Star Wars: Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp is one of my first dive into the Star Wars canon universe and boy was it a great pick! Everyone obviously knows about Darth Vader, one of the most iconic and popular science fiction villain in existence today. Although I’m not a hardcore Star Wars fanboy, the entire universe have always captivated me whenever I would rewatch one of the movies. However, my fascination would end there. After having watched all the movies, I actually never really understood what made Darth Vader so special in that I felt the movies didn’t seem to do his character the justice it deserved. His character needed a lot more time to shine and the movies just didn’t seem to offer enough of that with everything else that was going on. Well, I’ve finally decided to expand my knowledge on not just Vader himself but in the Star Wars universe as well. The best way I could do that is through these canon novels.

“We are, all of us, always being tested, my friend.”

Darth Sidious

Lords of the Sith exceeded pretty much all my expectations as my first Star Wars novel and I hope the authors of the many other canon books out there did as fine a job as was done here. The story itself actually was very captivating and I found myself lost page after page wondering what would happen next. Yes, my initial objective was to learn a bit more on Darth Vader and that was also accomplished here but reading about the Ryloth Freedom movement, their struggles and successes was equally fascinating. The space battles between the freedom fighters and the Imperial army was truly epic. The action on the ground with the lightsabers was vivid and done with great detail but not to the point of getting too excruciating. To keep it simple and short, if Lords of the Sith was a movie, I would watch it in a heartbeat. It is definitely interesting to see both Sith Lords being put in a vulnerable situation and to see how they will escape each situation. We usually see that from the Jedi’s and other characters on the light side of the force but not from the opposite. Well, at least from what I know of anyways.

“Do you think treachery begins in the deed, my friend? No. It begins in the thoughts.”

Darth Sidious

The biggest thrill though has to got to be the interaction between Lord Vader and the Emperor Palpatine. Although many people only think of Vader as the villain in the black iconic mask, red lightsaber and respirator breathing, we are reminded at various times that he himself also have his own struggles to deal with and in a constant battle to erase his past. He is always in constant scrutiny under the watchful eyes and the all knowing Darth Sidious. Although their relationship is of Master and Apprentice, things work a bit differently on the dark side as discussed in this novel.

Although I’m excited that there are many published Star Wars canon novels, majority of them are labeled for either young readers or young adults. Lords of the Sith was labeled for adults and one’s I will most likely go after.