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![[The Old Republic]](images/banner.gif) |
| Events that occur between 5,000 to
1,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. |
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| Darth Bane: Path of
Destruction |
| PAPERBACK NOVEL (2006) |
| Drew Karpyshyn |
| Del Rey |
| Also published as
Hardback Novel |
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Synopsis:
The Sith were in shambles. In-fighting among their ranks
allowed the Jedi to thwart their dark plans. One last
battle to end an era resulted in the extinction of the
Sith. Or so it was believed. One Dark Lord survived.
From the ashes emerged Darth Bane, the lone Sith who was
able to foresee the inevitable doom of the misguided
order, and learn from this costly lesson. He forged a
new order of secretive Sith, plotting from the shadows,
carefully rebuilding power a generation at a time for
centuries until the revenge of the Sith could finally be
achieved.
Who was this Dark Lord? What events forged the man who
would split from the Sith ranks and entirely redefine
the order? |
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Chronology:
This story occurs approximately 1000 years before the
Battle of Yavin. |
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| Related Stories (in
chronological order):
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| Story Reviews: |
Review by Mark, UK, 2006:
"To me it seemed that the authors only exposure to Star Wars
beyond the films was the game Knights of the Old
Republic. The worst example of this is Bane learning Vaapad,
even though it wasn't created by Mace Windu until centuries later
[see Shatterpoint]. The
character of Revan is also very different to the one which we learn
about in Knights of the Old Republic 2: The
Sith Lords. Is this really the sort of writer that we want
writing our novels? Star Wars has taken on a life of it's own with a
vast and detailed history. Ignoring this is not the way forward and
will lead to further conflicting storylines.
"Don't get me wrong- the story was good and seeing the Sith
side of things is a welcome change, but glaring faults like this
affect the enjoyment of the reader. Hopefully any future novels by
Mr Karpshyn will be a little more informed."
Rating: 2 / 5 |
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Review by S-Ash, UK, 2006:
"When a Star Wars novel's most frequently recurring word is
'corpses' it quickly becomes apparent that you're not dealing with
the cozy continuing adventures of the family Skywalker here.
Instead, Path of Destruction treads a much darker path, taking place
in an Old Republic ruled by the Sith, in an atmosphere of almost
unrelenting gloom. Our 'hero' is Dessel, a young labourer stuck on a
desolate mining colony with his abusive father. Des dreams of
another life, but is too poor to follow his dreams until a card game
gets out of control and he finds a way out...
"That's only the beginning for Des, though. His story works
almost as an exact inversion of Luke Skywalker's character arc. From
his humble beginnings on a desert planet, stuck with a family he
hates, a simple twist of fate takes Des across the universe,
encountering a variety of bizarre characters, and throughout it's
hard not to picture Mark Hamill on every page.
"That's not a criticism - the real strength of Path of
Destruction is seeing Luke's story played out along a similar but
more insidious path. There's a real darkness here, with passages
such as, 'He relished their suffering and despair; even now he could
sense it rising up like a stench from the broken corpses scattered
about the valley', frequently appearing.
"Reading half like a William Gibson novel - the anti-hero lead
is classic Gibson - and Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, this is as
actively cool as Star Wars gets. making you long for a Sith
film."
Rating: 4 / 5 |
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Review by Mark, UK, 2007:
"My first Star Wars book, I thought I'd start from the
beginning. It was awesome, can't wait for the next one."
Rating: 5
/ 5 |
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Review by Pee-W, UK, 2008:
"Path of Destruction charts the evolution of an antihero almost
as chilling as Darth Vader. A thousand years before the Republic's
collapse and Emperor Palpatine's rise to power, Des, the young
Force-gifted son of an abusive miner, wins big in a high stakes game
with some Republic soldiers, but kills a sore loser. To avoid
imprisonment, Des joins the Sith's Brotherhood of Darkness that's
battling the Jedi's Army of Light. Des becomes Lord Bane after his
abilities earn him a place at the Sith Academy on the planet
Korriban. Determined to excel, Bane secretly trains with the devious
Githany, former Jedi turned Sith, but after she betrays him, he
decides to fly solo and delve deeper into the Sith past.
"The intensity lets up on occasion, but
on the whole the author delivers a solid space adventure sure to
satisfy the faithful."
Rating: 4
/ 5 |
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