Star Wars: Master of Evil

I finished the new Star Wars novel, Master of Evil by Adam Christopher. The story takes place after Episode III, with Darth Vader bleeding a kyber crystal to forge his new lightsaber, but the ritual gives him a peak into the true power of the dark side. This leads Vader to speak to the Emperor about the promise of overcoming death. Palpatine then sends Vader to the Diso system to look into a shaman who is said to be able to bring back the dead. 

The story is mostly about a member of the Emperor’s Royal Guard, Colonel Halland Goth, who accompanies Vader, and has his own secrets. He and his trusty droid, TC-99, are trying to find a cure to a disease Goth has, and they think that Vader’s power could be the key. 

Okay, there will be spoilers from here on out! You have been warned…

I loved how this book deals with the early days of the Empire, and how the people believe in Emperor Palpatine and his vision of galactic order. Goth is one of those true believers. He is shocked to learn that Vader is a Force user (he eventually discovers that Vader is Anakin Skywalker). Why would the Emperor employ a former Jedi? During the mission to Diso, Darth Vader destroys a town, and Goth begins to see the dark side of his Empire. 

The ISB wants Goth to spy on Vader, and figure out who he is, and they claim that this is a direct order from Palpatine. During this time period, no one really knows the role of Darth Vader. Once Goth sees his power, he realizes that Vader must be the Emperor’s enforcer (but eventually he realizes that maybe the Emperor is also a Force-user, why else would Vader take orders from him. 

I just enjoyed how a good person, who is fed a ton of propaganda, and disillusioned by the bureaucratic bloat of the Republic, can get truly behind some evil acts: killing the Jedi younglings for example. It feels a little relevant nowadays. 

The only thing I did not really care for was the entire Sarnath subplot (I am not sure if the tech company has a larger role in later Darth Vader comics, so maybe this was a fun way to explore Sarnath’s origin). It just felt very tacked on and a way to create another enemy for Vader’s Shadow Platoon (a group of Skywalker’s men from the 501st, who he has recruited for a mission to Diso) to fight against.