PT Club Jocasta: You'd be wise to read DARTH PLAGUEIS with us

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!

 

Darth Plagueis was the first Star Wars book I read. It still remains my favourite.

 

\o/ Looking forward to this! Luceno is one of my favourite SW authors. I really enjoyed his Labyrinth of Evil and Dark Lord, so I bet he'll do justice to PT era Sith.

 

Probably won't read this one, only because I'm still wading through Kenobi and now I'm at school But I'll still read through the thread and see how everyone likes it

 

I remember absolutely loving this one first time around, certainly going to be re-reading with great interest.

 

Oh yes.

 

Drop Kenobi and pick up Plagueis. It's THAT good.

 

But seriously, Plagueis is the business, even if you don't keep pace with the thread, make sure you read it at some stage. It can make you view the entire prequel trilogy differently, it's that impactful.

 

Hmm. Well school has me fairly busy but maybe during a longer break I can read it I've always wanted to anyway

 

I highly recommend the audiobook. Daniel Davis does a really amazing job. IMO, it's the best Star Wars audiobook performance/production.

 

I remember this. I agree

 

If I may, I will make a few points about the first chapter proper (instead of the prologue) as it sets the tone pretty well for the whole novel thematically and stylistically. I am not a veteran of the EU (old or new) BUT I find this is actually one of the finest examples of how the Bane style Sith actually operated. We get an example of the classic Master/Apprentice partnership with Tenebrous' genuine admiration for Plagueis' coup as well as the first inklings of Plagueis' own master plans. It also lays the seeds of the idea that the Force is not entirely passive and can be steered or even controlled outright... which tends to be rather important later on.

 

I'll add a non-spoilery comment on Chapter 1 (as well as the beginning of the book). Species diversity is great, and it is really interesting to finally see more of non-human Sith. Aside from Legacy and the Sith species in Tales of the Jedi (far in the future and in the past from the Saga, respectively, for those not familiar with the EU), I don't think we actually got to see many alien Dark Siders, certainly not in the films. PT was excellent for expanding the galaxy and showing us alien diversity among the Jedi. I was kind of surprised that the same is true for the Sith. Later on, Palpatine's Empire disliked that, and pushed a chauvinistic pro-human agenda. I get the feeling some of the Emperor's later feelings towards non-humans could stem from his master and his master's master. Hopefully, the book might touch on that more.

I like the start, it is fast-paced and absorbing and Plagueis' musings on the nature of the Force are quite intriguing - some of those are the questions that have been bugging me for years.

Also, jakobitis89, your signature > everything.

 

Maul was alien.

 

It also reveals that Plagueis intends to abandon the Bane model. It's worth noting that the book was released just a few years after the last Bane book and in many ways was a sort of distant sequel. Altho I dont think that a lack of familiarity with the Bane series hinders the reader. Luceno is careful to give context to his many Bane/rule of two references.

The chapter also of course reveals Plag's deep interest in the specificities of midiclorian activity at the time of death.

 

Good point, though only an apprentice. The "big players" like Bane & co are mostly human.

 

Wasn't Vader "only an apprentice"?

 

His "career" was certainly more impactful that Maul's.

 

In the literal sense, yes he was. But for the first two movies he was far more proactive and directly dangerous than Palpatine whose main role was to appear in a hologram and give commands, so Vader is sort of a de facto Big Bad figure in his own right.

Re: The Bane model and Tenebrous/Plagueis' intended abandonment thereof, it was hinted or even outright stated at one point that it was only even observed as a technicality anyway. Most Sith Lords had several powerful Dark Side wielding minions in the wings just didn't give them the 'Darth' title. [Possible Spoiler Character] for example thought he could earn the title by killing Plagueis, the current holder.

Amon_Amarth I wish I could take any credit for the signature but sadly it was lifted straight from Darths & Droids.

 

I think the book explores this topic in some really interesting ways. Without getting into the details of it too early in this discussion, I suspect much of Plag's attitude towards humans has as much (or more) to do with his perceptive as an aristocratic Muun than it does as a Sith. In any case, cynical pragmatism is Plag's guiding principal.

 

Yeah, Muun's as a species seem to be pretty disdainful for... just about everyone else, really.

 

The first section of the book hooked me instantly. I loved seeing Plagueis as an apprentice (helps that Tenebrous was an interesting "mad scientist" type charchter) so I could contrast it with him as a master later in the novel.

Also I may be mistaken but I don't think Tenebrous planned to break the rule of two. We see in the book that he is VERY reverential of Darth Bane. I DO like the Plagueis planned to break it though - he realized something big was coming and changes to the Sith needed to happen. Also it differentiated him as a character - I got the sense that he really almost liked Sidious and wanted to rule with him.