WARNING: This review contains spoilers for "The Old Republic: Revan" novel
Since I am a Star Wars Geek/Fangirl, I have, of course, heard of the infamous Darth Revan of the KOTOR games. I haven't yet had the chance to play these really awesome sounding games but from what I've read on Wookiepedia, Revan is a very interesting and epic character.
When I heard they were writing a novel about this character and that it would include such characters as Bastila Shan and The Jedi Exile(both of whom I've read about on Wookiepedia and found very intriguing) I was very excited and looked forward to the book's release. However, for one reason or another, I never got around to getting the book. So, around a month ago I Inter-library a loaned the book and after a few weeks the library bought the book and I got to start this slim chronicle.
The novel, from what I gather, takes place at both KOTOR games. It tells the story of Revan who has had many of his memories of his time with the dark side wiped and is suffering from dreams of a storm-covered world. Besides Revan the story also follows a Sith(both the species and the title)named Lord Scourge as he becomes entangled in a dangerous plot regarding the destruction of the Sith Emperor. I very much enjoyed the book but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Here's why
The Plot: For the most part, the plot was intriguing and interesting to read about. I enjoyed reading about Revan's adventures with Canderous, Lord Scourge's endeavors, and Meetra's(the Exile) search for her friend. The action, where we saw it, was well written and exciting though my favorite part of the plot was the sections where the Jedi and the Sith had to work together; I've always found it very fascinating(and slightly amusing) when that sort of thing happenes since these two are always bitter enemies. Mr. Karpyshyn did a good job setting up the basic premise of the story and the story flowed well from one scene to another even when it skipped three years ahead. The story if the Emperor was also very chilling and well done; he's definitely one of those freaky villains to add to the most evil Sith Lord's ever list. I now very much want to know more about this vile excuse of a person.
Even though the story line was good, at times, it seemed a bit too rushed. Mr. Karpshyn's writing definitely wasn't on par with his amazing Darth Bane trilogy- it was lacking that spark of plot and characterization that was in his earlier work. Also, even though the action was exciting to read, I found the end battle with the Emperor to be WAY to quick; I would have liked to have seen the prowess of Revan and the Exile that I've heard so much about. Though, I will admit, even though the ending was a bit depressing, it was well executed and made sense.
The Characters: Strangely, for a book about Revan, we didn't get to see all that much of him. Since I haven't yet played the game, I was hoping I would get a deeper look into his psyche so I could understand him better but he really didn't have much depth in this book. Though he started to get more character towards the end and I liked him enough to feel bad for his fate.
I also had a problem with Bastila Shan; from what I'd read on Wookiepedia and heard, she sounded like this epic, kick-butt Jedi , but here she just whines about the Council, is a house wife, and kind of reminded me of Etain in the way she was acting :p. It really disappointed me since I really like what I've read about her character and she seemed to be an extremely epic character.
Meetra Surik, the Jedi Exile, was done well enough; she seemed like a true Jedi and her character was nicely done. However she didn't seem as powerful as she appears to be in the game, but then we don't see her fight that many foes. I was sad when she died since she was one of my favorite characters in the book(besides Revan and Scourge). I only wish I could have seen more of her; she's such a cool character.
In my opinion, I felt like the most well-done character was the Sith Lord Scourge(though of course that doesn't surprise me since Mr. Karpyshyn has always written Sith very well). For some reason, he didn't strike me as a full Sith, at least not in the way Sidious or Bane strike you as one. So when he did something particularly nasty or cruel, I always found myself surprised since he didn't seem to have that pure evil quality. His power, at the beginning also seemed lacking, but he later proved himself and earned his title. He also had this funny problem where the smiles of his superiors freaked him out; hehehehe >:)
I also really liked the artromech droid of T-3. At first he seemed to be an Artoo rip off but as the story unfolded he came to his own and I really started to like the little guy. His heroic end at the hand of the despicable Emperor was very sad and I wish he hadn't had to go out like that :(.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and I'd recommend it to other readers of the EU. It definitely had an Old Republic novel feel to it(I've already read Fatal Alliance and Deceived). I also will have to check out both of the KOTOR games and see some of the characters I wanted to know more about.
Now I move on to the awesome looking "Darth Plagues novel." don don DON!!
Have a good day, and May the Force be with you....Always :)
