We tackled Drew Karpyshyn’s Darth Bane trilogy on the podcast—Path of Destruction, Rule of Two, and Dynasty of Evil—and it’s easily some of the strongest Star Wars lore material out there, for me at least.

Karpyshyn takes a miner named Dessel and turns him into the ruthless architect of the Sith’s Rule of Two. The action is well-choreographed, and relentlessly punchy. In my opinion, that edge comes straight from Karpyshyn’s years writing video game scripts for BioWare titles like Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic. He knows how to stage fights that feel visceral and cinematic, with stakes that hit hard and fast.

The trilogy maintains high momentum across all three books, with solid intrigue surrounding his apprentice Zannah and the constant threat of betrayal. The Sith philosophy gets real depth, and Bane himself is a compelling anti-hero—smart, relentless, and willing to burn everything down to build it better. If you want Star Wars from the villain’s perspective done right, this is it.