Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil: A Novel of the Old Republic (edition 2009)

Karpyshyn (the writer on the excellent videogames Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect) has an excellent grasp on the viewpoint of the followers of the dark side of the Force, and can make even Sith Lords into sympathetic characters. In the conclusion of the Darth Bane trilogy, the Dark Lord of the Sith, having taken the trouble to eliminate all other Sith and establish the Rule of Two— that there is, at a given time, only one Sith master and one apprentice who will surpass and destroy him— is dubious as to whether his apprentice Darth Zannah is going to be able to be a proper successor to him, and seeks out dark rituals of immortality so the mantle of Sith succession will not fall on unworthy shoulders.

In addition to bringing in some of Darth Bane’s ties established in the earlier books, he also provides a Dark Jedi and a wild-talent dark side assassin for contrast to the more formal philosophy of the Sith. I strongly recommend this trilogy for anyone who needs to create competent, believable villains for their stories and games: none of the characters are mad, cackling evil-for-evil’s-sake; they are all heroes in their own minds. ( )

Not my favorite of the series, but by no means the worst at all. Definitely a strong addition to the story of Darth Bane and Darth Zannah as they go about bringing the glory of the Rule of Two by trying to undermine each other by surpassing the other as much as possible.

Years have past since the events of the last novel, and Bane is growing tired of not seeing Zannah show signs of trying to overtake him in order to follow his rules. Taking drastic measures, both Bane and Zannah work to find out who will become the next leader of the Sith.

A very fun, very well-written take on the days of the Old Republic. Definitely a must for fans of the Sith or of Star Wars in general. ( )

The Darth Bane books are some of my least favorite Star Wars books. They are well written and entertaining, but there's something basically wrong for me about identifying with such evil characters. And all the cold-blooded killing is chilling. In this episode, the Master and Apprentice status quo is shaken up - but who will end up on top? And now there will be a new character in the next installment. ( )

Star Wars: Darth Bane #3: Dynasty of Evil, by Drew Karpyshyn

"Dynasty of Evil" is, in my opinion, the best book in the Darth Bane series. This book picks up the story of Bane and his apprentice, Zannah, about a decade after the previous book. Bane is highly disappointed in Zannah because she has not yet followed his Rule of Two by challenging and beating him for the role of Sith Master. He believes that she is biding her time until he weakens from age, and this goes against his beliefs - if Zannah ousts him from his position by waiting, she will not be strong enough to continue the Sith order. And then everything Bane has worked for will fall.

But what is Bane to do? He is aging faster than normal due to his use of the Dark Side and his ordeal with orbalisk armor, and doesn't have the time left in his life to train another apprentice. Then, in an ancient scroll, he finds mention of Darth Andeddu, a Sith who discovered a way to extend his life indefinitely. This is Bane's answer - if he can find Andeddu's Holocron, his Sith Order will survive.

However, Bane can't set off to find the Holocron without sending Zannah away as well, to divert her attention from him. Although Zannah hasn't yet challenged him, Bane isn't sure who would survive in a fight between the two; he can't risk dying before finding the secret of immortality. So he sends his apprentice to Doan, an insignificant mining planet, and also the site of a Jedi's murder. On Doan Zannah finds the trail of a Dark Jedi, one who she believes could have the potential to be her own apprentice.

It's best to read the other two Darth Bane novels before "Dynasty of Evil," as Karpyshyn brings back characters from the first novel, "Path of Destruction," and winds them into a twisting plot. His writing is the best it's been yet, with the exception of a few passages that needed better proofreading. At first I couldn't believe the coincidences of so many characters meeting again, but as the novel went on, I understood how it all worked in a bigger context, and I wasn't in disbelief anymore.

I rushed through this book, eager to see how everything would end, and continued until I finished it (even though I had a pretty bad headache). "Dynasty of Evil" kept my attention from beginning to end, and as I said in the beginning, I think this is the best Darth Bane book. Karpyshyn keeps the plot just unpredictable enough that you're unsure who will be victorious, and the ending is a surprise.

5/5. ( )

Ahh, the beginning of the beginning continues. Why are there only always two Sith: The Master and The Apprentice. Mr. Karpyshyn continues with his Darth Bane series explaining how it all began. This was a very quick read for me and of the three novels, I found I liked this one 2nd best. The first was by far the most interesting. The pace of the book is fairly slow for the first two thirds of the book, but picks up towards the end. I really liked the two new main characters. Very interesting personalities. Overall, OK, but not great. ( )