Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Star Wars: Lords of the Sith.  It’s a book that features not just a happy road trip by two Sith Lords but also the first LGBT character in the new canon.  But is the book worth your hard earned money?   To mission control for the verdict!

TELMU Bria: Lords of the Sith was the stealthy surprise of the four novels release so far. It was the one I was least interested in when we got the initial announcement and I was completely taken by surprise by how much I found myself enjoying it. Reading about Cham Syndulla and Isval as they try to strike a blow against the Empire on Ryloth while simultaneously managing their Imperial pawn would be entertaining enough but when you throw in a buddy road trip for Palpatine and Vader? It gets even better. (Yeah, okay. So maybe a Sith Lord roadtrip involves a lot of dead people but what did you expect?) I found all of the main characters to be fleshed out and interesting including the much-discussed Moff Mors. While it doesn’t top my list of favorites in this new canon, I nonetheless found it enjoyable and give the book a GO.

CAPCOM Brian: This is one of the toughest books I’ve had to review. There are some things about it I legitimately love. Kemp has a great grasp on Vader and much of the material from his perspective is fantastic. For me, this could be the definitive Vader book if it wasn’t for some more problematic things. It’s problematic when it comes to female characters and the initial treatment of Moff Mors, the first LGBT+ character in the story group era canon. For everything I liked, there was something else in the book that tripped me up. For that reason, I’ve got to introduce a new status that can put something into more of a Your Mileage May Vary category. For that reason, I’m giving Lords of the Sith a HOLD. It didn’t work for me, but it might work for you.

RETRO Shoshana: I have such mixed feelings on this book. On one hand, I found it a very engaging book that introduced interesting new characters and expanded on Vader and Palpaltine’s relationship. And, of course, it introduces the new canon’s first non-heterosexual character, which is a huge deal. On the other, even near the end I found myself wondering why this story was a full novel rather than a short story and, more importantly, there are some scenes that I found hugely off-putting, especially involving Moff Mors. I was much more satisfied with her treatment in the second half of the book but I know that there are people who will not reach the second half because they were understandably put off by the first. I’m going to have to give this a HOLD as well.

Flight Director’s Ruling: With a Go and two Holds, Lords of the Sith has potential for launch but your mileage may vary.