Rule of Two: Star Wars Legends (Darth Bane) (Star Wars - Darth Bane Trilogy Book 2)

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.

The Darth Bane story created so solidly in Drew Karpyshyn's first book "Darth Bane: Path of Destruction" continues on in this fine sequel. Bane managed to survive Lord Kaan's detonation of the thought bomb on the planet Ruusan after the battle against General Hoth's Jedi army. In the aftermath of the battle, Bane comes across a young girl wandering through the carnage. Immediately, he senses the power of the dark side in her. Bane had discovered her shortly after the battle had ended; crying over the dead body of a bouncer while two Jedi lay dead at her feet. The young girl's name is Zannah, and Bane decides that she is the one he will train to be his apprentice. Bane informs Zannah that he must go to the planet Dxun to the tomb of Freedon Nodd. It is here, he believes, that he will gain even more power. But Zannah is not to come with him; she's to make her way to the planet Onderon and wait for his arrival. Once at the tomb, Bane ends up getting covered with orbulisks; shell-like symbiotic creatures that have attached themselves to Bane's skin. The creatures act as armor, yet they also suck power from Bane. These creatures will prove to be both helpful and problematic as the story goes on. Meanwhile, Zannah has made her way to Onderon after killing a group of Jedi and stealing their shuttle. There's still another Jedi, however. His name is Johun Othone, former padawan to General Hoth. He is intent on finding the Sith who killed his former master. The surviving Jedi do not believe any of the Sith survived the detonation of the thought bomb, but Johun's belief in their survival is unshakable. The story then progresses ten years into the future. Bane continues to gain power, but so does Zannah, who has become very proficient in the ways of the dark side. Now on the planet Serenno, Zannah and Bane have come across a group of separatists fighting against Chancellor Valorum. The separatists have developed a plan to assassinate the chancellor. After infiltrating the ranks of the separatists Zannah goes along on the mission. But, she's careful not to reveal her true identity. Meanwhile, unknown to the separatists, Johun has accompanied Valorum on the mission. A battle breaks out and Johun saves Valorum's life. But Zannah is "captured" and taken before the leader of the separatists. Hetton, the leader of the separatists, soon finds out that Zannah is a Sith, and he wishes to become her apprentice. Zannah goes along with him, even promising to kill Bane in the process. Hetton provides Zannah with a large amount of materials, including the coordinates to Belia Darzu's stronghold at Tython. Belia was known how to construct Sith Holocons. Bane wants to gain this knowledge for himself. Zannah pretends to accept Hetton as her apprentice and offers to kill Bane, but its just a ruse. Soon, Bane and Zannah are off to Tython, but they are not alone; the Jedi have found out about their intentions and are following them. Who will win; the Jedi or Bane and Zannah? This is an excellent book. I enjoyed "Path of Destruction" very much, but I liked "Rule of Two" even better. The continued development of Bane from the first book to this one is excellent, but Drew Karpyshyn does his best work with Zannah, bringing her from a scared little girl to a menacing killer of the Dark Side. The story is fast-paced and loaded with lots of action. I give this book my highest recommendation. I hope that Drew Karpyshyn has plans for a third book, as this series has become one of my favorites. Star Wars fans won't want to miss this excellent book.

It really should not have taken me this long to finish this book, but other things came up during my reading times, and so it took me nearly a full month. Additionally, I wish I could do half stars here since I definitely would put it at about four and a half stars for this, the second installment of the Darth Bane trilogy. As a friend of mine called it, this novel feels very much like an Indiana Jones movie for the Darth Bane and Zannah. There is a lot of searching for treasure and knowledge and information about the lost Sith lords and both Bane and Zannah are on a constant search to find as much as possible. At the start of the novel, Bane's thirst for knowledge puts him in a predicament that results in parasitic organisms, orbalisks, affixing themselves to his body and feeding off of him. Meanwhile, he is constantly teaching Zannah the ways of the Dark Side of the Force and testing her abilities. A timeskip happens near the end of the beginning of the book where ten years passes between the end of the war with the Sith and the Jedi and Bane's efforts to keep the Sith, only himself and Zannah, secret. A few new characters appear, such as Johun the Jedi, but most of the characters are repeats from the first book such as Farfalla and Tomcat/Darovit. The book moves quickly, but it is not nearly as gripping as the first rise of power that Bane experiences. Zannah's rise is much slower, but there's still enough to keep the book moving at a decent pace. Although it's a slow burn, it's a good one.

It is a shame that "Path of Destruction" & its follow-up "Rule of Two" will never make it to the big screen, these would be awesome films, this one picks up ten years after "Path of Destruction" where Darth Bane is now the last Sith Lord whose Apprentice Zannah, who was a child in the last book is now a young woman & very loyal to her Master as well as ruthless in her pursuit to follow in Bane's footsteps, the Jedi believe the Sith to be extinct by now & Bane & Zannah continue this charade while harnessing the power of the dark side, one Jedi Johun is skeptical when folks on the planet Ruusan where many Jedi & the last Sith Lords perished in the last book tell him about Bane & Zannah, however his Master Farfalla & the counsel dismiss it as far-fetched that is until Zannah's childhood friend agrees to tell the counsel personally at the urging of Johun, unbeknownst to them, Zannah goes to Courasaunt on Bane's orders to impersonate a Padewan in an attempt to seize some Jedi achives on the Siths of the past, which the Jedi has secretly secured & here she crosses paths with her childhood friend who she persudes to leave with her once she learns what he is doing there, when she meets up with Bane, the Jedi have followed them & what results is one fierce long battle as Zannah takes on two Jedi, one being Johun & Bane two others, one being Farfalla in a fierce showdown, with a Hammerhead Jedi meditating to give the others strong enough power, I won't spoil the ending here, but this is one great book & Darth Bane plants the seeds that Palpatine will carry out 1,000 years later in the Prequel films as he believes that deception is the only way to destroy the Jedi, which we know Palpatine will be successful at doing later, as I said in my review of "Path of Destruction" I think Vin Diesel(Fast & Furious) would be a perfect Bane in a film version & Amanda Seyfried(Red Riding Hood) would be perfect as Zannah, she has that innocent but demure look that the character has, plus these two are still not that well known , maybe Sam Neill as Farfalla & Channing Taum as Johun, anytime I read book, I picture actors in the role, & these would be my picks, I know it will never happen, but who says we can't wish, however, the Darth Bane books are a must read for SW fans, now I am off to read the last one "Dynasty of Evil"..

This is a great sequel to this trilogy about Darth Bane and his Sith Apprentice Zannah. I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to start the third installment of this trilogy. May the Force be with you all ✨️.

This book was excellently written, and enjoyable from start to finish, which unfortunately comes all too quickly, and would be my one complaint. (But far better to be short, and leave you wanting more, than to be too long, and leave you wanting less! :) I would reccommend this book highly to anyone, but it will be much more appreciated if read after Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, which was an incredibly engrossing look at what it is to be undeniably, no questions asked, evil. I find it refreshing to discover a Star Wars story that isn't either A) From the perspective of the "good guys", or B) Paints the bad guy in a positive/misunderstood light, or tries to make them likeable. You like Darth Bane because he makes no effort to be anything other than the antithesis of all it means to be a Jedi, and you will enjoy this book because no matter how much SW liturature is produced out there, these stories stand completely apart. Drew Karpyshyn is great at telling this kind of story. If you want to see his writing in another format, pick up Mass Effect, the xbox 360 game from Bioware, which is one of the most cinematic gameplay experiences I have ever had.

This is the middle book of the Darth Bane trilogy of novels. Because it pre-dated the purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney, it is mostly relegated to Legends status. The character of Darth Bane is canon via the animated clone wars series, and of course, the often violated rule of two that he established is canon from the films, but the details of the book are not considered canon. The book starts off immediately after the events that ended the novel "Path of Destruction" with Bane and Zannah emerging from the blast that took out the other Sith and many Jedi. Then there is a time ten-year time jump to a point where Zannah is fully Bane's apprentice. Bane is trying to gain more power, Zannah is facing divided loyalty, and they are both being hunted by a padawan whose master died during the Sith battle. Overall, the book is a well-written action/intrigue mix. It flows well and does not feel like it is dragging at all. It is a little over 300 pages, but if you are a fairly quick reader, depending on how much time you have to devote to reading, it can easily be finished in a few days, give or take. Even though it is not a canon novel, given when it was set, unless a Darth Bane movie (or trilogy) is made, it is not likely to be affected by any of the plots of the current Star Wars projects in development.

We have all heard for almost 20 years about the rule of 2! however this series of the Star Wars stories is taking the reader (fan or new) into the depth of origins of an ideology and thus "order". Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane) Not only that, this takes a deeper and darker look at the Sith order to its roots. One can absolutely feel the ripples of the star wars universe of course but Drew Karpyshyn draws a far more detailed look to what we keep hearing about but never see through Lucas's intended vision. I frankly was so looking forward to this 2nd installment, that i sort of skipped over the Republic and Jedi sections and kept reading the Sith oriented material. I know i sort of cheated but its just too juicy and exciting than any Jedi stuff in hear or read. The Jedi in this period seem to be dominant in the galaxy and the Sith are ...well the opposite of what is going on in Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the Sith (Widescreen Edition) I am for sure going to re-read this and the 1st installment once again with great interest. I semi-finished this series in about week and a half. Now i am reading Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul) I wanted to link this to the Darth Bane. The rule of 2 resinates arose the Sith order obviously. I am waiting for the 3rd installment of this. i Won't ruin the ending for the readers but it is so so so so exciting!!!

it was a great read, enjoyed it a lot and really encpasulated star wars using great detail and djd diei

This is the second novel in a trilogy, and it immediately follows on from the events of the first instalment "Path of Destruction". Here, author Drew Karpyshyn continues the story of Darth Bane - an immensely powerful Dark Lord of the Sith - who has accessed ancient and forbidden knowledge. With this knowledge, Bane has ended the war that had engulfed the Republic - by destroying his former brotherhood and killing all other Sith lords. This was done so that Bane could instigate the Rule of Two - that the Sith should only ever comprise of two: a master and an apprentice. Together, their task is to use secrecy, subterfuge and other clandestine methods so as to infiltrate the Republic and - over time - conquer it. With this in mind, Darth Bane seeks to train an apprentice ... Karpyshyn offers an intriguing and highly engaging story - one that draws on the Star Wars mythos, but also contributes to it. This is a very fascinating adventure - focussing on the villain-as-protagonist - set some 1,000 years before the events of "A New Hope". And what this novels does is present a story about what that galaxy - far, far away - is like. We get to read about the Jedi Order at the peak of its power and influence. And we discover the first tentative steps taken by the Sith that eventually culminate in Palpatine's victory and the rise of the Empire. If this backstory interests you, I thoroughly recommend this book. In this novel, Darth Bane takes an apprentice - a young woman called Zannah - and trains her in the dark side of the Force. Meanwhile, he seeks to advance his own strengths and abilities - by locating the remaining hidden remnants of ancient Sith knowledge. To do this, he journeys around the galaxy, in search of long abandoned temples. It is during this quest that he falls victim to trap - and is attacked by orbalisks, parasitic creatures that attach themselves to his body, growing and multiplying, feeding of his energy. Unable to remove these creatures, Bane learns to control their growth - so as to prevent them covering him completely. And, strangely, they now serve as invulnerable body armour - even able to withstand a light-sabre. As the years pass, Zannah grows into a beautiful woman - and masters the ways of Sith sorcery. As their plans are set in motion, a few Jedi start to suspect that the Sith have returned. And so, revealing themselves for the first time, Bane and Zannah engage the Jedi ... resulting in an intense confrontation. And the outcome of the battle leads directly into the concluding instalment of the trilogy: "Dynasty of Evil". "Rule of Two" is an excellent Star Wars novel - but I do suggest reading this as part of the trilogy.

What a great book, this trilogy alone got me back into star wars after the sequel trilogy killed my love for the franchise. Great for learning how the rule of 2 came to be, great characters, very descriptive writing. Pick it up and you won't put it down until it's done. This book focuses more on training and the master/apprentice relationship, as well as Bane rediscovering long forgotten sith secrets

O primeiro volume da trilogia ( Path of Destruction) conta como surgiu Darth Bane, suas descobertas com a Força e a execução de seu plano de renascimento dos Sith, bem como seu encontro com sua aprendiz Zannah. Na história contada no segundo volume (Rule of Two), Darth Bane já é o Senhor dos Sith e lhe resta buscar conhecimentos esquecidos há muito tempo. Essa busca se dá através dos holocrons - raros cristais, criados por poderosos praticantes da força, que contém informações ali guardadas por seus criadores. Enquanto seu mestre busca aumentar seu entendimento da força através de antigos Sith, Zannah o faz cumprindo as ordens de Bane em missões de caráter mais prático. Os dois fazem isso sempre com cuidado para não perder a grande vantagem que a batalha de Ruusan (descrita no primeiro volume da trilogia) lhes forneceu: poder trabalhar nas sombras. O único que pode colocar em risco o segredo da sobrevivência dos Sith é Johun, um Jedi que acredita que a bomba de pensamento estourada em Ruusan deixou sobreviventes sensíveis à Força. A regra dos dois, que dá nome ao livro, tem seus benefícios, mas o mestre passa a desconfiar constantemente de sua aprendiz, que também pensa em maneira de sobrepujar seu tutor. É uma excelente leitura sugerida para fãs de Star Wars. O livro físico é em formato de pocket americano, sendo frágil. Exige cuidado ao manusear. Trilogia em inglês da Del Rey: Parte 1: Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic Parte 3: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil: A Novel of the Old Republic Trilogia em português da Universo dos Livros: Parte 1: Star Wars. Darth Bane. Caminho de Destruição Parte 2: Star Wars. Darth Bane. Regra de Dois - Volume 1

Super interesante, la verdad. Me parece que está muy bien escrito, la historia tiene profundidad y el personaje, pese a ser malo, tiene mucho carisma y le coges cariño.