Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Xizor, Kopf der kriminellen Organisation Schwarze Sonne, will Darth Vader als rechte Hand des Imperators ablösen. Doch bevor er diesen Plan in die Tat umsetzen kann, schließt er eine unheilige Allianz mit dem Dunklen Lord, die nur ein Ziel verfolgt: Luke Skywalker zu töten! Während die tödliche Falle für Luke vorbereitet wird, halten Jabbas Kopfgeldjäger Han Solo noch immer gefangen. Um ihren Gelibten zu retten, wäre Prinzession Leia bereit, sich sogar mit dem Teufel zu verbünden. Und so wagt sie sich in Xizors Höhle...

Informationen zum Autor Steve Perry is an author and television writer. A native of the Deep South, he is the author of more than 50 novels and numerous short stories, including The Forever Drug , Spindoc , The Trinity Vector , and the Matador series. He also penned books for the Alien, Conan, and Star Wars franchises. A practitioner of the martial art Silat, he is the father of science fiction author S. D. Perry. Klappentext Shadows of the Empire illuminates the shadowy outlines of a criminal conspiracy that exists in the background of the events in the movies, ruled by a character new to us. Prince Xizor is a mastermind of evil who dares to oppose one of the best-known fictional villains of all time: Darth Vader. The story involves all the featured Star Wars movie characters, plus Emperor Palpatine and, of course, Lord Vader himself. Leseprobe He looks like a walking corpse, Xizor thought. Like a mummified body dead a thousand years. Amazing he is still alive, much less the most powerful man in the galaxy. He isn't even that old; it is more as if something is slowly eating him. Xizor stood four meters away from the Emperor, watching as the man who had long ago been Senator Palpatine moved to stand in the holocam field. He imagined he could smell the decay in the Emperor's worn body. Likely that was just some trick of the recycled air, run through dozens of filters to ensure that there was no chance of any poison gas being introduced into it. Filtered the life out of it, perhaps, giving it that dead smell. The viewer on the other end of the holo-link would see a close-up of the Emperor's head and shoulders, of an age-ravaged face shrouded in the cowl of his dark zeyd-cloth robe. The man on the other end of the transmission, light-years away, would not see Xizor, though Xizor would be able to see him. It was a measure of the Emperor's trust that Xizor was allowed to be here while the conversation took place. The man on the other end of the transmission--if he could still be called that-- The air swirled inside the Imperial chamber in front of the Emperor, coalesced, and blossomed into the image of a figure down on one knee. A caped humanoid biped dressed in jet black, face hidden under a full helmet and breathing mask: Darth Vader. Vader spoke: "What is thy bidding, my master?" If Xizor could have hurled a power bolt through time and space to strike Vader dead, he would have done it without blinking. Wishful thinking: Vader was too powerful to attack directly. "There is a great disturbance in the Force," the Emperor said. "I have felt it," Vader said. "We have a new enemy. Luke Skywalker." Skywalker? That had been Vader's name, a long time ago. Who was this person with the same name, someone so powerful as to be worth a conversation between the Emperor and his most loathsome creation? More importantly, why had Xizor's agents not uncovered this before now? Xizor's ire was instant--but cold. No sign of his surprise or anger would show on his imperturbable features. The Falleen did not allow their emotions to burst forth as did many of the inferior species; no, the Falleen ancestry was not fur but scales, not mammalian but reptilian. Not wild but coolly calculating. Such was much better. Much safer. "Yes, my master," Vader continued. "He could destroy us," the Emperor said. Xizor's attention was riveted upon the Emperor and the holographic image of Vader kneeling on the deck of a ship far away. Here was interesting news indeed. Something the Emperor perceived as a danger to himself? Something the Emperor feared? "He's just a boy," Vader said, "Obi-Wan can no longer help him." Obi-Wan. That name Xizor knew. He was among the last of the Jedi Knights, a general. But he'd been dead for decades, hadn't he? ...

Auteur

Steve Perry is an author and television writer. A native of the Deep South, he is the author of more than 50 novels and numerous short stories, including *The Forever Drug, *Spindoc, The Trinity Vector, and the Matador series. He also penned books for the Alien, Conan, and Star Wars franchises. A practitioner of the martial art Silat, he is the father of science fiction author S. D. Perry.

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Shadows of the Empire illuminates the shadowy outlines of a criminal conspiracy that exists in the background of the events in the movies, ruled by a character new to us. Prince Xizor is a mastermind of evil who dares to oppose one of the best-known fictional villains of all time: Darth Vader. The story involves all the featured Star Wars movie characters, plus Emperor Palpatine and, of course, Lord Vader himself.

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He looks like a walking corpse, Xizor thought.  Like a mummified body dead a thousand years.  Amazing he is still alive, much less the most powerful man in the galaxy.  He isn't even that old; it is more as if something is slowly eating him.

Xizor stood four meters away from the Emperor, watching as the man who had long ago been Senator Palpatine moved to stand in the holocam field.  He imagined he could smell the decay in the Emperor's worn body.  Likely that was just some trick of the recycled air, run through dozens of filters to ensure that there was no chance of any poison gas being introduced into it. Filtered the life out of it, perhaps, giving it that dead smell.

The viewer on the other end of the holo-link would see a close-up of the Emperor's head and shoulders, of an age-ravaged face shrouded in the cowl of his dark zeyd-cloth robe.  The man on the other end of the transmission, light-years away, would not see Xizor, though Xizor would be able to see him.  It was a measure of the Emperor's trust that Xizor was allowed to be here while the conversation took place.

The man on the other end of the transmission--if he could still be called that--

The air swirled inside the Imperial chamber in front of the Emperor, coalesced, and blossomed into the image of a figure down on one knee.  A caped humanoid biped dressed in jet black, face hidden under a full helmet and breathing mask:

Darth Vader.

Vader spoke: "What is thy bidding, my master?"

If Xizor could have hurled a power bolt through time and space to strike Vader dead, he would have done it without blinking.  Wishful thinking: Vader was too powerful to attack directly.

"There is a great disturbance in the Force," the Emperor said.

"I have felt it," Vader said.

"We have a new enemy.  Luke Skywalker."

Skywalker? That had been Vader's name, a long time ago.  Who was this person with the same name, someone so powerful as to be worth a conversation between the Emperor and his most loathsome creation? More importantly, why had Xizor's agents not uncovered this before now? Xizor's ire was instant--but cold.  No sign of his surprise or anger would show on his imperturbable features.  The Falleen did not allow their emotions to burst forth as did many of the inferior species; no, the Falleen ancestry was not fur but scales, not mammalian but reptilian.  Not wild but coolly calculating.  Such was much better.  Much safer.

"Yes, my master," Vader continued.

"He could destroy us,&q…