Random House has posted the full synopsis for Paul S. Kemp’s next Star Wars novel, Lords of the Sith due out April 28, 2015 in hardcover and eBook.
Thanks to my friends at Jedi Bibliothek for pointing this out to me.
Synopsis
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . .
When the Emperor and his notorious apprentice, Darth Vader, find themselves stranded in the middle of insurgent action on an inhospitable planet, they must rely on each other, the Force, and their own ruthlessness to prevail.
“It appears things are as you suspected, Lord Vader. We are indeed hunted.”
Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, is just a memory. Darth Vader, newly anointed Sith Lord, is ascendant. The Emperor’s chosen apprentice has swiftly proven his loyalty to the dark side. Still, the history of the Sith Order is one of duplicity, betrayal, and acolytes violently usurping their Masters—and the truest measure of Vader’s allegiance has yet to be taken. Until now.
On Ryloth, a planet crucial to the growing Empire as a source of slave labor and the narcotic known as “spice,” an aggressive resistance movement has arisen, led by Cham Syndulla, an idealistic freedom fighter, and Isval, a vengeful former slave. But Emperor Palpatine means to control the embattled world and its precious resources—by political power or firepower—and he will be neither intimidated nor denied. Accompanied by his merciless disciple, Darth Vader, he sets out on a rare personal mission to ensure his will is done.
For Syndulla and Isval, it’s the opportunity to strike at the very heart of the ruthless dictatorship sweeping the galaxy. And for the Emperor and Darth Vader, Ryloth becomes more than just a matter of putting down an insurrection: When an ambush sends them crashing to the planet’s surface, where inhospitable terrain and an army of resistance fighters await them, they will find their relationship tested as never before. With only their lightsabers, the dark side of the Force, and each other to depend on, the two Sith must decide if the brutal bond they share will make them victorious allies or lethal adversaries.
We have known that Palpatine, Vader and Cham Syndulla were going to be in the novel for a while now, but it appears that the former slave character of Isval is a new character.
In his Star Wars writing Kemp has had a very heavy male cast, but Isval as a female Twi’lek former slave, this will be the second such character that Kemp has written following Eleena Daru in The Old Republic novel, Deceived.
It was revealed at the recent New York Comic-con that Cham Syndulla is the uncle of Star Wars Rebels character Hera Syndulla. It will be intersting to see how Cham’s rebellion fits into the larger continuity. One key thing is that unlike some planets at the end of The Clone Wars, Ryloth likely had a significant Imperial military presence in place. Whereas planets like Onderon and Mandalore likely did not. I hope to see a diverse set of stories about varied types of Imperial occupation and resistance.
I am excited for this novel as a fan of Kemp’s unique prose, but also for the fact that we can pretty much guarantee there will be a scene in the novel where Vader has the choice to make to either allow Palpatine to die or save him and I can bet readers will be shouting at the book.
