It's May, and that means we return to the world of Star Wars here at The Tape Store.  For Star Wars month this year, we decided to explore the Expanded Universe, beginning with the prolific 1996 novel Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry, which spawned a line of toys, a comic book series, and a Nintendo 64 video game.  In Part 1 of a two-part series with guest co-host Jeff Darden, we cover the story's prologue, which gives us a very interesting perspective on a classic scene from Empire Strikes Back.  We then pick up with Luke Skywalker and friends (Leia, Chewy, and Lando), right after the events of Empire, as they pursue Boba Fett in hopes of saving Han.  In the midst of this, Luke continues his Jedi training and also continually evades the clutches of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine.  We also introduce new characters, the "Han-alternate" Dash Rendar, as well as the complex and interesting new antagonist, Prince Xizor.