Path of Destruction (Star Wars: Darth Bane, Book 1) Mass Market Paperback – June 26, 2007

I've only read 6 of the expanded universe novels, the Thrawn trilogy and now the Darth Bane trilogy. I started with the Thrawn series as it seemed to come the most highly recommended of all the star wars novels. I read the trilogy, and was sorely disappointed. The story was grand and epic, and the entire universe is at stake again, but the characters were boring and flat. The characters from the movies like Luke, Han, Lei, etc, were just shadows of the movies, with no new character development, often repeating their iconic lines from the movies with sort of a wink and a nod to the reader. A lot of the plot devices from the Thrawn trilogy were cheap and lazy. The only remotely interesting character was Mara Jade, and she was poorly executed most of the time. I thought to myself, if this is the best the best of the star wars books, then we are in trouble.I searched out a different story, hoping it would redeem the poor effort of the Thrawn series, and I decided to give the first novel of the Darth Bane series a shot. I always though the dark side of the force was lacking in depth from the movies, and I wanted to see if anyone was capable of giving that angle new life. I'm very pleased to report that the Darth Bane trilogy is far more compelling, and is overall a really great story. In contrast to the Thrawn trilogy, the physical scope of the novel is far more narrow. The galaxy is not in any immediate danger after the conclusion of the first novel, and there are no clone armies threatening to destroy the republic and there is no death star blowing up planets. This trilogy is all about the small first steps the Sith will take to the eventual galactic domination that culminates in episode III, and thus the action is far more focused and localized to discrete areas of the Star Wars galaxy. Bravo to the author for not falling into the trap of bigger is better.I won't launch into an exhaustive review, but suffice to say, the main characters are very dynamic and interesting. Bane is obviously the main focus of the novels, and getting to see the transformation that he undergoes really gives you a better sense of what Yoda and the crew were fighting against. From the movies, you sometimes get the sense the dark side of the force is just lightning bolts and intimidating names. This series really delves into the philosophy of the Sith, and how it is so different from the Jedi, and gives you a better idea of what powers the dark side offers, besides silly lightning bolts. The story moves at a great pace, and the story itself falls into place without the need to rely on the cheap plot devices that I detested in the Thrawn trilogy. This is a far more subtle and nuanced trilogy.I'm giving the trilogy a 5 because the characters are very compelling and the story feels like a cornerstone to the whole Star Wars universe. It's not perfect, of course, but it's a very strong trilogy that is definitely worth a read.

Given the size of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, there are shockingly few villains with the sort of depth and character development we see amongst the heroes (only Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn come to mind). Given this, Drew Karpyshyn's Darth Bane series is a welcome treat. It not only explores the rise of an ancient Sith lord, it is also extremely well written and focuses on character development rather than simply action.The first book, Path of Destruction is almost like the anti-Harry Potter. The story begins with Bane's dreary life on the mining world of Apatros. As he flees, he joins the Sith army and rises through the ranks. Like Harry Potter for magic, Bane is discovered to be particularly strong in the Force and trained at the Sith Academy on Korriban. Only, in this anti-Hogwarts, the apprentices engage in cutthroat competition and learn how to harness their hatred.Unlike his peers, Bane forges his own path to the Dark Side, which makes him all the more interesting. Like Vader, Bane wasn't irredeemably evil, yet his transformation is both complete and chilling. After suffering so many setbacks and traumas, Bane adopts a Darwinian philosophy proclaiming that only the strongest Sith should wield power. Path of Destruction juxtaposes this with the reigning Brotherhood of Darkness, which stresses unity and equality against the Jedi. At times, Karpyshyn displays a somewhat worrying insight into the nature of the Dark Side. But this insight also allows readers to see Bane as more than a twisted villain and understand the choices he makes.The one thing really lacking in Path of Destruction is a strong secondary character or foil to Bane - except perhaps Githany. Bane's character seems so overpowering that none of the other Sith holds our attention for long. When he does develop their characters, Karpyshyn does a solid job. I particularly liked Kas'im, the swordmaster and Bane's favorite instructor. I just wish he had taken this further and chosen one or two other Sith to really explore and contrast with Bane.Drew Karpyshyn's Darth Bane saga is right up there with the best of the Star Wars novels, including Timothy Zahn and Michael Stockpole's, and Path of Destruction is probably the best of the series. This feels like Star Wars. Yet, this achievement is all the more impressive given the difficulty of the subject matter. After all, not only does this time period lack the familiar characters from the Star Wars movies, but the books is manage to tell the story of an evil villain without either dehumanizing him or justifying his actions. If only more Star Wars novels were like this.