“Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise?” words uttered by Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith managed to capture the imagination of Star Wars fans for years. Who was this mysterious Sith? And was Palpatine hinting that it was his master? In canon, still not a lot is known about Darth Plagueis and in fact it took 19 years to get our first look at him with his cameo appearance in The Acolyte set over 100 years before Revenge of The Sith.
For fans back in 2012, however, one book would come along to answer all their questions and more. Written by long-time Star Wars writer James Luceno, Darth Plagueis is widely regarded as one of the best and most well-written (of the now Legends) Star Wars books. Luceno brings the tale and the tragedy of Darth Plagueis to readers over 30 years, intersecting with several key events and characters before the prequel trilogy and interconnecting with many other Legends books of the era and also way before it. The sheer scale of Star Wars knowledge that went into this book is nothing short of amazing, and it makes for a very compelling, interesting, and phenomenal piece of Star Wars literature.
Darth Plagueis takes readers on a journey over decades
Darth Plagueis is set a few decades before the events of The Phantom Menace and follows the wise old master from the death of his master, Darth Tenebrous, to his death 30 years later at the hands of his apprentice Darth Sidious. In between these periods, Luceno brings us a hugely detailed and phenomenally paced story of political intrigue and Sith machinations, helping set the stage for the problems and issues we see with the Republic and The Jedi by the time of The Phantom Menace.
Reading this book helped me gain a new appreciation for the politics of the Prequels, which, to many, is one of the less well-done parts of the movies. However, with James Luceno and this story, you can clearly see just how the galaxy ends up in such corruption and the Republic seemingly falling from its high podium.
Darth Plagueis, in this book, has his alter ego of ‘Hego Damask’ who is the owner of Damask Holdings, a large galaxy-spanning company that Plagueis uses to orchestrate his grand plan for the galaxy alongside Palpatine. It is great to see these hidden alter egos to the Sith and just how well they managed to orchestrate themselves into the affairs of the galaxy. We see not only large companies and their effects on trade and legislation but also the world of politics and how the Sith can play into doubts and fears. There are also secret clubs of the wealthy elite known as the “Canted Circle” who seem to have a large say on galactic affairs, and it is very interesting how Luceno portrays all this in the Star Wars universe, using almost real-world conspiracies. And also just how connected everything is to the larger plan in which the Sith have slowly been setting up for centuries.
There is plenty to love about this book on both the political and the mystical side of the Sith. Plagueis is obsessed with cheating death and wanting to live forever (first established in Palpatine’s monologue to Anakin in Revenge of the Sith) and we see a lot of this research in the book, from his obsession with the world of midichlorians to the dealings with other Sith and dark side users.
Luceno manages to cover a lot of other Legends books within this, often citing that of Darth Bane and other Old Republic Sith who Plagueis is inspired to replicate the powers of. Darth Plagueis as a book covers a lot of other Legends’ lore very well. This makes it a great book for first-time Legends readers who can go off and read these other stories, but an even greater book for readers who have enjoyed all that Legends has to offer and can subsequently pick up every little detail within Darth Plagueis.
Palpatine’s story is explored
While the novel is obviously named Darth Plagueis and features a lot of the titular character, it cannot be understated that this is also the tale of Darth Sidious aka Palpatine as well. James Luceno does a masterful job of diving into Palpatine’s origins and how Plagueis is able to manipulate and teach him in the ways of the Sith. There is a great dynamic between the pair and Luceno turns the aforementioned “Rule of Two” on its head for most of the book, giving the pair their equal footing.
Palpatine’s rise in this novel takes readers from his small beginnings on Naboo, all the way to the time of The Phantom Menace and his rise to Chancellor. The great thing about Darth Plagueis is just how connected the book becomes to the movies and characters the closer we get to the prequel era, we get to see other views of the events of The Phantom Menace. How Palpatine and Plagueis orchestrate the events of the movie and how they react to the reveal of Anakin and the death of Darth Maul. There is also plenty of setup into Palpatine and how he sets the stage for the future events of the prequels.
While this book is now part of the Legends continuity of Star Wars, I strongly believe there is plenty in this book that could either remain or easily become canon once more. A lot of this book covers ideas that Star Wars is just beginning to cover again, especially as more books, comics, and shows come out set close to the Prequels era.
The Acolyte for instance, whilst now canceled, was beginning to delve into Plagueis himself with his inclusion at the end of the season. While also showing the beginnings of the downfall of both the Jedi and the Republic, the politics of which you can read in Darth Plagueis.
One other aspect is that of conception by the Force, this was a divisive inclusion in the show, however reading Darth Plagueis it is clear that Plagueis himself has met and studied other Force-conceived births and that they are not as rare as first thought. While we may not get to see the continuation of the show, I have a feeling that ideas from The Acolyte and from Darth Plagueis may well appear in other Star Wars content in the future.
Darth Plagueis is a highly recommended Star Wars Legends novel
I cannot recommend Darth Plagueis enough, even as a Legends book I feel there is plenty here that will become canon and will serve important purposes to Star Wars later down the line. Luceno beautifully crafts an astonishing piece of work both in the worlds of politics and the Sith. The book is full of so many plots, plans, and moving parts that all seamlessly come together to plot the rise and revenge of the Sith. This book, to me, is one of Legends’ greatest and if not one of Star Wars’ greatest books.
My rating: 10/10
Darth Plagueis by James Luceno is available wherever books are sold.
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