Rule of Two: Star Wars Legends (Darth Bane) (Star Wars - Darth Bane Trilogy Book 2) Kindle Edition

It really should not have taken me this long to finish this book, but other things came up during my reading times, and so it took me nearly a full month. Additionally, I wish I could do half stars here since I definitely would put it at about four and a half stars for this, the second installment of the Darth Bane trilogy.As a friend of mine called it, this novel feels very much like an Indiana Jones movie for the Darth Bane and Zannah. There is a lot of searching for treasure and knowledge and information about the lost Sith lords and both Bane and Zannah are on a constant search to find as much as possible. At the start of the novel, Bane's thirst for knowledge puts him in a predicament that results in parasitic organisms, orbalisks, affixing themselves to his body and feeding off of him. Meanwhile, he is constantly teaching Zannah the ways of the Dark Side of the Force and testing her abilities.A timeskip happens near the end of the beginning of the book where ten years passes between the end of the war with the Sith and the Jedi and Bane's efforts to keep the Sith, only himself and Zannah, secret. A few new characters appear, such as Johun the Jedi, but most of the characters are repeats from the first book such as Farfalla and Tomcat/Darovit.The book moves quickly, but it is not nearly as gripping as the first rise of power that Bane experiences. Zannah's rise is much slower, but there's still enough to keep the book moving at a decent pace. Although it's a slow burn, it's a good one.

Whether or not the extremely impressive mere six-month gestation period it took Drew Karpyshyn to pen Darth Bane : Rule of Two is factored into the determination of its overall caliber as a novel, the book was nonetheless a fantastically engrossing read.Rule of Two literally picks up right after the first entry in the trilogy, Darth Bane : Path of Destruction concluded, & as I'm remaining steadfast in my efforts to keep my reviews spoiler-free, period, I will refrain from referencing direct plot points or events in a way that I feel would detract from a prospective reader's overall enjoyment reading this wonderful work of Science-Fiction.Darth Bane : Rule of Two chronicles the Sith Lord Darth Bane's search for the power & the wisdom of the Sith Lords of old and also goes into a moderate amount of detail concerning his instruction & teaching of his student, Rain, a name she eventually discards when she decides to tread the path of the Dark Side as Darth Zannah.While reading Rule of Two, I noticed the author has placed a very pronounced emphasis on extreme physical pain & suffering as relates to Darth Bane's growing power in the Sith & the Dark Side of the Force. There were several passages where Karpyshyn crafted situations where Bane's agony probably was so horrific that it could be likened to getting an operation on a vital organ with no anesthesia, or an amputation while the patient just was kept conscious. I literally cringed a few times when I read how he described what was transpiring.Bane also accumulates, to a lesser degree, influence, via his machinations that are often put into motion as a result of his failures to accomplish his goals & objectives to unlock the secrets of the Sith & become more powerful on his own.His apprentice, Zannah, however, seems to be directly doing much of the legwork & exposing herself to the social risks involved in actually meeting with the dangerous individuals upon which many of these sub-plots run centripetal. Though the Star Wars Universe is not known for its rich political scenarios, I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed Karpyshyn's own contributions to the universe. The Ruusan Reformation was interesting to ponder after I read about the background behind it, with the Jedi being petitioned to take on a less-aggressive, advisory role to preclude further conflicts such as the one that much of the first novel's plot was focused on.Numerous Sith Lords from Star Wars history are referenced in this book. Freedon Nadd is directly mentioned, a Jedi who turned from the path & eventually became a student of the most legendary Sith Lord who ever lived, the unnerving Naga Sadow, (also touched upon briefly) who reigned over the ancient Sith Empire 5,000 years before A New Hope. Belia Darzu was a female Sith Lord previously unknown to me who dabbled in the mechanization of living organisms. The experiments did not end well for her, or for anyone else.The planet Seranno is a key location for a decent portion of the book later on, the homeworld of Darth Tyrannus from Episodes II - III. I enjoyed Karpyshyn's referring to three of the planet's major cities & would have loved to see more exposition on Carannia, Saffia & Fiyarro. I also enjoyed the citation of the planet's nobility in regards to how they view railways & walkways, it serves to illustrate how they live. The emphasis on the noble houses' emblems & coats-of-arms also increased my admiration of the author's writing style, how could a man crank out a book like this in 6 months? Impressive by anyone's standards, let alone mine.The planet Tychon is also integral to the storyline, & Karpyshyn explains it as relates to the Jedi Order's inception being at this particular location, over 25,000 years previous, where the followers of the Ashla defeated those of the Boga & probably being the genesis for the Light & Dark Sides of the Force. I most assuredly do enjoy reading about the history of fictitious locations & universes in the way Drew Karpyshyn has so masterfully done in this novel. I would love to see him revisit Star Wars if his desire is to do so at some point in the future.Fans of the unquestionably superlative Knights of the Old Republic games will love revisiting two of the locations featured in Darth Bane : Rule of Two, namely the wild, untamed planet Onderon & its jungle moon Dxun,both of which KOTOR II fans will recognize instantly.This book read quickly & held my interest to an impressive degree, with all of the Science Fiction/Fantasy I've read over the years that's not an easy feat to accomplish. Overall, I'd say it stands about equal to Path of Destruction. It's tough to compare the two, but if I had to give the edge to Rule of Two or Path of Destruction, I'd give it to Rule of Two, because the writing is a little more polished.I'm looking forward to the final entry in the series, Dynasty of Evil. I'm hoping it meets my expectations of being a worthy conclusion to the Darth Bane Trilogy.

I've only read 6 of the expanded universe novels, the Thrawn trilogy and now the Darth Bane trilogy. I started with the Thrawn series as it seemed to come the most highly recommended of all the star wars novels. I read the trilogy, and was sorely disappointed. The story was grand and epic, and the entire universe is at stake again, but the characters were boring and flat. The characters from the movies like Luke, Han, Lei, etc, were just shadows of the movies, with no new character development, often repeating their iconic lines from the movies with sort of a wink and a nod to the reader. A lot of the plot devices from the Thrawn trilogy were cheap and lazy. The only remotely interesting character was Mara Jade, and she was poorly executed most of the time. I thought to myself, if this is the best the best of the star wars books, then we are in trouble.I searched out a different story, hoping it would redeem the poor effort of the Thrawn series, and I decided to give the first novel of the Darth Bane series a shot. I always though the dark side of the force was lacking in depth from the movies, and I wanted to see if anyone was capable of giving that angle new life. I'm very pleased to report that the Darth Bane trilogy is far more compelling, and is overall a really great story. In contrast to the Thrawn trilogy, the physical scope of the novel is far more narrow. The galaxy is not in any immediate danger after the conclusion of the first novel, and there are no clone armies threatening to destroy the republic and there is no death star blowing up planets. This trilogy is all about the small first steps the Sith will take to the eventual galactic domination that culminates in episode III, and thus the action is far more focused and localized to discrete areas of the Star Wars galaxy. Bravo to the author for not falling into the trap of bigger is better.I won't launch into an exhaustive review, but suffice to say, the main characters are very dynamic and interesting. Bane is obviously the main focus of the novels, and getting to see the transformation that he undergoes really gives you a better sense of what Yoda and the crew were fighting against. From the movies, you sometimes get the sense the dark side of the force is just lightning bolts and intimidating names. This series really delves into the philosophy of the Sith, and how it is so different from the Jedi, and gives you a better idea of what powers the dark side offers, besides silly lightning bolts. The story moves at a great pace, and the story itself falls into place without the need to rely on the cheap plot devices that I detested in the Thrawn trilogy. This is a far more subtle and nuanced trilogy.I'm giving the trilogy a 5 because the characters are very compelling and the story feels like a cornerstone to the whole Star Wars universe. It's not perfect, of course, but it's a very strong trilogy that is definitely worth a read.

This is the second novel in a trilogy, and it immediately follows on from the events of the first instalment "Path of Destruction". Here, author Drew Karpyshyn continues the story of Darth Bane - an immensely powerful Dark Lord of the Sith - who has accessed ancient and forbidden knowledge. With this knowledge, Bane has ended the war that had engulfed the Republic - by destroying his former brotherhood and killing all other Sith lords. This was done so that Bane could instigate the Rule of Two - that the Sith should only ever comprise of two: a master and an apprentice. Together, their task is to use secrecy, subterfuge and other clandestine methods so as to infiltrate the Republic and - over time - conquer it. With this in mind, Darth Bane seeks to train an apprentice ...Karpyshyn offers an intriguing and highly engaging story - one that draws on the Star Wars mythos, but also contributes to it. This is a very fascinating adventure - focussing on the villain-as-protagonist - set some 1,000 years before the events of "A New Hope". And what this novels does is present a story about what that galaxy - far, far away - is like. We get to read about the Jedi Order at the peak of its power and influence. And we discover the first tentative steps taken by the Sith that eventually culminate in Palpatine's victory and the rise of the Empire. If this backstory interests you, I thoroughly recommend this book.In this novel, Darth Bane takes an apprentice - a young woman called Zannah - and trains her in the dark side of the Force. Meanwhile, he seeks to advance his own strengths and abilities - by locating the remaining hidden remnants of ancient Sith knowledge. To do this, he journeys around the galaxy, in search of long abandoned temples. It is during this quest that he falls victim to trap - and is attacked by orbalisks, parasitic creatures that attach themselves to his body, growing and multiplying, feeding of his energy. Unable to remove these creatures, Bane learns to control their growth - so as to prevent them covering him completely. And, strangely, they now serve as invulnerable body armour - even able to withstand a light-sabre.As the years pass, Zannah grows into a beautiful woman - and masters the ways of Sith sorcery. As their plans are set in motion, a few Jedi start to suspect that the Sith have returned. And so, revealing themselves for the first time, Bane and Zannah engage the Jedi ... resulting in an intense confrontation. And the outcome of the battle leads directly into the concluding instalment of the trilogy: "Dynasty of Evil"."Rule of Two" is an excellent Star Wars novel - but I do suggest reading this as part of the trilogy.

I really enjoyed Path Of Destruction and the story of how Bane rose to power from nothing. While I did enjoy Rule Of Two I didn't feel quite as satisfies by the end - that said it's definitely worth a read.Possible story spoilers from here on in.The story focuses more on Bane's new apprentice Zannah, discovered at the end of Path Of Destruction. The focus on her learning is intriguing and exciting as her own story arcs unfold. There are a few set-piece moments spaced methodically throughout which were enjoyable and gratuitous.The story sometimes switches between the perspectives of the characters within, primary and supporting, which I initially found jarring having just read Path Of Destruction, but as a technique used throughout the book I thought was well implemented.I did feel that Bane didn't get enough page-time, and as such he often felt like a supporting character to me at times. I would have liked to have seen more of the awesome power that was hyped so much in the previous book; given he took down the Brotherhood of Darkness previously and had his powers further enhanced here, I feel as if he should be almost godlike by now.All said this is a good book and, while not necessary, I recommend reading Path Of Destruction first. The author does however give a good account of past events for those unfamiliar with the previous title. I'm looking forward to finishing off the trilogy!

This is a relentlessly dark, brooding adventure with some superb characters. The pace is excellent, and the interesting character progression, tracking the curbing of Bane's power as the star of his young apprentice Zannah rises, is engrossing stuff.Some great set pieces, good and often witty dialogue and plot reversals make this story an excellent choice for Star Wars aficionados.This particular episode would make a fantastic set of films aimed at adult audiences - if you've seen the film "Dredd" it would make a good starting point for the kind of dark, violent territory the story covers.

This is sequel to  Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane)  it continues immediately after the first book and then jumps 10 years. The book follows Bane's apprentice from an innocent 10 year old to claim her own Darth title. Zannah can be even more cold blooded then her master. This book is enjoyable and it is a credit to the author that he finished this book in 6 months. This book is the second step in the 1000 year plan that became  Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Star Wars (Random House Hardcover)) . In the first book Bane showed some humanity when he felt remorse and even crippling guilt over his first force murders, but Zannah does not seem to have a conscience at all. As a reader I was drawn into Zannah's point of view. During the book Bane makes himself nie-indestructible which presents an interesting problem to his apprentice who is destined to kill her master. Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane)Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Star Wars (Random House Hardcover))

Awesome for all star war fans, lots of action and you'll find out more about the dark side, i have read all three books and they were amazing. The first book takes a while to get into but then its action, dark side all the way. I loved it !!!! Books 2 and 3 i finished quickly as i found it gripping, bane's journey sets the standards for all upcoming sith and dark side force users. Brilliant you will not regret !!!