Customer Reviews

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First of all, let me say that my biggest peeve with Star Wars novels is that too many authors seem content to fill their books with ridiculous plot devices, endless battle scenes, and shallow characters. I've had enough of superweapons - after all, we all know the good guys defeat them. Unfortunately, I thought Sean Williams' Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, the first in the Old Republic series, exemplifies these problems. As such, I admit I approached Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived with some trepidation.

Fortunately, Paul Kemp's approach to the Star Wars universe is completely different. While technically the second book in the Old Republic Series, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived features a new plot and new characters. WARNING: the rest of this review contains some minor spoilers, none of which as far as I'm aware are available elsewhere on the web - although I mention almost nothing past page 50 of the book.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived begins with the Sith sacking of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, a scene featured in a Bioware trailer for the upcoming Old Republic computer game (I've posted the link in the comments section). By itself, this is a pretty dramatic opening for a novel and does a great job of bringing the action to life. The rest of the book focuses on how various characters cope with the destruction, and that's where it gets interesting. The plot is actually fairly simple, but effective.

For the Sith, the book follows Darth Malgus - the creepy guy on the cover who led the attack on the Jedi Temple. He's an evil villain to be sure, but also an emotionally complex one. He craves war and loathes peace, but also has a sense of honor and adversarial respect for the Jedi. Moreover, he cares for and loves his Twi'lek mistress Eleena - think an emotionally insecure Aayla Secura. I frankly can't think of another Star Wars villain since Thrawn who had as much nuance and sheer destructive potential.

Next, the Jedi Aryn Leneer struggles with how to react to the death of her father figure, Jedi Master Zallow. Where most Jedi come across as implacably calm, which honestly can get a bit boring, Aryn really has to struggle through her emotions. She comes to doubt the Jedi prohibition on attachment and questions the sacrifices she's made on behalf of the Order. She's not simply a female version of Luke Skyalker - and she comes across as much more real and more interesting as a result.

Finally, there's the smuggler character, Zeerid Korr. Except, unlike almost every other Star Wars novel, Zeerid isn't simply a wanna-be replica of Han Solo. In fact, quite the opposite. While he's good with a blaster, he doesn't have the same world weary cynicism. He's a caring father who was forced into the business by a family tragedy. He also has to make some difficult choices between earning money for his family and following his conscience.

Throughout Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived, each of these characters face unenviable choices and, to Kemp's credit, they do not always take the obvious route. I could not predict the ending - itself rare for a Star Wars novel. In the last 20 pages, I actually gasped aloud at a certain turn of events. Without spoiling the ending, I think it's fair to say we can look forward to a sequel.

I will provide a brief warning. While Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived does have plenty of lightsaber combat, these aren't the focus of the book. Moreover, there really isn't much starfighting at all. If you prefer Star Wars novels with constant action, then this book might not be for you. It's a matter of preference. However, I suspect most readers will be pleasantly surprised at the direction of the Old Republic series and the character development in this story.

Some time ago, I ordered two SW novels through the Amazon vine program: one was "Star Wars: Red Harvest", this one the other. Being a horror/ undead monster fan, and bearing no interest in the Old Republic (approx. 1000 years before the SW movies events took place), I read Harvest first. Horrible, as reviewed elsewhere. Therefore, I started reading this one feeling pretty bored and negative. At first, the novel did little to dispel my disinterest, a generic shootout between smugglers, and a down-on-his-luck Han Solo-like with a hidden family. Oh well...

Then... the light! Or more like it, a darkness so intense it radiated blackness out of the book. The best "bad" (Sith, etc) character in a SWEU novel. A Sith Lord so intent on destruction he gets betrayed by the power struggles of his order. And with a lover! Finally, SW fans are treated like the adults some of us are. For those concerned, there are no graphic descriptions, but for adults, there's enough innuendo to know what is going on.

Things get even better. A somewhat archetypal struggle inside a Jedi's soul gives way to a somewhat uninteresting alliance with the smuggler, and then... magic! Confrontation, light saber fights, struggles, tricks and ploys, sacrifices, and all the good things you love in SW.

This book is a hidden gem. It is very well written. The descriptions are short and sharp, yet informative enough to clearly envision the places, the scenarios, the situations... The characters are maybe too archetypal (and let's be honest, SW is loved precisely because of that), but the action and the plot is crisp, and well-thought. The characters do not throw themselves into absurd decisions that none of us would take in real life. On the contrary, every action comes from a well-defined train of thought (or feeling) flawlessly laid out by this Mr. Kemp.

There are two things that are very gripping in this novel. One is that this book has white, black and almost every shade of gray from a moral standpoint. And that is refreshing. The second is that there are brief snippets of local customs and manners, e.g. a very nice scene of one of the main characters being driven to an spaceport, and the description of the events on the street as she passes by in a cab. This is unusual in SW novels and endows the final product with a sense of "suspended reality-realism" that is a definitive selling point for me. Probably not for everyone, though.

The only thing I did not like that much is that there is no feeling of this being 1000s of years before the SW movies. The ships, the places (Coruscant, for example), the droids feel exactly the same as in The Phantom Menace. This could be a common thing for the Old Republic time period (I haven't read, or played games about this era), but there are no distinctive features. Anyway, it is not enough of a flaw to take stars off my evaluation.

I don't think you will read this Mr. Kemp, but in case you happen to do, congratulations on an excellent book. I will look for more of your stuff. If all the Old Republic books were like this, I'd be a fan.

Paul S. Kemps' new novel Star Wars: The Old Republic: The Deceived is a new take on the world of Star Wars' novels. Having read Kemps' first Star Wars piece (This being his 2010 release "Star Wars: Crosscurrent") I was needlessly excited to see where he would take us next.

Deceived starts with the Sith destruction of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. This scene was actually featured in the first trailer for the Bioware game "The Old Republic" which this novel is based on. The attack is led by Darth Malgus, the cover art villain and deeply emotional antagonist of the book. He is a Sith that delights in war and destruction, seeking to fully live out a vision. He has no friends, but an unnatural sort of love for his servant Eleena - a bond that brings him more trouble than good.

During the destruction of the Jedi Order, Jedi Master Zallow fights Malgus and ends up victim to his might. Zallow was the master to Jedi Aryn Leneer. Aryn, who just lost his master, goes on a journey of self discovery in this book. Questioning her life as a Jedi, the principals of the Code - and even wrestling with questions of life meaning. Her curiosity and adventure help create a realism feel to the sometimes 2D Jedi characters in the Star Wars universe. She is not "blinded" and thinks for herself, making mistakes and hoping to learn from them as she goes.


Our last main character is a man named Zeerid Korr. Zeerid is a father who, due to a family tragedy, was forced into the business of smuggling to make ends meet for his now handicap daughter. In high debt to The Exchange, Zeerid gets one last assignment. A run that could erase all his debts. Zeerid uses this last run as a tool for finding his inner peace. Learning how to stop the life he started, and to regain control of his family and life of normalcy.

Kemp provides us a great, fast paced story in Deceived. The battle scenes are plenty, but not overpowering; and the dialog and situational confrontation leaves you with a feeling thinese characters are living and breathing - making choices and learning rather than following a path to greatness. There is failure along with success, and amazing attention to detail.

This is not a story for those who seek hack and slash lightsaber combat or high octane starfighter battles from beginning to end. Deceived is a novel that, though it has plenty of action, focuses more on the questions of why and character development then it does on action. (Don't think you won't get your lightsaber combat though, because Kemp delivers some very nice fight scenes.)

The biggest plus however about this book, is it's accessibility to non Star Wars fans. Taking place in The Old Republic (way before the movies take place) - the book requires little Star Wars experience. It is written in classic Kemp style, using comparative descriptions on emotions to convey an otherwise "outworld-ish" situation.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived leaves you wanting the story to continue, and it appears that it may. This book, is highly recommended to anyone looking for adventure, suspense and the Star Wars experience Kemp has proven he is able to deliver.

The Old Republic: Deceived is the story of a Sith Lord who rebels against the Empire, and it comes from the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. Darth Malgus is the Sith Lord who leads Empire troops into Coruscant, destroys the Jedi Temple, and kills Ven Zallow, one of the strongest Jedi Masters. Malgus is driven by his intense beliefs that the Empire should rule, the Jedi should be wiped out, and no mercy should be shown. He is a feared leader among the Sith Lords, but he does have one weakness. He loves a Twi'lek female named Eleena.

Malgus wants to see all of Coruscant leveled but is overruled by the Emperor. The result is the Treaty of Coruscant that gives what is left of the planet back to the Republic in exchange for several extremely important gains by the Empire. Malgus seethes at the weakness of his leaders in not completely wiping out the Republic when possible. His triumph over Ven Zallow also has unexpected results when a young Jedi knight named Aryn Leneer returns to Coruscant seeking a showdown with Malgus for the death of her Master.

The story introduces us to additional interesting characters and moves along at a rapid pace through a number of twists and turns. I found it to be extremely enjoyable to read. The book also gave me one of my new favorite expressions, although I don't know when I will use it. At one point Darth Malgus is ordered by a superior Sith Lord to do some things he does not want to do. Here is how Malgus feels at that point. "In the span of a day he had gone from the conqueror of Coruscant to a second-tier Darth." I love the expression "second-tier Darth."

Paul S. Kemp takes readers on an emotional and heated journey in "Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived." The book opens with a brazen and open attack on the Jedi Temple on Coruscant lead by the very Darth Vader-like Darth Malgus. Along for the ride is Malgus' companion/assistant, the Twi'lek Eleena. With a large attack force of Sith in tow, Malgus literally walks up the steps and into the heart of the Jedi Temple. He faces off against numerous Jedi, but singles out Master Zallow and slays him.

While the Jedi Temple is being sacked by Malgus, treaty talks are occurring between the Jedi and Sith on Alderaan. Jedi Knight Aryn Leneer, as well as all of the other Jedi present, feel the destruction of the temple via the Force. Aryn feels it stronger than the rest, especially the death of her former Master Zallow. In a very un-Jedi-like fashion, Aryn lets her emotions take control and she secretly sets out for vengeance despite the advice given her by her fellow Jedi.

Zeerid Korr, an old friend of Aryn, has gone from being an honorable man to being an expert smuggler out of necessity. Due to his daughter's illness, he traffics numerous things throughout the galaxy in order to pay off her mounting medical bills. He's given a prime delivery that will cover all of his debt, and when Aryn learns that he is smuggling the goods to Coruscant, she tags along to find her master's murderer.

Meanwhile, Malgus is upset with the fact that the Sith are actually in peace talks with the Jedi despite his successful attack on Coruscant. He learns rather quickly that two of his fellow Sith, Adraas and Angral, have plans to remove him from his place of prominence amongst the Sith.

Of course, it doesn't take much logic to figure out that all of these characters are on a crash course with each other. Toss in another smuggler named Vrath Xizor who makes things tough for Zeerid and Aryn, and you've got a story full of rage, revenge, and, yep, deception.

Kemp keeps the book moving at a wonderfully nice clip. Despite having less action than your typical Star Wars Expanded Universe novel, Kemp uses character development (I know! Character development in an EU novel!) to hold the reader's interest. As the story unfolds, the line between the good guys and the bad guys begins to blur, and makes the reader question not only the motives of Malgus, but of Aryn and Zeerid as well.

Overall, "Deceived" is one of the best Star Wars EU novels to come along since Timothy Zahn's "Heir To The Empire." It starts with a bang, but you just might be surprised by the ending.

Recommended.

My first foray into The Old Republic series was not a pleasant one. I had kind of left it up to THE OLD REPUBLIC: REVAN to be that introduction, that justification for a series that had ties to one of my favorite stories, period. It did no such thing, and instead just left behind an overwhelming sense of bitterness that I couldn't help but direct at the entire series. But thanks to some recommendations, I kept going and cautiously gave THE OLD REPUBLIC: DECEIVED a shot. I was aware of Paul S. Kemp's work in the Forgotten Realms, but this was my first novel of his that I've attempted.

Having just finished this book, I've gotta say, Mr. Kemp has more than justified The Old Republic to me. Better yet, he may just be one of the better Star Wars authors working in the Expanded Universe at present. I'm still smiling from how everything came together, and it's been a while since a Star Wars book was able to keep me turning pages as frantically as I could.

DECEIVED takes place three hundred years after the Battle of the Star Forge, ten years before the events of THE OLD REPUBLIC MMO, and essentially centers on the initial spark that sets the video game's story into motion. More specifically: The Sacking of Coruscant. If you've watched the similarly-titled "Deceived" game trailer, then you'll already know how the story begins and the players involved; a major one being Darth Malgus, a Sith Lord with a penchant for starting a conflict wherever he can find it. It was his plan that brought the Sith to Coruscant, that toppled the Jedi Temple, and instantly shifted the war in their favor - though his actions won't be without repercussions.

This brings in our other two characters: Aryn Leneer, a Jedi Knight who lost her Master at Coruscant, and Zeerid Korr, a smuggler trying to work his way out from under the heel of one of the galaxy's largest crime syndicates, The Exchange. Both of these characters find themselves on a collision course with an eventual confrontation with Darth Malgus, initially through no fault of their own. Part of what makes this novel so effective is how these three wonderfully unique characters, who at first seem to have no attachment to each other whatsoever, casually begin to work their way toward each other, as the Jedi looks to avenge her master and the smuggler seeks out a bigger payday - for reasons I won't spoil here.

To my (pleasant) surprise, that's what this novel's really about. Causality. One action after another causing an often negative reaction. Keeping in line with the games, there's an overwhelming emphasis on choice here, and how those choices are typically a gamble with their own individual sense of self. How many bad choices (or good choices, from a Sith perspective) can you make before you've changed who you are? There's always internal conflict going on, and I enjoyed every moment of it.

But this really only works so well because Mr. Kemp has done a fantastic job of making these three characters believable and relatable. Even if you don't much care for the choices they make, you'll still fully understand why they made them. The sheer depth of these characters pretty much ensured I was along for the ride; I haven't burned through a Star Wars novel this fast that wasn't written by Matthew Stover. And it's refreshing to know that in a property where most of the authors feel tempted to cram every other page with dense battle scenes, DECEIVED places character development before action, which is the way it should be. After all, there's no tension if you don't care about who's fighting.

It's really hard to say much more on the story without spoiling things, so I'll just say that this is probably one of the best Star Wars novels... ever - or at least within the last few years. All three of these characters have been deceived in some way, and whether or not it's self-imposed is left for the reader to decided. In any case, this was just a fantastic novel and a great jump-in point if you're new to The Old Republic. And if this one novel is indicative of the overall quality of Mr. Kemp's bibliography, then I have some serious catching up to do!

As a Star Wars: The Old Republic game tester, I have been reading all the fiction I can find about the time period because it is so interesting to me. I find this period in the Star Wars Extended Universe to be more thrilling than the story Lucas gave us in film. For reasons I won't go into here, I was disappointed in the first Old Republic novel Fatal Alliance. I had not read any of Paul S. Kemp's prior novels but was excited to see a novel dealing directly with the sacking of Coruscant as depicted n the SWTOR trailer of the same name, Deceived. I am happy to say I've found a new author to follow.

Paul S. Kemp's strength is in his character development. From the relationship between a struggling smuggler and his disabled daughter to the traces of humanity that peek from behind the respirator of Sith antagonist Darth Malgus, the characters of Deceived are fleshed out and interesting. Too see Malgus' soft side (if you can call it that) was unexpected but made for a stronger character and gave the reader a look into his motivations. I could go on but most of what I'd say has already been covered in earlier reciews. Deceived is the novel that sets up the storylines players will deal with in the Old Republic MMO is an especially fantastic read if you like the KOTOR time period.

I hold all Star Wars novels up to Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy. Paul S. Kemp is the first author that I'd really put up there with Zahn in regards to great Star Wars novels. I'm looking forward to more (hopefully Old Republic themed!) books from Kemp in the future.

Deceived is strikingly similar to the Darth Bane books in tone and feel. Kemp has a more complex prose style but they kinda felt similar. Simple. Which can be a very good thing in EU writing. The story was breezy and fun. There was an adequate balance of action and character development. Malgus for all intents and purposes is Bane. He has the same sensibilities as Bane. He resents his fellow Sith the same as Bane did and he is a hulking bald monster just like Bane. The difference is Malgus has a dangerous streak of sentimentality. This makes him slightly interesting. Darth Malgus in love was interesting cause I think it answered the question, what would have happened if Padme had lived?

I think I like Kemp as an EU writer so far. This was far more fun than Crosscurrent which was a competent novel if not a bit dark and dry. This was a better entry. It even felt better than some of the post NJO novels. One problem though. There was a repetition of thoughts at times. Aryn, the Jedi empath, going over and over her vow of revenge. For such a short book I found it lazy to read the same insights and obsessional thoughts more than a few times.

For a book that has to give up so much game exposition, it's digestible stuff. It's far more subtle than Sean Williams. But it was just too short to charge full hardcover price. What ever happened to charging what TCW movie novelization cost? That was just over $20 and I paid for it without gritting my teeth. I'd also like to say that it isn't out of order for tie-ins to run just over 200 pages. They just never come out in hardcover.

Deceived is set before the events of the previously released novel The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance. The book is set approximately in 3653 BBY in the events of the sacking of Coruscant and its immediate aftermath, while the negotiations for what will become the treaty of Coruscant occur in the background. The Epilogue does occur in the future after the events of the novel proper, but just how far in the future is unclear.

Dramatis Personae

Adraas; Sith Lord (human male)
Angral; Sith Lord (human male)
Arra Yooms; child (human female)
Aryn Leneer; Jedi Knight (human female)
Eleena; servant (Twi'lek female)
Malgus; Sith Lord (human male)
Ven Zallow; Jedi Master (male, species unknown)
Vrath Xizor; mercenary (human male)
Zeerid Korr; smuggler (human male)

The book revolves around the stories of three main characters, Aryn Leneer, Darth Malgus, and Zeerid Korr.

Author Paul S. Kemp described the Point of View (POV) characters thus in an interview I conducted;

I like to think that Malgus is a complicated character. He embodies much of what we think of when we think of the Sith - he's violent, values strength and power, and in general regards peace/passivity as weakness. At the same time, he's possessed of a keen sense of honor, and has a powerful attachment to Eleena. These somewhat contrary impulses give him his internal conflict and drive his character arc.


The other two main POV character are Aryn Leneer, a Jedi Knight and Force empath, who has very personal reasons for confronting Malgus, and Zeerid Korr, a former Havoc Squad commando who is in deep to a criminal syndicate known as The Exchange.

One of the strengths that Kemp has as an author is crafting very interesting and complex characters. The strength of Deceived isn't its plot (while good) or its action (while great), the real strength is the development of its characters and their interaction. One flaw that many authors fall into is that there characters are not internally consistent. They set up the character with certain traits, philosophies and motivations, and then for the sake of the plot they have the character do something that doesn't make any sense given what we know about that character. Kemp constructs some really interesting characters that while they evolve through the course of the novel, the maintain that internal consistency that makes there actions and decisions make sense and makes the novel feel like a very satisfying journey.

Deceived is all about relationships. The relationship of Aryn Leneer to her Jedi Master Ven Zallow, the relationship between Zeerid Korr to his family, the relationship of Aryn to Zeerid, the relationship between Malgus and Eleena, the relationship between Malgus and the other Sith in the power structure, and ultimately the relationship between Aryn and Malgus. It is almost like the characters are asteroids stuck in orbit around each other, they cannot stop crashing into each other, and then spinning off in strange new directions.

I am a sucker for a good villain and for the flawed hero. In this novel we had heroes stepping into the dark and villains stepping into the light, it was a great story and a tremendous introduction to a character I hope we see more of in the future in Malgus.

Deceived gets a 9.5 out of 10 lightsabers.

For more thoughts see Lightsaber Rattling [...]

Sith Warrior Darth Malgus is frustrated with the political machinations of Darth Angral and Darth Baras. Whereas he believes in getting to the point as he did when he crashed the Jedi Temple on Coruscant with an explosion heard around the galaxy; his so-called allies prefer working behind the scenes maneuvers. Malgus has other issues with his peers due to his relationship with his Twi'lek slave Eleena. The Sith only accept purity of the blood, which means only with Sith.

Jedi Aryn Leneer heads to Coruscant on a mission of vengeance against those in the Republic who destroyed the Temple and killed her Master. Also heading to the capital city is former Havok Squad Trooper turned Smuggler Zeerid Korr to provide his beloved daughter a safer life. As Aryn targets Malgus, Korr eludes the Hutt Cartel, but soon they will meet up in an encounter to rival the destruction of the Temple.

As the three prime principals collide in an explosive way, fans of the extended saga will realize how different Deceived is from Sean Williams' Fatal Alliance; the previous Old Republic thriller is vast in distance and numerous planets while this entry is limited to three orbs. The same goes for characterizations as the focus in Deceived is on the lead trio as opposed to a De Mille cast. Thus fans who relish action over characterizations and culture will prefer Fatal Alliance; while those who prefer key cast and culture to supersede the action will choose Deceived. Still both are fun to read as Paul S. Kemp concentrates on events that will not make the history books in the Skywalker future, but the audience will enjoy the clash when his fully developed threesome converge.

Harriet Klausner