Darth Bane - Rule of Two

Oh those sneaky Sith bastards!

I'm not sure I can properly express just how cool this two book (so far) series has been.

The examination of the Sith Order continues in Drew Karpyshym's follow up to 2006 hit 'Path of Destruction' with the the further adventures of Darth Bane and his new apprentice Darth Zannah as they delve deeper into the lost arts of the Sith and lay the ground work for their eventual rise to power. Oh and they even find time to whip some Jedi ass in the process.

What I find utterly fascinating in this book is watching Darth Bane plant the seeds of the fall of the Republic and the Jedi a thousand years before it happens. Think about that. He knows it won't happen it his lifetime, he doesn't care. It's not for his glory which he puts these wheels in motion but the glory of the Sith. These are the very seeds that sprout at the hands of Darth Sidious in the prequel era films that are so reviled by the majority of fans. Stealth, cunning, deception and above all, patience - these are the ways of the Sith.

Another interesting note from this book - I really hate the Jedi in it. I'm not sure if this is the intention of the author or not. The Jedi from this era just bother me, many of them smack of vanity and think little of what happens around them do to their direct influence. When the confrontation between the Jedi and Bane & Zannah, I am actively rooting for the bad guys to win. I spent the last 30-40 pages just hoping Bane would slice and dice the sanctimonious little pricks to pieces. Oh and so you know, when I play 'Knight of the Old Republic' I play as a good Jedi not an evil one.
Again, I'm not sure if this was the reaction the author had in mind or if I've allowed myself to get attached to the Sith. After all attachment does lead to the dark side.

So you can count me as someone who hopes that Mr. Karpyshym get the chance to further the chronicles of Darth Bane. Sure, the rule of two is in place but I can still like the guy can't I?

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

I bought this back in '06 when it first came out, as I do with all Star Wars books, and promptly threw it on my bookshelf with a mental note of 'later'. At the time I was in the midst of a severe Star Wars burnout and I needed a nice long break.

Flash forward to January of '07 and my love of S.W. is back in high gear, in no small part to this book.

I admit I was hesitant to read it at first. Sure Drew Karpyshym was lead writer of the excellent x-box game 'Knights of the Old Republic' but that doesn't mean he can write a book. Especially a book about a character who exists 1,000 years before any of the characters from the films are alive.

Further stacking the deck against him is in the authors thanks page before the novel begins. Karpyshym states that he 'drew heavily' from the "Jedi vs. Sith" comic series published by Dark Horse in 2001. This sent warning alarms off in my mind.

The Jedi vs. Sith comic was a complete mess that, at the time, made just about zero sense as the Jedi and Sith were both portrayed in ways that could only make you scratch your head and wonder just how all this made any sense based on what we have learned of both groups from the movies and the expanded universe novels and comics.

I dismissed the series as being gibberish and tried to erase it from my mind.

And then Karpyshym has to bring it back and throw it in my face.

Except for one thing - it was good. It was fucking GOOD.

This is basically the story of the man who will become Darth Bane, the visionary Sith lord who ushers in the new era of the Sith with his main philosophy - the Rule of Two, one to embody power; the other to crave it. Not only do we get an excellent origin story for a villain with a cool factor approaching Darth Vader but we learn how the Sith are shaped into what we see in the films. All this while incorporating, elaborating and just making sense of an abysmal comic book story. Thankfully Karpyshym doesn't feel the need to tell that part of the story from the perspective of the two bratty children who dominate the comic story.

This is the story of the Sith. But it's only the beginning - the Drew Karpyshym penned sequel - The Rule of Two, hit bookstores on December 26 '07. I'm reading that right now and will share my thoughts on it soon.

In the mean time, if you love Dark Lords, you'll love this book.