Darth Bane, Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars) [Paperback]

Drew Karpyshyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2007 | Series: Star Wars (Book 5)

Thousands of years before the rise of Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, the Old Republic was rife with the evil Sith, who were a constant thorn in the side of the Jedi. But greed and hunger for power were eating away at the Sith Order, destroying it from within. In the midst of this rose a new Sith, Darth Bane, who recognized that the Sith Order would fall if nothing was done. Thus it was he who, learning to cultivate patience and cunning, hid from the strife until it was over, and then rose to become the most powerful Sith Lord ever. This is the story of the transformation of Des, a young miner, into the legendary Sith Lord Darth Bane. Des - like many of the disenfranchised who live on the Outer Rim - is disillusioned with the stagnancy of the Old Republic. When the Sith unite to bring the Republic down, Des is one of many to join their cause. His heroism and skill in battle - along with his remarkable connection to the Force - draw the notice of the Sith Masters, and Des eventually finds himself studying at the Sith Academy on Korriban. He takes the name of Bane and, amidst the deception and back-stabbing of the other students, he learns to unlock his latent dark-side talents. As his power grows, Bane realizes the Sith have lost their way. Under the leadership of Lord Kaan and his Brotherhood of Darkness, the Sith have turned their back on the true nature of the dark side. Through manipulation, cunning and strength, Bane destroys Kaan's Brotherhood and wipes out all the other Sith so he can found a new Order based on the rule of two: one Master, one apprentice.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Drew lives in the hinterlands of the Great White North of Canada with his loving wife Jen and their cat, Roxy - because everyone knows you can't be a real author if you don't own a cat. When not penning fantasy and sci-fi novels he is a writer/designer for Bioware, where he has worked on a number of award-winning computer games. During the all-too-brief Canadian summers he works dilegently on his golf game, though he has yet to taste the sweet victory of shooting under par for a full 18-hole round.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Arrow Books (July 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099491966
• ISBN-13: 978-0099491965
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,697,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Drew Karpyshyn is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two, Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, and the Mass Effect novels Revelation and Ascension, as well as several other fantasy and science fiction novels. He is also an award-winning writer/designer for the computer game company BioWare, where he was lead writer on Mass Effect and the blockbuster Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game. He lives in Canada's hinterlands with his wife, Jen, and their cat.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best star wars book in sometime, July 23, 2007

By 

A. Longano "Ajl" (NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Path of Destruction (Star Wars: Darth Bane, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you want to read 2 star wars books this year you should "Rise of the Dark Lord" about Vader and this one. The author for this book is the one that wrote the story for "Knights of the Old Republic" = a Great game that you must play! The Knights time period (1000's years before new hope episode IV)is ripe with great history and it is a shame Lucas & Co. have not decided to use all the great options they have in order to make a movie or TV show from this time period.

I always wondered where the adage given in "Phantom Menace" Came from for the sith apprentice and Master and now I know. I did not make much sense that there could only be 2 true Sith= Master/Apprentice But this clarifies and explains the foundation = created by the character Bane - that became the golden rule for the sith. Add in Tons of action- jedi vs sith, sith vs sith, battles of all sorts, also add in well developed characters, and a story that is fast paced while still giving great details on the history that makes up the Star Wars myth and you have a excellent Book that is much fun to read. Highly Recommended!

May the force be with you.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Part of the Series, July 29, 2007

By 

Baruch Spinoza "Michael" (Centennial, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Path of Destruction (Star Wars: Darth Bane, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Easily one of the very best Star Wars books. This is the first book that looks at the dark side through its own lenses and filters rather than through the Jedi. As humans, we struggle with determining the nature of evil. Why does it exist and why does it continue. This book grapples with some of those issues in ways that are less superficial and nonsensical than many other stories have treated the topic. It provides a historical context for the Sith while making them much more 3 dimensional. Drew Karpyshyn is to be commended for writing an intelligent yet fun to read Star Wars book... which is better than many of them.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good fictional realism..., August 17, 2007

By 

108Dragons "raiden" (San Marcos TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Path of Destruction (Star Wars: Darth Bane, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is an excellent insight into the basis of the dark side. Very well written, moves along, and very enjoyable. Hard to believe that this author isn't an established novelist. The descriptions are excellent and the style gives you a sense that your in the mind of someone that is undergoing transformation. I'm not sure why that 1 star reviewer is so bent out of shape with the violence. He mentions Vader as a likeable "antihero". I distinctly remember in one of the movies Anakin slaughtering mercilessly the younglings or toddler/child jedi off camera. In the fictional SW world, the sith are evil, and that's what evil does. All and all a worthwhile read and definitely not a waste of time. If only the movie scripts were written this well...