STAR WARS: MASTER OF EVIL Novel Will Dive Into the Sith Ritual That Defined Darth Vader
If you’re a fan of the Star Wars prequels and have ever wondered how Anakin Skywalker, broken and burnt at the end of Revenge of the Sith, fully embraced his Darth Vader persona, we’re finally getting a deeper look.
Coming November 11th, Star Wars: Master of Evil by author Adam Christopher will dig into Vader’s early days as Palpatine’s apprentice. The book will explore a crucial Sith milestone that hasn’t been portrayed in the movies… the dark ritual Vader performs to create his own red-bladed lightsaber.
According to the official synopsis from Penguin Random House: “On the volcanic world of Mustafar, Vader undertakes a dark ritual, bleeding a kyber crystal to forge his lightsaber. This act unleashes a power far greater than he anticipated, giving him a glimpse into the limitless potential of the Force.”
If you’re a hardcore fan and you’ve read the comic, maybe you’ll remember it from Marvel’s Darth Vader #5 (2017), part of the Dark Lord of the Sith comic series by Charles Soule and artist Giuseppe Camuncoli. That series kicked off right where Revenge of the Sith left off and spent 25 issues showing how Vader's armor, mindset, and relationship with the Force all evolved under the Emperor’s rule.
This new novel won’t overwrite that continuity, instead, it aims to offer a fresh, more intimate lens. And it’s a significant one. The process of “bleeding” a kyber crystal is a deeply personal Sith tradition, symbolizing a full commitment to the Dark Side.
It’s been explored here and there, most notably in the Jedi: Fallen Order video game and a bit in Tales of the Jedi , but never through Vader’s transformation, and never in this much detail.
It’s the kind of deeper mythology come fans have been waiting for, the stuff that connects the character dots between the fiery end of Anakin Skywalker and the cold, commanding presence of the Vader we meet in A New Hope.
Star Wars: Master of Evil is up for pre-order now in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats, with a November 11th release date.
