Lords of the Sith: Not the book you’re looking for, but that’s ok

Review by Luna Okami

Paul S. Kemp, author of Star Wars novels Crosscurrent, Riptide, and The Old Republic: Deceived returns in Lords of the Sith to tackle two of the most legendary Sith Lords in the entire Star Wars pantheon, Darth Sidious and Darth Vader. The promotional materials for Lords promises a rare glimpse into the relationship between these iconic characters as they face deadly peril together. Kemp delivers on that promise but, the titular Lords of the Sith only make up about a third of the story. The book’s true focus is the struggles of the Free Ryloth movement. While this may disappoint those who are looking for a more nuanced depiction of the Master/Apprentice pair similar to James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis, Kemp masterfully weaves an action packed and balanced space opera worthy of its own television arc or movie adaptation.

Set on the planet Ryloth during the era between Episode III and the previous canon novel Tarkin, Lords of the Sith acts like a bridge between the Clone Wars series, Episode III and Star Wars: Rebels. In addition to the fan-beloved Sith Lords, the story follows Free Ryloth freedom fighters led by the Twi’lek Cham Syndulla and his former slave lieutenant Isval. Rounding out the supporting cast of characters is a rival pair of Imperial officers tasked with Ryloth’s governance, Moff Delion Mors and her ambitious subordinate Colonel Belkor Dray.

Beware of Spoilers past this point

The book grabs the reader immediately by opening with Darth Vader thwarting a rebel hijacking of a space freighter in a jaw dropping display of raw power. Cham and his freedom fighters quickly learn why Vader is the most feared man in the galaxy as hardened freedom fighters are cut down like grass before the Dark Lord. The Free Ryloth insurgents barely have time to mourn their comrades before receiving intelligence that Lord Vader and the Emperor himself are paying a secret visit to Ryloth in response to the group's recent activities.

The opportunity to cut the proverbial head off the Imperial snake is too good to pass up and the Free Ryloth rebels embark on their greatest operation yet: assassinating the Emperor and his apprentice. To do so, the freedom fighters set up an elaborate trap that ensnares an entire Star Destroyer, forcing Vader and the Emperor to crash land on the planet’s surface. Now the two Sith must traverse the surface of a hostile world while Rebel and Imperial forces navigate a tangled web of espionage in a deadly race to reach them.

In moving through the plot, Kemp flows seamlessly from action to espionage to character development while keeping a solid pace up throughout. While the Sith Lords and supporting characters are interesting and well-rounded and the political subplots are given just the right amount of pagetime to keep the reader’s interest, it’s the action scenes where Lords truly shines. The space battles are engaging, well described and frantically paced. Vader and the Emperor are placed in believable danger (no easy feat given their immense powers) and must call upon their full combined power to escape. The fact we, as the audience, know the Sith survive before even opening the cover doesn’t detract from the tension of their action scenes which is a huge credit to Kemp.

My biggest criticism of the plot is that the book could have used an actual epilogue. The fates of Ryloth and many of the supporting characters are left wide open. The build up to the final scene is great, but the scene itself provides little resolution. The ending feels very abrupt, a short epilogue briefly showing some of the consequences of the book’s events would have given some much needed closure.

The supporting cast of characters for Lords manages to be well-rounded and interesting with few exceptions. The Twi’lek former slave turned freedom fighter, Isval, was by far the most engaging as the vengeance fuelled foil to Cham’s idealism and I found myself wishing she had more page time. Cham is particularly significant in the new canon, not only as a returning character from the Clone Wars series, but also as the father of Hera from Star Wars: Rebels. We get to see Cham’s struggle to find victory without losing his ideals. The rest of the Rebels beyond Cham and Isval are largely forgettable but serve their purpose.

The Imperials were less interesting than the Rebels but still engaging as they both had well defined arcs that juxtaposed one another. Dray found himself falling apart as he desperately tried to extricate himself from his own web of lies and treason woven in an attempt to subvert and supplant Mors. Mors, the much hyped first openly LGBT character in the canonical Star Wars universe, goes through a redemption arc of her own as she pulls herself together to undo Dray’s machinations. Kemp goes out of his way to make the audience hate Mors in the beginning. Some readers make take offense at have a seemingly lazy, corrupt, Moff as the first canon LGBT character. As an LGBT reader, I liked Kemp’s approach. The fact Moff Mors was married to another woman didn’t define her as a character, which is as it should be, a non-issue. LGBT people are exactly that, people, and have flaws, strengths and fears just like everyone else.

Kemp relies heavily on passing references to the movies and Clone Wars series as he depicts a Darth Vader attempting to exorcise the last ghosts of Anakin Skywalker under the watchful eye of his master. While these moments of reminiscence serve to remind the reader of the man behind the mask, I found them to be inconsistent as some were very organic to the plot and others felt somewhat forced. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Lucasfilm story group gave Kemp a list of references to work in whether it fit the narrative or not, but this was minor and only momentarily pulled me out of the story. Overall, Kemp did an excellent job of bridging the Episode III and Clone Wars Anakin with the Episode IV Vader we all know and love.

The depiction of Darth Sidious in the book is somewhat disappointing. The Vader/Emperor scenes are really done from Vader’s perspective so the reader gains very little insight into Palpatine’s thoughts and motivations. This air of mystery surrounding Sidious throughout Lords serves the plot of a Sith master testing the loyalty of an apprentice but ultimately leaves serious fans unsatisfied. Again, don’t go into this book expecting a Darth Plagueis level of treatment of Palpatine.

I would highly recommend Lords of the Sith. While it’s not as focused on Vader and the Emperor as the cover would lead you to believe, it is still a fantastic read. The book stands alone as a great Star Wars tale, while also serving as an exceptional bridge in the new canon between chapters of the saga.

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Title: Lords of the Sith

Author: Paul S. Kemp

Release: 28 April 2015

Page Count: 320

Canon Timeline: Between Episode III and Star Wars: Rebels

Review Written By: Luna Okami

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Official Plot Synopsis

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . .

When the Emperor and his notorious apprentice, Darth Vader, find themselves stranded in the middle of insurgent action on an inhospitable planet, they must rely on each other, the Force, and their own ruthlessness to prevail.

“It appears things are as you suspected, Lord Vader. We are indeed hunted.”

Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, is just a memory. Darth Vader, newly anointed Sith Lord, is ascendant. The Emperor’s chosen apprentice has swiftly proven his loyalty to the dark side. Still, the history of the Sith Order is one of duplicity, betrayal, and acolytes violently usurping their Masters—and the truest measure of Vader’s allegiance has yet to be taken. Until now.

On Ryloth, a planet crucial to the growing Empire as a source of slave labor and the narcotic known as “spice,” an aggressive resistance movement has arisen, led by Cham Syndulla, an idealistic freedom fighter, and Isval, a vengeful former slave. But Emperor Palpatine means to control the embattled world and its precious resources—by political power or firepower—and he will be neither intimidated nor denied. Accompanied by his merciless disciple, Darth Vader, he sets out on a rare personal mission to ensure his will is done.

For Syndulla and Isval, it’s the opportunity to strike at the very heart of the ruthless dictatorship sweeping the galaxy. And for the Emperor and Darth Vader, Ryloth becomes more than just a matter of putting down an insurrection: When an ambush sends them crashing to the planet’s surface, where inhospitable terrain and an army of resistance fighters await them, they will find their relationship tested as never before. With only their lightsabers, the dark side of the Force, and each other to depend on, the two Sith must decide if the brutal bond they share will make them victorious allies or lethal adversaries

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