It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Both are great, of course. PKD is a bit more challenging for me, though.
By the way, I have read Clarke's Space Odyssey quadrilogy more often than anything else, including the Flemings, so I guess I'm a fan alright. ;)
I have read all four as well, but only the first more than once. Probably because it is the only one I own.
Decided to jump back into the Matt Helm series. I read the first 4 or 5 books, some time ago, but never got around to progressing further. Thought it best to go back to book 1, and start over.
BOOK 19
STAR WARS: DARTH BANE: PATH OF DESTRUCTION
by Drew Karpyshyn
It’s been a while since I read my last Star Wars novel, but the galaxy’s gravitational pull is stronger than ever. Drew Karpyshyn’s DARTH BANE trilogy comes highly recommended, so this is where I will venture next. With Williams’s Star Wars scores marching through my sound system, I time travel to a thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, to when the Republic is finding itself besieged by an army of Sith.
A bald Cortosis miner named Dessel is fiercely trying to escape his dreadful life. During an aggressive card game, he angers some Republican officials. Forced to flee their wrath, he decides to join the Sith army. Politically, he’s more inclined to follow their lead than that of the Jedi, loyal protectors of the Republic. In battle, Des proves exceptionally talented and very soon gains the respect and admiration of his peers. Little do they know, however, that he is also Force-sensitive and that he can sometimes catch glimpses of the future. His successes aren’t wasted on a dark lord who is part of the so-called Brotherhood of Darkness. He invites Des to his academy where the former labourer can learn the ways of the Force.
Despite his talents, Des must often endure failure and disappointment. Clearly, something is holding him back. Once he begins to study from more obscure sources, like the teachings of an ancient Sith Lord called Darth Revan, Des realizes his path is different than the one his new masters have in mind for him. Practically overnight, he decides that the current philosophy of the Sith is imperfect and in fact weak. Now calling himself Darth Bane, Des constructs a devious plan to overthrow both the Jedi and the Sith and to restore the galaxy to how it was thousands of years ago when exactly two Sith ruled.
Only sparingly referencing the popular mythology established in the KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC video games and their companion comic books, DARTH BANE: PATH OF DESTRUCTION is very much its own thing. The story takes place in an era which is far removed from the days of Luke, Leia, Han and Darth Vader. Yet ever since we learned a few things about the Sith through Lucas’ prequel trilogy, a lot of expanded universe material was developed in various media (games, books, comics) to appease those who, like me, are interested in where the “rule of two” comes from and how Palpatine became the one ruling Sith. The subject fascinates me greatly; like playing an archaeologist within the fantastical Star Wars universe, I very much enjoy the journey further back in time, to when Jedi and Sith existed in different numerical ratios and all were tied up in a brutal galactic power struggle. DARTH BANE certainly offers a very good glimpse of what Yoda’s galaxy was like even before the master Jedi was born.
Drew Karpyshyn’s prose is fairly easily accessible. Clarity and simplicity prevail over unnecessarily complex syntax or obscure vocabulary. It’s a Star Wars novel after all; rock-’n-roll is preferable to Bach or Chopin when Sith fight Jedi, or each other. Karpyshyn knows how to keep his readership interested by telling a fascinating story and while also maintaining a good pace and selecting the proper Star Wars terminology whenever opportunities for some “geekiness” present themselves. The book becomes a true page-turner very quickly and overall proves hard to put down. By avoiding exhausting linguistic obstacles, the author guarantees compulsive reading. One requires the discipline of Darth Bane to abandon the book for a few hours.
A large portion of the story is told from the perspective of Darth Bane himself, who also spends most of the story all alone. His inner thoughts are rich in conflicts, defiance and evil schemes. Having the fiercest character of all as our default protagonist allows us the guilty pleasure of turning to the Dark Side along with him. His Dark Side is in fact even darker than that of the Brotherhood of Darkness. Darth Bane travels a lot farther—or deeper if you will—into the darkest parts of the Force and easily resembles Vader in terms of cold ruthlessness and indiscriminate apathy towards all life in the galaxy. It’s an interesting perspective, and somewhat unusual too since Star Wars stories are often told from the point of view of a boy scout like Luke or a sympathetic outlaw like Han. Only sporadically does a dark character like Vader, Palpatine, Maul or Plagueis take centre stage. Bane’s isolation from the two possible power structures—the Jedi and the Sith—makes him unpredictable and, perhaps because of that, also very captivating.
DARTH BANE: PATH OF DESTRUCTION is now published under the “Legends” umbrella, which in itself is a bit awkward. Disney may have formally rebooted a large portion of the Star Wars mythology, but it did release the animation series REBELS, which heavily borrows characters, locations and events from its predecessor THE CLONE WARS. It would be silly to treat one as “New Canon” but not the other. In one of the later episodes of THE CLONE WARS, Yoda encounters the Force ghost of Darth Bane, ergo Bane must be a part of the New Canon too. It is therefore entirely unnecessary to avoid this trilogy on the basis of it being now branded “Legends” material. I treat it as part of the Star Wars mythology no matter what. Besides, unless Disney ever travels into the distant past, it’s unlikely that these books will at any point disagree with their new stuff.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve been away from the Star Wars books for half a year that I had such a blast reading this first chapter in the DARTH BANE trilogy. I firmly believe though that it truly is a great Star Wars book, which all fans of Star Wars EU should read. Enjoyably written, it tells one of the more interesting stories I have so far encountered in the series.
8.5/10
DD's 2018 book ranking
1) Casino Royale - 10/10
2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 9.5/10
3) Moonraker - 9.5/10
4) From Russia With Love - 9/10
5) The Making Of Casino Royale (1967) - 9/10
6) Dr No - 8.5/10
7) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path Of Destruction - 8.5/10
8) You Only Live Twice - 8/10
9) The Spy Who Loved Me - 8/10
10) Live And Let Die - 8/10
11) Diamonds Are Forever - 7.5/10
12) The Man With The Golden Gun - 7.5/10
13) Colonel Sun - 7.5/10
14) Goldfinger - 7/10
15) Octopussy And The Living Daylights - 7/10
16) For Your Eyes Only - 7/10
17) Thunderball - 6.5/10
18) James Bond The Secret World Of 007 - 4/10
19) So You Think You Know James Bond - 1.5/10
1966
Excellent novel. Side-splittingly funny.
It is. I have also learned that two great bands possibly got their names from Heinlein: The Rolling Stones and Talk Talk.
Have had this in my To Be Read Box for a while now. Bought in WHSmith bargain bucket for £1 just because I love the movie. Hadn’t picked it up till now because I remember getting Puzo’s The Sicilian when it first came out and not liking it at all, in fact I gave up on it.
Just recently watched Coppola’s The Godfather Part Two and thought I’d give the book a chance. Have to say, really enjoying it and am about a third through. Not great literature, but great popular fiction, very readable and recommend.
It's a fun read but I find it a very average novel. The movie is actually superior, which is a rather rare occurrence.
You could say the book is rather pulpy (though it is better than I was expecting), but the film is grandiose, compelling. Just want to finish it soon so I can watch the film again.
It’s an offer I can’t refuse,
BOOK 20
STAR WARS: DARTH BANE: RULE OF TWO
by Drew Karpyshyn
The war between the Jedi and Sith seems to have come to a close, but Darth Bane has tricked everyone. He has just selected a young girl, Zannah, as his apprentice. One day, she will grow stronger than him, challenge him and defeat him. That is how the ancient Sith "rule of two" wants it. Chancellor Valorum, one of EPISODE I’s Chancellor Valorum’s distant ancestors, meanwhile, doesn’t feel the need to keep the Jedi actively preparing for further conflicts against the Sith. The next ten years, Bane and Zannah remain hidden, but a minor few Jedi begin to suspect that not all Dark Side users were defeated on Ruusan.
Drew Karpyshyn writes with more energy than last time but offers fewer instants of action and tension. A lot of myth building and several great character moments keep me invested instead. But the highlight of DARTH BANE: RULE OF TWO has to be its more than fulfilling climax. The author manages to narrate an intense lightsaber fight in such a way that it almost reaches the adrenalized heights of the movies. All those hours reading the buildup to this moment were absolutely worth my time, if for no other reason, then to be able to reach this highpoint.
Since DARTH BANE: RULE OF TWO is the middle part of a trilogy, I am beginning to suspect where the third book will take us next. Karpyshyn doesn’t overcomplicate matters after all. The dark hero’s journey mirrors, in many ways, that of Luke. A simple miner suddenly finds himself in the middle of an epic battle between good and evil. He then follows his own path, realizing he has certain abilities which few others share. As he is believed to be the last one of his kind, he will stop at nothing to succeed. But his final confrontation may be with someone much closer to him than his usual enemies.
So far, the Darth Bane trilogy is going strong. It breathes, it often pauses, but it also builds a lot of tension. The character of Bane is a very interesting one, but even more interesting, to be fair, is Darth Zannah. Her unique Force abilities make her a fresh and exciting addition to the Star Wars universe; she’s the unexpected gift of this novel. I can only imagine how cool she must look in a live-action adaptation—a hauntingly beautiful girl, a dark Sith, with witchlike abilities, like Ventress in some ways. Because of her, because of the thrilling climax and because of the well constructed myth, I must give this book the same praise I gave the previous one.
8.5/10
DD's 2018 book ranking
1) Casino Royale - 10/10
2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 9.5/10
3) Moonraker - 9.5/10
4) From Russia With Love - 9/10
5) The Making Of Casino Royale (1967) - 9/10
6) Dr No - 8.5/10
7) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path Of Destruction - 8.5/10
8) Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule Of Two - 8.5/10
9) You Only Live Twice - 8/10
10) The Spy Who Loved Me - 8/10
11) Live And Let Die - 8/10
12) Diamonds Are Forever - 7.5/10
13) The Man With The Golden Gun - 7.5/10
14) Colonel Sun - 7.5/10
15) Goldfinger - 7/10
16) Octopussy And The Living Daylights - 7/10
17) For Your Eyes Only - 7/10
18) Thunderball - 6.5/10
19) James Bond The Secret World Of 007 - 4/10
20) So You Think You Know James Bond - 1.5/10
It's the first time I have read this since I studied the novel at university.
Autobiography of test pilot Eric 'Winkle' Brown, who flew just about everything with lots of firsts and lots of risks. Extraordinary stuff - just about every page has me going "He did WHAT!?"
1956
Excellent choice! This book, along with its sequel, ranks as one of my absolute favourites of Asimov's. I take it you have read THE CAVES OF STEEL.
Asimov's description of how people live on certain planets may strike many as cold and antisocial, but I perceive such a world as my personal "introvert" wet dream.
Unfortunately not. I am aware that this is a follow-up.
Ow okay. I'm sure it won't pose too big a problem but you will surely fail to pick up certain things here and there.
I've seen you mention that series a few times, so I recently picked up a copy of The Moscow Cipher. I want to finish the Matt Helm series first, before I dive in to the Ben Hope series.