In Path of Destruction, Drew Karpyshyn explores the rise of Darth Bane, the Sith lord behind the infamous "Rule of Two".
Karpyshyn does a good job of creating a sympathetic antihero. Bane is thoroughly evil, and you know that he's never going to change, but he's had such a terrible life, and runs into so many obstacles, you still almost find yourself cheering for him. Bane's fellow Sith Githany is also well done, and for some reason find her character extremely fascinating and wish we could see more of her.
However, the same can't be said for the rest of the supporting cast. With the possible exception of Kas'im, most of the other characters are pretty one dimensional. Of course, Bane is the solitary type, so it doesn't detract from the story as much as it would in most other books, but it still lowers the quality of the writing.
All in all, though this is classified as Young Adult in my library, even adult Star Wars fans will enjoy this new dimension added to the SW universe. The book is pretty clean, apart from the fact that most of the Sith feel no remorse at committing murder, though graphic details are spared, meaning that twelve and up can appreciate this look into the mind of one of the most famed villains in the Star Wars mythos.
Karpyshyn does a good job of creating a sympathetic antihero. Bane is thoroughly evil, and you know that he's never going to change, but he's had such a terrible life, and runs into so many obstacles, you still almost find yourself cheering for him. Bane's fellow Sith Githany is also well done, and for some reason find her character extremely fascinating and wish we could see more of her.
However, the same can't be said for the rest of the supporting cast. With the possible exception of Kas'im, most of the other characters are pretty one dimensional. Of course, Bane is the solitary type, so it doesn't detract from the story as much as it would in most other books, but it still lowers the quality of the writing.
All in all, though this is classified as Young Adult in my library, even adult Star Wars fans will enjoy this new dimension added to the SW universe. The book is pretty clean, apart from the fact that most of the Sith feel no remorse at committing murder, though graphic details are spared, meaning that twelve and up can appreciate this look into the mind of one of the most famed villains in the Star Wars mythos.
