If you liked Path of Destruction, you will like this one. It continues right where the previous book left off. The strong suit of the series is on the character development and on seeing how the Sith come to be One Master/One Apprentice. Actually, if one looks closely at what Bane is doing, he really is planting the seeds for the eventual fall of the Jedi we see in the Clone Wars films, which in terms of timelines, happens about a 1000 years later or so. Patience is one of the Sith's weapons. Also interesting is the relationship between and Zannah, Bane's apprentice. They argue; they get angry at each other; they are playing against each other even as they depend on each other. In the end, readers can see that Bane chose his apprentice well, but I won't give the ending away here. Meanwhile, the Jedi come to believe that indeed the Sith are gone, showing the high costs of complacency. As I have stated before in other reviews, I am not what people would call a "hardcore" Star Wars fan. I do enjoy the films (Classic more than new), and some of the fiction, but I don't lose sleep over very minor detail. So I do have a bit of a hard time with people who have been very negative on this series: either they are getting their Star Wars underoos in a bunch, or they just take themselves too seriously as if reading a little fluff (I have no problem calling this fluff; it is fun reading) would somehow soil their aspirations. Overall, the book was good entertainment. And it lays the ground quite well for what comes later in the Star Wars universe; for that alone, it is worth reading. But it is a pretty good tale too. I am definitely looking for the next one.
