Darth Bane Trilogy

This series follows the life of Sith Lord Darth Bane. From humble beginnings as a soldier to one of the most legendary Dark Lords of the Sith, Darth Bane is a powerful enemy and a compelling character in Star Wars storytelling. Bane works to unite the Sith, and eventually the galaxy, by masterminding the plan for a reborn Sith Empire through the Rule of Two. This trilogy begins with Bane’s rocky rise to power, follows with his quest for the perfect apprentice and journey to attain Force mastery, and ultimately takes him on a relentless path to establish an eternal legacy—at first in the creation of his own holocron and eventually in a dangerous attempt with Sith sorcery to attain eternal life! No prior reading is required for this one! But the events and locations from the 2003 Game of the Year, Knights of the Old Republic, are referenced heavily. The reason for this is that the author, Drew Karpyshyn, was the lead writer on the game. Bane journeys to the home of the extinct Rakatan people, where he discovers a holocron of Darth Revan, thentrains at the Sith Academy on Korriban. All of these moments pay off if you’ve lived in that world through the video game, but aren’t necessary to understand and enjoy the book. The Bane Trilogy builds on the Sith history established in the Tales of the Jedi comics from Dark Horse. The Sith have a long history of infighting and backstabbing. Bane rediscovers the lore of the Dark Lords of the ancient past and finds the future of the Sith in a return to the ways of the past. Dark Lords of the Sith would be a good volume to check out. In a weird instance of Legends continuity, the third act of Path of Destruction ties in to two previously published pieces of Star Wars lore. The 2001 Dark Horse comic miniseries Jedi Vs. Sith established the events of the planet Ruusan, which is retold in this book. Over a thousand years forward in the Legends timeline, Kyle Katarn travels to Ruusan and learns of the events with Bane and the Sith, which is detailed in Dark Forces: Jedi Knight. The Bane Trilogy is a Legends staple, and isn’t a far cry from being canonical since Bane’s ghost makes an appearance in Clone Wars Season 6. It’s a rarity for a series to be told from the villain’s perspective, a definite must-read for those drawn to the dark side. At Youtini, we’ve got Path of Destruction in our foundational five books—it’s that good! Part of why the Bane books work so well is that he’s surrounded by an interesting cast of characters—both Jedi and Sith. You’ll root for Bane to weed out the less competent Sith who are more image-obsessed and petty. At the same time, the series will have you pulling for the Jedi like Rohlan Hoth and Valenthyne Farfalla. Karpyshyn succeeds in keeping you on your toes, dividing your loyalties as you decide who’s most deserving of coming out on top in any given scenario. This is an extremely cohesive trilogy with one author taking us all the way through the series, telling one overarching story about Bane’s Rule of Two. If antiheroes, compelling villains, or KOTOR are your thing, this is the series for you.