Whether or not the impressive six-month gestation period it took Drew Karpyshyn to pen Darth Bane : Rule of Two is factored into the determination of its overall caliber as a novel, the book was nonetheless a fantastically engrossing read.Rule of Two literally picks up right after the first entry in the trilogy, Darth Bane : Path of Destruction concluded, & as I'm remaining steadfast in my efforts to keep my reviews spoiler-free, period, I will refrain from referencing direct plot points or events in a way that I feel would detract from a prospective reader's overall enjoyment reading this wonderful work of Science-Fiction.The Essential Legends reissue of 'Rule of Two' has updated cover art by Simon Goinard, who also did the reissue for book I in the trilogy, 'Path of Destruction'. The artwork features Darth Zannah exclusively, & the style of Goinard's imagining to me is reminiscent of the artwork that was included in instruction manuals & strategy guides for the Sony Playstation games of yesteryear; classic titles such as those which comprise Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid series. Mr. Goinard's illustrative work makes me think of that title's female villains. Heartless & brutal women, with neither pity, nor remorse. Women like Fortune, Sniper Wolf, & Olga Gurlukovich. I would say that the Sith Apprentice Darth Zannah, disciple of Bane, is an antiheroine cut from the same cloth as these unforgettable characters. Villains, antiheroines, & antagonistic personalities in general are difficult to admire, because you have to look at what they do in a certain way, one that admires their uncompromising convictions to stand by their beliefs, without promulgating or attempting to emulate the self-serving & in many cases, evil, deeds they inflict upon innocents as they live their lives.One of the aspects of Zannah I always felt strongly about was her loyalty to her master, Bane, when she would often be interacting with the affluent circles of the upper-crust of society, he was living as a beast in some remote, secluded area researching a hard-won Sith Holocron in a desperate attempt to have teachings to pass on to his apprentice. In many ways, Dessel was completely unfit to interact with civilized beings & it made him dangerously vulnerable. But Zannah did not betray her master, though she was sorely tempted to do so. She remained true to him, though his method of instruction was as harsh & abrasive as his personality. I think the loyalty that the Sith share as they struggle to survive to be one of their most beautiful qualities. It is rendered doubly precious because their numbers are so few.Darth Bane : Rule of Two chronicles the Sith Lord Darth Bane's search for the power & the wisdom of the Sith Lords of old and also goes into a moderate amount of detail concerning his instruction & teaching of his student, Rain, a name she eventually discards when she decides to tread the path of the Dark Side as Darth Zannah.While reading Rule of Two, I noticed the author has placed a very pronounced emphasis on extreme physical pain & suffering as relates to Darth Bane's growing power in the Sith & the Dark Side of the Force. There were several passages where Karpyshyn crafted situations where Bane's agony probably was so horrific that it could be likened to getting an operation on a vital organ with no anesthesia, or an amputation while the patient just was kept conscious. I literally cringed a few times when I read how he described what was transpiring.Bane also accumulates, to a lesser degree, influence, via his machinations that are often put into motion as a result of his failures to accomplish his goals & objectives to unlock the secrets of the Sith & become more powerful on his own.His apprentice, Zannah, however, seems to be directly doing much of the legwork & exposing herself to the social risks involved in actually meeting with the dangerous individuals upon which many of these sub-plots run centripetal. Though the Star Wars Universe is not known for its rich political scenarios, I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed Karpyshyn's own contributions to the universe. The Ruusan Reformation was interesting to ponder after I read about the background behind it, with the Jedi being petitioned to take on a less-aggressive, advisory role to preclude further conflicts such as the one that much of the first novel's plot was focused on.Numerous Sith Lords from Star Wars history are referenced in this book. Freedon Nadd is directly mentioned, a Jedi who turned from the path & eventually became a student of the most legendary Sith Lord who ever lived, the unnerving Naga Sadow, (also touched upon briefly) who reigned over the ancient Sith Empire 5,000 years before A New Hope. Belia Darzu was a female Sith Lord previously unknown to me who dabbled in the mechanization of living organisms. The experiments did not end well for her, or for anyone else.The planet Seranno is a key location for a portion of the book as the narrative unfolds later on; Seranno being the homeworld of Darth Tyrannus from Episodes II - III. I enjoyed Karpyshyn's references to three of the planet's major cities & would have loved to see more exposition on Carannia, Saffia & Fiyarro. I also enjoyed the citation of the planet's nobility in regards to how they view railways & walkways, it serves to illustrate how they live. The emphasis on the noble houses' emblems & coats-of-arms also increased my admiration of the author's writing style, how could a man crank out a book like this in 6 months? Impressive by anyone's standards, let alone mine.The planet Tychon is also integral to the storyline, & Karpyshyn explains it as relates to the Jedi Order's inception being at this particular location, over 25,000 years previous, where the followers of the Ashla defeated those of the Boga & probably being the genesis for the Light & Dark Sides of the Force. I most assuredly do enjoy reading about the history of fictitious locations & universes in the way Drew Karpyshyn has so masterfully done in this novel. I would love to see him revisit Star Wars if his desire is to do so at some point in the future.Fans of the undisputedly excellent Knights of the Old Republic games will love revisiting two of the locations featured in Darth Bane : Rule of Two, namely the wild, untamed planet Onderon & its jungle moon Dxun,both of which KOTOR II fans will recognize instantly.This book reads quickly & held my interest throughout its entirety; & with all of the Science Fiction/Fantasy I've read over the years that's not an easy feat to accomplish. Overall, I'd say it stands about equal to Path of Destruction. It's tough to compare the two, but if I had to give the edge to Rule of Two or Path of Destruction, I'd give it to Rule of Two, because of the overall high quality of the writing.I'm looking forward to the final entry in the series, Dynasty of Evil. I'm hoping it meets my expectations of being a worthy conclusion to the Darth Bane Trilogy.