Chapter By Chapter> Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire ch. 15

Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

In the last chapter Xizor continued playing head games with Darth Vader, secure that he’s in a position where he won’t find a lightsaber going through his neck while it’s being Force Choked. In today’s chapter our heroes get closer to asking for Xizor’s help finding whomever put the price on Luke’s head, not knowing it’s Xizor trying to frame Vader. And somehow this feels more like Star Wars than the prequels.

Guri reports to Xizor about Leia’s attempt to contact Black Sun. I have to wonder how a “holocam” works, creating a holographic image of Leia. Is it actually a multicam setup that can create a 3D image? Or is Perry forgetting that 2D monitors still exist in this universe because 3D holograms are still more fun, at least to us? (I’d say it’s about as mundane as looking at a picture on your smartphone nowadays…because I don’t think people print out photos anymore unless they’re my age or older.) The better part is just how badly Xizor underestimates Leia once he realizes she actually takes care of her looks and isn’t some no nonsense mediocre-at-best-looking warrior type. He’s even looking to take her as his next mistress, and sure she’s enjoying some fine dining somewhere because “(f)emales did love such things”. So he’s misogynist and other things that make him jump to conclusion. I think we’ve found our first weakness in the Dark Prince. His nose is so high up that he can’t see the cliff he’s about to drop off of.

Well, Leia isn’t in some fancy place. She’s watching Chewie play a game in the casino against some guy Threepio warned against beating. You remember that line Han told the droids about Wookies removing arms if they lose? Threepio did, although Perry forgot Leia wasn’t there at the time; just Luke and Obi-Wan plus of course Chewbacca and the droids. A brief interlude to show just how far off Xizor is and throw in a fun scene.

Guri is the focus of our final scene. For the newcomers, Guri is a droid who looks human that Xizor uses as an assassin and right-hand droid. Also she looks like this:

I’m assuming lack of genitalia (or hoping, considering Xizor’s personality but I forget if the book mentioned it) is the only reason Xizor is looking for a mistress at this point. Trust me, if I had a better picture in my library you’d agree with me. Anyway, she’s confronting a group of…competitors pushing into Black Sun’s territory. When one of them decides to put up a fight she puts all three of the associates and their Gammorian Guards into the ranks of the deceased. Later, Xizor watches the recording, and my mind fills in popcorn despite a lack of it in this galaxy. Darn shame, that. We’ve heard in previous chapters how good Guri is and here we finally see an example, as she flips around like a Jedi just murderin’ dudes like a warm-up exercise. So we finally have an idea of just how badass she really is.

Despite a few missteps this was still a good chapter, showing off Xizor’s foolish side and Guri’s awesome side. What side will we see next week?