Star Wars: Darth Bane
Rule of Two

The sequel to the Star Wars book, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction was well worth the wait and just as good, if not better, than its successor.  Path of Destruction is indeed a book that can stand on its own merit without the need for this sequel and yet this book succeeded by simply making the series (or the 1st book) that much better.  The bottom line is that I would be very disappointed if we didn’t see a conclusion to the story and life of Darth Bane in yet another book concluding what has been established in both Path of Destruction and Rule of Two.
As the sole Sith Lord, Darth Bane has effectively and seemingly wiped out thousands of Jedi and Sith by simply tricking them into destroying each other with the “Smart Bomb” (as we saw in Path of Destruction) and now the story begins with Bane and his apprentice, Zannah.  Bane’s apprentice is a young and confused ten year old little girl who just seems pissed off at everybody.  Zannah blames the Jedi for the deaths of her beloved little buddies, the Bouncers.  When Bane realized the untapped potential within the confused little girl, he decides to take her as his apprentice.  Other than a bunch of details here and there, what stands out the most about Zannah during this period of her life is the point where she brutally murders the rescue party in orbit as they are leaving the planet of Ruusan.  Zannah does this so she can meet up with her master on the planet of Onderon.  Even at this tender age of ten, Bane’s apprentice denounces her childhood name of “Rain” in favor of her real name, “Zannah” (which does have a more sinister feel to it).  At this point one can’t help but compare Zannah to other ten year old characters in the Star Wars universe.  I speak mainly of characters like Jacen, Jaina, Anakin, and Ben who all seemed so unsure, scared or uncertain at that age.  However, Zannah seems raw, willing, and evil enough to kill anyone in order to be the Sith she knows she can be.  The bottom line is that she is a scary little girl who becomes an even scarier young woman as the story quickly progresses ten years (somewhere around chapter 10).  But before the story progressed ten years, Bane finds the Sith Holocron of Freedon Naad (nice graphic novel reference I might add) and two “friendly” parasites that attach themselves to his body.  These parasites, called orbalisks, apparently feed on Bane’s Dark Side energies and cannot be removed.  The orbalisks in turn give Bane quicker reflexes, heightened senses, and a healing ability.  Bane will also have a living suit of impenetrable armor as the parasites continue to grow on his body.  Thus making Bane an even deadlier force that he already was!
The story also follows the life of a young Jedi, Johun, and his master, Farfalla.  Johun’s old Jedi master, Hoth, died during the battle on Ruusan.  Johun’s character is a likable fellow but his story really means nothing in the grand scheme of things and essentially will do nothing but adds to Bane’s legacy.  Farfalla seems to be the Mace Windu type of Jedi of his era, with a couple of exceptions…well, he is just one big sissy (a metro Jedi if you will).  Farafalla may be remembered in some Jedi archive more so than Johun, but in the end he too will just be another notch on the belt of the mighty Bane!  We also meet Darovit, Zannah’s cousin, who was also known as “Tomcat” when he was a child.  Darovit serves but one purpose.  That being a definitive proof to Bane and the reader that Zannah is the real deal and will kill her cousin, who was closer that a brother during her previous life as the scared little girl “Rain”.
Bane later acquires the Sith Holocron of yet another Sith master named Belia Darzu.  Darzu was some crazy Sith woman who messed around with Sith Alchemy and supposedly has information on how Bane can properly finalize his own Sith Holocron.  Information about Belia was seized by Zannah from some mad Sith lover, Hetton, who wanted nothing more than to become a Sith himself.  An interesting piece of the story, but in the end Hetton was no more than a stepping stone in the legacy of bane and perhaps his apprentice Zannah.

Excitement Factor: 9.1
When reading this score please don’t confuse anticipation with excitement.  I mean there are parts of this story that are simply a joy to read, but lacked the intensity of a ten page lightsaber battle.  However, I will say the scene near the end of this book when Bane and Zannah fight against four Jedi is simply phenomenal and one of the best fight scenes I’ve read in quite some time.  The descriptions of each Jedi’s fighting styles, Bane’s unbridled fury, and the narration from both the Jedi and Sith perspectives was incredibly well written.

Character Importance: 9.8      
Come on…it’s all about Bane!  What else can be said about this guy?  He came, he saw, he kicked serious butt!  And on top of all that Bane laid the ground work for the Sith of the future.  But let’s be honest, I doubt that even Grand Master Luke Skywalker remembers the legacies that the Jedi in this story left behind.  As far as Zannah goes…well, I’ll just wait for a sequel to determine what legacy she may leave behind.  However, Zannah must have done something right since the rule of two doesn’t disappear.

Favorite Moment:
The fight scene I spoke of between Bane and Zannah and the four Jedi was just awesome!  And the twist at the end of the story where Zannah somehow fools the Jedi into believing her crazed cousin (who she made crazy with a Sith spell) was actually the Sith they were after.  Thus allowing Zannah and the healing Bane (who had been mortally wounded during the fight scene with the four Jedi) to escape so that we may all be privileged to read the concluding saga of Bane (if it is ever written).

Overall Score: 9.4 or 9.5