Dark Lord : The Rise of Darth Vader Dark Lord : The Rise of Darth Vader is a novel written by James Luceno and published by Del Rey . " Dark Lord " takes place in the immediate aftermath of the events in and focuses on Darth Vader and his rise to prominence in the newly - inaugurated Galactic Empire . Author Luceno devotes much of " Dark Lord " to the internal conflict that Darth Vader undergoes as he tries to slough off his former identity of Anakin Skywalker . Palpatine intends for these early missions that he sends Vader on to be as much about learning what it means to be a Sith as they are about consolidating the rule of the nascent Empire . Publisher ' s summary . Throughout the galaxy , it was believed that Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker — the Chosen One — had died on Coruscant during the . And , to some extent , that was true . Anakin was dead . " From the site of Anakin Skywalker ' s last stand — on the molten surface of the planet Mustafar , where he sought to destroy his friend and former master , Obi - Wan Kenobi — a fearsome specter in black has risen . Once the most powerful Knight ever known to the Jedi Order , he is now a disciple of the dark side , a lord of the dreaded Sith , and the avenging right hand of the galaxy ’ s ruthless new Emperor . Seduced , deranged , and destroyed by the machinations of the Dark Lord Sidious , Anakin Skywalker is dead … and Darth Vader lives . " " Word of the events that created him — the Jedi Council ' s failed mutiny against Supreme Chancellor Palpatine , the self - crowned Emperor ' s retaliatory command to exterminate the Jedi Order , and Anakin ' s massacre of his comrades and Masters in the Jedi Temple — have yet to reach all quarters . On the Outer Rim world of Murkhana , Jedi Masters Roan Shryne and Bol Chatak and Padawan Olee Starstone are leading a charge on a Separatist stronghold , unaware that the tide , red with Jedi blood , has turned suddenly against them . " " When the three narrowly elude execution — and become the desperate prey in a hunt across space — it ' s neither clone soldiers , nor the newly deployed stormtroopers , nor even the wrath of the power - hungry Emperor himself they must fear most . The deadliest threat rests in the hideously swift and lethal crimson lightsaber of Darth Vader — behind whose brooding mask lies a shattered heart , a poisoned soul , and a cunning , twisted mind hell - bent on vengeance . " " For the handful of scattered Jedi , survival is imperative if the light side of the Force is to be protected and the galaxy somehow , someday reclaimed . Yet more important still is the well - being of the twin infants , Leia and Luke Skywalker , the children of Anakin and his doomed bride , Padmé Amidala . Separated after Padmé ' s death , they must be made safe at all costs , lest the hope they represent for the future be turned to horror by the new Sith regime — and the unspeakable power of the dark side . " Synopsis . Part I : The Outer Rim Sieges . Jedi Masters Roan Shryne , Bol Chatak and Padawan Olee Starstone land on Murkhana with a contingency of clone troopers . Using information from a defected mercenary , Shryne leads a surgical strike on Murkhana City much to the dismay of Commander Salvo who preferred a strike from aboard the Star Destroyer " Gallant " . Joined by clone commando Climber and his Ion Team , Shryne leads the attack on the Separatist ' s shield generator , successfully completing their mission . During preparations to rendezvous with the other Republic forces , Climber is contacted by Salvo with the order to exterminate the Jedi . Conflicted by this command and his loyalty to his comrades , Climber instructs Ion Team to disrupt the planned ambush on the Jedi . A quick standoff ends with Climber allowing Shryne , Chatak and Starstone a head start before starting the hunt . Salvo loses most of his trust in Climber and his team and keeps his eye on them . Shryne and the others decide to abandon their Jedi garb and gear in an attempt to escape the planet , but are captured by the troopers . Part II : The Emperor ' s Emissary . Four standard weeks pass since the events of Order 66 , with the downfall of the Jedi Order and the rise of the Galactic Empire over the Old Republic . Darth Vader , apprentice to the newly proclaimed Emperor Palpatine , alias Darth Sidious , and second - in - command in the Empire , is sent to Murkhana by Palpatine himself to investigate allegations of disloyalty from clones failing to carry out Order 66 . Vader investigates and engages in a lightsaber duel with Bol Chatak ; the Sith Lord wins by decapitating Chatak . Shryne and Olee escape Vader ' s wrath , seeking transportation offworld . Shryne and Olee find that transport through the " Drunk Dancer " , a freighter , and the former Jedi meets his mother , Jula . Part III : Imperial Center . Olee and Shryne part ways : Shryne stays with his mother , Olee goes in search of other Jedi survivors with the other Jedi . Meanwhile , Skeck , Archyr , Jula and Shryne — having parted ways with Fili to help Olee track Jedi — go to Alderaan to rescue Sern Prime ' s Senator Fang Zar . Darth Vader , having been sent by Palpatine to kill the Senator , confronts Shryne as they are about to escape . Zar and Jula are struck by Vader ' s lightsaber and Zar is killed . Luckily , Jula is rescued despite her wounds . Part IV : Kashyyyk . On Kashyyyk , Shryne and Starstone , along with the native Wookiees , fight the stormtroopers of the Empire as an attack on the planet begins . Two of the Jedi are killed while Darth Vader fights Starstone . Shryne intervenes and fights Vader , telling Starstone to flee . Chewbacca flies the remaining Jedi to the " Drunk Dancer " as Vader reveals himself to Shryne and kills him by fatally wounding him via the dark side of the Force . Kashyyyk falls to the Empire . Epilogue . The epilogue depicts Obi - Wan Kenobi , now under the guise of Ben Kenobi living as a hermit on Tatooine to watch over the infant Luke Skywalker from a distance . Kenobi is shocked at the news to hear that Darth Vader , whom he believed he killed in his duel against him on Mustafar , is alive . He is then contacted by the spirit of his late Master , Qui - Gon Jinn , who assures him that Luke will grow to confront his father when the time is right and that Vader will never step foot on Tatooine ever again , for fear of his memories coming back to haunt him . Behind the scenes . Luceno told the magazine " Star Wars Insider " about a discussion he had with Ryan Kaufman , formerly of LucasArts , who had worn a Darth Vader costume during the production of a number of LucasArts " Star Wars " video games . Kaufman ' s description of what it was like to wear the suit led Luceno to dedicate a substantial amount of the novel toward Vader ' s struggling with the discomfort of his new prosthetics and armor . According to Luceno , the book was not supposed to be primarily about Vader while he was writing it ; the title was applied to the book only after he had finished the manuscript . An error at the beginning of Chapter 9 states that the " Venator " - class Star Destroyers were not made by Kuat Drive Yards , when in fact they were . An error in Chapter 37 of the novel mistakenly refers to the Star Destroyer " Executrix " as the " Executor " . An error in the novel is that Appo and his troops are incorrectly described as red - armored Coruscant shock troopers , not blue - armored 501st troopers .