Lords of the Sith: Star Wars (Star Wars: Jedi Academy Trilogy)

by Paul S Kemp

[inlibrisveritas]

First off…that book summary entirely too long…but they are forgiven because Lords of the Sith turned out to be an extremely addition to the new Star Wars canon.

This takes place after Revenge of the Sith (Episode 3) and centers around Darth Vader and Cham Syndulla. We know Vader…no need for that introduction. However Cham might be unfamiliar to those not familiar with the Clone Wars animated show. Cham is a Twi’lek who has lead a resistance against those who oppress his home planet of Ryloth. He’s fought against the Separatists and now the Empire. He’s a man of honor and hope, and I quite like him. He’s intelligent, determined, and level headed in spite of the constant twists and turns the rebellion takes. He’s also the father to Hera Syndulla, the main character of A New Dawn and featured heavily in the show Rebels. It’s kind of cool to learn more about the man who raised her, and what sort of life she had as a child that made her go on to follow in his footsteps.

The actual plot however focuses on Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine’s unexpected visit to Ryloth, and Cham’s plan to put an end to both of them. Of course it’s never that simple when it comes to the two Sith Lords, especially the Emperor because most people just assume he’s just some old guy in a robe. There is plenty of action, and ton of depth when it comes to the main characters and their relationships. One thing I liked was the continuity between the movies, books, and tv shows…which is something that we regrettably didn’t get with the early Darth Vader focused novels in the old EU simply because that material hadn’t been released yet. Now we get to see and understand the dynamic between master and apprentice and see how Vader’s past as Anakin plays a part in that. All I can see is that Vader is a complete badass, but the Emperor is a fucking asshole…excuse my french. He is one of those ‘let you make mistakes so I can laugh in your face when you have to fix them’ kind of guy, and everything he does is a test. But it was nice to see the constant searching and probing for weakness on the part of both Vader and Palpatine, because even with undying loyalty to their partnership the moment one shows too much of a weakness it’s over and one ends up dead so it really adds to the already tense atmosphere.

Overall Lords of the Sith was a fantastic read full of action, tension, and yell worthy moments. I found myself rooting for both sides, which was a bit confusing but really made the novel even better. I’m loving these new stories and I really hope they continue in this quality.