Book notes: Star Wars: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn

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Star Wars: Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic by Drew Karpyshyn

Synopsis:

“Once the Sith order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy – until one dark lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.

Since childhood, Dessel has known only the abuse of his hateful father and the dangerous, soul-crushing labor of a cortosis miner. Deep in the tunnels of the desolate planet Apatros, endlessly excavating the rare mineral valued throughout the galaxy, Dessel dreams of the day he can escape – a day he fears may never come. But when a high-stakes card game ends in deadly violence, Dessel suddenly finds himself a wanted man.

On the run from vengeful Republic forces, Dessel vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions. There, Dessel’s brutality, cunning, and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior. But in the eyes of his watchful masters, he is destined for a far greater role in the ultimate Sith plan for the galaxy – if he can prove himself truly worthy.

As an acolyte in the Sith academy, studying the secrets and skills of the dark side at the feet of its greatest masters, Dessel embraces his new Sith identity: Bane. However the true test is yet to come. In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness, one must fully surrender to the dark side through a trial by fire that Bane, for all his unquenchable fury and lust for power, may not be strong enough to endure… especially since deception, treachery, and murder run rampant among the Sith disciples, and utter ruthlessness alone is the key to survival.

Only by defying the most sacred traditions, rejecting all he has been taught, and drawing upon the long-forgotten wisdom of the very first Sith can Bane hope to triumph – and forge from the ashes of that which he must destroy a new era of absolute dark power.” -Audible

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Opening thoughts:

This book (or series rather) was recommended to me by a fellow, avid book reader. He noticed I was listening to a lot of Star Wars books and highly recommended this one. I take recommendations seriously, and when I saw the high-average review on Audible, I figured it must be a good read.

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Key notes:

Part One: Three Years Later

Chapter 1

• Dessel was a big miner who was strong and hardened from all the intense physical labor
  • His late father used to call him Bane along with all the abuse over the years
• The old man escalated the fight, so Dessel retaliated and felt justified for biting his thumb off and ending the fight

Chapter 2

• Since he couldn’t work the mines, he decided to take Republic troops’ credits at the cantina where people frequently gambled

Chapter 3

• He tried to rile up the soldiers and make them angry over his talking points about the Sith versus the Jedi and the Republic. And that their cause was not justified because people like him in the Outer Rim are not being saved by anyone

Chapter 4

• The bar owner told him that he projected all of his hatred and anger out to everyone in the bar and unintentionally almost started a riot with some mystical aura

Chapter 5

• After being ambushed by three soldiers and killing one of them in self-defense, he went back to the bar, and the bar owner advised him to get off-world and join the Sith instead of going to a prison world

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

• In a desperate situation, Dessel managed to use a long-range weapon to take out vital targets using some unknown power of perception during the battle
• He was court marshaled and thrown in prison for insubordination, despite having won the battle and caused a victory for that mission

Chapter 8

• He was explicitly told by a Sith Lord that he was special and had a lot of potential in the dark side. He was reborn and took on the new name of Bane

Part Two

Chapter 9

• He was told that those who come to Korriban to train under Sith Lords have the most potential to become Lords themselves
• The dark side nurtured the power of the individual 

Chapter 10

• Training in lightsaber combat utilized sequences for maximum efficiency and technique for each form
• Bane was relentless in his pursuit of perfection in everything he studied and trained in
• In a sparring match with another student Fohargh, he used the force to kill his opponent to win

Chapter 11

• Bane realized that the night his father died of a heart attack right after beating him, was caused by him using the force
  • His father was the first person he killed using the force

Chapter 12

• Fear was holding Bane back, and the masters knew it. They were ordered to stop giving him any help or attention

Part Two

Chapter 13

• He was defeated and almost killed by the top student, a Zabrak named Sirak

Chapter 14

• Both Githany and the sword master Lord Kas’im separately agreed to train him, after he had regained the will to fight

Chapter 15

• He trained in secret from everyone so that they would ignore and underestimate him and his progress
• His supplemental study in the archives with the ancient texts and wisdom was the right move, which further accelerated his growth
• Githany realized that all of his characteristics beneath the surface made him intriguing, and there was a part of her that was drawn to him. Which made him dangerous

Chapter 16

• Bane revealed that he knew of Githany’s plan to use him to assassinate the Zabrak. However, he told her that he was ready to challenge him in a real duel

Chapter 17

• After his victory, Githany confronted Bane over his compassion for his enemy and not killing him. She silently figured that his inability to kill an ally would be her advantage
• He was ordered by the headmaster of the academy Lord Qordis to stop studying in secret and studying the ancient texts
  • However, he disagreed with the lord that the ancient wisdom was useless and argued directly

Chapter 18

• Bane went to the old temples of the Sith but found nothing

Chapter 19

• After two weeks of searching, he realized there was nothing there. However, he gained clarity in that the Brotherhood of Darkness were the real ones who strayed from the truth of the Sith
• Upon returning, he was bestowed the title of master and now a dark Lord. He was also given a stronger, synthetic lightsaber crystal
• The Dark Lords told them that everyone at the Academy was going to join the war effort against the Jedi

Chapter 20

• He survived the trap by Sirak and killed him and his allies with Githany
• Bane told everyone in a public confrontation with Qordis that they were all cowards for not using the Darth title
• Bane proclaimed that he served no master

Part Three

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

• Bane made it to the Sith temple, the Temple of the Ancients, on the world called Lehon, an isolated ancient planet. There, he found a holocron from Darth Revan
• Kaan ordered Kas’im to find Bane and request him to join the Brotherhood once more. If he refuses again, he is to kill Bane

Chapter 23

• Darth Revan spoke of the Sith only taking one apprentice to maintain power and control, and never multiple. He also said there should only be one Dark Lord at the top to rule the Sith
• He realized the truth that Revan spoke of in which the power of the dark side must be concentrated in the few and powerful instead of dispersed to many
• The Rule of Two meant one Sith Lord would embody the power, and one apprentice would crave it
  • This also meant that Bane had to crush the Brotherhood
• After a tough lightsaber battle with his former teacher, and on the verge of losing to his superior skills, Bane managed to use the force and take him by surprise

Chapter 24

• The war between the Sith and the Jedi was changing as the Sith were starting to win. Darth Bane decided to use deception to kill the Brotherhood, and Lord Kaan agreed to send Githany to kill Bane

Chapter 25

• Githany visited him to poison him
• While being poisoned and slowly dying, he came across a family of three young boys and a father. Slaughtering them one by one gave him the power he needed to survive a bit longer

Chapter 26

• Reader’s note: It’s ironic how the Jedi General Hoth lost sight of why he’s fighting and is now fighting for simply hatred of the Sith and anger and pride. Meanwhile, the Sith Lord Kaan is fighting for unity among the dark lords. It is as if their physical clashing resulted in a mixture of their ideologies
• He barely managed to survive by finding and threatening the healer who lived on that planet

Chapter 27

• Bane joined up with the other Sith in a plot to gain their trust or make it seem like he was trying to take over the Brotherhood

Chapter 28

• Bane sabotaged the Sith fleet and ultimately helped the Jedi reinforcements make it to the planet 

Chapter 29

• Bane pretended to swear allegiance to Kaan so that he would use the thought bomb against the Jedi 

Chapter 30

• Lord Kopecz wanted to die in battle and told the Jedi about Kaan’s plan

Chapter 31

• The thought bomb worked and destroyed the Brotherhood along with a hundred Jedi 

Epilogue

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Closing thoughts:

Wow, what a fantastic book. I thoroughly enjoyed following Darth Bane’s rise to power and his persistent study of the dark side. Even though he had a lot of potential in the force, what I admire about him a lot was his dedication to constantly learning and improving, learning from multiple sources and not discarding the ancient texts like the other Sith do. Even though he’s evil, I think his story and ultimate victory over the Brotherhood of Darkness is a testament to him being more open-minded and true to the real principles of the dark side.

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One Takeaway / Putting into practice:

I think the takeaway from this for me is easy:

• Don’t disregard ancient wisdom (texts in books), as they can give you a huge advantage over those who ignore timeless knowledge.

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Nutshell:

The rise of Darth Bane as he ultimately destroys the entire Brotherhood of Darkness and starts a new era of the Sith.

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Similar books:

• Star Wars: Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston
• Shatterpoint: Star Wars Legends by Matthew Stover
• Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
• Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno
• Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber

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Rating:

4/5

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