In the Star Wars universe, the Sith consistently portray themselves as the ones who know the true nature of the Force, or, at least, the ones who are brave enough to confront truths about the Force that the weaker, contemptible Jedi can't tolerate or even acknowledge. Usually, of course, they assert that this knowledge gives them powers unknown to the Jedi. In Return of the Jedi, for instance, there's Emperor's cackling as Force lightning blasts from his fingers, "only now, when it is too late, do you understand." And in the prequel trilogy, Palpatine lures Anakin to the dark side by promising him power over life and death.
But what do the Sith actually know? Do they really know things that the Jedi don't, or are they self-deluded, as Yoda and others seem to think?
To answer these questions, Daniel Wallace, author of The Jedi Path (see my interview with him from 2010), has assembled a Book of Sith. Ok, in addition to answering these questions, it's also a tie-in to the re-release of the movies in 3D, as well as to new titles such as James Luceno's Darth Plagueis or the comic Dawn of the Jedi. It does look as if it could be fun, though:
And you know what? It is fun. Like The Jedi Path, Book of Sith comes in a Vault edition, with artifacts from Sith history as well as the book itself. The artifacts include: a note from Luke Skywalker, a propaganda poster for the Empire, a diagram of Palpatine's plans during The Clone Wars, a Sith lightsaber crystal, a Nightsister talisman, a piece of a Sith burial shroud, and a battle map from the Great Galactic War. (Pictured at top.) As you can see from the trailer, the holocron that contains the Book of Sith is considerably more aggressive than the vault of The Jedi Path. My 8-year-old was very impressed with the items and the vault.
Like the earlier book, the Book of Sith features writings that have been annotated over millennia by Sith and Jedi notables. Here's a sample page:
There is an important difference in presentation: The Jedi Path was written as a manual or textbook of Jedi teachings, presenting a basically coherent idea of the Force and its uses. That makes sense, given the institutional structure of the Jedi, with the Temple and the emphasis on training Padawan learners. The Sith, however, are famously secretive and are, as this book shows, profoundly ambivalent about sharing or transmitting knowledge. Book of Sith is thus not a textbook, but rather an arrangement, in chronological order, of "excerpts" of works by a variety of masters of the dark side. These texts were edited by Darth Sidious both to present core teachings of the Sith and to lay the groundwork for the idea that he would be the final, because immortal, Sith lord. This is a prophecy of the dark side that complements the Jedi idea of the Chosen One who would restore balance.
The writings here are by Sorzus Syn, a Dark Jedi who joined with the Sith Purebloods after defeat during the Hundred-Year Darkness. Syn focuses on Sith alchemy. Darth Malgus's journal of the Great Galactic War shows the importance of rage and violence to the Sith. Darth Bane promulgates the famous Rule of Two. Mother Talzin unpacks the views of the Nightsisters of Dathomir. Sidious's own master, Darth Plagueis, focuses on the dark side and biology, trying both to extend Force powers and life itself. Finally, Sidious distills these teaching into writings on anger, the weakness of inferiority, and the manipulation of life.
This presentation sustains the air of secrecy about the Sith, while creating the appearance of partial glimpses at a vaster world, which is obviously the Star Wars universe's stock-in-trade.
As with The Jedi Path, there are lots of in-jokes throughout that let different readers enjoy the book in different ways. (One of my favorites: On one of the pages where Darth Plagueis is droning on about the possibility of achieving immortality through manipulating midi-chlorians, there's a note from Luke complaining that "The entire focus on midi-chlorians is misguided" – which is a fair summary of many fans' view of The Phantom Menace!) Judging by my kid's reaction to the book and its artifacts, the Vault Edition of the Book of Sith is sure to delight younger Star Wars fans, as well as anyone interested in the back story to this fundamental conflict in the galaxy far, far away.
Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side hit the shelves yesterday.
(Disclosure: I received a review copy of this edition.)
