Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsA Marked Improvement over Revan's Tale
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2012
After last year's utterly disappointing entry in THE OLD REPUBLIC series of novels, REVAN, I was completely ready to give this novel a pass. I love the Old Republic Era and the story possibilities, but Karpyshyn's rushed treatment of Revan, arguably the one character who should've received the most attention, was enough to sour my enjoyment of the series and the game. I came to THE OLD REPUBLIC as a fan of the KotOR series first and foremost, and to see Revan's role - so brilliantly plotted out by Obsidian Entertainment - completely rewritten and dulled down was just plain shocking. But it has indeed been a year, and I've had a chance to cool my heels and go into this story without bias. Not too much, anyway.
To my surprise, THE OLD REPUBLIC: ANNIHILATION is actually, in my opinion, the strongest entry to the SW canon Karpyshyn has written so far. Many of the problems I've had with his prose in the past have diminished, and we're actually provided a character, in stark contrast to Darth Bane's bloody escapades, we can sympathize with. Though it suffers from some of the pitfalls that are just inherent to Star Wars, I had a great time with this novel.
The story follows Theron Shan, a young agent with the Republic SIS (Strategic Information Service) and the son of Grand Master Satele Shan of the Jedi Order. Unlike those of his estranged mother's lineage, he is not in tune with the Force and is given to rely on his implants, his wit, his charisma and the occasional blaster to accomplish his missions on behalf of the Republic. After playing a little fast and loose during a mission on Nar Shaddaa, he's eventually kicked around the chain of command until his run-in with a Sith superweapon, The Ascendant Spear, lands him a new assignment that could very well decide who wins the war.
The plot is not the most endearing part of ANNIHILATION. As before, Karpyshyn has opted to keep his story surprisingly brief at just over 280 pages, preventing any chance of getting at the heart of Theron and his various companions. Things just move along too quickly. We have a few moments between characters where we see some genuine emotion and - finally! - the brand of dialog that we expect from the lead writer of KotOR and MASS EFFECT. In the past, I've noticed dialog in Karpyshyn's stories is sparse and a means to an end, utilized only to progress the plot and not to necessarily develop the characters beyond our initial impressions. Karpyshyn is drawn to prolonged action, sometimes to a fault, so it was refreshing to see Theron settle down an interact with other characters for the sake of interacting. By the end of the story, I genuinely liked Theron and wanted to know where his story would go afterward.
But Theron Shan being likable doesn't change some of the novel's other faults. As I said, everything happens very quickly in ANNIHILATION, relieving the story of any tension or complexity that a plot to destroy the greatest weapon in the Sith arsenal might have otherwise involved. There are no twists or turns or obstacles too great for Theron and company to overcome. In fact, for being a secret agent, Theron spends most of his missions planting explosives or acting drunk to fool Sith officers. We don't really get to see him make full use of his talents.
Other characters in the story are nowhere near as developed as they could've been. Several characters, including the main antagonists, are picked up and dropped with no real resolution. A Sith Lord, Darth Marr, is integral to the story and the main events that influence it, but disappears after one chapter and doesn't come back. Darth Karrid is given a chapter to set up her ruthlessness and her connection to the Ascendant Spear, and then we don't hear from her again until the climax of the story. Jedi historian, Master Gnost-Dural, has assigned himself the task of tracking down a former Padawan of his that fell to the dark side, but he never seems the least bit torn about it; there's no conflict or regret. In fact, he seems absolutely fine with losing his student. He's as unsympathetic as they come, and you get the feeling that Theron is traveling around with a robot instead of a Jedi.
Other characters are prone to strangely convenient flashbacks and dreams to fill in their backstories in place of genuine character moments. It was odd to see characters grappling with something in their respective pasts, only to decide they need some sleep and dream up extended scenes that fill us in on what's bothering them. This could've been handled more gracefully, and gives us the impression that Karpyshyn was looking for a shortcut to character development since this happens more than once.
ANNIHILATION also seems to rely heavily on a backstory that only people who have played through the MMO, THE OLD REPUBLIC, would be able to properly grasp. In the beginning, we're clued into several events that have happened recently that, to me, seemed very important but were eventually glossed over. This novel represented a great opportunity to catch up fans like me who haven't been able to put in the hundreds of hours required to see the entirety of THE OLD REPUBLIC's plot, but the opportunity was passed upon, leaving me largely confused as to the state the Republic/Sith war is currently in and how it got there.
In the end, the latest Old Republic novel is a predictable one, marred by an overabundance of action, tired SW cliches and an underutilized cast of characters, only a few of whom shine. Theron Shan is one of these characters, and while I definitely got a lot out of how he faced down his troubled past, his family, his newest mission and how they all tied together, there wasn't much going outside of this. ANNIHILATION is definitely a fun read and feels like a step in the right direction after REVAN, but mostly feels like one missed opportunity after another. I haven't given up on the Old Republic Era, but it's going to need more than what Theron can give.