Steve Perry said he wrote that one Xizor/Leia pervert scene, after convincing Lucasfilm that doing a "Leia/Xizor romance" (an actual romance storyline between the two, where she cheats on Han) which is what Lucasfilm originally wanted, would get fans extremely angry. So in a way, the pervert scene saved us from something much worse.
After the book came out, I took my hardback copy of the novel to a local comic con to have it signed by Perry. To my surprise his booth was lettered with overtly sexualized comics and books he had written. That's just how the guy is.
Oh Matt you forgot to talk about Lando and his stew making! It was hilarious. The scene where he is in the kitchen in the Falcon making them all a stew. They all think it smells horrible, Lando said he has had it before and reassures them it tastes fine. Luke says it smells like some awful animal (I can’t remember the name) and a moment later Leia says the exact same thing! Proving how alike those twins are sometimes. It’s really great writing. The funny part is when Lando is so sure the stew tastes fine, and he tries it himself and is completely shocked/half pretending it’s alright to make the others eat it. They all end up laughing. It really is a funny scene that could easily be a memorable moment in a film.
Still my my favorite novel in the EU. I consider it as the "fourth" film of the classic trilogy. Solid, fluid, varied in settings, and connects the films without being indispensable, it does not alter the nature of the original characters, and give us a convincing villain who has an interesting dynamic with Vader.
12:35 there is talk in Fate of the Jedi (one of the Allston books) where the Jedi learn that some Cult may have cloned Xizor in an attempt to resurrect the Black Sun organization
Man I love this book it really feels like the original trilogy. Luke, Lando, Darth Vader and the Emperor are really well written. So is Xizor when he's not thinking about Leia which are parts of the book I skip over. There's some great world building in this and some funny jokes as well. Possibly my favorite of the EU/Legends books.
I agree with you regarding the awkward sexual scenes in the book being off-putting, but I only came to this conclusion when I tried to read Shadows of the Empire again as an adult a few years ago. I first read this book as a young teenager and remember thinking this was just a more adult Star Wars lol. I actually couldn't get through this book as an adult. I'm also not against sexual content in books -- it's just not handled well here.
Thanks for calling out the Leia and Xizor scene! And you're right, something I always noticed was some Star Wars authors, Robert Jordan lol, and others definitely came across as pervs in their writing at times. Great Robert Jordan impression, by the way, LOL!
The only thing Denning does that equally bad by comparison is in LOTF but it's meant to be seen in a negative light. Weirdly in this book there's this weird kinda like enjoyment about it. Which I just felt wrong reading about
Absolutely agree with the writer to sex it up with Leia… the way you have been reacting to this brilliant part of the book most likely tells me you love that Darth Vader is Luke’s daddy and Leia is a life long spinster and virgin….
I think this is a decent story perhaps hyped too much. I also will say this is the best argument against Denning is sexual arguments. If people can't handle dennings mostly pg 13 things then they can't defend this book and if they do they are inconsistent. As this book is uncomfortablely sexual at times. And not a blink and you miss it as Xizor goes on and on and on about getting in Leia's pants.
I absolutely love this multimedia event when it came out. I bought, read, played, and listen to everything that came out at the time. But there was a huge plot hole that really bothered me. How the HELL did Princess Xizor (She-zor) know that Darth Vader’s real name was Skywalker??? It’s never explained.
@@JediAcolyte94 Yes, he was present during the ESB transmission but after hearing Palpatine say "We have a new enemy, Luke Skywalker." Xizor thinks, "Skywalker, that had been Vader's name, a long time ago." How did he already know this huge secret? PLOT HOLE! Don't get me wrong, still love the story.
I think that it could be explained by him having had research done on Vader in his long game of unseating the Sith Lords from power. In the Boba Fett trilogy, we find him cutting deals with an information broker that he later destroys, in part to obtain some of this very information. There are a number of clues to Vader's past to be accessed if a person has the correct knowledge. Jax Pavan proved this in the Coruscant Nights. In fact, I believe that Xizor discovers Vader's original identity then.
Shadows of the Empire is a good story, I just think it could've been told better by someone other than Steve Perry. Luckily there's a comic book adaptation for SotE as well.
@@qualityautismNoah Yeah, definitely could've cut the Boba content in half, at least. However, it made for a semi-entertaining skit from Robot Chicken...
This is how I feel as well. I LOVE the overall feel and tone of the multimedia project, love the new characters and designs and the broad-strokes storyline... but the actual novel is *so* bad that it almost ruins the entire thing completely. Perry's prose and dialogue suck so hard.
This is the ending I prefer for Dash; goes out fighting the Empire, instead of the ending of the (terrible) game that has him fake his death and flee like a coward, never to be seen again
Dash returns at the end of the Shadows of the Empire: Evolution comic, he teams up with Guri. And as we learn in the New Jedi Order short story Or Die Trying, together they created a succesful business.
@@qualityautismNoah True, but both can easily be skipped without consequence. Also, when is your next "top 10" or "worst 10"-type video? I did enjoy them
@@Rhys-Lightning i wrote a Jedi Prince fanfic trilogy to end that series, its easy to find online. titles are Shadows of Obi-Wan, Legacy of Doom, and The Admiral's Wrath.
Steve Perry said he wrote that one Xizor/Leia pervert scene, after convincing Lucasfilm that doing a "Leia/Xizor romance" (an actual romance storyline between the two, where she cheats on Han) which is what Lucasfilm originally wanted, would get fans extremely angry. So in a way, the pervert scene saved us from something much worse.
Perry had quite a few explicit sex scenes in his adaptation of the initial Aliens comic series. It was kinda his thing, lol.
After the book came out, I took my hardback copy of the novel to a local comic con to have it signed by Perry. To my surprise his booth was lettered with overtly sexualized comics and books he had written. That's just how the guy is.
Interesting that people are calling it a pervert scene… you guys need to man up and stop this “lets dance to the Romba Ewok disco tunes
Oh Matt you forgot to talk about Lando and his stew making! It was hilarious. The scene where he is in the kitchen in the Falcon making them all a stew. They all think it smells horrible, Lando said he has had it before and reassures them it tastes fine. Luke says it smells like some awful animal (I can’t remember the name) and a moment later Leia says the exact same thing! Proving how alike those twins are sometimes. It’s really great writing. The funny part is when Lando is so sure the stew tastes fine, and he tries it himself and is completely shocked/half pretending it’s alright to make the others eat it. They all end up laughing. It really is a funny scene that could easily be a memorable moment in a film.
Ah! Forgot about that part then.
Still my my favorite novel in the EU.
I consider it as the "fourth" film of the classic trilogy. Solid, fluid, varied in settings, and connects the films without being indispensable, it does not alter the nature of the original characters, and give us a convincing villain who has an interesting dynamic with Vader.
12:35 there is talk in Fate of the Jedi (one of the Allston books) where the Jedi learn that some Cult may have cloned Xizor in an attempt to resurrect the Black Sun organization
Man I love this book it really feels like the original trilogy. Luke, Lando, Darth Vader and the Emperor are really well written. So is Xizor when he's not thinking about Leia which are parts of the book I skip over. There's some great world building in this and some funny jokes as well. Possibly my favorite of the EU/Legends books.
Man this is an epic book! Love the backstabbing triangle of deception between Prince Xizor, palpatine and Vader
One of the first Star Wars novel I ever read, after playing the game on the N64 of course!
"dirty old writer syndrome"
Troy Denning.
I agree with you regarding the awkward sexual scenes in the book being off-putting, but I only came to this conclusion when I tried to read Shadows of the Empire again as an adult a few years ago. I first read this book as a young teenager and remember thinking this was just a more adult Star Wars lol. I actually couldn't get through this book as an adult. I'm also not against sexual content in books -- it's just not handled well here.
Cover art and the timing and way this came out was great
Thanks for calling out the Leia and Xizor scene! And you're right, something I always noticed was some Star Wars authors, Robert Jordan lol, and others definitely came across as pervs in their writing at times. Great Robert Jordan impression, by the way, LOL!
Leia had a fever in this book, and the only prescription was MOAR COWBELL.
I do wish more books got soundtracks like this one did.
And THE scene with Xizor and Leia.....
Jacen and Jaina would have been very different most likely if a certain thing played out lol.......................................
The only thing Denning does that equally bad by comparison is in LOTF but it's meant to be seen in a negative light. Weirdly in this book there's this weird kinda like enjoyment about it. Which I just felt wrong reading about
Absolutely agree with the writer to sex it up with Leia… the way you have been reacting to this brilliant part of the book most likely tells me you love that Darth Vader is Luke’s daddy and Leia is a life long spinster and virgin….
I think this is a decent story perhaps hyped too much. I also will say this is the best argument against Denning is sexual arguments. If people can't handle dennings mostly pg 13 things then they can't defend this book and if they do they are inconsistent. As this book is uncomfortablely sexual at times. And not a blink and you miss it as Xizor goes on and on and on about getting in Leia's pants.
I absolutely love this multimedia event when it came out. I bought, read, played, and listen to everything that came out at the time. But there was a huge plot hole that really bothered me. How the HELL did Princess Xizor (She-zor) know that Darth Vader’s real name was Skywalker??? It’s never explained.
I believe the cover that in the first 12 pages of Shadows of the Empire. Xizor was present during Palpatine Vader transmission scene in ESB.
@@JediAcolyte94 Yes, he was present during the ESB transmission but after hearing Palpatine say "We have a new enemy, Luke Skywalker." Xizor thinks, "Skywalker, that had been Vader's name, a long time ago." How did he already know this huge secret? PLOT HOLE! Don't get me wrong, still love the story.
I think that it could be explained by him having had research done on Vader in his long game of unseating the Sith Lords from power. In the Boba Fett trilogy, we find him cutting deals with an information broker that he later destroys, in part to obtain some of this very information. There are a number of clues to Vader's past to be accessed if a person has the correct knowledge. Jax Pavan proved this in the Coruscant Nights. In fact, I believe that Xizor discovers Vader's original identity then.
Now I really enjoy Luke in this book and Lando. And Xizor when not being a perv is a decent villian. Not as good as thrawn or even Isard in my opinion
Palpatine and Vader were great as always in this novel.
5:52 best part.
Love the ai audiobook on TH-cam of this book
Shadows of the Empire is a good story, I just think it could've been told better by someone other than Steve Perry. Luckily there's a comic book adaptation for SotE as well.
and that comic sadly sucks, as the main story is rushed as hell, since the comic has more Boba focus.
@@qualityautismNoah Yeah, definitely could've cut the Boba content in half, at least. However, it made for a semi-entertaining skit from Robot Chicken...
This is how I feel as well. I LOVE the overall feel and tone of the multimedia project, love the new characters and designs and the broad-strokes storyline... but the actual novel is *so* bad that it almost ruins the entire thing completely. Perry's prose and dialogue suck so hard.
This is the ending I prefer for Dash; goes out fighting the Empire, instead of the ending of the (terrible) game that has him fake his death and flee like a coward, never to be seen again
Dash returns at the end of the Shadows of the Empire: Evolution comic, he teams up with Guri. And as we learn in the New Jedi Order short story Or Die Trying, together they created a succesful business.
@@qualityautismNoah True, but both can easily be skipped without consequence. Also, when is your next "top 10" or "worst 10"-type video? I did enjoy them
@@qualityautismNoah Also, did I read somewhere that you wrote your own story?
@@Rhys-Lightning i wrote a Jedi Prince fanfic trilogy to end that series, its easy to find online. titles are Shadows of Obi-Wan, Legacy of Doom, and The Admiral's Wrath.
Nude Xizor scene is duh best.