Simon Goinard's harsh, jagged depiction of Darth Bane for the 'Essential Legends' release of Drew Karpyshyn's classic Sith novel is truly beautiful to behold, the brutal lines of Dessel's face are what to me make this rendition of him my favorite to date. I can't wait to see what they have planned for the next two entries in the trilogy, I'm quite sure they will keep pace with the high level of quality established here, no doubt about it.Darth Bane: Path of Destruction was the first of Drew Karpyshyn's work I'd read. It serves as the first part of the trilogy telling the saga of the infamous Darth Bane, the progenitor of the 'Rule of Two' Sith mantra that functions as the predominant Dark Side ideology from the time of its inception, over 1000 years before the timeline of the prequel trilogy commences to when Sheev Palpatine is deposed & Anakin Skywalker is redeemed by saving his son's life before losing his own at the end of Episode VI, Return of the Jedi.The man who eventually becomes Darth Bane begins as a manual laborer, a disillusioned miner named Dessel with a troubled home life & an occupation providing him no satisfaction or fulfillment. He is very much a man dissatisfied with his lot in life. He decides to join the Sith in a war against the Jedi & does not look back.The writing in 'Path of Destruction' is wonderfully straightforward & direct. The book reads at a satisfying, brisk pace. The characters are very well-conceived in my opinion, some might be considered 'archetypical', particularly the Sith Lord Kaan & Jedi Master Hoth but if anything I found them to be endearing when juxtaposed against Bane's practically bottomless reservoir of hatred & anger. With the storyline of this trilogy being as dark as it is, it's nice to have some characters in the book that are more enjoyable & fun to read about. Some of the conversations between Hoth & his second-in-command, Valenthyne Farfalla, reminded me of older 80's-style television shows, where the heroes were honorable & chivalrous, the dialogue free of sarcasm or deceit. Their clear intentions & straightforward repartee came across to me as very endearing, almost comforting. I suppose it could be a preference I acquired only with age, & with experience living in the world.The villains like the Sith Dark Lord Kaan are pretty much what you would expect an arch-villain to be like, & the Twi'lek Sith Lords Kopecz & Kas'im were impressively conceived, in my estimation. The first time I open a book from an author who is new to me, it's always fun & interesting to see what kind of characters the author creates & integrates into his or her story. Will they be flawed antiheroes ? Or of a more traditional, idealistic vein ? Karpyshyn seems like he is comfortable with almost any style of character archetype.Dessel eventually gives in to his resentment & hate, resulting in behavior that entails turning on even his own Sith brethren, inflicting pain & killing indiscriminately. His moral compass seems like it still functions, but at times he totally sets it aside & makes extremely brutal & vicious actions that hurt & kill innocent people, but there's a good portion of the book where he continues to try resisting these urges before the good in him is eventually snuffed out for good. But it's a book about the Sith, I wasn't expecting people to be skipping down the street handing out bouquets of flowers to each other.It's real, & it's authentic to what the Sith represent in the Star Wars mythology & universe, as I would believe to the status quo for a man with Drew's credentials & personal accomplishments. Karpyshyn worked on Knights of the Old Republic, so it is only fitting for him to write a novel set within the Old Republic timeline. Path of Destruction most assuredly fits that set of criteria. Darth Revan is referenced, & one of the locations Bane must spend a considerable amount of time learning & training at is none other than the Sith World of Korriban, Sith Academy & burial ground of numerous, revered Sith Lords of legend.Without spoiling the plot for prospective readers the event at the end of the book brings to closure a situation that occupies much of the plot of 'Path of Destruction'. I believe it is brought about in an abrupt yet still impactful way that doesn't feel forced, or manufactured for the reader. Karpyshyn's writing is very unique, different from other Star Wars authors I've read in the past such as James Luceno, or Timothy Zahn. I think the character of Darth Bane most likely be one requiring the hand of an adept author for the end result to be a successful one. Karpyshyn absolutely is that kind of author.The Sith Lords have always very much intrigued me, particularly when contemplating tracing back the history of whom taught whom, i.e. seeing the chronology of Sith Masters & Sith Apprentices, starting from Sheev Palpatine receiving his tutelage from Hego Damask, who becomes Darth Plagueis, & culminating with his training being brought to fruition before receiving his new position as Darth Sidious. I would love to see more of these Dark Side relationships explored, if there exists desire from the authors in which to create them. Darth Plagueis & Darth Tenebrous is another relationship that would be very intriguing to read a story about, particularly because the two Sith Lords are both members of non-human races, and as such, a formative tale which explored the Sith Apprenticeship of a Muun learning under the tutelage of a Bith Master, would be both unique & interesting.Path of Destruction was a very satisfying read. The character of Darth Bane to me is very reminiscent of another Sith Lord whom first appeared in the second entry of the 'Knights Of The Old Republic' series, 'The Sith Lords', Darth Sion. I think if you enjoyed reading about Bane, you would love playing KOTOR II, which is a very dark title rife with that vein of Sith lore.In closing, I very much appreciate you taking your valuable time to read my review & I hope you learned a bit about Darth Bane, the Sith Order, & Star Wars ! Thank you so much for reading !