Once the Sith order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy. Until one dark lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy–and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith, and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.
Since childhood, Dessel has known only the abuse of hishateful father and the dangerous, soul-crushing labor of a cortosis miner. Deep in the tunnels of the desolate planet Apatros, endlessly excavating the rare mineral valued throughout the galaxy, Dessel dreams of the day he can escape–a day he fears may never come. But when a high-stakes card game ends in deadly violence, Dessel suddenly finds himself a wanted man.
On the run from vengeful Republic forces, Dessel vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army, and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions. There, Dessel’s brutality, cunning,and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior. But in the eyes of his watchful masters, he is destined for a far greater role in the ultimate Sith plan for the galaxy–if he can prove himself truly worthy.
As an acolyte in the Sith academy, studying the secrets and skills of the dark side at the feet of its greatest masters, Dessel embraces his new Sith identity: Bane. However the true test is yet to come. In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness one must fully surrender to the dark side through a trial by fire that Bane, forall his unquenchable fury and lust for power, may not be strong enough to endure . . . especially since deception, treachery, and murder run rampant among the Sith disciples, and utter ruthlessness alone is the key to survival. Only by defying the most sacred traditions, rejecting all he has been taught, and drawing upon the long-forgotten wisdom of the very first Sith can Bane hope to triumph–and forge from the ashes of that which he must destroy a new era of absolute dark power.
REVIEW
The One That Started It All In the next installment of the ever-growing franchise of 'Star Wars' takes the reader back into time, to an era of the Brotherhood of Darkness, founded by Sith Master Kaan. The old Sith ways were considered arrogant, since by claiming oneself the one and only Sith, brought nothing but betrayal and deception. By disbanding what the Sith once were, Kaan formulated an organization much like the Jedi Order, shaping young apprentices in the ways of darkness.
Until Darth Bane came to change all that.
Dessel, a young man, has spent his entire life mining in the brutal planet of Cortosis. He has faced abuse from his father, and more so from his father's friends. After a fight that left a man without a thumb, he was forced to retire for the rest of the day in the cantina, owned by Des' only friend, named Groshik. Even there, Des causes trouble, when a card game goes awry that leads to the death of a Republic soldier. Groshik, who considers Des to be a good friend, gives Des a choice to either be turned in, or join the ranks of the Sith army as a way of protection. Having no other choice, Des joins with the Sith, and from there he works up on his way to greatness. To becoming Darth Bane, and destroying the Brotherhood, to return to the old ways of the Sith.
In some ways, Bane's life almost foreshadows that of Vader. Like Vader, Bane has the gift of predicting things beforehand, having quick reflexes, all of these things that make someone talented in the ways of the Force. Bane uses his talent to be noticed in the Brotherhood, to finally be taken on as an apprentice. Bane's life, like that of Vader, was being little more than a slave. And like Vader, Bane turns his back on his teachers, his students, all that he's been taught, to shape things into his own will. The similarities of Vader and Bane might throw some readers off if they were to look for something new. As for this reader, it wasn't such a problem because of how well-written the story was. It is a real page-turner, and although it is pretty straightforward and predictable, one just can't stop turning the pages. This is a rare Star Wars book that is actually worth reading.
“Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody the power, the other to crave it.” –Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith
On the run from vengeful Republic forces, Dessel, a cortosis miner, vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions. There, Dessel’s brutality, cunning, and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior. But in the eyes of his watchful masters, a far greater destiny awaits him. As an acolyte in the Sith academy, studying the secrets and skills of the dark side, Dessel embraces his new identity: Bane. But the true test is yet to come. In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness, he must defy the most sacred traditions and reject all he has been taught. It is a trial by fire in which he must surrender fully to the dark side–and forge from the ashes a new era of absolute power.
“A solid space adventure [that] charts the evolution of an antihero almost as chilling as Darth Vader.” –Publishers Weekly
REVIEW
Great EU novel This book was great as it shed some much needed light about one of the greatest Sith of all time, Darth Bane. Aside from learning about Bane's raise from lowly mining worker to the first Darth in over 3000 years, there is a good amount of KOTOR references. Any fan of KOTOR will love the references and the incorporation of the ideas from the game into this book. It is fun to read a book about a character that is pure hatred and fury. If you want some more Dark Side in your reading diet then check this one out.
