Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil (3rd novel)

[IrishJedi]

I'm an admitted EU hater. However, I'm not blindly so. There are a few diamonds in the rough. Drew Karpyshyn is definitely one of them. Head writer at BioWare, he was one of the brains behind the genius that is KOTOR (the game... not the crappy Dark Horse comic series).

Anyway, I really liked his first Darth Bane novel ("Path of Destruction") a lot. Definitely one of the best EU books out there. The second ("Rule of Two"), however, was a huge step down in quality. This was due to a couple of factors: 1) Karpyshyn only had about a month to write the book, because it was a last minute replacement for James Luceno's Darth Plagueis/Palpatine book that LFL unceremoniously scrapped. 2) Because of the timeframe the book covered, Karpyshyn was handcuffed to include a lot of really lame stuff from previous EU stories about Bane, including the horrifically stupid Orbalisk armor.

But I'm happy to say he has redeemed himself with "Dynasty of Evil". I started reading it yesterday and I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and it's already much, much better than "Rule of Two" and on par with the first book. It's also apparently leading to an interesting climax at the end which could have a pretty significant impact on the characters in the EU Old Republic canon.

Anyway, if you read either of the first two books and were on the fence for this one, I'd highly recommend it.

 

[Darth Waller]

Which EU books are worth reading?

 

[joda76]

I read the first 2 and ready to get this. I used to read so many EU books but now just this series. I read 501st but didnt like it much.

 

[IrishJedi]

Which EU books are worth reading?

Well, you might be asking the wrong person, since I think most of the EU is pure drivel. But, imho, you can't go wrong with the following:

Cloak of Deception by James Luceno (great lead-in to TPM)
The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks (much heavier and more interesting than the film)
Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno (might be my favorite EU book of all)
Revenge of The Sith by Matthew Stover (also more robust than the film)
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno (ESSENTIAL follow-up to ROTS, lots of stuff explained)

Some of the early Clone Wars paperback novels are pretty good (Shatterpoint and Dark Rendezvous are the standouts there) as well as the first 3 Republic Commando books by Karen Traviss (she started to lose her way after that by fan-wanking the 501st).

And, of course, the first and third Darth Bane novels by Karpyshyn are among the best EU books you'll ever read.

 

[joda76]

Those are all pretty good Irish. Nice selection. I like Rise of Darth Vader a lot and Dark Rendevous

 

[IrishJedi]

Thanks! Yes, those two are definitely among the best out there. If you're a Yoda or Dooku fan "Dark Rendezvous" is a must. And "Dark Lord" is a must for filling in a lot of the character gaps between ROTS and ANH (as well as Vader/Palpy motivations).

But I still mourn the loss of James Luceno's Darth Plagueis novel. Damn LFL for squashing that one. I'd love to read the manuscript somehow.

 

[thenammagazine]

Which EU books are worth reading?

Anything written by Karen Traviss with heavy emphasis on her Republic Commando novels. They're everything AOTC should've been.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

But I still mourn the loss of James Luceno's Darth Plagueis novel. Damn LFL for squashing that one. I'd love to read the manuscript somehow.

me too. I was really excited to read that book. I think most of the Clone Wars novels are really great to read. Adds a lot of good material to the movies, and all are nicely written.
The Medstar books are pretty good and have a "Mash" atmosphere.

I like most of the newer EU books, but definitely not the earlier ones from the 80s/90s.

 

[IrishJedi]

What's odd is how much better the EU is that covers the Old Republic and Prequel eras vs. the OT & New Republic eras. In fact, one can easily argue that the EU of the PT era is better than the PT films. It's reversed.

 

[thenammagazine]

What's odd is how much better the EU is that covers the Old Republic and Prequel eras vs. the OT & New Republic eras. In fact, one can easily argue that the EU of the PT era is better than the PT films. It's reversed.

Or, you can take it for what it is and like it all.

 

[IrishJedi]

You can. Some do. I'm just not one of those who is going to give a pass to anything and everything that's called "Star Wars". There is a wide and varying degree of quality among it all, films and EU stories alike. There's great, pure garbage... and everything in between. So I can't just "like it all", because some of it I happen to dislike quite a bit.

To those who do, though... good on ya. There's certainly no shortage of stuff for you to devour and enjoy.

 

[Oscar_the_Gungan]

I have about 50 pages to go and I still can't guess how this one will end. I have enjoyed the Darth Bane books immensely. And for those of you with EU canon issues, Darth Bane is a Lucas creation.
People have called me an apologist when it comes to the EU. I have read probably 80 percent of the adult novels and most of the comics, including the old Marvel line, and there is a lot I like and a lot I'd tell a newbie to skip.
-Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy: I think this is essential Star Wars reading, however, some of Zahn's more recent books, I'd skip.
-Michael Stackpole and Aaron Allston's X-wing books. I think these are great post ROTJ stories. Stackpole is one of my favorites even though he wrote one of my least favorite novels "I Jedi."
Also, good, but some find to be hit or miss is the entire New Jedi Order arc, which will take one a good long time to read.
Also, I'd recommend Dark Horse's Star Wars: Legacy.

 

[IrishJedi]

I think I would forgive Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy a lot more were it not for the Ysilamiri (lizards that create "bubbles" in the Force and making Jedi/Sith powerless near them? That's even dumber than midi-chlorians), Luke giving Mara Jade Anakin's lightsaber (which at the time was the Excalibur of the SW universe) and other contrivances.

 

[thenammagazine]

I think I would forgive Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy a lot more were it not for the Ysilamiri (lizards that create "bubbles" in the Force and making Jedi/Sith powerless near them? That's even dumber than midi-chlorians), Luke giving Mara Jade Anakin's lightsaber (which at the time was the Excalibur of the SW universe) and other contrivances.

I don't like having to stick toothpicks on my eyelids to get through the redundant, film cross-referencing techno-babble that is first third of his novel aka the Brussel sprouts, to get to the meat and potatoes of the main plot.

 

[automaton]

i really enjoyed the "Betrayal" arc from the EMPIRE series...

 

[Dr.FeelGood]

Being a self confessed EU fanatic, i love Drew's novels!

As a fan of Darth Bane (i spent a year making a figure of the guy, with much sleep lost) i'm looking forward to reading this one. I'm 6 chapters in at the moment and enjoying every bit of it

I agree with Irish, some of the EU is total tripe, other parts of it are amazing. I myself really didnt start getting into the EU till mid-way through the New Jedi Order series of books, some of which were good but alot of them were really bad...

I've read the Zahn novels and loved them, i've read books like "I Jedi", which i enjoyed completely and personally i would love to see Mike Stackpole return to the Star Wars Universe again.

I do hope Drew continues to write in the Star Wars Universe, as he is really tallented and can tell a great story (when given time to actually write it!...Yes LFL i'm looking at you...you know what you did...)

 

[Kibishii]

Well, after reading everyone's comments, I just went to Barnes & Noble and ordered Darth Bane #1: Path of Destruction, Darth Bane #2: Rule of Two, Dark Rendezvous, and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. I get a teacher discount, so it is beneficial to order more than one book at a time.

I am hoping these books will...reinvigorate my love of Star Wars after I was so disgusted with Lucas's directing and direction with the PT. My son has recently really started to enjoy the Clone Wars cartoon and watching the movies and it is rubbing off on me.

The only EU I have read was Shadows of the Empire way-back-when (and I remember it sucking) and I am reading the three volumes of Legacy on my iPod right now. Legacy is a bit confusing to me because Darth Krayt just appears of out nowhere and there is little explaination of his "One Sith" doctrine or the holocron Sith Lords he talks to; I probably am missing something in the timeline.

 

[Oscar_the_Gungan]

Darth Krayt's origins are a mystery until later in the series, where he explains himself and where he came from. In the trades it doesn't happen until Vol. #3 Claws of the Dragon.

 

[Avfin]

Is this book out in stores?
I enjoyed the other 2

 

[OSCORP]

Read the first two and will read this. (only EU i currently read)