In the summer of 1996, several months before Lucasfilm Limited and 20th Century Fox released the 20th Anniversary Special Edition of the Star Wars Trilogy, Bantam Spectra published Steve Perry's novel Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, a noir-ish tale of revenge and intrigue pitting Lord Darth Vader against a powerful rival, Prince Xizor, who seeks to displace the man once known as Anakin Skywalker from his position as the Emperor's top servant. A reptilian Falleen who plans his every move carefully and seemingly without passion, Xizor is motivated not just by ambition or lust for power, but by...