Star Wars Bookworms Book Club discussion

Did anyone else feel like vidian was similar to some of the sith we see in the old republic? Especially Malgus and bane?

I thought of the Old Republic era too, but I was reminded of Lord Odion from Knight Errant.

Agreed. I had said in another post that at first I had images of the cyborg fellas from Crucible but the more I read (I am actually further along I the book then the raising schedule dictated) I definitely started to get a Malgus vibe. Although I would maintain that I think Malgus had more of a heart and his relationship with Eleena was something that could actually be used against him. I am interested to see if we get anything that Vivian cares about at all or that could get him to make a bad decision.

“My lord, perhaps I can suggest some way to—”
Vidian didn’t wait to hear Palfa’s suggestion. His arm lanced out and caught the director by the collar. Yanking downward, he pulled the screaming bureaucrat’s cape over his head and forced him to the rocky surface. The stormtroopers watched, blasters drawn, as Vidian rained powerful blows on Palfa’s body.
The count stepped back, satisfied, as the cloth-covered guildmaster’s body stopped moving.

This scene kind of surprised me. I was thinking Vidian was going to be more a kill from a distance kind of bad guy. Wasn't expecting this sort of hand to hand violence

I thought so too, although the first comparison to come to my mind was Darth Karrid from Annihilation with the coldness from Vidian and the willingness to give up their human qualities.

Definitely getting a Darth Malgus vibe; that's my only Sith reference for the Old Republic outside of the KOTOR games.

I was also surprised by the beating Vidian administered. I actually had to reread that passage to make sure I was correct that he killed the poor guy. That said, his command to shoot the freighter Cynda Dreaming as an example to the rest of the ships is reminiscent of the Death Star blowing up Alderaan as example to rest of the planets. And Darth Vader (and most all of the Darths) certainly wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty.

Speaking of the Death Star, the line near the end of chapter 33 "Like Kanan, she doubted the destruction of the moon was possible; it was too big an idea, too fantastic to imagine. Engineering on that scale just wasn't done - or at least she'd never heard of it." brought back memories of the Death Star from Episode 4. "That's no moon."

Count Vidian and his actions reminded me of Obi-Wan's quote about Vader:

"He's more machine now than man. His mind is twisted and evil."

Vidian has a cold ruthlessness that one would expect from a machine. I'm up to the start of Act 2. The only emotion I've seen him convey is anger. While the disease he suffered did require him to become a cyborg, he decided to embrace his new mechanical side instead of making an attempt to look human.

It is all about the bottom line with him, but the beatings he delivers go above and beyond meeting quotas set by the Emperor. He has lost the ability to empathize.

Kat wrote: "I thought so too, although the first comparison to come to my mind was Darth Karrid from Annihilation with the coldness from Vidian and the willingness to give up their human qualities."

You made an important distinction between Vidian and other Sith lords: the fact that he embraces his cybernetics. I'm sure given the chance Darth Vader or Malgus would gladly get rid of their cybernetics and return to normal but Vidian keeps them because they assist in his philosophy of complete efficiency. As a result, like you said, he seems to be more like Darth Karrid.

Another distinction I feel is that while Sith lords tend to be sadistic, Vidian is more apathetic. Sith lords like Malgus and Bane fed off the suffering of others for strength like when Malgus taunted Ven Zallow as he died. Vidian on the other hand completely ignores how others feel evident in how he so callously deleted Kanan raising a blaster to him from his memory.