World Famous Comics: Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane)
Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane)
By: Drew Karpyshyn Publisher: Del Rey Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Del Rey Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 324 Publication Date: June 06, 2007 Release Date: September 26, 2006
Product Description: Once the Sith order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy. Until one dark lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy–and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith, and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.
Since childhood, Dessel has known only the abuse of his hateful father and the dangerous, soul-crushing labor of a cortosis miner. Deep in the tunnels of the desolate planet Apatros, endlessly excavating the rare mineral valued throughout the galaxy, Dessel dreams of the day he can escape–a day he fears may never come. But when a high-stakes card game ends in deadly violence, Dessel suddenly finds himself a wanted man.
On the run from vengeful Republic forces, Dessel vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army, and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions. There, Dessel’s brutality, cunning, and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior. But in the eyes of his watchful masters, he is destined for a far greater role in the ultimate Sith plan for the galaxy–if he can prove himself truly worthy.
As an acolyte in the Sith academy, studying the secrets and skills of the dark side at the feet of its greatest masters, Dessel embraces his new Sith identity: Bane. However the true test is yet to come. In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness one must fully surrender to the dark side through a trial by fire that Bane, for all his unquenchable fury and lust for power, may not be strong enough to endure . . . especially since deception, treachery, and murder run rampant among the Sith disciples, and utter ruthlessness alone is the key to survival. Only by defying the most sacred traditions, rejecting all he has been taught, and drawing upon the long-forgotten wisdom of the very first Sith can Bane hope to triumph–and forge from the ashes of that which he must destroy a new era of absolute dark power.
For any fans of KoTOR If I would have looked alittle harder, I probably would have known this book was written by one of the main writers of Knights of the Old Republic, which still stands in my mind as one of the greatest RPGs ever.
Of course this would have made little difference, as I bought the book anyways.
It was a great little book; a fairly quick read of a story that is being retold here, but in a very competent fashion. I eaily found myself getting into characters, even some that would only walk on stage long enough to love before leaving the narrative for good.
My only complaint about the book is an abundance of subtle (and occasionally not-so-subtle) winks back to the KoTOR material, but while they can seem self gratifying at times, they never truly ditract from the over feel of the story.
It is truly an easy b ook to recommend to any fans of Star Wars, or Jedi.
A very enjoyable continuation of the Star Wars experience. A have just recently started reading more of the Star Wars books and this was a great starting place. It does not require much knowledge of the series to be enjoyable. I highly recommend this book for any fan of sci-fi.
Enjoyed reading about the Old Republic I did enjoy reading about the Old Republic. I hope some of the other Star Wars writers do more with this era. That being said I could not get into the book as much as I would have liked. I did not like the fact that the book was "all" about the Syth. The Syth are evil and it is just not my thing. I want to read about the Jedi of that ara, but the book was 90% Syth. If you enjoy the Dark Side of the Force this will be right up your ally.
Mstly good I think the book was rather well done, but there are some flaws. I enjoy seeing that the book has you caught up enough in the character that you feel for him and you root for him even knowing if is really a 'bad guy'. The beginning depicting the origin of his hatred and how the 'other side' see's the Jedi and the Republic is refreshing and is a good antithesis to the usual books which are from the 'good' point-of-view. There are however, several parts that are kind of disappointing and the ending of the epilogue is so deus-ex-machina as to be completely unbelievable and ridiculous. Overall a good read, but I have read better star wars books.
The One That Started It All In the next installment of the ever-growing franchise of 'Star Wars' takes the reader back into time, to an era of the Brotherhood of Darkness, founded by Sith Master Kaan. The old Sith ways were considered arrogant, since by claiming oneself the one and only Sith, brought nothing but betrayal and deception. By disbanding what the Sith once were, Kaan formulated an organization much like the Jedi Order, shaping young apprentices in the ways of darkness.
Until Darth Bane came to change all that.
Dessel, a young man, has spent his entire life mining in the brutal planet of Cortosis. He has faced abuse from his father, and more so from his father's friends. After a fight that left a man without a thumb, he was forced to retire for the rest of the day in the cantina, owned by Des' only friend, named Groshik. Even there, Des causes trouble, when a card game goes awry that leads to the death of a Republic soldier. Groshik, who considers Des to be a good friend, gives Des a choice to either be turned in, or join the ranks of the Sith army as a way of protection. Having no other choice, Des joins with the Sith, and from there he works up on his way to greatness. To becoming Darth Bane, and destroying the Brotherhood, to return to the old ways of the Sith.
In some ways, Bane's life almost foreshadows that of Vader. Like Vader, Bane has the gift of predicting things beforehand, having quick reflexes, all of these things that make someone talented in the ways of the Force. Bane uses his talent to be noticed in the Brotherhood, to finally be taken on as an apprentice. Bane's life, like that of Vader, was being little more than a slave. And like Vader, Bane turns his back on his teachers, his students, all that he's been taught, to shape things into his own will. The similarities of Vader and Bane might throw some readers off if they were to look for something new. As for this reader, it wasn't such a problem because of how well-written the story was. It is a real page-turner, and although it is pretty straightforward and predictable, one just can't stop turning the pages. This is a rare Star Wars book that is actually worth reading.
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