Star Wars: Darth Plagueis

By: James Luceno

Narrated by: Daniel Davis

Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

He was the most powerful Sith lord who ever lived... but could he be the only one who never died?

“Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise that he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying." -Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

Darth Plagueis: one of the most brilliant Sith Lords who ever lived. Possessing power is all he desires. Losing it is the only thing he fears. As an apprentice, he embraces the ruthless ways of the Sith. And when the time is right, he destroys his Master - but vows never to suffer the same fate. For like no other disciple of the dark side, Darth Plagueis learns to command the ultimate power... over life and death.

Darth Sidious: Plagueis’s chosen apprentice. Under the guidance of his Master, he secretly studies the ways of the Sith, while publicly rising to power in the galactic government, first as Senator, then as Chancellor, and eventually as Emperor.

Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious, Master and acolyte, target the galaxy for domination - and the Jedi Order for annihilation. But can they defy the merciless Sith tradition? Or will the desire of one to rule supreme, and the dream of the other to live forever, sow the seeds of their destruction?

©2012 James Luceno (P)2012 Random House Audio

Great story, better performance

The performance was magnificent! The effects used to make it sound like Star Wars, with both voices and music, sets this apart from other audio books.

The story was terrific, but the politics get a little dry at times. The action scenes and tie-ins to the movies are brilliant though!

AMAZING!!!

I loved every second of this audiobook. The story itself was wonderfully written and had me hooked from the beginning until the end. The narration was perfect, he painted a beautiful picture of each character and made you feel apart of every conversation. The added music and sound effects were outstanding, I haven't listened to an audiobook that has had those added features, they really set the mood and put emphasis in all the right places. I listened to this book over the course of 2 days and can not wait to get into another!

A worthy re-read

Excellent! Darth Plagueis tells you everything you need to know about the Dark Lord of the Sith! A worthy re-read

good but not great

the story was great. All the history that was brought forward was great for any Star Wars historian. The narrator on the other hand, in my opinion, lacked what it took to bring justice to the book.

Infamous books are always best!

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would, perhaps one of the best stand-alone Star Wars novels I've ever read. Do what makes this stand apart? The insight on how the Empire and Darth Sidious developed is nothing short of fascinating.

As always, you can expect expect your favorite Star Wars sound effects and amazing narration. I've listen to Daniel Davies narrate before, but he really comes into his own.

Just like the Bane trilogy, Darth Plagueis is brutal with how he exercises his Sith power but it isn't as dark and violent. Having said that, it might come to a shock that you're still listening to a Star Wars novel. The point of view changes from chapter to chapter, which is rather standard in fantasy epics but might cause problems with less experienced readers.

Very cool history into one of the best villains

What made the experience of listening to Star Wars: Darth Plagueis the most enjoyable?

Many voices and special effects sounds, was very fun to listen to.

Have you listened to any of Daniel Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but the voice actor was very good. I would love to listen to him again if he did a title I was interested in.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was far to long for that, but I did get through it much faster than some other books.

Any additional comments?

For anyone wanting to know the history of the emperor, this will fill you in, and explains Vader. Over all a very good book with a wonderful voice actor.

What The Phantom Menace should have been.

If this was episode one it would have been way better. Great story, great narration and ambiance.

Great story!!

This made for a great story prior to episode one to fill in the gaps of how Palpatine became a Sith Lord even going as far as entering into episode one.
It also makes you think about the theories of how Lord Plagueis could be the new villain in the new movies.

Recommend for any SW fan, but...

Plagueis's story certainly deserved it's own book, and it delivered on my opinion. The narration and sound effects were well done. It eventually weaved into the events of episode 1 and those characters with the intended effect. There was just as much time spent on thoroughly developing Darth Sidious though, which I didn't necessarily mind, but the book title is a little misleading. Some of the political talk that bogged down TPM did the same in a few spots here too, but not to the same detriment.

Oh I'm not brave enough for politics

What made the experience of listening to Star Wars: Darth Plagueis the most enjoyable?

I really like delving into the mysteries of the Force. It was my favorite part of the KOTOR 2 game, and hearing more about it is a great treat. The voice work was done well too, and Davis does a good job of bringing characters to life.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Darth Plagueis. I always enjoy a confident, powerful character that is in control, rather than being a stumbling fool throughout a story.

Any additional comments?

Like any novel in this time, Luceno's work had to work hard both to create an interesting story and to explain away or even plug the gaping plot holes George Lucas left in the Prequels. There is a lot of set up and political machinations that can get a little tiresome mostly because I wanted to get back to Sith stuff, but it does all build up properly and cast things in the movies in a better light.