A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

This is the story of the rise of legendary Dark Lords of the Sith; Darth Plagueis the Wise and Darth Sidious.

“Magister Damask, if I may be so bold as to inquire: what is our eventual goal?”

“The goal is to extend my life indefinitely. To conquer death.”

Most of us know of Darth Plagueis from the teachings of Chancellor Palpatine in Episode III. However, his full story and the true extent of his power and achievements are revealed in this brilliant, epic novel.

Muun Hego Damask of Damask Holdings.
Sith Lord Darth Plagueis, apprentice to Darth Tenebrous.

The wise Muun is known to most as Magister Damask, clever but as honourable as a Muun can be given their renowned manner as a species.

Growing up in Mygeeto rather than Muunilinst, his childhood was rather harsh living in cruel and cold conditions. At the age of 5, his strong abilities with the Force made him different and a decade later, confirmed his parents' suspicions when they introduced him to Rugess Nome. Darth Tenebrous would become his master and train him in the ways of the Dark Side.

Now an influential being, Darth Plagueis has become a master mind, learning as much as he can about the ways of the Sith as a dark lord, while orchestrating secret deals and sly set-ups that will ultimately bring him great power and promising prosperity. Through the guidance of the Force, over which he plans conquers, he aspires to become the last Sith Lord in the line, and live and reign for eternity.

“It is my will to join my destiny forever with the Order of the Sith Lords.” Plagueis extended his left hand to touch him on the crown of the head. “Then it is done. From this day forward, the truth of you, now and forever more, will be Sidious.”

When Plagueis comes across Palpatine, a member of nobility on the system of Naboo, he is an intelligent being, but unaware of the true power that he conceals within. He is knowledgeable of politics and social affairs and catches the eye and ear of the Sith Lord.

Making their acquaintance, an alliance forms between the two as they pull strings across the Outer Rims until they will predominantly rule the Core without anyone ever truly suspecting the full extent of their influences.

However before their rise in power in the political world, Palpatine, not too many years after first meeting Plagueis, finally unleashes his deadly force in an attack that will turn him over to the Dark Side. Pledging himself to his friend, Darth Plagueis, they become Master and Apprentice in their acclaim to power, hoping to work together like no two Sith ever have before.

“The time had come to bring his apprentice deeper into the Sith mysteries he had been investigating for most of his life; to introduce him to the miracles he was performing on Aborah.”

Through exclusive negotiations and manipulation, the pair work on the making of history and destiny and the reformation of the galaxy.

The Grand Plan.

Palpatine, now Darth Sidious after 10 years of dedicated training in the Dark Side of the Force, begins his journey on the political front, working up the rankings through the Senate. He is cunning and masterful in his double life, creating a path with the help of Plagueis behind the scenes to carefully eliminate, destroy and abolish the pieces of the larger puzzle that will come to play in his final rise to power.

Plagueis, on the other hand, though still focused on The Grand Plan, goes back to devoting himself to the Force, looking for the answers to his countless experiments and study over the decades of research. With minor but also significant breakthroughs, his aim in finally achieving immortality is in reach.

“Rarely did events play out as imagined, in any case. The order of future events was transient. In the same way that the past was reconfigured by selective memory, future events, too, were moving targets. One could only act on instinct, grab hold of an intuited perfect moment, and spring into action.”

As the years go by, their superior scheming will result in what they had hoped for all along; Palpatine in control of the Senate, and Plagueis to be his right hand man, though still being the Master of the sinister pair.

The Grand Plan had finally come to a point where everything was set in motion to happen; the fall of the corrupt Republic, the execution of the weak Jedi Order and the new beginning of a reign that would last a millennia.

However, it could never be the two of them.

Try as they did to overcome it, it takes one to see that Bane's Rule of Two is the only way with the Sith.

“Where the Jedi courted power, the Sith lusted after it; where the Jedi believed they knew the truth, the Sith possessed it. Owned by the dark side, they ultimately became their knowledge.”

I doubt I did this book justice. As my first Expanded Universe novel in the Star Wars franchise, it was incredible on so many levels in terms of knowledge and understanding, as well as an unbelievable story that ties so well into the films I worship.

So much happens of course, the detail in which the series of events were told and explained revealed so much about the Star Wars universe and how it all started before the Galactic Empire came into power.

“The Force tries to resist the callings of ravenous spirits; therefore it must be broken and made a beast of burden. It must be made to answer to one’s will.”

Darth Plagueis was a character I very much wanted to meet and he did not disappoint. He wasn't your typical lord of wrath and destruction- as you'd expect. Which is precisely why his conniving and compelling nature was refreshing and equally evil if not more so.
He shifted the galaxy against itself, and the plan is so well done, so well thought out over such a long period of time, that you cannot help but admire the patience and indeed cleverness of the Sith.

His obsession with conquering life and death was also unique to Plagueis. He was so knowledgeable in the Force, I feel he was a worthy villain, and it was unfortunate that he ended in such a pitiful way, in my opinion.

His ideals on the Sith also opened me up to their ways of thinking, though every generation of Sith seemed to bring something of their own to the ancient history of their Order. The power of the Force, the control he strived to have over it, to be the enforcer though trusting in the Force to guide him at the same time and listening to what the signs told him.

He was a genius.

“Evil? What is that? ...You said you were death itself. Are you evil, then, or are you simply stronger and more awake than others? Who gives more shape to sentient history: the good, who adhere to the tried and true, or those who seek to rouse beings from their stupor and lead them to glory? A storm you are, but a much needed one, to wash away the old and complacent and prune the galaxy of deadweight."

Palpatine! The one we all know about, or so we think. This book greatly reflected his life and how he came to power, and oh what a sharp being he is. A true politician as well as a keen Sith Lord, all Sidious has ever wanted was power, even as a lost young man. He knows all the right things to say, all the right and especially the wrong people, and he knows exactly, how to cause chaos amongst them all. It is in this way that the Sith duo are successful in setting up many of their oppositions, and indeed allies, in the most unfortunate of circumstances in order to eliminate them. There were suspicions of course, but no one could ever really say for sure. True brilliance.

It's no wonder they say that he was the greatest Sith Lord of all time. His creation of and reign during the Galactic Empire only continue his list of achievements further on.

“The infant’s hairless head was stippled with an array of short but still pliant horns, and its entire body had been garishly and ceremonially tattooed in red and black pigments.”

Darth Maul....my favourite character in the Star Wars franchise, was given a rather sad role in all of this. His story, though told only in a fraction of the detail, was not of great importance nor had massive impact on the plot as a whole. Perhaps I would go as far as to say there was some significance, but not very much. Still, in the glimpses that we had of him, he was the Sith I believed most of them to be. Hungry to bring pain and death, craving to feel the elevation of finally destroying a member of the Jedi Order that is deemed his mortal enemy. He is animalistic almost, yet very human in his feelings of neglect and worthiness. I look forward to learning more of him, especially since the changes were made to his story in more recent events.

“Already his actions begin to echo across the stars.”

I loved how the book tied in with Episode I. Seeing the characters come into play, but also the background schemes that were running behind those that were told on screen. It all merged together creating something much deeper and grander than most would be able to comprehend from just the films. There was great insight to character building not only from the main characters but also from many of the minor characters that came and went as the story and indeed the plan evolved.

“Uncertainty is the first step toward self-determination,” Plagueis said. “Courage comes next.”

This novel was relevant and appropriate in all ways I can think of both in language and context. It was an absolute thrill to read, and a crazy first step in Star Wars EU. I cannot wait to delve deeper in my favourite galaxy! <('c')>

“The power of the dark side is an illness no true Sith would wish to be cured of.”

"At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge."