Camino de destrucción

Star Wars: Darth Bane #1

by Drew Karpyshyn, Albert Agut Iglesias (Translator)

Huyendo de las vengativas fuerzas republicanas, Dessel, un minero de cortosis, se enrola en las filas del ejército Sith, uniéndose a la sangrienta guerra contra la República y sus héroes Jedi. Allí, su brutalidad, astucia y excepcional dominio de la Fuerza le convierten rápidamente en un guerrero de renombre. Pero sus jefes, siempre vigilantes, creen que le aguarda un futuro mucho más brillante.

Como acólito de la academia Sith, donde estudia los secretos y poderes del lado oscuro, Dessel adopta su nueva identidad: Bane. Pero la verdadera prueba aún está por llegar. Para poder ser aceptado en la Hermandad de la Oscuridad, deberá desafiar las tradiciones más secretas y rechazar todo lo que le han enseñado. Esta será una auténtica prueba de fuego en la que deberá entregarse por completo al lado oscuro – y hacer renacer de sus cenizas una nueva era de poder absoluto.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, Space Opera, Novels

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2006

About the author

Drew Karpyshyn is a Canadian author and game designer. After working at a credit union for some time, he eventually became a game developer. He joined BioWare towards the end of the Baldur's Gate series, and wrote the tie-in novel for Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. He stayed with BioWare, where he worked on Neverwinter Nights, and became the Senior Writer on the critically acclaimed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

This Star Wars connection gave him the opportunity to write Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, his first hardcover. Karpyshyn still works for BioWare where he is the lead writer for the Mass Effect series.

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Equality is a myth to protect the weak. Some of us are strong in the Force, others are not. Only a fool believes otherwise."

Once upon a time, in the days of Ajunta Pall and Marka Ragnos, of Revan and Vitiate, the Sith were always united under one great leader. A brutal hierarchy of Force-users, masters of the dark side, with the most powerful of them claiming the glorious mantle of the Dark Lord of the Sith. But those days are gone. In the wake of their passing stands Skere Kaan and the Brotherhood of Darkness, a fraternity of equals throwing their combined might against the Republic and its Jedi defenders...

On the desolate planet of Apatros, a lowly miner named Dessel is on the run from Republic forces. In desperation he joins the ranks of the armies of the Brotherhood of Darkness. But his true destiny is unknown even to him, for young Dessel will be known to the galaxy by another name. And it is under that name that he becomes one of the most powerful men ever to embrace the Dark Side of the Force...

Most of you probably know by now how I feel about Star Wars. Best sci-fi ever, most fascinating fictional universe ever, and all that. Well, the three books making up this trilogy are my favourite Star Wars novels. I've read quite a few of those, but none of the others can match the amazement I felt while reading Path of Destruction, Rule of Two and Dynasty of Evil.

The Star Wars Expanded Universe by now contains a whole bunch of different eras, all with their own stories, whether told in movies, books, comics or games. Ever since I played this amazingly wonderful video game called Knights of the Old Republic (aka the best video game ever made), I was addicted to the time period known as the Old Republic era, where Jedi and Sith fought each other in the thousands, and relics of the light and the dark were unearthed on ancient planets like Tython and Korriban.

The Darth Bane trilogy takes place at the very end of that era. In many ways, it is like the connecting bridge between the movies and the Old Republic era. Because of that, I would strongly recommend both watching the movies and playing and reading through the games and novels of the main bulk of the Old Republic era before starting these. It is, of course, possible to do without, but I believe it would take away a lot of the enjoyment.

"Two there shall be; no more, no less. One to embody the dark side, the other to crave it."

Well then, to the reasons why this trilogy is absodamnlutely amazing. First of all, it is written from the point of view of the Sith, the big bad villains themselves. There are a few other POV characters jumping in here and there, but mostly this series is meant to give the reader insight into the minds of those who desire to master the Dark Side of the Force, and to use it to take power for themselves.

Second, Drew Karpyshyn is a master of characterisation. He just happens to also be the lead writer for Knights of the Old Republic, (my loving this book has of course nothing at all to do with that), and those who have played BioWare games know how brilliant those guys are at creating deep and fascinating characters.

There are not particularly many characters in this series, but those who do appear definitely make up for that. Darth Bane himself is one of the most interesting characters in the Star Wars universe. As a rarity among EU characters, he was originally created by George Lucas himself, but Karpyshyn forges him into a protagonist I'll never forget. His young apprentice Zannah is one of my all-time favourite Star Wars characters. And throw in people like the relentless Jedi generals Hoth and Valenthyne Farfalla, the Princess Serra of Doan and Lord Skere Kaan, the charismatic leader of the Brotherhood of Darkness, and you have a most memorable bunch of people. As a taste, have a look at some of Zannah's thoughts:

“I'm not going to hurt you, Quano,” she promised. “I'm not like him.” He enjoys hurting people. I only hurt people if I see some way to profit from their suffering.

This trilogy is some of the best this universe has to offer. Vicious betrayals, relics containing the spirits of ancient Sith, and lightsaber duels more awesome than any I've ever encountered.

[Nicholas Karpuk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Wars is funny. Not on purpose, mind you.

This book features a protagonist whose chosen name is so stupid I refuse to actually use it. For the purposes of this review, he shall be Darth Tickle.

Darth Tickle lives a couple thousand years before Luke ever whines about power converters, born to an abusive father on an unpleasant mining planet. After committing a murder in self-defense, Tickle flees the planet, joining the Brotherhood of Darkness (snicker), and eventually gets recruited by the Sith, because he's "force sensitive" as we nerds call it.

Here's what gets to me about all the history of Star Wars. The Old Republic goes back a couple thousand years, then this book describes space flight and Jedis and light saber battles and holographic technology made 3000 FREAKING YEARS before that by Darth Revan.

Not to get tangential here, but that implies that people in this universe have had basically the same technology for roughly 5,000 years! Iain Banks envisioned the human race in a utopian, post-scarcity society on a lesser timeline. What this seems to suggest is that races in the Star Wars universe consume a lot of lead-based products, or are really, really, REALLY comfortable with their current level of technology. I mean, seriously, think of all the things man kind has knocked out in the last 5000 years.

Anyhoo, Darth Tickle joins up with the Brotherhood, and the silliness of it becomes apparent really quickly. Even Tickle himself can't help but observe that there's an inherent problem with a large organization entirely devoted to mustache-twirling, overt evil. Evil is not a team sport, there is indeed an I in Evil. It tends to favor self-starters rather than group-think.

The first half of the book is him going through a Harry-Potter-style training at the school, before he throws a tantrum and runs off to learn the older, truer ways of the darkside. You see, Darth Tickle is the Kwisatz Haderach, the Boy Who Lived of evil jedi. He's super good, but has to get past his hang ups by reading Joseph Campbell, the Writer's Journey, and going to overpriced seminars about story structure.... I mean he has to get past all his hang ups and doubts.

You see, Darth Tickle started that whole rule of two thing that Sidious and Vader do. One guy has the power, the other looks on like a puppy at the dinner table saying, "Oh man, I bet that power tastes soooo freaking sweet."

I was fine with the potboiler writing (yes, Aaron, you were right, it's perfect airplane reading) right up until the end where the Sith unleash the THOUGHT BOMB (snicker). Yes, a thought bomb, a bomb of thinking. They basically give up on the whole science meets spiritual structure of Star Wars and go full-tilt Dragonball Z on the Jedis.

This book deserves some credit for at least being competent. Karpyshyn doesn't embarass himself the way a lot of licensed Star Wars books do. It still doesn't feel like he's trying very hard, more like it's something he did between games he worked on for Bioware. There are some chunks of clumsy prose, some telling rather than showing. And the regular Jedi are actually bigger dorks than usual. But I read the bulk of it in two days, and was reasonably amused, so there's gotta be something to that, right?

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s no canon like the old canon, I’ve decided. After having read a dozen or so books in the growing new canon Star Wars collective, I have sadly deduced that they aren’t that great. Most of them are mediocre at best, with only a few standing out as somewhat decent. I am, of course, not giving up on them, but I’ve decided that I just need a little break from the new canon. There are so many old canon novels on my bookshelves that I haven’t read yet, so I figured now’s the time.

I’ve wanted to read Drew Karpyshyn’s trilogy featuring Darth Bane for a long time, but the one thing stopping me was the fact that I didn’t really like Karpyshyn’s only other contribution to the SWEU, “Revan”, a novel set in the Old Republic. Apparently, that novel (and, I think, a video game character based on it) has gained cult status among SWEU fanatics. I don’t play video games, so it didn’t interest me much. I thought the novel was Meh and read like a video game, i.e. boring.

Maybe the fact that my expectations were low going into “Path of Destruction” was what helped, but I actually really enjoyed the novel. It is fast-paced, action-packed, and the characters are well-developed. Things that tend to be missing from some of the new canon novels I have read.



The evolution of the anti-hero Bane is a fascinating one. Raised on a rough mining planet, abused by a heartless drunk of a father and shown little to no compassion or affection, Bane’s path toward becoming a Sith is somewhat inevitable. When he finds himself on the run for the murder of a Republic officer, Bane escapes off-planet and becomes a part of an army called the Brotherhood of Darkness, led by Sith Masters in the continuous war against the Republic and the Jedi Knights protecting it. (This novel is set during the Old Republic.)

A Force-sensitive, Bane is hand-picked by a Sith Master to attend an academy for young Sith. It is there that he learns to hone his Force abilities. Very quickly, he starts to overcome even his Masters. Against the wishes of his masters, Bane sneaks into the ancient library and studies the forbidden Sith scrolls. It is there that he learns of the accounts of Revan, one of the most powerful Sith Lords in history. He vows to become the most powerful Sith Lord ever. To do so will involve mass murder on a phenomenal scale.

It’s weird to enjoy a novel about a truly evil character, but the story of Bane is nevertheless gripping. One almost roots for Bane to succeed, partly because there are few other likable characters anyway. Even the few Jedi in the novel are douche-bags.

In the SWEU old canon timeline, this trilogy is a must-read, if only because it explains why, a hundred years later during the era of Skywalker, there are only two Sith Lords that can ever exist at any given time, by design.

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the journey of Des, who becomes Bane, then Darth Bane. The story is well written and gripping the last few chapters from the Star Wars: Jedi vs. Sith. I enjoyed this book. It is a constant reminder of how evil and self-serving the Sith really are, no matter how much power they promise. Des joins the Sith out of necessity. There, he finds the current Sith Lords' watered-down versions of the Sith Lords of old. So much so that they do not even use the title of Darth anymore. Bane rejects their teachings and decides it is time to rebuild the order from the shadows.

[T. T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is easy, especially by some intellectuals, to ignore the beauty or depth of something simple while being carried away by the sheer magic of complex sentences and obscure statements. However as an unmistakable fan of Hegel, Lacan and Zizek i can't help but think the real magic is in telling or expressing something complex in a relatively simpler way.

Think about this quote from Hegel:

"It is manifest that behind the so-called curtain which is supposed to
conceal the inner world, there is nothing to be seen unless we go behind
it ourselves as much in order that we may see, as that there may be
something behind there which can be seen."

If Lao Tzu had said something about this, he would have said probably:

"We like to think there is something mysterious beyond our very selves, beyond our very shells." :) (of course this sentence is not from Tao te Ching, i totally made it up)

I am not trying to undervalue the deep philosophy made and being made by these great people for probably that is what teaches me to understand the value of interpreting things in simpler ways, although it is driving me crazy how people can ignore one of the most profound philosophical approaches to how evil works just because this book is based on a fantasy fiction movie/game.
By the way i must say that the rest of the text contains lots of spoilers for those who would like to read the trilogy of Darth Bane and i’d strongly suggest anyone who is into Star Wars lore and/or ethical philosophy to read it. Spoilers don’t spoil the fun i get from a book or movie, but this doesn’t apply to everyone.

First of all what Bane tries to do in the first book is all about understanding how evil can work properly in a society. Despite the vertical hierarchy and militarism concepts of an army and competitive and non-Egalitarian structure of Sith society clash with the concept of social state and democratic society, an army in itself harbors the concepts of sacrifice and selflessness in battle and a society relies on mutual benefits/helps and not hurting each other. The Dark Army formed by the Brotherhood of the Sith is an army nevertheless and the Sith are trying to maintain a society in the first book. You can't build an army or form a community by glorifying concepts such as individualism, power hunger, do-whatever-it-takes-to-survive, etc, directly. That is why concepts such as teamwork are boosted in today’s companies, whereas these teams in the same company are expected to compete with each other. And even the individuals compete with each other within the same teams.

G. K. Chesterton in his ‘Orthodoxy’ says: “Christianity is the only frame for pagan freedom.” In ‘God in Pain: Inversions of Apocalypse,’ Zizek claims, that only a religious Christian could have dreamed of such a glorious pagan universe, regarding to ‘Lord of the Rings’ of Tolkien. On the contrary of the conventional belief, Zizek claims Paganism is melancholic compared to Christianity. Paganism says; ‘enjoy your life the best you can, but in the end death and decay awaits you.’ Christianity dictates a life of renouncement and constraints, but in the end it promises eternal joy and glory. Zizek says, if you like to enjoy the delightful Pagan life without paying the melancholic cost of it, you need to choose to be Christian.

People don't want to live in expectancy of betrayal from one another. The constant pressure of stress hormone would make them age sooner, lose their health and composure. Instead, people want to feel the assurance of written or verbal laws based on common care, respect, common good, etc and meanwhile they want to weave their own individual and selfish intrigues secretly. So if having an ambitious and greedy lifestyle that is fostered by Capitalism seems to be delightful to some, having such a lifestyle is properly possible only by praising and boosting concepts such as sacrifice, selflessness, teamwork, etc.

Therefor the selfish individual, the one who wants to get it all, must conceal his/her intentions and work in a society where the good notions such as altruism, brotherhood and selflessness are being praised. That's what Bane comes to understand. And i think that's how our modern world works today. That's how real Sith lords in their nice suites rule the world with their nice person masks on while billions of people are exploited and few warlords and dictators are put on the stage as scapegoats. I am not saying these scapegoats are innocent. I am saying they are like Darth Maul :) Darth Bane is what a real dark lord is though. There is a lot to learn from this book about how the system in our own galaxy works where we lack of force and lightsabers.

Also on the contrary of the common belief, the concept of competition never helps the society to improve itself. In fact it has always hindered the society to reach to its full potential, not to mention the hatred, distrust or at least the dislike it creates between the members of the society. Sith society in the book is based totally and directly on competition, power and selfishness. In our world, capitalism boosts altruistic concepts or at least mutual benefits, but meanwhile it encourages companies and especially white-collar workers to compete each other so that a possible solidarity and awareness against the chaotic, speculative and destructive system that rises upon exploitation is constantly undermined. Our Sith lords know how to manipulate the masses.

Heed the words of Darth Zannah, apprentice of Darth Bane:
"Evil is a word used by the ignorant and the weak. The dark side is about survival. It’s about unleashing your inner power. It glorifies the strength of the individual.”

Isn't this all about cynicism? Cynics use the term survivalism often or at least they imply it often:

"You should do whatever it takes to achieve success."

"That's the rule of the world. If you don't do it to them, they will do it to you."

...And so on, and so on; Cynicism in its purest form. So when we read Zannah's words in reverse, we can infer that cynicism itself is evil. And just like Zizek says, we should look for their hamster :)
Zannah's fetish object (hamster) was probably Laa the bouncer.

Walter Benjamin said that Capitalism is a form of religion. Zizek says; “It is not true when people attack capitalists as egoists. And ideal Capitalist is someone who is ready to stake his life, to risk everything, just so that production grows, profit grows, capital circulates. Her/his personal happiness is totally subordinated to this.”

It is true that in Capitalism, the motivation to grow the capital starts to work as a big other in Lacanian sense and overcomes the primal egotistical drives. But I think there is always a part of the ego that doesn’t totally submit to the superego; a part that might actually prevent one from giving her/his life for a code that fuels the individualism. So on the contrary of Marx’s ideology definition, “they do not know it but they are doing it,” the cynical individual might seem to know it all, but secretly believe in it. This is the first inversion. But there is a second inversion, which makes it a double inversion; they might seem like believing in it, but secretly their cynical survival instincts might overcome their devotion to this belief. I think that is what has happened at the end of the trilogy. Bane tried to become immortal and violated the Sith code he created himself. His egotistical drives overcame it all. However Bane had a hamster too. His hamster was the comradeship he and his comrades once shared among the ranks of Brotherhood. He almost had let his hamster to overcome him, before his egotistical drives did.

In the end, the ultimate survivor of the books was Set Harth, a dark Jedi (not a Sith) who likes to enjoy the luxurious and cosy lifestyle. His survival was the deepest message of the book probably. The subject that keeps a distance towards the system and ordeals, to which its agents who try to manage things endure, can have a joyful and reckless life. So the subject who still thinks s/he is a subject turns into an object controlled by true subjects; a typical modern time white-collar worker for example. Yet s/he is the ultimate survivor ;)

As last, combine all of these and think about the increasing number of contest programs in today’s TV, especially the combination of contests and survival concept; giving the subliminal message of ‘you all are against each other, you should do whatever it takes to survive,’ to masses; but giving this message always secretly, never directly ;) And also think about the increasing number of movies, TV series, video games and novels based on survival concept.


I could write much more about the correlations between deep core philosophy and so-called superficial philosophy, but that is probably needless and boring for the one who is reading this essay now. I would just suggest people to read this trilogy if they are into Star Wars (and if i couldn't spoil it enough yet) and plus into understanding how evil works in its purest form so that they can differentiate the light from the dark easier and see the taints in seemingly good actions and sparkles in seemingly bad actions.

May the force be with you guys! ;)

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5-stars for this one.

I have finally found a sci-fi author who I can read and enjoy. He doesn't go too far over the top with the tech-speak and he's not too heavy on world-building either, which is a plus for me personally.

The only thing that knocked it down a little was that some of the tension was removed when I read the introduction and the blurb; so I'd suggest just starting the book from chapter 1 without any prior knowledge of the plot.

This is book 1 of a Star Wars trilogy and I will be continuing with it as soon as I lay my trembling hands on a copy of book 2.

Thanks for reading.

[John McDermott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t always expect the Star Wars novels to have the best writing but I do expect them to be fun. Happily, Path of Destruction proved to be exactly that. I greatly enjoyed reading how Dessel transformed himself into becoming Darth Bane. Lots of great Star Wars action this is a must read for all fans of a Galaxy far,far away!

[Brett Wyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most intimate character studies in the EU that I've read. It does what I wished the Plagueis novel did, and that is start the story from the beginning and focus on the titular character throughout. We actually see him go from a nobody with daddy issues on a mining world and slowly make his way to a typical soldier, to student at the Brotherhood of Darkness academy, to the Bane of the Sith.

During his time at the academy, his raw power made people fear him, but he started having Tobey Maguire Spiderman 2 type performance issues that really set him back, and everyone knew it. It was a real struggle for him and he had to study and train overtime to make up for the speed bump he was facing. All this studying helped him see the flaws in how the Brotherhood of Darkness operate, and how the Sith have lost their way.

In the galaxy, the Republic and the Sith are at odds and a war is being fought between them. Can the Sith truly unite under the Brotherhood and actually win the fight? Or is their backstabbing nature their downfall? Most people can probably figure out the answer to that but the execution was not predictable and it was interesting to see how it played out.

On top of great characters and plot, the worldbuilding is fantastic and this is only the first book. I am very excited to see what the rest of this trilogy has to offer. 5 stars. Bravo!

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this about 8 years ago before I started a goodreads and decided to do it for a reread for Two Sons of Tatooine...

This will be an interesting book to review. From a creative and storytelling perspective, this book is absolutely genius and fresh in the Star Wars universe. However, the style in this book is just not naturally my style, so I didn't love it quite as much as everyone else.

The ability to write a book that is pretty much entirely from the dark side is pretty impressive. Here we follow Des as he goes from a miner to a soldier to a sith padawan to a full on Sith, and he recognizes the problems with the Brotherhood of Darkness. Seeing his journey is really tragic, but it also is interesting because it is a mirror to the way we sometimes follow Jedi who advance through the Jedi ranks.

This book very much felt like the "Old Republic" storytelling style, and having played through most of Knights of the Old Republic, I could really tell the connections and inspirations. So much of this book was influenced by the video game (it helps that Karpyshyn was a senior writer for the video game) and like great Tie-In fiction I could just picture the characters and places and feel and tone of the game.

The Brotherhood of Darkness is very interesting, as they are obviously Sith, but we can tell that they have changed somewhat from the Sith we follow in KOTOR. And the way we saw their rituals and reasonings was fascinating.

The book feels a little balance as it also follows General Hoth and the Jedi who are battling the Sith on Rusaan. We get to see the Jedi perspective of the Brotherhood of Darkness and we see them form their own "Army of Light".

Overall, this book is impressive. It has all these great ideas and concepts and themes, butI just don't enjoy this style of storytelling as much. I prefer to follow the Jedi perspective and see the light side lauded more. But I can recognize greatness in writing, so I'm going to rate this very high. 9 out of 10.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 to 3.5 stars. A good addition to the Star Wars mythos. Darth Bane is a fairly well drawn character and the story is fast paced and fun. Will certainly read the sequel to see whether the author goes with the story.

[CS · Rating 5 out of 5]

"One to embody the power and one to crave it"
A thousand years before The Phantom Menace, Anakin Skywalker, Palpatine, and the Clone Wars, the Sith and the Jedi were large forces and at war with each other. On a God-forsaken world, Apatros, better known for being a source of cortosis, a mineral used in deflecting lightsabers, Dessel mined the tunnels as his abusive father before him. His life is pretty dreary until he plays cards with some Republic soldiers and wins. The soldiers seek to show him whose boss but one Republic officer is killed in the process. Dessel is on the run, seeking refuge in the only place left: the Sith. He rises to fame in the army then as Bane at the special Masters Academy on Korriban. Slowly, this Sith establishes the order that would keep the Sith alive during the peace, in wait for their unveiling in Revenge of the Sith.

What I Liked:
So much to choose from!
The first thing I loved was Bane/Dessel. Although he is a bad guy, allied to the Dark Side of the Force, Drew Karpyshyn is adroit at being able to write so that we the readers are rooting for him all the way. I enjoyed his backstory, how similar, yet different it was to Anakin Skywalker. Both came from harsh worlds, suffered harsh losses, and were given an out-of-this-world chance at freedom. However, Dessel's story is more tragic as his father was abusive while Anakin's mom was loving. Then, his growth from miner to soldier to apprentice to Sith Master was well-done. You watch as he gradually learns of his skills, begins to use them, fails, succeeds, learns of the Dark Side, and gives himself over. This is amazing as Karpyshyn is the first novelist to detail a story with the primary view from the Sith (all other novels had a Jedi emphasis).
The plot is not complicated (the demise of the Brotherhood of the Sith), however, it is done so well, kept interesting and briskly written. We all know the outcome (or if you didn't, I divulged, sorry), but it's not the destination, it's the journey that makes it enjoyable. Karpyshyn takes us where no other Star Wars novelist has done: he takes us into the heart of the Sith Order, the tension, the anger, the hatred, the barely concealed restraint the Sith Masters have to each other and the bare tendrils Kaan has to keep his brood in order. It is a visceral story, harsh and gritty, yet satisfying.
Then sidelines characters: I enjoyed Kas'im, the Sith swordsmaster. I felt he was real, he was a mentor, but not afraid to push his student. I also enjoyed General Hoth, the Jedi leading the Army of Light. I liked how he really treaded the line between the Light and Dark Side, how he fought partially for revenge.
While I was not fond of Githany, I did appreciate how Karpyshyn did keep her from being too omnipotent, by having her miss out on Bane's ultimate request. Also, I think Karpyshyn did not allow her complete sway over her male counterparts, as seen in the character, Kaan. This simple scene keeps her from being a groan worthy Mary Sue...mostly (see below).
There is more I could detail, but I think you get the picture.

What I Did Not Like:
What to say? There is so much that I enjoyed in this book, it was really challenging to find much that I did not. But there are two things that come to mind. The first is a continuity slip (which Karpyshyn has admitted). Bane says he is studying Vapaad, which is not possible as Mace Windu developed Vapaad nearly 1000 years before the events in this book. However, Karpyshyn admitted this was a mistake; Bane should have said he was studying Juyo, a form that was in existence during the era of this book.
My second dislike is probably the character of Githany. While not as frustrating and annoying as many other females I have encountered in fiction (and I found out in the graphic novel, Jedi vs. Sith, she is not quite the Mary Sue she tends to be here), I grew tired of how the author went to great extents to detail her sexuality and beauty and how her greatest skills were basically seduction. A rhetorical question, but why is it that female villains are only "villainous" in the fact that they can seduce men to do their whims? Why can men be bad ass fighters, superb Force Users, or great pilots, but the only skill women are allowed is the ability to romp in the bedroom? Time and again, women's roles are reduced to objects of gratification or duties deemed "feminine" (and I am not even a feminist!).

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Star Wars expletives are about as rough as it gets.
Githany reveals she had a lover. She also flirts frequently with her male companions and develops feelings for Bane.
Violence is the real kicker in this one. Dessel's father dies and this is shown in retrospect and in a vision/dream sequence. The first murder shown is the death of a Republic ensign. From there, the body count increases. This doesn't even include multiple injuries. A miner's finger is bitten off; Bane and another student end up so badly damaged as to spend weeks in bacta therapy. And frequently, the details are pretty graphic.

Overall:
WOW! After reading a few downer Star Wars books, this revives faith in the EU franchise. If you are interested in learning more about the Sith, reading about good characters, crisp dialogue, and intense, fast-paced action, then Path of Destruction is your book! Five stars, no questions asked.

[Dexcell · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Two there shall be; no more, no less. One to embody the dark side, the other to crave it."

I never reviewed this for some reason. But this was my first Star Wars books I ever read back in 2008. I've read it occasionally ever since and it'll always be in my top 5 SW novels. It's such a good trilogy over all, and I'll always love it. I really hope canon doesn't contradict these books since I gurantee it's better then whatever they'd come up with to retell Banes background.

I definitely feel like Bane was a bit too powerful in this at times considering he has much less training then the others, but I liked that instead of having Bane just own every other Sith and be a Gary Stu, he tricks them into killing themselves. It was a better decision. Plus, training only seems to count for so much when it comes to Start Wars anyway, if Luke is anything to go by.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may have mentioned before that I don't read a lot of Star Wars novels. I consider myself a casual fan. Like many fiction series, the SW books are very "hit or miss." I have enjoyed some, but I have also found others were not very good. This is one I highly recommend. I think the more "hardcore" fans will definitely appreciate it. I also think more casual readers like me will like it. The book gives the origins of the Sith, explaining why it is that we only see two Sith, a master and an apprentice in the movies and in the later books. Darth Bane, the protagonist, is definitely a bad guy, yet at times a reader cannot help but root for the guy. If you are one of those people who like rooting for the bad guy, then this is your book. The book has good detail in exploring the legend of the Sith, but it also has good action and story to move things along. I read some reviewer here who was not as satisfied with the ending. I think the ending may be quite fitting; it worked for me, but I will let readers decide. Overall, of the many SW books out there, this one is definitely worth picking up.

[Melissa | melisthereader · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was good, and I was pretty much hooked throughout the whole story. The problem I had with this story is all the talk of power and destruction.....I know it may be wrong of me to point this out but it felt very targeted for boys....I also had a problem with Dessel's looks, oh man, I sound so shallow.....I guess this just wasn't for me. But the writing is awesome and learning about the sith was cool too.

[Hamid Babayev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Canlar,
Bir mövzuya aydınlıq gətirək. :D
Bəzən insanın canı ədəbiyyat çəkmir.
Bəzən insan fəlsəfə-məlsəfə istəmir. Bəzən insan eləcə fanboy olmaq və Star Wars'dünyasına dalmaq istəyiiir. :D

Yəni ki, çox da şey eləməyin. :D
Dostoyevski, Kafka ilə filan oturub duran adamlarsınız, bu bəndənin də canı arada belə şeylər çəkir.

Ammmmaaa məsələ ondadı kii.. Bu kitab düşündüyüm qədər də yüngül ədəbiyyat deyilmiş. Bu elə bildiyin fəlsəfəsi, ağır dramatizmi olan dədə-baba kitablarından imiş.
Mən şok.
Mən ağzı açıq.
Mən Star Wars'a aşiq. 😍

Öhmm.. Star Wars haqqında ucundan qulağından hamınız eşitmisiniz hərhal. Bundan çox uzaq, uzaq bir qalaktikada texnologiya çılğınlığının olduğu bir dövrdə "The Force" deyilən və var olan hər şeyi bir-birinə bağlayan Güc özünün qaranlıq və işıqlı tərəfini ehtiva edən iki dini irqin mübarizə mövzusudu. İşığın cəngavərlərləri Jedi'lar və Qaranlıq təərəfin Lordları Sith'lər.

Müxtəlif irqlərdən olsalar da, Güc'lə bir-başa bağlantısı olan bütün varlıqlar ya it hürənə, ya da işıq gələn tərəfə çəkilirlər. Və əbədi müharibə, şərin və xeyrin müharibəsi davam edir.

Bura qədər hər şey gözəl səslənir.
Məsələ ondadı ki, bu kitab əzbərqıran kitablardandı və bunu 2 önəmli məsələ aktuallaşdırır:

1. Kitab İşıqlı və Qaranlıq tərəf arasında kəskin sərhədin olmadığını, qızğın müharibədə ədalətlə qisas arasındakı incə cizginin də görünməzliyini çox gözəl ifadə edir.

2. Kitab demək olar ki, ancaq Qaranlıq tərəfə fokuslanıb.

2-ci punktu vurğulamağımın əhəmiyyəti var, ora gələcəyik.

Bane adlı gənc mədənçi oğlan iş yerində atasının ölümündən sonra sıxışdırılır. Ona görə yox ki, atası həmişə onu qoruyardı, indi oğlan müdafiəsiz qalıb. Ona görə ki, atası da dostları kimi əclaf idi və atasının yoxluğundan məmnun olan oğlana həmin dostlar dərs vermək, necə naşükür olduğunu xatırlatmaq, bir növ atasının irsini davam etdirmək istəyirlər. Qardaşımızın həyatı beləcə problemlərlə başlayır və yaşadığı planetdən qaçıb Sith lordlarının cəbhəsində adi əsgər kimi başlayır. Yolu Sith Lordu olmağa qədər uzanır.

İşin bu qismi çox da dəhşət önəmli deyil. Gəlim önəmli hissəyə:

Yaxşı roman, ya da yaxşı filmin adətən əsas gücü yaxşı mənfi obraz yaratmaqdadı. Mənfi obrazlar çətin işlərdi. Müsbət obrazı təsvir eləmək asandı: ədalət ideyasına düşkün, mərhəmətli, istiqanlı. Hamının olmaq istədiyi, görmək istədiyi şeydi bu.

Amma mənfi obraz başqa söhbətdi: xaosun, intiqamın, nifrətin bir vücudda toplanmış halı olmalıdı, amma daha önəmlisi var, izləyici/ocucu mənfi obrazı hiss etməlidi. Həmin obraza edəcəyi bütün iyrənc əməllər üçün uyğun motivasiya yaratmaq, hamının anlaya bildiyi ədalətli tərəfə tamam zidd olmasına uyğun zəmin qurmaq asan deyil. Joker, ya da Thanos kimi uğurlu mənfi obraz asan-asan ortaya çıxmır.

Bu kitabın çoc gözəl hissəsi budu ki, kitab ancaq mənfi obrazlardan danışır. Star Wars izləyicisi/oxucusu üçün Jedi'lar, İşığın əsgərləri daha anlamlıdı, çünki sülhün və ədalətin ifadəçisidirlər. Amma Sith'lər.. Onlar emosiyalarının qurbanı olan, sinifləşməyə inanan və "gücün ən yuxarısında dura bilmirsənsə, dəyərsizsən" ideyasına inanan ölümcül varlıqlardılar.

Bane olduğu dövrdəki Sith lordlarındakı dəyişimi bəyənmir. Sith'lər həmin o sinifləşmədən uzaqlaşıblar, öz aralarındakı nifaqı söndürmək üçün daha sinifləşməyə yox, bərabərliyə inanırlar. Heç kimin öncül olmadığı cğmiyyət yaradırlar.. Eyni dövrdəsə Jedi'lar bir yerə yığılıb vahid ordu qurub Sith'ləri tamamilə yer üzündən silməyə çalışırlar. Diqqət edə bilirsiniz? Kəskin müharibə dövründə İşığın və Qaranlığın əsgərləri öz mahiyyətlərindən uzaqlaşırlar, çünki qalib gəlmək istəyi öz mahiyyətlərinə, fəlsəfələrinə sadiq qalmaq vəzifəsindən önə keçir.

Amma Bane elə deyil. Bane Qaranlığın həqiqi mahiyyətini anlayır və hər iki tərəfə dərs vermək qərarına gəlir..

Mən kitaba vuruldum. Su kimi axdı getdi. Necə ləzzət elədi ifsdə edə bilmərəm. Bu il oxuduğum iki ən axıcı, maraqlı sujeti olan kitabdan biri idi.

Növbəti ilçün şəkildəki 3 kitabdan heç olmasa ikisini oxumaq fikrim var. Hələ bu mövzulara çox qayıdacağıq.

Özünüzə bir yaxşılıq edin: Star Wars filmlərini izləyin.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot better than I expected. There was a lot of great lightsaber/force action, we get a good look at Old Republic-era Sith and Sith training, and Bane wasn't a Mary Sue like I had expected him to be. He gets his ass handed to him almost as much as he wins.

We also get an interesting take on the Sith. Their codes and philosophies aren't a universal truth, and different Sith believe different things. Best of all, Karpyshyn didn't take the easy way out and make them all cackling villains. Some of the Sith are even relatively nice.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars
Star Wars Reading Guide https://youtu.be/k8WtQMRgCjA

I have always enjoyed the Sith and other villains so this book was right up my alley. I enjoyed learning Bane's origin story, particularly his Sith training.

[Fabiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Davvero niente male questo romanzo ambientato nell'universo espanso di Star Wars. Da buon nerd, sono un gran appassionato della saga cinematografica, ma non avevo mai letto nulla in merito. Come prima esperienza non sono rimasto deluso, i Sith e il Lato Oscuro hanno sempre suscitato il mio interesse e questo libro mi ha permesso di approfondirlo. Bane è un personaggio costruito veramente bene, l'incarnazione stessa del Dark Side. La storia è scorrevole e dinamica, lo stile di scrittura buono e coinvolgente. Consigliato a tutti i fan di Guerre Stellari o a chiunque voglia approfondire le origini e la cultura Sith.

[Olivia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Being a bit masochistic, I have read many a crap Star Wars book in my day. Jedi Trial, The Ruins of Dantooine, Labyrinth of Evil, Dark Lord, The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy and Children of the Jedi all spring to mind, among others. Suffice to say, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction joins the ranks of its less-than-illustrious predecessors. This book is pure crap. Seriously, how does this kind of shit even make it to press? Has Del Rey even heard of quality control? The writing is shoddy, the characterization is laughable and the plot is weak and uninspired. What a waste of time.

[Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that was a pleasant surprise. I'm eager to continue with the next two books, they can't get here fast enough. Too bad this isn't canon anymore though.

4.75/5 stars rounded up just because.

[Leeloodallas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The long and the short: The Sith finally get smart and use some of the better Jedi ideas to actually score some real victories against their enemies. Then some retro-idiot gets obsessed with scrolls and destroys the one hope the Dark Side had for victory over the light side by manipulating a power-hungry Sith into using a WMD (weapon of mind-destruction). In the process, he reduces the Sith to less than nothing: one shadowed, "cunning," figure who trains a second to lust for his power.

No matter how "explained" the Rule of Two was, it essentially reduced the Sith to complete and utter irrelevance from a massive force to be feared. Once the Sith evolved past the failed nonsense of the past, the "Brotherhood of Darkness" had me hoping the Sith would actually do something useful and productive for a change. You know, like taking over the galaxy, or eliminating the Jedi, especially considering what inflexible, vain ninnies they had become. Instead, we got, well, some loser hermit and a ten year-old kid. Shame.

You could just as easily call this book, "Path of Irrelevance," or "Path of Regression," and you'd capture Darth Loser equally well. Much leaden writing and little character development further marred what might otherwise be an interesting story.

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Path of Destruction was okay? I really enjoyed the beginning and getting to read about Bane and how he came to join the Sith. Even his training chapters were super interesting, especially when he was off learning about history and the dark side, but the entire Githany situation and the plot after Bane learned about the Rule of Two was just... eh.

The attempt at romance in this novel was badly written. There are no other words for it. Githany, as a character, also came off as one-dimensional and I wasn't sure if that was because Karpyshyn didn't know how to write a female character or because he didn't know how to write a... smart and cunning character. And Bane, when he truly became Bane, seemed more like a cartoon villain to me than a compelling, complex, and intelligent character. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series.

[Lance Shadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello there! Recently I have read this beloved novel once again, and I am revisiting this entry in my library of reviews because my thoughts have changed. So consider this an updated review.
I first read this book in the summer of 2016- and found it massively disappointing. I heard the same tunes for years about the Darth Bane Trilogy, especially Path of Destruction, being this immaculate masterwork, and a pinnacle of the original Star Wars Expanded Universe. So when I finally got down to read the first book in the trilogy, I had sky-high expectations for it- and then found myself questioning why this book was considered to be so good when I found problem after problem.
Then, in a review of Jedi vs Sith from my fellow goodreads friend Jared , I noticed something interesting- I didn't know that the later portions of Path of Destruction adhered to earlier lore that was already established. A few years later I acquired a copy of Jedi vs. Sith, read it, hated it, and then felt the need to reevaluate Path of Destruction, because I realized how many of the problems I had on my first read came right out of Jedi vs. Sith.

Now that the reread is done, I can say this: I was too harsh initially. This novel is a good deal better than I remember it. Is it the masterpiece it's usually hyped up to be? No. But by and large, the good stuff I remember from before got better, and I no longer have some of the problems I had before.

THE STORY: Most of us at least know the basics of the legendary sith lord that is Darth Bane: roughly 1000 years before The Phantom Menace, the sith had all but disappeared- except for one single sith, Darth Bane. He established a new paradigm for the sith order known as the "Rule of Two": where only a Master and an Apprentice could exist at any given time. Bane's reforms were so successful that they allowed the sith to sicken and eventually topple the galactic republic, turn it into Galactic Empire, and persist until the very end of Return of the Jedi. This basic story is true in both the legends continuity and the new canon (even if other incarnations of the sith continued in the Old EU or the Knights of Ren took their place during the sequel trilogy).
Anyways, Path of Destruction tells the origin story for the man who would become Darth Bane, at least as far as the legends timeline is concerned. Dessel is a down-on-his-luck cortosis miner on the backwater planet of Apatros, scraping by as he extracts the coveted metal for a republic-aligned mining company. After a series of mishaps that weren't necessarily his fault, he decides to join the sith as a soldier in their armies. Eventually he is recognized for his amazing potential and enrolled in the sith academy on Korriban. As Bane learns how to harness his immeasurable strength in the force and discovers more about the secrets of the sith, he comes to a realization: the sith order needs to be redefined if they are to prevail in their struggle with the jedi.

THE BAD: While some of the problems that I had before are no longer there, I still find this book to be fairly flawed. Most of these issues come down to the writing, particularly some of the choices that author Drew Karpyshyn makes with both the characters and the worldbuilding.
While I thought Bane was the best part of this book (and a legitimately good aspect of it), there are points where I think he could have been written better. Particularly, when he is at the sith academy. I understand that he is supposed to be the most powerful force user of his time, and it makes sense given that he is supposed to be the single survivor out of all the sith at the end. But Bane feels like a Gary stu in this novel and it doesn't make for the most interesting character arc to read about. This is especially problematic when Karpyshyn places a moment in the story where Bane deals with his past, causing him to struggle for a bit After Bane defeats Fogargh, he starts reliving memories of his abusive father and the trauma causes him to lose his connection to the force. It causes Bane to lose prestige and the other members of the academy go from fearing him to ignoring him. Later on he moves past this and things go back to the status quo for Bane and his dynamic with the other sith. . This moment should have been placed earlier when Bane first gets to the academy (or before his first combat against a fellow apprentice) as a personal trial he must pass to further gain power, instead of just dropped in the middle when he has already been excelling in his studies. As is, this moment feels more like a contrived obstacle to distract us from Bane's overpowered qualities than it does a compelling source of character growth, because it feels like once this segment of the book is over it has no effect on Bane moving forward. This whole portion of the story could have been cut out and we would have missed nothing.
I was also disappointed when Karpyshyn references the "canonical" ending to the first KOTOR game and Revan's "canonical" identity. I'll go more into detail on how Revan is talked about later, but it feels like the references to the "official" version of Revan's story were simply lip service for those that wanted confirmation on what is definitively canon. The only time Revan's light side ending is mentioned is on page 264 when Karpyshyn describes Lehon. The only time Revan is referred to by gender is on page 274 when describing Revan's achievements, and nothing would have been missed from Bane's perspective if the wording was changed to take out that reference. I know this won't bother those who are fine with the "canon" Revan, but it felt unnecessary when taking into account how Revan's story actually affects the characters in this book specifically.

But let's get to my biggest problems by far with this book- how Karpyshyn uses the lore and characters from the Jedi vs. Sith comics. When I first read Path of Destruction, the segments focusing on characters like Lord Hoth, Valenthyne Farfalla, Githany, Lord Kaan, and Lord Kopecz were a big sticking point for me. Not only did I find these characters to be one dimensional and bland, I disliked how the war between the Republic and the Brotherhood of Darkness was presented. While these characters for the most part weren't quite as bad as I remember them (and they are a hell of a lot more memorable in this book than they were in Jedi vs Sith), they often detracted from the main story centered on Bane's rise. Despite this book supposedly being about Bane, there is a significant amount of pages devoted to these other characters- and I can't think of a single good reason for this book to devote such lengthy subplots to them.
First, is how most of these characters add nothing to Bane's character. This book mostly plays out as an intimate character study about arguably the most important sith lord in Star Wars history. Most of these secondary characters serve no purpose in developing Bane as a person whatsoever. For Lords Kaan and Kopecz, neither of them had any personality outside of their disagreements on sith philosophy and tactics. I didn't find any reason to care about them because we know that they will be eliminated by either Bane or somebody else by the end of the book. Karpyshyn tries extremely hard to give Hoth and Farfalla some layers, but it ended up feeling like wasted effort. Despite some success in this regard (especially with Hoth), I didn't care in the end because neither of these two characters actually interract with Bane directly, and as a result their POVs felt pointless. The only secondary character with time devoted to their POV that actually seems to serve a purpose is Githany. The problem is that I still didn't care for her POV because she was so bland- her only defining character traits were her beauty/sexuality and the fact that she was Bane's love interest.
Second, and most importantly, if these subplots were supposed to support Bane's quest to reform the sith order and make it stronger, Karpyshyn completely fails in these intentions. The Brotherhood of Darkness feels like they are fairly on top of things for almost the entire book. When characters allude to the fact that the sith are all of a sudden losing the war, it comes off as lazy writing to me, as if Karpyshyn forgot to actually prove that Bane's actions were the right thing to do. in the chapters with Bane as a soldier Karpyshyn describes battles on Kashyyk and Phaseera where Bane helped bring the sith to victory. But even when a battle on Trandosha was talked about as a disaster, the sith still win in the end so the "disaster" didn't seem to matter. There's also aspace battle showing Kaan and Kopecz wiping out republic forces seemingly with little difficulty. Finally, right after the scene showing the beleaguered sith forces on Ruusan towards the end of the book, it cuts to the army of light, presenting them as even more beleaguered. All the time when discussing this book I have had people tell me things like "oh but the lore says that the sith will always go back to fighting each other for dominance", or nonsense about the dark side being diluted with too many sith, or how the sith being unified makes them corrupted and weak- but those arguments come off as shallow when this book portrays the brotherhood of darkness as seemingly the most efficient and effective incarnation of the sith ever up to this point. If the book cut out all the subplots with the jedi and sith armies, it would have actually served Bane's story better. But as is, by giving us this additional information it muddles the message the book is trying to get across- and leaves me wondering why the kriff Bane doesn't just cooperate with the Brotherhood of Darkness and use his insane levels of power to crush the republic and the jedi right then and there. This war subplot could have been fine if the book portrayed Bane as a powerhungry individual only obsessed with hoarding power for himself and not actually caring about the state of the galaxy around him. Or, if the war scenes actually showed the sith consistently losing, it actually could have played really well into Bane's journey, especially his case for reforms. It would have added another layer of weight and complexity to the scene where Qordis decides to take all the apprentices on Korriban, make them fellow sith lords, and send them to Ruusaan. But when the book is trying to present Bane as the "sithari" who supposedly knows the "correct" way for the sith to operate, these extraneous subplots with the war make him look like an aloof, uninformed fool rather than the cunning and calculating villain that he is supposed to be.

My last problem, although it is very, very minor, is the epilogue. The final sentence of the last chapter would have been a powerful way to definitively end the book. The scene from the epilogue is good, but I think it sort of deflates the magnificently tense moment that ends the last chapter, and should have been used as the prologue for book 2 instead.

THE GOOD: For everything that was bad in this book, its more than balanced out by the good.
First and foremost, this book succeeds with flying colors as a character study for Darth Bane. Does he often feel like a Gary Stu? Yes. But if there's any character in star wars that can get away with some Gary Stu qualities, it's Bane. It works because enough of the book is focused on other, more interesting aspects of the character for me to forgive him being a Gary Stu when it comes to his talents in the force and in combat. His character traits are effectively established early on, and his eventual descent into evil becomes compelling to witness.
My absolute favorite part of the novel hands down is the first 5 chapters. Karpyshyn does a brilliant job in setting up Bane's character, establishing Dessel's cold and cynical personality. It works so well because it's not only perfectly sets up his eventual descent into evil, but also why Des would have the worldview that he does- I love how Karpyshyn shows the environment where Bane begins his life, resulting in a very compelling and even sympathetic origin for the character. I also like the parallels Bane's origins have to Anakin, Luke, and even Rey. Sure having a person who is insanely strong in the force coming from unforgiving and humble origins is a derivative concept, Path of Destruction adds enough of a fresh spin to make it feel distinct. Most importantly, Bane's origins serve as a reminder for what the heroes we take for granted could have become, ultimately making those heroes even greater. It's the same reason why I like the parallels between the origins of Zayne Carrick and Haazen in the John Jackson Miller's Knights of the Old Republic comics. Finally, the side characters in these chapters are actually quite good, from the rough but caring cantina owner Groshik to the unnamed Republic soldiers that antagonize Des and lend credence to his cynicism. While the progression of events could have been sequenced a bit better and the background war subplots take away from the credibility of Bane's beliefs, these first five chapters do a great job leading up to Bane's eventual decisions to reform the sith. Even though reforming the Brotherhood of Darkness feels unnecessary when taking into account the book as a whole, it's still compelling from the perspective of Bane as a character, because in the scenes with Bane's POV, Bane himself isn't given a good reason to believe the Brotherhood of Darkness and their methods are right.

Now lets talk about Revan again, because this book frequently references the lore surrounding the first KOTOR game. Despite my misgivings I mentioned earlier, upon more thought this book actually handles Revan very well for the most part. When specifically concerning character interactions directly, Karpyshyn does a great job showing how Revan (and Malak) impacted the galaxy thousands of years later while still staying true to the core of the character(s). Additionally, it was an effective choice when playing into Bane's questioning personality. Again, the references to Revan's "canonical" story more come off as detached expository lip service than as a representation of how the characters in the book actually view the events surrounding it. during the sabacc scene in the first 5 chapters Des and the republic soldiers do not refer to Revan as male or female, just "Revan". There is also a fascinating exchange within this scene between Des and the soldiers, where the soldiers say Revan was a hero, but Des countering by saying that Revan formed a sith empire and nearly destroyed the republic. I also love how Karpyshyn just refers to Revan as "Revan", or "Revan's avatar" during the scene on Lehon where Bane has Revan's holocron and he is obtaining its knowledge. .

While the worldbuilding with the Jedi vs. Sith lore wasn't very well done, Karpyshyn's original additions are great. I really liked how the sith academy was explored, and to this day remains the best exploration of the sith order's inner workings in a star wars novel. Karpyshyn also does a good job showing how the Brotherhood of Darkness, despite following a philosophy of greater cooperation and equality among sith, still has many traits of a traditional sith order, and in the end the only reason why the brotherhood worked at all was because of Lord Kaan. The dark side still drives people to compete for power, and it is compelling from Bane's perspective why a "rule of two" would be the way for the sith to embody their strengths of immense power but also minimize their weaknesses from infighting.
Finally, the action sequences are fantastic, even if they are during the scenes focused the secondary characters. I have come to expect this much because Path of Destruction is a Drew Karpyshyn novel- but in this book the action is particularly raw and gritty. The action sequences with Bane in particular are surprisingly intense, and I sometimes even felt scared for Bane because of how well done they were. the first action scene between Bane and Gerd in the mines is still one of my favorite fight sequences in ANY star wars book.

THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 3.5 stars, rounded up because of a) how much more I liked this book after a second reading and b) how much I loved those opening 5 chapters.
I still consider this to be the most overrated star wars novel out there. The writing is not always good, and the other characters that aren't Bane were mishandled. That said, I can see now why people are so drawn to it- Villain centric star wars books still remain the exception rather than the rule, and i don't think there is any other story in either legends or canon that takes the approach that this one did. To Karpyshyn's credit, he mostly does a good job taking the antihero route with Darth Bane's story.
For those who have yet to read this book, I can give this a confident recommend to legends enthusiasts. And until bane's story has been re-explored in canon, I can recommend this book to the more canon-focused crowd too. That said, I encourage anybody going into this book for the first time or even those who are going into a repeat read to temper their expectations a bit. I made the mistake of going in the first time with ungodly expectations from the ungodly amount of hype that surrounds Darth Bane: Path of Destruction to this day. After falling victim to overhype, my opinions on this book were a bit sour for almost three years, and those thoughts persisted until i finally read Path of Destruction again.
As for my thoughts now, I am happy that I reread it, and I look forward to giving the other two books in the trilogy a try. Path of Destruction definitely does not rank among my favorite stories from the old republic era, but it remains a good addition nonetheless. And at the end of the day, hopefully that's what matters.

[TheBookHunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only the strong will survive

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, written by Drew Karpyshyn is a finer Star Wars book. It is the story of a man named Dessel that escapes a life of hardship on a mining colony to join the Sith Empire against their never-ending battle against the Republic and the Jedi Order, roughly a thousand years before the events of The Phantom Menace.

Des is recognized for his exceptional skills in the military and latent abilities in the Force and is taken to the Sith Academy on Korriban to train in the ways of the Dark Side. But Des, taking the name of Bane, begins to see the problem with the modern Sith Order also known as the Brotherhood of Darkness, and how they're not accomplishing their goal of annihilating the Jedi Knights. Growing disillusioned with the disregard for ancient knowledge the Sith masters have, Bane begins to study said ancient knowledge for himself and begins to plan a way to reshape the Sith into a far more craftier, illusive adversary and destroy the weak and foolish of the Brotherhood of Darkness for they will have no place in his concept of The Rule of Two. One Master, and One Apprentice at any time.


This book was very good, and it actually made me sympathize with a bad guy. It also paints who we perceive the good guys to be, such as the Jedi and Republic, as jerks. Bane starts off as pretty much a nobody, but his ambition drives him to gain more power, and as much as he can, he's also very intelligent as well.

Most of the other characters are good, but Bane is the one who really shines.

My only complaint is the epilogue with the girl Zannah, it felt completely out of the blue, and I found it ridiculous how a child could just snap and kill two trained Jedi.

Also the fact that of all ancient Sith that Bane searches information about, the one holocron he finds is of Darth Revan. A little pointless fan service, really.

However overall, I enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading the next two in the trilogy.

[kesseljunkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you a Star Wars fan? If not, this might hold little appeal for you. But as a work of franchise fiction, and a beach read, it’s very satisfying for a Star Wars fan.

With the benefit of distance, I appreciate what Karpyshyn did here to make an interesting story. I hated it the first time I read it years ago because it was too close to reading a comic series that covered the same ground (at the end) and it annoyed me. But it works here.

Is it a “true 4”? No, it’s more a 3.5. But Goodreads doesn’t believe in half stars, so I’m rounding up.

[Dale Lawton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Child me: 5/5 ⭐️
Adult me: 5/5 ⭐️

This was my favourite book in high school. I was (and still am) a total Star Wars geek. I loved the Star Wars books. Some were a bit rubbish (🫢), but not this one. This one is the coolest of them all. DARTH BANE! What a sicko!

It links really well to the KOTOR video game series. If you were obsessed with KOTOR like me, it’s full of great Easter eggs. Darth Revan, Battle Meditation, the Star Forge and loads more. So cool.

Hopefully, Disney will read my review and make a Darth Bane TV series. Do it Disney! Do it!!!

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably closer to a 4 or 4.5 but I’m rounding up because this was too much fun.

[Steve Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Path of Destruction is a gripping dive into the darker corners of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and it stands as one of the strongest explorations of Sith philosophy to date. The novel follows the rise of Darth Bane, but what makes it so compelling is the way it mixes the personal journey of one man with the broader sweep of galactic history. Karpyshyn, known for his work on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, brings that same sense of immersive worldbuilding to the page.

One of the true highlights for me was how the book seamlessly tied into The Old Republic game lore. Familiar names, factions, and conflicts pop up in ways that feel organic, rewarding fans who have spent time in that era of the galaxy. Instead of relying on surface-level nods, these references deepen the sense of continuity, making the story feel like a natural extension of the game’s mythos. It felt like revisiting old friends and battlegrounds, but with the added intensity of a more focused, character-driven narrative.

Karpyshyn writes with clear, cinematic prose that keeps the pace brisk while still allowing room for philosophy and political intrigue. The novel doesn’t shy away from moral complexity; the Sith are more than just villains here, and Bane’s transformation is both unsettling and fascinating. If you are unfamiliar with the games you won’t feel lost, but those who have played them will catch an extra layer of richness.

It’s entertaining, thoughtful, and full of the kind of worldbuilding that makes Star Wars’ Legends era so beloved. For anyone who enjoys the Old Republic timeline—or just wants a deep dive into the origins of one of the most influential Sith Lords—it’s a must-read. 8/10

[Raoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction is an amazing journey into the dark side of the Star Wars universe. Drew Karpyshyn tells the story of Des, a miner from the tough world of Apatros, and follows his incredible rise from the bottom to the top as he becomes Darth Bane—the Sith Lord who changes the future of the Sith forever.

One of the things I loved most is how fun it is to root for the bad guy. Bane isn’t evil just for the sake of it—he’s smart, determined, and strategic, and watching him grow stronger and smarter is thrilling. His time at the Sith Academy on Korriban is intense, full of challenges as he struggles to control his power and survive the constant battles between students fighting for higher rankings. It really shows how he becomes the Sith he’s meant to be.

The Brotherhood of Darkness is also fascinating—they’re Sith, but very different from what we see in the prequels, acting more like a collective than true individuals. On the other side, the Jedi, calling themselves the Army of Light, are noble but human, worn down by the endless war and trying to do the right thing.

This book is dark, exciting, and thoughtful, giving a fresh perspective on both the Sith and the Jedi. If you love Star Wars, especially the lore behind the Sith and the Rule of Two, this is an absolute must-read.

9 out of 10

[TheGeeksAttic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is the ninth event on the Legends novel timeline.

This tale takes place during the Old Republic Era, it also counts as book one, in the Darth Bane trilogy. It takes place 1003 years before A New Hope.

SUMMARY: Dessel, a miner on the world of Apatros, had a hard life. He was abused by his father and picked on by the other miners. With age came great height and strength, and the bullying, a thing of the past. He developed a sixth sense, spawning quick reflexes and quick glance of the future. Apatros was a sink hole for Dessel, debt held him there. He was no friend of the Republic, nor an enemy. His opinion on politics of the galaxy was neutral.

He’s outspoken about his feelings one evening, during a tense game of Sabacc, with a table of Republic soldiers. The results of the game had taken Dessel’s life in an unexpected turn. He’s forced to flee Apatros, the only way he could do that, was by being secretly smuggled off world by Sith academy recruiters. Dessel served the Sith as a soldier. Months had passed and he’d already been promoted to sergeant. On the front lines, he did the unexpected, he disobeyed orders, actually punching out his superior officer. He’s arrested and escorted to one of the Sith leaders, a member of the Brotherhood of Darkness. Instead of being punished, Dessel is invited to Korriban, to be a student at the greatest Sith academy.

He is reborn… as Bane. Bane had some struggles in the academy, some serious struggles, but actually became the best student. His faith in himself and the dark side was shaken, but he became stronger than ever. He learned so much more from the Sith archives than he did from lessons by instructors. His view of what the Sith should be is vastly different then what the Sith had been. A brotherhood of Darkness was not the nature of the Sith. Passion, strength, power, and victory was part of the Sith mantra, not brotherhood.

In Bane’s quest he adopts the title of Darth Bane. To use the title Darth, is frowned upon, it’s not the way of the Brotherhood of Darkness. So in Darth Bane’s quest, he is to reform the Sith order completely. There is an ongoing war on Ruusan, between the Sith and the Republic, Bane believes it could play a major roll in the balance of the force.

CHARACTERS: This book had a handful of great characters, I’m going to mention only one Githany. Wait… why not Bane? Because I mentioned him pretty heavily in the Summary, I don’t want to spoil more than I have to.

Githany: She was an apprentice of the Jedi, until she abandoned the order to join the Sith… for selfish reasons. She desperately wants to be the top student in the Sith academy on Korriban. She’s beautiful and she knows it, she uses her stunning looks to manipulate others. She takes a liking to Bane, for a while, she helped him when he was at his lowest point. She has traits of an old fashion Sith. She’s power hungry and full of betrayal.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book is outstanding. I like how the Sith had evolved into something different, how they lost sight of who and what they truly were. They became soft, and that was the tipping point. It’s as though it’s their destiny to fail. Bane’s rise to power was an emotional journey. One reason that makes this book so great, was the struggle! Bane wasn’t some super human who was unstoppable, he had a weakness. The chemistry between our characters was magic. The shift in loyalties was natural, nothing seemed out of place or unlikely. The characters were true to themselves to the very end. I have to say, this book contains one of the best character arcs yet, and this is only book one of a trilogy.

The book was loaded with surprises. I thought that maybe this book would be predictable, it wasn’t, at least not for me. I enjoyed every page! The war of Ruusan was handled great, it was a fine backdrop to the main story, until it’s brought to the forefront in a natural way. Drew Karpyshyn, is an amazing writer. I’m really looking forward to more of his writing in the Expanded Universe!

Do I recommend you read Star Wars: Darth Bane – Path of Destruction? Absolutely! For some reason I always imagined this book, this trilogy would be mediocre. I was wrong.

RATING: I give this book an A+. It was a brilliant tale of how one character changed the destiny of the Sith.