A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I started reading these books…

The Star Wars Expanded Universe is a big place, and one that’s easy to get lost in. To the extent that my bookshelf allows, every Tuesday I will be guiding you through the EU with (generally) chronologically placed reviews of Star Wars novels. This week, I continue the series with Darth Bane: Rule of Two, direct sequel to the last book by Drew Karpyshyn.

Through Lord Kaan’s thought bomb, Darth Bane has just succeeded in his goal of the destruction of the Brotherhood of Darkness and much of the Sith Order. As he searches for an apprentice, one lands in his lap, and he makes his decision to train Darth Zannah for a monumental task that neither Jedi Masters nor Sith Lords seem able to succeed in: killing him.

While Darth Bane: Path of Destruction showed us one who taught himself the true meaning of the Dark Side, Rule of Two is about an apprentice much of Bane’s caliber. Like Bane, Zannah embodies the Dark Side, but unlike Bane, Zannah has a tutor. To this end, Bane feeds her information, teaching her what he will, in the way he wishes it.

While this process starts with the potential of the previous novel, something is lacking in its execution. Perhaps it is the scarcity with which we see Zannah’s true growth- we see a young girl with a lot of potential, and a Sith Lady with her training nearing completion. In short, we see what made Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones such a grating and unbelievable character in many ways. Rather than the depth that comes with a decade of living, we have the quantums of power and understanding that come with time spent off-screen. We have a character whom we have never seen challenged, never seen broken; in short, we never see her develop character. This is Path of Destruction’s greatest strength, and to see it in such short supply in Rule of Two is disappointing.

The character whom the novel is named after shows even less growth. Early on in the novel, he undergoes a change which marks Bane the Sith learner from Bane the Sith Master, and from there he stops. If anything, his character degrades and becomes less likeable- and less relatable- as the novel progresses. The most character growth he displays is a stunted display of Jedi-like character traits, which might be admirable if it didn’t deviate so much from his hatred of the self-sacrificing Jedi. It comes across in context, to me at least, as cowardice rather than anything else.

I’ve focused mainly on the negative aspects so far, but there are plenty of positives to Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two. The large variety of new characters are well written, with complex motivations and conflicts for most of them and unique, memorable attributes characterizing the rest. Zannah comes off as a little bit of a “Mary Sue”- her dedication to Bane and everything he stands for is her cardinal peronality trait- but she excels in every other way. The novel is challenging, though not as suspenseful as its predecessor or as thought-provoking as I’d like. The action sequences are amazing, and the new glimpses into the workings of the Dark Side are fascinating to those interested in such things.

All in all, if you liked Path of Destruction, you’ll probably like Rule of Two. It’s a very similar novel- not in the unoriginal sense, but in the narration, writing style, and character focus. It’s not as dark as the Sith Academy on Korriban, nor is it as suspenseful and powerful a novel, but it’s enjoyable and worth a read. Like it’s slightly better predecessor, this book is highly recommended.