Paul S. Kemp's Lords of the Sith tells the tale of a Darth Vader who is new to his alliance with the Dark Side of the Force. Vader's allegiances to his Sith master, Darth Sidious, are put to the test in myriad ways as the two villains encounter a skillful resistance movement on the planet Ryloth. Led by the cunning strategist Cham Syndulla (Star Wars: Rebels fans will likely recall Cham as Hera Syndulla's father), this band of resistance fighters may just stop at nothing to rid their beloved home of the Empire's influence. Rather than simply strike at the military forces occupying Ryloth, only to have them return in greater numbers, Cham has something a bit more daring in mind: Banish the Empire's scourge forever by targeting the dastardly men at the heart of it all, the Lords of the Sith!
Action-packed though this book may be, it also does an excellent job of exploring the complex relationship between the dark lords. This testy dynamic has, I'm happy to say, been delved into more and more in recent years (most notably in Kieron Gillen's excellent Vader series). In Lords of the Sith, their interplay not only provides fascinating content and important back-story, but I would argue it also sets up justification for Vader's actions down the road. As if this weren't enough, Kemp tosses in some plots involving Syndulla's pre-Rebellion resistance, treachery among supposed allies, insight into just how awful life can be under the Empire's thumb . . . oh, and a whole bunch of this kind of Vader-y goodness.
(Man, that scene is basically impossible to only watch once. I know this about myself, so I just copied and inserted the link; I am on the clock, after all.)
Put simply, I would say Lords of the Sith boasts some of the greatest Star Wars content I've ever read. Additionally, I found it to be easily the most enjoyable and thrilling novel in the canon portion of the Star Wars universe. If you're a Star Wars fan and haven't yet read this book . . . well, why are you still reading this review? Seriously, do yourself a favor and go get it!