Reviews Books The Lit Forum Reviews Special: LORDS OF THE SITH (spoilers)

Lords of the Sith is an enjoyable book that explores the relationship between Palpatine and Vader, who find themselves hunted by Cham Syndulla's rebel cell. While we have the twisted Master/ Apprentice relationship between the two Sith Lords explored, this is juxtaposed with Cham/ Isval's relationship, which only adds to the overall enjoyability of the story.

Palpatine tests Vader all throughout this book, constantly picking at the thoughts he can detect from Vader, who has flashbacks to his life as Anakin Skywalker and troubled thoughts of his old life as a Jedi. Vader must quickly put these to rest, as Imperial spies such as Belkor feed information to Cham, who uses his Rebel cell along with hundreds of Vulture droids from the Clone Wars to bring down the Sith Lords' Star Destroyer down to the surface of Ryloth.

I enjoyed both the power plays from Palpatine to Vader and Cham to Belkor. Belkor consistently attempts to remove himself from being in Cham's pocket, but every time the latter manages to outplay him. Isval leads the hunt for Palpatine and Vader, is a hero-apprentice, a bit more rash than the more experienced Cham but a capable fighter. The part where Vader force chokes her through space was chilling, and her puzzled reaction to just how powerful he is was enjoyable to read.

Belkor and Moff Mors' attempts to pin the blame on each other, with the latter eventually working out that Belkor was the Imperial spy was also great stuff. By the end of the book, I really felt for Belkor, who was basically backed into a corner and dealt with it hopelessly before eventually dying.

Isval being killed by Vader was a shame but added weight to her overall arc as a character. I'm glad that her death convinced Cham to continue on and fight for the Rebel cause since he spent most of the story convinced this was his last-ditch attempt to take on the Empire since it had taken so long to gather the resources for it.

Overall, Lords of the Sith does well with its characters and although we knew that neither of the Sith would be killed, I enjoyed reading it and seeing what Cham's Rebel cell could do, as well as gaining some insight on the twisted nature of Palpatine/ Vader's relationship. Some of the scenes with the lyleks take more of a center stage than maybe they should have, but it was on-the-whole an enjoyable read.

8/10

 

This was a great sequence to read at the time, they really pound the thing but just can't take it out entirely.

 

I’m giving this book a 10 out 10. Vader was incredibly powerful and it’s the Vader that I always remembered after watching Star Wars a new hope. The bad arse that when he shows up it’s over.

 

So I've just finished re-reading this for the first time since it came out. Really enjoyed it, more so then the first time I think. The relationship between Vader and Palps is wonderful.
I loved the dry wit that Kemp gave the Emperor as well.
Definitely need to bring him back to write more