Star Wars: The New Order 1st impressions

Let's start off reaaaaally darkside. Lords Of The Sith, Darth Bane : Path Of Destruction, and The Golden Age Of The Sith comics. These 3 are great so far.

Path Of Destruction is by far the highest quality of the 3. Only a few chapters in and I
1. find it hard to stop listening  (audiobook), and
2. know i will enjoy the rest of this true prequel to the Star Wars movies.

As far as i can tell this makes an excellent starting point if you were keen to skip all the back back backstory and get into the more direct lead in for the films. Set 1000 years before Episode 4: A New Hope, it explores the final days of the Sith as a large military force, and the beginnings of the rule of two and outsourcing of armies that was to come (stormtroopers, Clones, the Imperial Military, and The First Order).

Drew Karpyshyn, the author of this book and cowriter of the amazing Knights Of The Old Republic videogame, knows how to get inside the mind of the protagonist in ways that we can key into. Bane finds an affinity with the force naturally and uses it as any without training would... for in-the-moment personal gain. The yet to be Darth Bane, by the name of Dessel, sees greater cause to side with the Sith than the Republic he slaves for. While being dark he is no less sympathetic and sometimes relatable, which is kinda creepy. The arguments against the Jedi are sound, well written, and mirror the thought process of Vader in Lords Of The Sith....

LORDS OF THE SITH is... how to put this in the best possible light... popcorn. It's so damn fun reading evil characters for a change and seeing them use force powers unrestrictedly. That and the fact it's Darth Vader tearing shit up. A few years into his career as Vader, he is no longer the tortured "NOOOOOOOO" soul from Revenge Of The Sith.

It almost feels a bit like fan-fiction with how less reserved it is. Ironic considering this book by Paul S Kemp is meant to be canon, while the Darth Bane trilogy is relegated to "Legends".

Only a chapter in but "damn daniel" it's easy to pick up. The arguments for Sith rule are basically the same as Path Of Destruction, but are internalized instead of through dialogue, and are not as well written. Maybe because Vader is "more machine than man" now that his thought process is somewhat robotic? It comes off as a bit simple and cold, but hey that's Vader. Another great thing is, as i had hoped, they don't say who Vader was. Oh, they allude to it, but every time Paul S Kemp refers to him as Vader, not as *redacted*.

I can see the action played out in my head though. Maybe this book is more for people wanting a lighter read or maybe it's meant for a wider audience  (younger maybe? I could see teenage me loving this). I'm not above reading books geared towards a younger audience, having read Finn's story in Before The Awakening. Bit early to judge it completely yet, but so far the dark side is a powerful ally for new, exciting and unrestrained narratives.

I have yet to get far enough into The Golden Age Of The Sith to form a full opinion. I might wait till i've completed it to comment.

For more info on my plans and what the hell THE NEW ORDER project is all about, follow this link to the first post.

Star Wars: The New Order (Old Republic)

So the planned order is...

* Tales Of The Jedi comics
* Tales volume 6 #23
* Knights Of The Old Republic comics
* KOTOR videogame
* Tales volume 6 #24
* KOTOR 2 videogame
* Revan
* TOR comics #4-6 Blood of the Empire
* Deceived
* TOR comics #1-3 Threat Of Peace
* Fatal Alliance
* TOR comics #7-11 The Lost Sons
* The Old Republic videogame
* Annihilation
* TOR DLC

Star Wars: The New Order prologue

I'm going to read me some Star Wars Legends and Canon media and see which are compatible. I'll be using the timelines as a guide and i'll be selecting what i view as the best order to watch/read them in. I will be READING the original versions of the prequel trilogy publications as they have more connectivity and no bad acting. I'll then be updating future posts to include my personal reading order.

Not all of it will be in chronological order. For instance, there is a 3 book bundle called The Dark Lord Trilogy that includes Labrynth Of Evil, Revenge Of The Sith, and Dark Lord: The Rise Of Darth Vader. I will be reading that after Empire Strikes Back.

I want a reading order that retains the mystery while more or less being linear, something the movies don't provide. I love the Clone Wars tv show so much and feel it provides a great start, with a little lead in without spoiling anything. I don't as yet know if Lords Of The Sith reveals who Vader really is, but it is set well into Vader's career so maybe it won't.

I will be reading different eras at the same time. I've already read all of the earliest Dawn Of The Jedi stuff, the novel and the comics, and though it is so far removed as to not have much relevance it's still a fun read. It will not be included in my New Order list though. This will be my canon. This will be what i pass on to my kids/nephew/nieces. And to you, my loyal Topcatians.

READING ERAS
5000 bby - 1032 bby
Old Republic era

1032 bby - 15bby? (17 in canon yrs)
Prequel era

15bby - 4 aby (18 - 36 in canon yrs)
New Hope era

4 aby onwards is where it'll get interesting and will definitely diverge.

Firstly i'll read these

* Tales Of The Jedi: The Golden Age Of The Sith  (comic)

* Darth Bane : Path Of Destruction  (novel)

and

* Lords Of The Sith (novel)