This book is extremely unconventional in its format as well as being somewhat atypical for a Star Wars novel, but the further into it I got, the greater degree of appreciation I grew to have for the way in which 'Lost Tribe of the Sith : The Collected Stories' was written. It becomes more 'Star Wars' as you progress through it. By the end, you are wondering why John Jackson Miller didn't make the book longer.'Lost Tribe of the Sith : The Collected Stories' is the first of John Jackson Miller's work I've read. As a Star Wars book, the novel is undoubtedly unique in not only how it's laid out & organized, but also in the narrative it tells. The first eight short stories were originally published as e-books, & the ninth, which is more along the lines of a short novel, was written specifically to be released with this compilation. To give you somewhat of an idea of their length, I'll provide a couple of examples: The first story, 'Precipice', is 30 pages long, & the novella at the end, entitled 'Pandemonium', about 130 pages. The author also supplied a couple of maps which assist in fleshing out the planet Kesh for the reader. I always appreciate it when the author throws in a couple of well-illustrated maps. The book is close to 400 pages in length, total. Each story is divided up into easily-digestible chapters which make putting the book down easier if you have to stop & take care of something. But, 'Lost Tribe of the Sith' is so much fun to read, you won't want to put it down.The main storyline of 'Lost Tribe of the Sith' isn't something I am going to go overly in depth in detailing for you, because you probably don't want a plot summary so much as you want to know if the book is worth your time & money investing into. The few details of the book's plot that I mention here are so general they shouldn't spoil anything for you. The timeline of 'Lost Tribe of the Sith', which would be the beginning of the first story 'Precipice', commences in roughly 5000 BBY, or five thousand years before the Battle of Yavin which occurs at the end of Episode IV, & it goes all the way up to around 2975 BBY, which would be the opening of the final story in the collection, 'Pandemonium'. Yes, you're right, that's a span of 2,025 years. A very long time. If you want to get technical, it's well into the lifespan of the Old Republic, past the time of Darth Malak & Darth Revan. Although it's not quite up to Darth Bane's era, which is roughly 1,032 BBY. Why the long span of time to tell this story? I'm going to explain why, provided you can bear with my overly verbose exposition of Star Wars history.Around 5,000 BBY, the Dark Lord Naga Sadow chose two groups of Sith to man two separate Sith cruise ships, the 'Omen' & the 'Harbinger' to acquire resources for a war on the planet Kirrek against the Republic. The 'Harbinger's captain was a Dark Jedi named Saes, 'Omen's a Sith, Yaru Korsin. Korsin's crew consists of human, Force-Sensitive Sith, Red Sith, or Sith Purebloods (this is the species Xo'Xaan & the other eleven original Sith exiles subjugated when they first landed on the home-world of the native Sith.) & a warrior race known as the Massassi. The two ships were attacked by Republic forces while orbiting the planet Primus Goluud, & 'Omen' malfunctioned while in hyperspace, causing it to splinter & eventually crash land on an unknown planet, into the side of a mountain. It is quickly ascertained by the 'Omen's leadership that their ship cannot be repaired, the damage is catastrophic. Communication with their Sith masters is also impossible, there is an electromagnetic field surrounding the planet which makes any transmission unintelligible. The Lost Tribe of the Sith is on their own. There is a native species on the uncharted planet whom Yaru Korsin's Sith soon encounter, & in true Sith fashion, they soon have these primitive inhabitants worshiping them as gods. The native Kesh are lied to, deceived, manipulated, exploited, & enslaved. And this is only what happens during the initial chapters of the book!As the stories of 'Lost Tribe of the Sith' are told, the years continue their inexorable advance within the timeline of the book. Every two or three short stories chronicle the exploits of a separate group of characters living in a particular era. The initial portion of the story involves Yaru Korsin's tribe of 'original' Sith from the year 5000 BBY, & once that story has been told, the timeline advances to the year 3960 BBY, where the taint of the Sith has been allowed to contaminate the native Keshians for over 1,000 years. There are new characters, the descendants of Yaru's 'original' Sith tribe, who have now established a ruling hierarchy which is now irrevocably entrenched in positions of power & authority that they utilize to ensure their dominance over not only the Kesh but over their political rivals within their own ranks. After these stories are told, the era moves forward once again to 3,000 BBY, where the final portion of 'Lost Tribe of the Sith' takes place.The further into the narrative Jackson Miller gets, the greater the degree of corruption the Sith tribe's destructive influence visits upon the Keshian indigenes. The natives aren't exactly the prototypical embodiment of a virtuous, utopian society before the 'Omen' crash lands, but once Korsin & his tribe of Sith arrive, the status quo gets taken to an entirely new level of immoral behavior. Some of the actions that the Lost Tribe of the Sith precipitate on the native inhabitants of Kesh will have you shaking your head in disbelief.The male & female Sith numbering among Yaru Korsin's 'originals' & their subsequent descendants, prove to be arrogant, domineering, spiteful, aggressive, subversive, vainglorious, manipulative, superficial, deceitful, & possessive. And a good portion of the ruling-class Sith are inherently Force-Sensitive as well, making them even more dangerous, not only in their destructive capabilities but in their talent in effectively dissembling with the inferior Keshian indigents to acquire power, land, & influence, all usually achieved with a minimum of personal risk. No matter which characters, or at what point in the action Miller's focusing on in this book, you can rest assured in the knowledge that there's almost always a deception or dissimulation of some sort transpiring at any given time. A number of the Sith descended from Korsin eventually become fanatics later on in the story arc of the novel, & view Korsin & the other 'originals' who landed on Kesh as deities whom they name themselves after & attempt to emulate by following in their footsteps. These 'Sith zealots' organize themselves into warring factions idealizing specific 'original' Sith & whichever offensive personality traits the corresponding person possessed while he or she was alive. The final portion of the narrative involves a colossally-immoral mass dissimulation which is so skillfully-implemented by Jackson Miller, it truly impressed me.The Sith in this story are among the most well-conceived, believable 'antagonists' to be found in the Star Wars mythology. This really is a testament to John Jackson Miller's talent as a writer, more than any other contributing factor.There is a second continent on Kesh discovered late in the storyline, which is at a technologically superior level of civilization compared to the isolated landmass the 'Omen' crashed on. Anyone who has read C.S. Friedman's 'Coldfire Trilogy' will probably see similarities between John Jackson Miller's planet Kesh & Friedman's world of Erna from her own stunning trilogy. All in all, I would recommend 'Lost Tribe of the Sith : The Collected Stories' to you without reserve. After getting about 45 pages into the book, I was thoroughly immersed in its fiction. There are very few lore connections to the greater Star Wars universe, mainly due to the era in the Star Wars timeline in which this novel takes place, but there are enough to make it interesting. Naga Sadow, Ludo Kressh, & Darth Revan all are integrated into the plotline of 'Lost Tribe of the Sith'. This book is most assuredly, recommended.