Hi gang,

Two pretty nifty things have just happened. 1) I finally got a chance to read a Star Wars novel the week it was initially released. Since I've been out of the game for quite some time, I've never really had a chance to read a "new release." Right now, I'm almost on the final stretch for the NJO series and plan to read the Hand of Thrawn duology and then start Legacy. So you can probably imagine how happy I was to score a new Star Wars book and... 2) finish it in two days!

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (by Drew Karpyshyn - lead writer for BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic) tells a tale about a galaxy in turmoil. Set 1,000 years before the films, the novel is set during teh conflict with the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness. In particular, the novel centers on a young man who will ultimately become one of the greatest Sith Lords the galaxy has seen as well as establish the Rule of Two.

This was the sort of novel I've wanted for a long time. It's pure Sith. The book is dark, violent and just chock full of the dark side of the Force. It covers a period of Star Wars history that I am most interested in and I certainly hope we can expect more novels set within the Old Republic. Also, the book manages to make meaningful connections to the Knights of the Old Republic video game, which I especially enjoyed. It was cool to return to Rakata Prime and have Revan and Malak mentioned in the text. While the novel is a bit slow at the start, things get really fun and exciting with Bane is accepted to the Sith Academy on Korriban.

Kudos for Drew Karpyshyn for bringing us a really great book. When's the next one coming out?