Rule of Two

Star Wars Legends (Darth Bane)

By: Drew Karpyshyn

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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.

F?;*ing Gangster! Only "Darth Plagus" Challenges This One...

I don't know why they don't make movies like this. To me, Star Wars and the new Star Wars don't even compare slightly to this and the other epics told from the perspective of the Darkside.

I'll keep it short. Buy this. Press play, and... Get ready to be seduced by the Darkside…

PS. If you've experienced "Darth Plague" you'll love this bad boy (and vice versa)...

Legacy of the Order of Sith Lords is Born

Excellent narration, excellent story.....The Rule of Two "One to embody the power, one to crave it." is a game changer for not only the Sith, but the galaxy as a whole. Darth Bane and Darth Zannah begin the grand plan to topple the Jedi, along the way of laying the foundation they must make perilous journey's. Zannah must infiltrate the Jedi Order itself while Darth Bane heads to the orders ancestral home world of Tython. The Path of Destruction started in book 1 continues, and many will suffer.

The Ultimate Anti-Hero!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Rule of Two to be better than the print version?

Yes! The sound effects and background noise make it so much more enjoyable!! You can actually put yourself into the action.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rule of Two?

So many stand out moments...but if pressured...the final battle is quite awesome! It seem to last like for 10 minutes of listening!!

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Davis – was your favorite?

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.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The Ultimate Anti-Hero

Any additional comments?

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.

star wars classic

this is the stuff of legends . darth vader who? long live the sith...... classic

Not as strong as the first

An average story that pushes the legend of Darth Bane forward. It suffered some through content as it really only progressed one character. I would suggest listening to it if you enjoyed the first one but in my opinion it is weaker

The voice acting is great, even the female voices are solid. The mark downs are for the background sounds. Unnecessarily short loops became distracting and often times the background volume seemed to compete for your attention as opposed to improving the experience. I remember footsteps at the beginning of the book that drove me nuts. To listen to an entire book and being able to recall being annoyed by footsteps at the beginning is a testament to how bad they irked me.

Glad to see this come to audiobook

What did you love best about Rule of Two?

The story and the characters. I loved reading all three books and the audio version did not disappoint.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved how it was unabridged, so you didn't lose a minute of the action.

What about Jonathan Davis’s performance did you like?

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.

I'm In Love With A Sith Lord!!!

Where does Rule of Two rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would say this is definitely, absolutely in my top 5 favorite of all times.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I have grappled with the immensely confusing feelings that reading these first two books in the trilogy have brought about because I freaking love Darth Bane, even though he's kiiiind of not such a great guy, morally.
Love me some Darth Bane. He's just spectacularly awesome in every way.

What does Jonathan Davis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's now among my favorite narrators - I am very impressed. He seems to be familiar enought with the Star Wars Universe to give compelling & believable performances.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I would love nothing more than a film of this book. Title?
The Light Side Aint the Right Side. Eh??!

Any additional comments?

I am worried that whatever I read next (after the next & final book in this saga) will never measure up to The Bane Trilogy.

Can't wait till book 3

If you could sum up Rule of Two in three words, what would they be?

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.

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

He caries this series well and I look forward to listening to him again.

A decent story but not what I hoped

Phew. This was a tough one to finish. I really enjoyed the first story in the series but unfortunately this does not hold up. I expected to read more about Bane but he was preoccupied throughout most of the story with a trivial task and you see experience most of the plot through this apprentice and a number of one dimensional characters that you never really grow any attachment to. 2 Stars for the sake of Jonathan Davis' exceptional voice work as always. And perhaps for the small bit of interest the story takes toward it's final chapters. But the slow build with drab characters does not make the climax worth the wait. I'd love to see how the series concludes but unfortunately I'll have to call it here and read a synopsis elsewhere online.

excellent again and on to book 3

It's got an excellent story with a well hidden plot at the end. It suprised me as I didn't see it coming with the way it was told.

Great continuation to Darth Banes story

If you liked the story of Darth Bane then you would like this continuation of it.

Does the Sith justice for lack of better words

I've listened to Starwars Kenobi, and didn't care much for the lazy space western, next came Darth Vader, which seemed short and unfinished, later listened to The Force Unleashed which left me mildly satisfied, but Darth Bane is one of the Jewels so far in the Republic series. Could make a good movie, but 2, even 3 hours wouldn't be enough. Also what is narrated, battles and use of force (dark and light) is better told in writing or heard than on the screen. Great book to start a series based on "The law of Two". I look forward to the next book.

Another gripping story

Another gripping story in the Darth Bane series. Well read couldn't stop listening. Continues where last one left off, gripping characters.

OMG!!! Simply, Excellent!!

Overall, a fantastic storyline with a great narrator. This series should be made into a movie.

Always 2 there are…

This picks up exactly where the first book left off! Absolutely fantastic listening! You are thrust straight back into the story with no warning whatsoever and it is brilliant!

Darth Bane would be a match for Palpatine and would pretty much wipe the floor with Vader! Really looking forward to listening to the last in the trilogy!

Great read

darth bane trilogy brilliant. Worth a read for any star wars fan. won't be disappointed!

Fantastsic sequel book

Great sequel to the first one. Now onto the third to complete the trilogy! Love this series

Love it

I absolutely love the bane trilogy, Jonathan makes it ten times better. Can’t ask for me

Better than the first book, gets more intriguing

The first book I found to be a bit of a struggle (recommended by a friend), but this one definitely grabbed my attention more with more interesting characters. Will listen to the third in the series to see what happens.