Lit Darth Zannah/Cognus Novel?

I noticed no one is discussing this topic, so I was just curious what everyone would like to see in a followup novel to the Darth Bane series? This isn't pure speculation, as Drew Karpyshyn and his editor said a continuation is highly likely considering how well that particular series did.

For obvious reasons, it probably won't have "Darth Bane" in the title, and will probably just be called "Darth Zannah" with a subtitle. Now, with that out of the way, how do you think the story would unfold after the events of "Dynasty of Evil"?

If you remember, that novel ended quite openly with Set Harth on the loose with Darth Andeddu's holocron, and a small portion of Bane's soul now residing within Zannah herself. Because of that, she can probably perform the ritual of essence transfer now, and teaches it to Darth Cognus at some point, which is why the Sith were said to have that capability all the way up to the reign of Darth Gravid. Either that, or they hunt down Set Harth to recover the holocron (and eliminate him for knowing of their existence). I'm wondering if that will be the main plot of a followup novel? Here are some other questions to ponder:

• What was the relationship like between Zannah and Cognus? Was Cognus a good student, or a rebellious one? She seems pretty fanatically devoted at the end of the third book if you ask me.
• How and where did Zannah train Cognus? Do they head back to Bane's estate on Ciutric?
• Did Zannah continue the guise of wealthy importer/exporter/merchant and take Cognus into that fold? Or will they go down a different "career" path.
• What's the story behind Darth Millennial's recruitment? Does that happen before or after Zannah's death?
• How does Cognus ultimately kill Zannah? Zannah was extremely powerful in Sith sorcery, so it won't be easy. Perhaps Cognus uses her Force disruption ability to get the upperhand. Also, how does that small portion of Bane residing in Zannah factor into all this? Did Cognus essentially have to defeat both Zannah and Bane together, or at least a Zannah empowered with Bane's abilities?
• Finally, who do you think should write this followup novel? Should they stick with Drew Karpyshyn, or go for someone else? Personally, I'd like to see a female author tackle this project, simply because the main characters are female, plus it would be interesting to have a woman's take on the Sith/dark side.

Discuss.

 

I've not thought about this since reading Plagueis, but now that you bring the thing about Essence Transfer and Gravid up... that gets me thinking. I'd actually kinda like Zannah, being the Bane-besting sorceress that she is, to actually succeed where Bane failed, and be the first Banite to complete an essence transfer, stealing Cognus's body.

That then would later play into Millennial's fear of his Master, knowing that Zannah-Cognus had done it once to her apprentice, and so could do so again -- cue Millennial running off to Dromund Kaas. Whether or not Gravid could then be his direct replacement I'm unsure as I can't recall the succession timeline, but I'd enjoy seeing more made of Bane's failed attempt given what we now know of the technique not being forgotten until much later.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing another novel in the series. I enjoyed the others.

 

I think Zannah using the Essence transfer is quite unlikely as she yelled vehemently at Bane about how he betrayed his own rules : the order of the Sith must be stronger from a master to another, it can't satisfy one sith lord ego in particular.

However Cognus is a different case as she was kind of attracted to her destiny. For the time being she is just a mere psychopath but she can evolve with Zannah and control herself.

Gravid was alive around 550 BBY, Cognus can't be his master.

Anyway, I would really like to see a Zannah / Cognus novel and a Cognus / Millenial / Second apprentice novel.

 

Can we pass this off to a new author, please?

 

Having since realised that it involved a battle of wills, and the master can only survive if they are stronger than the apprentice, I would expect her opposition to the process to have dwindled. Honestly, it seems like it should be the final move in every Banite Sith Master's arsenal: "You have bested the body, but can you defeat my mind!?"

Hell, it's the perfect guarantee that -- if the apprentice wins -- then they are legitimately stronger than their predecessor.

EDIT: I apologise for the number of alerts this post has inflicted upon you. It appears I've forgotten how to both spell and format a post correctly.

 

Indeed, that's precisely what got me thinking about her trying it. It's the pinnacle of Sith sorcery, and she is a sorceress, so...

Hypocritical after what she said to Bane? Sure is. She's Sith. This is the girl who lied to and was the cause of her own siblings' murders. I wouldn't trust a word out of her lips.

 

And even so, you can argue that some of Bane's basic opinions on Sith doctrine underwent quite a few changes (or developments, if that phrasing is preferable) in the time between apprenticeship and death.[/quote]

EDIT: Can't seem to get this post formatted correctly... screw it, I'll leave it as is.

 

I was gonna say. Between your post and Zor's, I was alerted thirteen times.

 

I would like to see some more novel in between the New Sith Wars and TPM. It is a thousand year period barely explored. Sith or Jedi stories would be nice to fill in the time. Make a series of "Darth" books starting with Darth Zannah then they could lead into the already made Darth Plagueis. It would be interesting.

 

Changes Raises the stakes if Zannah were to succeed where Bane failed. Excellent way to bridge the time from Bane's death to Millennial's flight, while making the Master/Apprentice dynamic even more interesting.

I rather fond of the idea that Zannah twists her own line: "One may die, but the Sith are eternal"
Into: "I will never die, I am eternal." Plus, Cognus was more of a tool than anything else, so having Zannah take her over would be a major win in my book.

 

Personally I'd love if we have Sith books covering all the Sith Lords of the Banite line up to Darth Plageuis where Palpatine ended it.

 

I've been waiting for this since the end of Dynasty of Evil to be honest. Instead of a trilogy however I imagine it as more of a duology, with the first book picking up at the end of DoE and proceeding through Cognus training and her acclimation to the Sith life as well as the continuation of Bane's plan. The Order of the Sith Lords collected numerous Sith artifacts over the years, as well as manipulated the galaxy on the grand scale to tip it towards darkness. I'm very interested in seeing the contributions that each individual member made to Bane's plan.

 

I definitely welcome a Darth Zannah/Cognus novel, though I probably should read the Darth Bane Trilogy at some point.

 

You really shouldn't.

 

You act like it's Revan.

 

I have heard a mixed reaction to the Darth Bane Trilogy, to the point I believe I am going to have to experience it for myself in order to get an accurate feel for it. Its not like say the Denningverse (DNT, LotF, and FotJ) where I have heard a strong negative reaction, well at least the kind of negative reaction that sets off alarms that tell me to stay away from it.

 

FOTJ isn't actually as bad as LOTF IMO. Granted I only read Apocalypse

 

It's hard to imagine this being done by anyone other than Karpy. Personally i enjoyed the Bane books, despite not being nearly on the level of Luceno novels like Plagueis.

Maybe 1 book for Zannah/Cognus and Zannah's death, then a 2nd book for Cognus training Millennial, him running off and her finding a new apprentice

 

It's the worst series ever. If you pretend that Jacen didn't exist before Betrayal, it's still a better series than FOTJ.

I want a Cognus novel but I question Karpyshyn's ability to pull it off. I liked the Bane books but most of the Bane characters were handed to him from JvS. Revan were his characters and that book...that was not my kind of book.

 

If they ever do decide to make a full series about the Rule of Two Sith, I'd rather someone who isn't Karpyshyn- or Denning, for that matter- tackle it. Let Luceno have a few Sith novels, get Stover back to blow our minds, JJM would be an excellent choice- hell, they could even try making it a comic series instead of novels.

 

But where would she get the ability from in the first place? The "part" of Bane that was apparently imprinted onto her? Would that be enough? I guess it would have to be, because it's really the only option. Andeddu's holocron is gone and out of her reach.

In other words, I have a feeling Drew may have intended DOE as the point in the Banite timeline where the ability is lost. After Darth Plagueis, however, things are where they are.

 

I still like thinking that the victor of the mind-battle obtained all the knowledge of the loser. But, then, I'm a Highlander fan.

 

While I personally have no problem with Karpyshyn writing another novel, I am 100% behind Matthew Stover getting his hands onto any Rule of Two Sith novel.

 

Yeah, that's also how I imagine the next books should play out as well. Since Zannah was already in the Bane trilogy, and we know her backstory, we only need to see her contribution to the "Grand Plan", the training of Cognus, and how Cognus kills her. You could cover all this in a single book before moving on to a second book devoted soley to Cognus. There's no need for another trilogy, although the story of Darth Gravid and Darth Gean seems like it might warrant one if the series progresses that far.

Another tidbit from the Plagueis novel that should be explored in the Zannah/Cognus novels is the planet Kursid. If you remember, that was the planet inhabited by primitive humanoids that the Sith use as a kind of ceremonial training ground and right of passage. The primitives actually created a Cargo Culture centered around the Sith visits. Judging from what Plagueis said, the Sith of the Bane line had been going there since nearly the beginning of the Order, so it makes sense that Zannah and Cognus would be the first to do so. It would be interesting to see how and why Zannah came up with this idea, or perhaps it wasn't an idea at all; maybe the Sith ended up there after a mission went awry and decided to incorporate it into the training system from that point forward.