Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn (Star Wars : Darth Bane: Book 1)

This is the first of all the Star Wars books I've ever read, mostly because I have the problematic desire of starting any series of books at the very beginning and with this book, you can hardly get any earlier. They begin 1003-1000 years BBY (before Battle of Yavin). The book chronicles the origins of the Sith as we have seen in the movies and any books later on in the time-line.

'Path of Destruction' begins with the main character Dessel as he toils away on a mining planet, the Sith forces offer him a way out and he takes it wholeheartedly. Promise of power, escape and controlling his own destiny provide him with a greater path than he could ever previously conceive. The story moves with an enjoyable pace and certainly has the feel of the films, Jedi and Sith are abundant throughout the book and you can see they have different factions within themselves.

Jedi encompass the ethics and morals that are prevalent within the films, but almost with some fanatic fervour. Within this setting, they're righteous warriors as well as men falling the 'Light'. The Sith are exactly as expected, power hungry and despise weakness of any sort, they however, offer the opportunity of power and freedom to many of the planets. Everything is not so black and white, many planets are war torn and feel the Jedi are responsible, although they fight for a cause they often portray themselves as beyond the lower classes, whereas, the Sith build upon and exploit this fact. The majority of the book is seen from the Sith point of view, might is right, this works surprisingly well as you often find yourself 'rooting' for the bad guys even though in your heart you know the Jedi are the ones that should really win the battles.

Reading about the Sith academy is great, particularly if you've ever played the computer game Knights of the Old Republic, having the main character walk down the same paths as the computer game is great fun. Though this does often leave you with the feeling that it's more of an game adaptation than a novel in it's own right. It sometimes feels like the setting of Star Wars is tacked on to the story, rather than the story developing because of the setting, though this could be said for most science-fiction or fantasy.

This first story is a great start to the Star Wars universe, it shows the scheming Sith in wonderful powerful portrayal, whilst showing the Jedi to be the 'good guys'. However, at times it loses it's originality thanks to other sources of knowledge and rather than exploring those same worlds and providing the reader with an even greater insight and knowledge may lead them down paths they've already covered. Regardless, it is an enjoyable, well written novel that will most will enjoy. Just don't expect it to be utterly original in it's ideas and placement. If however, you want to experience the world of KOTOR in a novel, this is ideal.

7/10 This first story is a great start to the Star Wars universe.