B+

Written by Drew Karpyshyn, the man behind the “Knights of the Old Republic” video game story arc, Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction is a dark tale about one of the elite members among the Sith.

As fans of the Star Wars saga should know, Darth Bane was the founder of the Rule of Two: “Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it.” Yoda first speaks of the principle in The Phantom Menace when the Sith first reveal themselves after a millennium in hiding.

With this work, Karpyshyn is given the chance to take fans into the head of a man as he develops from miner to Sith Master, a man who enacts the principle that eventually brings balance back to the Force.

Overall I thought the novel was rather enjoyable. It was not too long and quick paced, not overburdened with unnecessary detail. It was interesting to see how Bane developed from a simple laborer to an elite among the Sith, and eventually Sith Master.

Before reading I was concerned that the novel might be too dark to be enjoyable, but Karpyshyn was able to make even a Sith Lord a character to which one can relate. Its also interesting to read a story from a different era, long before the time of the Skywalkers.

Let’s not forget, this is a Star Wars book, so there are, of course, plenty of sweet lightsaber duels and other forms of Force-weilding action. I definitely recommend this novel for any Star Wars fan, especially fans of the KOTOR video game series.