|
| Rule of Two (Star Wars: Darth Bane) | 
 enlarge | Author: Drew Karpyshyn
Publisher: Del Rey
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $15.00
You Save: $10.95 (42%)
New (35) Used (8) from $14.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  53 reviews
Sales Rank: 7314
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0345477480
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780345477484
ASIN: 0345477480
Publication Date: December 26, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New and never read...absolute mint condition
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In the New York Times bestseller Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Drew Karpyshyn painted a gripping portrait of a young man’s journey from innocence to evil. That man was Darth Bane, a twisted genius whose iron will, fierce ambition, and strength in the dark side of the Force made him a natural leader among the Sith–until his radical embrace of an all-but-forgotten wisdom drove him to destroy his own order . . . and create it anew from the ashes. As the last surviving Sith, Darth Bane promulgated a harsh new directive: the Rule of Two.
Two there should be; no more, no less.
One to embody the power, the other to crave it.
Now Darth Bane is ready to put his policy into action, and he thinks he has found the key element that will make his triumph complete: a student to train in the ways of the dark side. Though she is young, Zannah possesses an instinctive link to the dark side that rivals his own. With his guidance, she will become essential in his quest to destroy the Jedi and dominate the galaxy.
But there is one who is determined to stop Darth Bane: Johun Othone, Padawan to Jedi Master Lord Hoth, who died at Bane’s hands in the last great Sith War. Though the rest of the Jedi scoff at him, Joshua’s belief that there are surviving Sith on the loose is unshakeable.
As Johun continues his dogged pursuit of the man who killed his master, Zannah, faced unexpectedly with a figure from her past, begins to question her embrace of the dark side. And Darth Bane is led by Force-induced visions to a moon where he will acquire astonishing new knowledge and power–power that will alter him in ways he could never have imagined. . . .
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...
 The return of Darth Bane January 13, 2008
16 out of 23 found this review helpful
Darth Bane: Rule of Two is the sequel to Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. We are still approximately a thousand years before Emperor Palpatine and the collapse of the Republic. We now have two Sith - Darth Bane and his young apprentice Zannah, previously known as Rain when he discovered her wandering around the battlefield of Ruusan after Lord Kaan triggered the thought bomb and destroyed nearly every member of both the Sith and Jedi armies.
Bane senses the power of Zannah when he first finds her, so he resolves to train her in the ways of the Sith. First she has to make her own way from Ruusan to Onderon while he goes to Dxun to find the tomb of Freedon Nadd. Once he enters the tomb, Bane discovers that the price he must pay to absorb the secrets of Freedon Nadd is that he will be covered by barnacle-like orbalisks in a permanent suit of living armor. To me these orbalisks became increasingly disgusting as the tale unfolded, and I quickly became tired of reading about them.
Ten years go by and Bane and Zannah are secluded on the Outer Rim world of Serenno. Bane is continually strengthening his command of the Dark Side while his apprentice listens, learns, and serves at the beck and call of her master. On the other end of the spectrum Jedi Johun Othone continues his long pursuit of trying to find out who killed his previous master Lord Hoth during the battle on Ruusan ten years earlier. Another character who plays a major role at this point is Zannah's cousin Darovit. The two meet again after ten years, and Darovit focuses on convincing Zannah that she still has good in her. In the last part of the book the Jedi have learned where Bane is, and they come after him. I will let the readers learn the conclusion of the tale through their own efforts.
The Darth Bane books have both been entertaining tales. I prefer the first book, but a third book in the saga would be welcome.
 A good read; leaves me anxious for a third Bane novel February 1, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
The second Star Wars novel by Drew Karpyshyn set in the Old Republic, Darth Bane: Rule of Two picks up immediately after the climactic events of the first book Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. The detonation of former Sith leader Lord Kaan's thought bomb has devastated the Jedi and Sith remaining on the planet of Ruusan. Darth Bane has survived and has just chosen a new apprentice, a girl named Rain who has recently killed two Jedi in a fit of rage. Her cousin Tomcat, who was brought to Ruusan with her originally to help the Jedi war effort, is also still around; turns out his Force powers were too weak for him to be greatly affected by the thought bomb.
These events were originally told in the Dark Horse comics series Jedi vs. Sith. In the first book, Karpyshyn retold part of that comic series, giving it a more realistic and grittier feeling (i.e., unlike the comics, Lord Valenthyne Farfalla wasn't literally a satyr in the novel and his ship, while described as like an ancient sailing vessel, still didn't sound as ridiculous as the actual imagery of it in Jedi vs. Sith was.) Apart from altering the feel of the comic series, though, Karpyshyn stayed largely faithful to its events. He completes the re-telling of the comics in Rule of Two, quickly sweeps in his own version of the older short story Bane of the Sith, and around one-third of the way into this novel finally has the opportunity to cleanly tell a brand new story of his own.
After some setup, the story takes a ten-year leap forward, so that Rain, now known as Darth Zannah, can become the young adult apprentice of Darth Bane and we can see how his plans for the new Sith Order of two individuals are progressing. Karpyshyn does not linger over Zannah's training; some is told in flashbacks but from those short sections, I believe he made a wise decision to jump forward. The few flashbacks he does include are powerful and give a potent sense of what Zannah's training has encompassed.
I find it interesting with Bane's character that as power-hungry as he clearly is, he is willing to sublimate his immediate desires for a longer-term view of building a Sith legacy. Instead of scheming to rule the galaxy a la Darth Sidious, Bane focuses on building holocrons, acquiring forgotten Sith lore, and training Zannah in the ways of the Sith. I'm unsure as to whether Palpatine represents the culmination of the order Bane was trying to build or not; he certainly metes out revenge to the Jedi Order, but Palpatine was consumed by his own power and ambition, showing little concern for empowering the Sith that should come after him.
Rule of Two may be the goriest and most violent Star Wars novel published to date. Telling a tale focused on a Sith Lord and his apprentice will naturally require a certain amount of this, but there are some scenes that may surprise readers who are used to the heroic tales of Luke Skywalker and his friends. The orbalisks covering Bane, taken from the Bane of the Sith short story, are a grotesque but fascinating concept, and Zannah's scheming to convince her master to remove them and the protection they grant is quite interesting.
The Jedi characters in this novel are a bit enigmatic. I felt there was a bit of an uneasy balance in trying to make Johun Othone into a fully-realized character while focusing on the story of Bane and Zannah. He and his allies acquire some distinguishing characteristics as the story progresses, but in the end Bane and Zannah are the memorable characters here.
The worlds featured in this novel are largely unused in other Expanded Universe stories and make a welcome change from the norm. The devastation on Ruusan underscores the impact of the Jedi and Sith battles waged there; we briefly visit Dxun and Onderon, introduced in the comic series Tales of the Jedi; there's a stop at Serenno, future home of Count Dooku; and there's a fascinating and intense sequence on Tython, a Deep Core world legendary for being the supposed birthplace of the Jedi Order.
My concern with Rule of Two is it feels like the middle novel in a trilogy. There is less resolution than I had hoped for, and while the characters evolve some, there's not nearly the progression that we saw in Bane in Path of Destruction. If Karpyshyn gets the chance to write a third Darth Bane novel, it may make me view this one a little more favorably as a transition; however, if this is the conclusion of Bane's saga, I had expected to learn more about him and the eventual handoff of his power to his successor. Rule of Two is an entertaining novel but I hope there is more to come.
A solid continuation of the Darth Bane tale December 28, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Like most EU books of late, this is a quick read...but it is definitely enjoyable. The first Darth Bane book was one of the better EU books to come out in recent years, so I was hoping that this would follow suit. For the most part, it does.
Rule of Two continues the tale of Darth Bane and Zannah, starting mere hours after Path of Destruction's end. The book follows several different storylines, all of which come together in the last 50-60 pages with a great finale. The new characters are all well-developed and interesting, compared to some other recent EU books (e.g., Death Star).
On the negative, this definitely has the feel of being a bit rushed, as the author notes in his forward -- there were a few minor spelling and grammatical errors throughout. Additionally, some plot devices seemed contrived and repetitive (e.g., yet another Sith holocron).
Still, the characters continue to develop well, the action is exciting and fast-paced, and I look forward to a third book in this series.
Good story but a bit rushed. December 28, 2007
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
I don't know what to say about this book. I really enjoyed Paths of Destruction and eagerly awaited Rule of Two. In the aknowledgements Mr. Karpyshyn stated that it was "six months... to transform an idea into a finished work on the shelves." Unfortunetly it was painfully obvious at times. The story had so many possibilities to be awesome. However it was rushed to print to the detriment of the story as well as editing. I found a number of bad grammer and missing and double words. On the good side Bane's apprentice Zannah is becoming a very interesting character and I would like to see her developed more. If you're only a passing fan of Star Wars EU don't bother with this book. If you like me want to read all the books perhaps wait until it is out in paperback so you won't waste the extra cash on the hardcover.
 Excellent Star Wars thriller December 26, 2007
6 out of 20 found this review helpful
Darth Bane has destroyed his rival Sith Lords as he places in practice his prime directive of the Rule of Two and no more; one will be the master while the other the novice.
He hides from his enemy the Jedi who for the most part assume there is no more Sith Lords while Bane also searches for the right novice. He selects Zannah as she reminds him of himself when he was younger as she embraces the dark side of the force. However, one Jedi obstinately refuses to accept the belief that the Sith Lords are no more. Johun Othone thinks Bane lives as he senses the killer of his Jedi Master Lord Hoth; he will not rest until he knows for sure that Bane is dead.
The second Darth Bane Star Wars thriller (see PATH OF DESTRUCTION) follows up where the last book left off as Drew Karpyshyn continues to tell the enthralling saga of how an innocent man turned to evil for salvation. Bane for the most part drives the exciting story line with his insane brilliance to use the dark side of the Force to destroy everything even the order he belongs too. Readers will appreciate the latest entry starring a malevolent soulless person who is evil and sinister as Vader is, only centuries earlier.
Harriet Klausner
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
