Drew Karpyshyn's third novel of the Old Republic delivers the goods! Lightsaber battles, tension and drama, and good old-fashioned Sith destruction! Darth Bane - Dynasty of Evil is the follow up to the 2006 novel Path of Destruction and the 2007 novel Rule of Two. Set some 900+ years before the events of A New Hope, Dynasty of Evil continues the story of Darth Bane from the previous two novels.

For the uninitiated, Bane was once a miner named Des. Hating his life at home, he ran away to join the Gloom Walkers during the Jedi/Sith war where he was discovered as a Force sensitive, and recruited to join the Brotherhood of Darkness. During the Jedi/Sith war, he realized that the Sith were becoming too diluted, with too many individuals, to be able to make any headway against the Jedi. So he hid, letting the remaining Sith kill themselves off in the battles. And when he returned he was able to wrest control over the Sith, at which time he instituted the Rule of Two.

The Rule of Two dictated that there would only be two Sith lords at a time. One to embody the power, and the other to crave it. His apprentice is Darth Zannah, once a young Jedi trainee, whom he adopted after the Battle of Ruusan. Their escapades are told in Darth Bane - Rule of Two, which covers much of the training of Zannah and closes the loops from the previous tale. Zannah ends the novel by ominously stating, "One day I will surpass you. And on that day, I will kill you, Lord Bane. But that day is not today."

But it's not necessary to read either of the previous novels to get enjoyment from Dynasty of Evil. Karpyshyn again captures a very kinetic energy in this novel, which opens with Bane realizing that he's not getting any younger. Bane fears that Zannah is plotting against him, and he's looking for a loophole in the rules that he himself laid down. Meanwhile we're introduced to Serra, a young princess who has strange dreams of Darth Bane. Also rounding out the cast of characters is Set Harth, the mysterious silver-haired Force user whose fate is intertwined with the various characters of this story, and the Huntress, a mysterious bounty hunter that sees many possible futures between Darth Bane and Darth Zannah.

For any fans of The Old Republic era, whether it's due to the video games, comics or previous Darth Bane novels, Dynasty of Evil is an exciting ride, with what I consider a really unexpected ending. Who lives and who dies? Does Zannah make good on her promise from Rule of Two? Karpyshyn gives you everything you need to know and I guarantee a great time reading!

This book is available from Del Rey in hardcover at a cost of $27.