In the New York Times best-seller Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Drew Karpyshyn painted a gripping portrait of a young man’s journey from innocence to evil. That man was Darth Bane, a twisted genius whose iron will, fierce ambition, and strength in the dark side of the Force made him a natural leader among the Sith - until his radical embrace of an all-but-forgotten wisdom drove him to destroy his own order...and create it anew from the ashes. As the last surviving Sith, Darth Bane promulgated a harsh new directive: the Rule of Two.
Two there should be; no more, no less.
One to embody the power, the other to crave it.
Now Darth Bane is ready to put his policy into action, and he thinks he has found the key element that will make his triumph complete: a student to train in the ways of the dark side. Though she is young, Zannah possesses an instinctive link to the dark side that rivals his own. With his guidance, she will become essential in his quest to destroy the Jedi and dominate the galaxy.
But there is one who is determined to stop Darth Bane: Johun Othone, Padawan to Jedi Master Lord Hoth, who died at Bane’s hands in the last great Sith War. Though the rest of the Jedi scoff at him, Joshua’s belief that there are surviving Sith on the loose is unshakeable.
As Johun continues his dogged pursuit of the man who killed his master, Zannah, faced unexpectedly with a figure from her past, begins to question her embrace of the dark side. And Darth Bane is led by Force-induced visions to a moon where he will acquire astonishing new knowledge and power - power that will alter him in ways he could never have imagined....
©2012 Drew Karpyshyn (P)2012 Random House Audio
"Great start"
This was a very interesting addition to the ongoing introduction and metamorphosis of Darth Bane. Jonathan Davis must be the best in the business as everything he does is always done with a level of discernment I have found far batter than your average audio book performer. His narrative makes the book worth it.
"The Ultimate Anti-Hero!!!"
Yes! The sound effects and background noise make it so much more enjoyable!! You can actually put yourself into the action.
So many stand out moments...but if pressured...the final battle is quite awesome! It seem to last like for 10 minutes of listening!!
He does them all quite well, even the females. However, I think he seems to do quite well with Valenthyne Farfalla. He seems to put allot of emotion and feeling into his dialog.
The Ultimate Anti-Hero
Even though Bane is the real main character here, he spends allot of time in the background. The gist of the story focuses on Zannah and her missions and training. Also on her doubts. She is by a Sith for sure, but sometimes feels torn about it.
"Glad to see this come to audiobook"
The story and the characters. I loved reading all three books and the audio version did not disappoint.
I loved how it was unabridged, so you didn't lose a minute of the action.
I've always enjoyed his performances on Star Wars titles. My only fault was there was one or two moment for about 5 minutes apiece where there was a reverb effect where none was needed. It made everything sound like a interior monologue when it was obviously not.
"Can't wait till book 3"
Not a let down. Often the middle of trio has no real plot and is all set up for part three. This book did an excellent job of creating a unique story and still left me wanting for the next one.
He caries this series well and I look forward to listening to him again.
"Dark and Original"
The Reader reallyyy takes his job seriously, does lots of voices and reads with
Great enthusiasm.
The re-forming of the darkside, and the difficulty of maintaing the raw power of the darkside
None
Just the lightsaber noise
Very interesting story perspective of the sith
"Fantastic Book!"
Loved the characters and the story clicked into place for me.
Darth Bane was my favorite.
I loved this series. One of my favorite among the Star Wars series.
"Gripping story from start to finish!"
Yes, Drew's story was excellent, not to mention greatly narrated by Jonathan Davis.
The tense and gripping ending. I never thought one could 'read' about a lightsaber battle but Drew made it truly imaginable with his accurate descriptions.
The background noise sets the environment, while Jonathan and his many voices really add flavour to each character. It would have been a bit flat if all the characters had the same voices, so the fact that each character had their own unique identify really made it more exciting.
Despite being evil (albeit a lawful evil), you really do feel a bit sorry for Bane and everything that he struggles against.
I can't recommend this entire series enough. Not only is it great story telling, excellent narration, but the characters are their own with each distinct personality. Some you really care for while others you just want to slap. But the fact that you care so much either way is a great testament to how good this series is.
"Great Trilogy"
Wish they made a movie!
Darth Bane training young apprentice!
Bane!
Bane in the Sith Temple!
Get it! Now
Avid book reader and fan of quality audibles.
"Loved It...Want More"
The "Rule of Two" was amazingly fun and a great listening experience. As a sequel, I was concerned the story would fail to live up to the quality of the first book, Path of Destruction. While different, the book still managed to exceed my expectations. The story throws in some surprises as Bane goes on the hunt for ancient holocrons and begins preparing his new apprentice for her eventual rise to power. The ending introduces additional twists and turns that I found interesting. The narration and production quality are the same as the first book (which I loved) and continue to receive nothing but the highest of praise from me.
Questionable Points:
If I had to pick a couple of criticisms, one would be that I do not really agree with Bane's ideology of the "rule of two". I find that the Sith, whether they are two or two million, suffer the same backstabbing and power hungry intentions regardless of their numbers. Another criticism would be the lack of force power use and the over reliance of the light saber. These are more issues with the universe as a whole rather than the author since force users create barriers against each other hence the reliance on the sabers. These are comments regarding the lore overall, but are two things that often surface to the top of my thoughts. Although I find myself disappoint by the progression of the Sith to a "rule of two" rule of two ideology and the lore's nullification of force powers, I still found the story, characters, narration and overall enjoyment of the book carried through till the end.
Overall, an exceptional tale with fun twists and turns that delighted me every step of the way.
"Almost there but missed the target!"
The Rule of Two is a very good Star Wars installment following the pattern of the Old Republic series. The Sith dominate but the Jedi are there trying and prying.
The author succeeds in creating the ever so lasting magic Star Wars atmosphere but despite all odds in favour for the story-line the final steps of the race stumble and you ask why and how could nobody see that big flaw.
The author does not clinch it and I was ripped apart by this galactic big mistake...
I hope the third part of the trilogy will make up for the flaw of Rule of Two. The first episode Path of Destruction does not show any such story deficiencies but on the other hand there are no such climaxes as the Rule of Two offers when the "big fight" is on. That one makes up for all of your money purchasing this great listen.
On my 64-long Star Wars chart The Rule of Two is found on place 15. Not too bad, I believe.
Joakim - the Swedish book worm.