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A review by craiggors
Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side by Daniel Wallace
4.0
"If you only knew the power of the dark side..."
The Book of Sith is another in-universe text from the Star Wars mythos. This time, we're dealing with a volume of recovered texts all dealing with dark side history, teachings, philosophies, failings, and strategies. The premise is that we're dealing with collected texts that are all fragments of larger works that were gathered together by Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine and annotated by him shortly after the execution of Order 66 and the rise of his Galactic Empire. This book was found among Palpatine's possessions in the Imperial Palace by Luke Skywalker after the Emperor's death at Endor and he has provided his own observations. There are additional notes in the margins throughout the texts from Yoda, Mace Windu, Quinlan Vos, Asajj Ventress, and Darth Vader depending on the subject matter.
The "chapters" include a history of the Dark Jedi and rise of the Sith Empire by master alchemist Sorzus Syn, a field journal from Darth Malgus during the Great Galactic War, Darth Bane's establishment of the Rule of Two and the new Sith Order, a guide to dark side magic by Mother Talzin of the Nightsisters, and recordings from Darth Plagueis about the true nature of the dark side and the relationship between biology and the Force. The texts are bookended by statements from Palpatine expounding upon his grand plan and his general genius in achieving the Sith goal.
This is a fun book and an easy ride, much more so than the often dense textbook tone of the [b:Star Wars: Imperial Handbook|25744885|Star Wars Imperial Handbook|Daniel Wallace|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456112428s/25744885.jpg|45585664]. Once again the annotations from various characters provided great commentary and encouraged engagement with the ideas presented. Palpatine's comments in particular allowed for narrative cohesion as he elaborated on why he had selected these particular texts to form into his first Book of Sith and Vader's were a delight as they were appropriately rare and sassy.
I've always loved the villains, and Darth Vader was and may always be king of the bad guys to me, so I had a blast diving into what was essentially 160 pages of evil world building. You can tell Daniel Wallace knows his Star Wars. Or at least he did. One of Luke's notes mentions his "nephew Jacen" so that means this book is relegated to Legends (formerly Expanded Universe) and isn't canon per say; but like the Nighsisters, the spirit of the dark side described here will traverse realms into the new canon and haunt us in new and sinister forms.
Know your enemy. Read up and get prepared.
The Book of Sith is another in-universe text from the Star Wars mythos. This time, we're dealing with a volume of recovered texts all dealing with dark side history, teachings, philosophies, failings, and strategies. The premise is that we're dealing with collected texts that are all fragments of larger works that were gathered together by Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine and annotated by him shortly after the execution of Order 66 and the rise of his Galactic Empire. This book was found among Palpatine's possessions in the Imperial Palace by Luke Skywalker after the Emperor's death at Endor and he has provided his own observations. There are additional notes in the margins throughout the texts from Yoda, Mace Windu, Quinlan Vos, Asajj Ventress, and Darth Vader depending on the subject matter.
The "chapters" include a history of the Dark Jedi and rise of the Sith Empire by master alchemist Sorzus Syn, a field journal from Darth Malgus during the Great Galactic War, Darth Bane's establishment of the Rule of Two and the new Sith Order, a guide to dark side magic by Mother Talzin of the Nightsisters, and recordings from Darth Plagueis about the true nature of the dark side and the relationship between biology and the Force. The texts are bookended by statements from Palpatine expounding upon his grand plan and his general genius in achieving the Sith goal.
This is a fun book and an easy ride, much more so than the often dense textbook tone of the [b:Star Wars: Imperial Handbook|25744885|Star Wars Imperial Handbook|Daniel Wallace|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456112428s/25744885.jpg|45585664]. Once again the annotations from various characters provided great commentary and encouraged engagement with the ideas presented. Palpatine's comments in particular allowed for narrative cohesion as he elaborated on why he had selected these particular texts to form into his first Book of Sith and Vader's were a delight as they were appropriately rare and sassy.
I've always loved the villains, and Darth Vader was and may always be king of the bad guys to me, so I had a blast diving into what was essentially 160 pages of evil world building. You can tell Daniel Wallace knows his Star Wars. Or at least he did. One of Luke's notes mentions his "nephew Jacen" so that means this book is relegated to Legends (formerly Expanded Universe) and isn't canon per say; but like the Nighsisters, the spirit of the dark side described here will traverse realms into the new canon and haunt us in new and sinister forms.
Know your enemy. Read up and get prepared.