Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

So here's the other book I recently finished reading, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. I'm a sucker for Star Wars novels, what can I say?

The book, set in the ancient history of the Old Republic (well before even the prequels), follows the rise to power of a man named Bane. Bane is recruited by the Sith for training to be a Dark Lord. In the end, Bane winds up reforming the Sith into his own image. I think it's safe to say this much: Bane is the reason why, in the prequels, there can only be two Sith, one master, one apprentice.

All in all, this was a good book. The author, Drew Karpyshyn, was the lead writer for Knights of the Old Republic, one of the best Star Wars video games around. He does a pretty admirable job of showing how the Sith became what we see in the prequels and even bridges the gap between the Knights of the Old Republic and the movies.

My only complaint is this: Bane seemed too tame for my tastes. Sure, he's evil, but he didn't strike me as the kind of evil you'd expect a Dark Lord of the Sith to be. Just a personal taste issue, I guess.

The one thing, though, that floored me was the way that Karpyshyn worked in another Star Wars videogame. I don't want to give away too much; suffice to say that it was a pleasant surprise to see the backstory of another game included in this novel.

So if you're a Star Wars fan, read up. If not, maybe skip this one.