So, what makes this book so great? Well of course Darth Bane is the centerpiece, and he appears here as good as he ever was. Then there's the all consuming mind game between Bane and Zannah to out think each other, their constant one-up-manship to preserve the Rule of Two. On top of that is the mind game Drew plays on the readers by keeping you guessing on who the new apprentice will be and ultimately who will be the master by the book's end?

But there's more than that. There's side stories and characters who tie into the whole plot. Theirs new worlds and new Sith artifacts. And to my utter glee, nearly a dozen new Force powers.

Oh, and don't forget, the ultimate reward is a new Sith worthy of greatness.

Zannah having that tremble in her arm like Bane did, leaving it ambiguous whether or not its Zannah or Bane. It has to be Zannah, but still, its an interestingly annoying thing.

See, with Bane dead, but with some odd shadow of him left on Zannah, it allows Drew to keep him alive in a respect if he gets to continue writing more books. It adds character to Zannah, and opens up a lot of possibilities for the author. Zannah could have inherited some of his strength, maybe odd memories or traits, things that will always remind Zannah of her master, something to keep her thoughts of him alive as she moves forward with her new apprentice.

I loved how some of Bane entered Zannah, and I got what Drew was getting at and did not think it was Bane in Zannah's body.

Set and Cognus were both incredible contrasts to inherit the role of apprentice, although I never thought Set would become the apprentice.

I really thought Serra was a possible apprentice for Zannah and wondered if her thirst for revenge would push her over to the darkside. I really was kinda bummed she died,

I really cannot wait to see where they take this and I gotta think this series will continue with Zannah, its too good.

There were quite a few new powers. There was the one Bane used on top of Andeddu's temple that was a darkside bubble. It was like the opposite of a lightsider's Force shield in that it extended out as a sphere, but in this case caused destruction rather than protection.

Then there was the darkside Force tendrils that Zannah conjured up on Ambria. I'm guessing it's pretty much a pure manifestation of the darkside. They seemed very deadly, though a little easy to evade, or perhaps a little difficult to control.

@Bly: I was thinking Serra could be an apprentice too. With her hatred toward Bane, I thought Zannah might end up taking her on to replace Set. But then again, I was hoping the Huntress would be the new apprentice all along. When they unveiled her in that early chapter, I just thought she was great.

When Congus killed Medd he was feeling the effects of the darkside. So it was sorta poisoning his connection to the force as well as limiting it. So is it possible she could use it to draw force energy from other darksiders? Like a walking Orbalisk (sp)?

Cognus got Bane's holocron - did Zannah realize she has it? I assume she still has it.