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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2011
[Warning: review contains SPOILERS]
Like most KOTOR fans, I was ecstatics when I heard Drew Karpyshyn would be writing a book about Revan and his crew. Sadly, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan isn't a book about Revan and his crew so much as an attempt to get KOTOR fans into the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO.
First, Revan. Well, he's actually only in half the book or so. Of the first 50 pages, he's in less than 10. The rest of the book deals with the politics on the Sith capital of Dromund Kaas (more on that later). As for what we do see, we still don't get very much. There is some explanation of Revan's battle with Mandalore the Ultimate and time on the Sith homeward, but we learn surprisingly little about the character. We do get to see Revan's willpower and sense of humor, but nothing about his thoughts or relationships with most of the KOTOR characters, aside from Bastila and Canderous.
My biggest problem is that the little we do get of Revan's history totally diminishes him as a character. It turns out Revan and Malak sought to conquer the Republic because the Sith Emperor overpowered their will and told them to. In other words, they were merely his pawns. This revelation makes Revan look weak, but more importantly it is emotionally stale. Neither Revan's turn to the Dark Side nor his return to the Light have as much emotional salience because his choices were in a sense out of his hands. KOTOR was a game all about choices, so this explanation for Revan's actions seems especially jarring.
Speaking of the KOTOR crew, they're also noticeable for their absence. Only Canderous Ordo, Bastila Shan, the Jedi Exile, and T3-M4 make an appearance. The rest don't even have a cameo. Now, I know Karpyshyn had been warning fans that not all the characters would make an appearance, but I had thought he was implying that he wouldn't bring back Juhani or Carth. But at least expected to see more than three of the original KOTOR crew. Not even HK-47! If that's not bad enough, aside from HK-47 the KOTOR crew is only mentioned in one scene when Canderous and Revan discuss asking them to join their latest mission, but decide against it. It's basically a horrible way to dash our hopes.
Fortunately, Karpyshyn does do Canderous justice, with his gruff attitude and wit. Although even there Karpyshyn leaves Canderous just as he's going through major changes. Bastila comes across as a bit too subdued, fading into life as a housewife, rather than the sassy Jedi we met on Taris. The Exile - Meetra Surik - is fine, but not memorable. On the other hand, T3-M4 was a pleasant surprise. Karpyshyn game that little droid more emotional range and depth than most of the living characters.
So if not Revan and the KOTOR crew, what does Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan focus on? Largely the Sith Empire on Dromund Kaas and the Sith Lord Scourge. This subplot just seems out of place in a book about Revan. Most readers want to read a book titled Revan because they have an emotional investment in the KOTOR characters. By contrast, readers don't really have any emotional investment in the Sith Empire yet, so much of the subplot comes across as a distraction.
From a narrative point of view, there's an obvious problem with the way the book is structured and the way the subplot works. Basically, the first half of the book follows Revan's quest to find out what happened to him and find the Sith home world. In the prologue, he is disturbed by visions of a rainy planet. However, chapter 1 then proceeds to follow events on that rainy planet of Dromund Kaas. In short, the subplot destroys ANY sense of suspense in Revan's story.
Second, because readers don't have any emotional investment in the Sith Empire or those characters, they don't have much impact. In what Karpyshyn obviously intended to be a pivotal scene, two Sith characters discuss the history of the Sith Emperor and how he's so evil he consumed the life essence of an entire planet. However, for readers this just sounds like a lazy attempt to one-up Emperor Palpatine. Indeed, the Sith Emperor seemed just like a Palpatine clone, but without the personality. I would have loved more scenes like that discussing REVAN's history, but as of now I just don't really care about the Sith Emperor.
Putting aside the fact that Lord "Scourge" sounds cheesy even for a Sith Lord's name, Lord Scourge himself was a pleasant surprise. He starts off as a fairly banal Sith brute, but actually becomes more interesting over time and grows as a character. Near the end, his story intersects with Revan and the Exile's. It's sad that in a book called Revan he's probably the only one whom I'd like to see more of in the MMO.
Oh, and one more thing. If it was SO important that Revan and friends stop the Sith, why didn't they inform the Republic? Couldn't somebody have sent a message back to Republic space before going to confront the Sith Emperor (or maybe send T3)? After all, that's what Revan and crew did when they went to confront the Star Force in KOTOR. I just can't believe that none of the characters - and presumably Karpyshyn - even thought to discuss the possibility.
Overall, while I loved Karpyshyn's Bane trilogy, I think he really dropped the ball here. There's so much Karpyshyn could have and should have done to give KOTOR fans a fulfilling experience, even while providing a segue to the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic . This book doesn't do that. Instead, it was an attempt to bridge KOTOR to TOR, but I suspect that might just turn some KOTOR fans off from the game. Overall, 2 stars.
Like most KOTOR fans, I was ecstatics when I heard Drew Karpyshyn would be writing a book about Revan and his crew. Sadly, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan isn't a book about Revan and his crew so much as an attempt to get KOTOR fans into the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO.
First, Revan. Well, he's actually only in half the book or so. Of the first 50 pages, he's in less than 10. The rest of the book deals with the politics on the Sith capital of Dromund Kaas (more on that later). As for what we do see, we still don't get very much. There is some explanation of Revan's battle with Mandalore the Ultimate and time on the Sith homeward, but we learn surprisingly little about the character. We do get to see Revan's willpower and sense of humor, but nothing about his thoughts or relationships with most of the KOTOR characters, aside from Bastila and Canderous.
My biggest problem is that the little we do get of Revan's history totally diminishes him as a character. It turns out Revan and Malak sought to conquer the Republic because the Sith Emperor overpowered their will and told them to. In other words, they were merely his pawns. This revelation makes Revan look weak, but more importantly it is emotionally stale. Neither Revan's turn to the Dark Side nor his return to the Light have as much emotional salience because his choices were in a sense out of his hands. KOTOR was a game all about choices, so this explanation for Revan's actions seems especially jarring.
Speaking of the KOTOR crew, they're also noticeable for their absence. Only Canderous Ordo, Bastila Shan, the Jedi Exile, and T3-M4 make an appearance. The rest don't even have a cameo. Now, I know Karpyshyn had been warning fans that not all the characters would make an appearance, but I had thought he was implying that he wouldn't bring back Juhani or Carth. But at least expected to see more than three of the original KOTOR crew. Not even HK-47! If that's not bad enough, aside from HK-47 the KOTOR crew is only mentioned in one scene when Canderous and Revan discuss asking them to join their latest mission, but decide against it. It's basically a horrible way to dash our hopes.
Fortunately, Karpyshyn does do Canderous justice, with his gruff attitude and wit. Although even there Karpyshyn leaves Canderous just as he's going through major changes. Bastila comes across as a bit too subdued, fading into life as a housewife, rather than the sassy Jedi we met on Taris. The Exile - Meetra Surik - is fine, but not memorable. On the other hand, T3-M4 was a pleasant surprise. Karpyshyn game that little droid more emotional range and depth than most of the living characters.
So if not Revan and the KOTOR crew, what does Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan focus on? Largely the Sith Empire on Dromund Kaas and the Sith Lord Scourge. This subplot just seems out of place in a book about Revan. Most readers want to read a book titled Revan because they have an emotional investment in the KOTOR characters. By contrast, readers don't really have any emotional investment in the Sith Empire yet, so much of the subplot comes across as a distraction.
From a narrative point of view, there's an obvious problem with the way the book is structured and the way the subplot works. Basically, the first half of the book follows Revan's quest to find out what happened to him and find the Sith home world. In the prologue, he is disturbed by visions of a rainy planet. However, chapter 1 then proceeds to follow events on that rainy planet of Dromund Kaas. In short, the subplot destroys ANY sense of suspense in Revan's story.
Second, because readers don't have any emotional investment in the Sith Empire or those characters, they don't have much impact. In what Karpyshyn obviously intended to be a pivotal scene, two Sith characters discuss the history of the Sith Emperor and how he's so evil he consumed the life essence of an entire planet. However, for readers this just sounds like a lazy attempt to one-up Emperor Palpatine. Indeed, the Sith Emperor seemed just like a Palpatine clone, but without the personality. I would have loved more scenes like that discussing REVAN's history, but as of now I just don't really care about the Sith Emperor.
Putting aside the fact that Lord "Scourge" sounds cheesy even for a Sith Lord's name, Lord Scourge himself was a pleasant surprise. He starts off as a fairly banal Sith brute, but actually becomes more interesting over time and grows as a character. Near the end, his story intersects with Revan and the Exile's. It's sad that in a book called Revan he's probably the only one whom I'd like to see more of in the MMO.
Oh, and one more thing. If it was SO important that Revan and friends stop the Sith, why didn't they inform the Republic? Couldn't somebody have sent a message back to Republic space before going to confront the Sith Emperor (or maybe send T3)? After all, that's what Revan and crew did when they went to confront the Star Force in KOTOR. I just can't believe that none of the characters - and presumably Karpyshyn - even thought to discuss the possibility.
Overall, while I loved Karpyshyn's Bane trilogy, I think he really dropped the ball here. There's so much Karpyshyn could have and should have done to give KOTOR fans a fulfilling experience, even while providing a segue to the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic . This book doesn't do that. Instead, it was an attempt to bridge KOTOR to TOR, but I suspect that might just turn some KOTOR fans off from the game. Overall, 2 stars.
