Review: Star Wars- Lords of the Sith

Quick Summary

Pros: Scenes with the Emperor and Vader are great. The story provides an interesting view of this period in the planet Ryloth’s history.

Cons: The book’s conflict is underwhelming, which leads to a disappointing finale. There are not enough scenes with the Emperor and Vader.

Overall: This is a book with pretty specific appeal. The book delivers on solid moments from the Emperor and Darth Vader and also delivers on continuing plotlines already present in the Star Wars universe. However, its main conflict is pretty disappointing and undercuts the book’s conclusion. In the end, this book is mostly for fans of the ongoing story of Ryloth or those really intrigued by the dynamic between the Emperor and Vader, not fans just looking for an all-around good story.

Story

Star Wars: Lords of the Sith, by Paul S. Kemp, contains some appealing aspects but underwhelms when it comes to its main conflict.

The biggest positive in this entire book is the interactions between the Emperor and Vader. When these two are together, the similarities and contrasts between them are pronounced in a way that is fascinating to see. This is particularly poignant when Vader’s capacity for evil is completely overwhelmed by the simple terror evoked by nearly all of the Emperor’s thoughts and actions. The only downside is that it feels like the Emperor/Vader scenes are a small portion of the book as a whole.

The book’s other main positive is the way it fits into the planet Ryloth’s history. This book details the planet’s struggle after the events of The Clone Wars but before the events of Rebels, providing a unique point of transition. However, these positives will likely only be enjoyed by fans of both of those shows.

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The biggest negative in Lords of the Sith is that it self-sabotages much of its own suspense and tension. The narrative constantly positions the battle between the rebels and Vader as the book’s main source of conflict and tension. However, it also constantly demonstrates how completely outmatched the rebels are and shows that they have absolutely no chance against Vader. This makes it so when the final clash finally occurs, the book has provided no reason to think the rebels will win and, thus, there is little to no tension. Obviously I knew Vader would survive this book but I would have appreciated at least an attempt at making it seem like he was in trouble.

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Continuity

Star Wars: Lords of the Sith takes place at some point before the events of Episode IV- A New Hope. The main story is a general continuation of the planet Ryloth’s history and one of the subplots is a continuation of Cham Syndulla’s personal story, both of which are picked up from where they left off in The Clone Wars animated series.

The situation on Ryloth and Cham Syndulla’s personal story are generally expanded upon in episodes of the Star Wars: Rebels animated series.