is cooking his lightsaber.

No, I'm serious.

There's this furnace where the lightsaber crystal is stuck into and it has to stay in there, happily cooking away, until it changes colour and Luke can install it properly. And once he does THAT, he has to turn it on without accidentaly vaporizing himself.

I swear I'm not making this text up, it's what the author wrote!

He's also testing his abilities in the Force, trying to branch out, trying to embrace the Force better so that he can become a proper Jedi Knight, as his training with Yoda and Ben is unfinished.

But then of course, it's time to get Han, or attempt to, and while Luke and his Rogue Squadron (who kind of happily pop up all over the place to aid their commander) distract the Empire, Leia and the rest of them follow their informant, one Dash Rendar, to try and get to the platform where Fett's ship is.

Of course it's too early in the book to be THAT easy - and we know Han has to stay frozen until the next movie anyway - so obviously this attempt fails. But what they DO learn is that someone has put a hit out on Luke Skywalker - and originally, they think it might be Vader, only it doesn't add up. Vader promised to bring Luke to the Dark Side of the Force - so why try and kill him now?

So, the team splits yet again, with Dash going over to Tatooine without Luke's knowledge to look after the kid, while Leia, Lando and Chewie take off in the Falcon to try and find out who's willing to kill Luke.

And that's where things really get interesting.

See, we get glimpses of Vader in this one as well. And of an entirely new player, Prince Xizor, leader of an underground illegal organisation called Black Sun.

And Xizor wants Luke dead.

Why?

Well to topple Vader off the pedestal he's on and become the Emperor's right hand man himself - and then to topple the Emperor, too. It's a personal grudge since Vader killed his family years ago after a botched experiment, and the two have been playing power games on Coruscant ever since.

So while Xizor feeds information to the Rebel Alliance to lure them out, with news of a new Death Star in the making, prompting Dash and Luke to head off after it (after Luke nearly gets killed again on his home planet, because why the hell not?) Vader has to galaxy-hop around and flex the Empire's muscles.

I mean, there's literally a WRITTEN bit about how he blew up some Rebel ships and a couple of hangars and then went home.

COME ON.

So anyway, while Dash and Luke are doing this (Dash because he's blaming himself for people dying under his watch), Leia and her crew are in a casino trying to get to Black Sun.

Because, you know, that seems like a smart idea.

Xizor sends his human-slash-droid Guri to bring the group to him, and attempts to seduce Leia. Here let me say that he's apparently the most gorgeous man Leia has ever seen, and while his pheromones seem to be working overtime to lure her in, even without them she was pretty taken with his looks. And I'm sitting there trying to figure out what memo I missed. Because, last I checked, Xizor had green skin and a whole lot of reptile going for him physically, which is NOT appealing. I saw some illustrations around the world wide web. He doesn't strike me as someone I'd want to sleep with. I'd be running away from him or calling those swamp dudes from Animal Planet to come pick him up.

Anyway, the seduction doesn't work, and Chewie is allowed to escape to get help from Luke and Dash, who've gotten the plans but kind of managed to almost die - again. 

Luckily they aren't dead by the time they go round to Coruscant to free Leia, which of course does happen - and oh did I mention? To get to Xizor herself, Guri gave Leia a bounty hunter outfit.

In an action-packed sequence involving sewers and timed bombs, the group manages to get Leia and Luke duels Guri, fully embracing the Force to defeat her and she lets them leave. The palace they were in crumbles after an explosion and Xizor barely manages to get onto his ship (because he underestimated Luke), but now he's so pissed he wants Luke dead at all costs.

And Luke might even have died around Coruscant as Xizor's navy attacks the lot of them if not for an unlikely saviour.

Make room, little Sheezor, Papa Vader's here.

See Vader figured out Xizor wanted Luke dead and directly warned him to stay away from his kid. With the Emperor away (and trusting Vader not to blow the planet apart in the interim), Vader's in charge, and Xizor just made a fatal mistake.

Bye-bye, lizard guy.

Unfortunately, Dash doesn't survive this escape route, but the rest of them decide to head back to Tatooine and wait for Fett to deliver Han to Jabba.

Let The Return of the Jedi begin ...

xx

*image not mine