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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan (Star Wars: Old Republic)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(38)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

I don't think Drew Karpyshyn properly grasped how much emotional investment fans of Knights of the Old Republic have tied up in this story, these characters, and the ending that never seemed to come; if he had, this novel probably wouldn't have turned out the way it did. It might be unfair to judge this novel the way I am right now, since the bias here can't be understated. It's been seven years since I played both games of the KotOR series for the first time, which was one of the most memorable gaming experiences I've had in my life. Since then, I've played the games many times over, always wondering what happened to Revan, the Exile, and their respective companions.

THE OLD REPUBLIC: REVAN attempts to give those of us who've been waiting for more than half a decade some form of closure, but instead manages to effectively kick all of the loose plotlines into a shallow grave, and plant a big sign on top of it that reads, "You happy now? Move on."

To start off: don't let the title and that picture of the eponymous hero trick you. This book is NOT about Revan; if anything, only a third of the book's scant 280 pages actually centers on him. The rest follows a previously unknown Sith pureblood called Lord Scourge: a Dark Lord with a name so campy that his dark side compatriots can't help but poke fun at it. For reasons that I'll probably never understand, this Lord Scourge is the absolute focus of the book. This is about his rise to power, his trials upon the Sith homeworld, his misdeeds; while Revan is relegated to going through the motions and reenacting events that were already thoroughly covered in the games, the majority of which he spends helping Canderous Ordo reclaim the Mask of Mandalore.

And yes, Canderous Ordo, the trigger-happy Mandalorian who helped Revan escape Taris, makes an appearance, as does Bastila Shan, T3, and the Jedi Exile from KotOR 2: The Sith Lords (permanently named Meetra Surik for the rest of the book). Unfortunately, no one else manages to make an appearance. Not one of them. In a very awkward part of the book, Canderous suggests excitedly that they get the old gang back together for their coming adventure to recover Mandalore's Mask, but we are quickly given very bad reasons why this would be impossible. The old Companions of the Ebon Hawk are each given a brief mention, but are otherwise completely forgotten for the rest of the book. (Though, for some reason, Carth Onasi doesn't even get the token mention the rest got, and his name doesn't pop up even once in the book.)

And it's especially disappointing because even when characters like Revan, Canderous, or Bastila make their appearances, they don't even faintly act how they did in the games. There's no humor, no candor, only a few brief and forced mentions of the old days, and when someone talks, it's so direct as to almost make them sound robotic. Even when Revan and Canderous return to the Ebon Hawk, the book briefly mentions the ship's shape and a recap of how they got it, and the story moves on. Karpyshyn allows for absolutely no sense of fond reminiscence, no revisiting of old adventures, and characterization I can only describe as barebones. You could've switched around the names of every character in the book, and I wouldn't be able to tell you who was who.

Once again, it feels as though Karpyshyn's work is the victim of this mythical deadline that he's apologized more than once for. Characterization is not as dense as it should be, dialogue is scarce (which is totally weird, coming from the writer of dialogue-heavy games like KotOR and MASS EFFECT), and actions that should take up a paragraph take pages for themselves. Too much of this book seems like filler.

So, Revan's part in this book - this book titled REVAN - is actually very minimal, and most of what he does here is actually covered in the games. The Jedi Exile is dug back up, minus any mention at all of her respective companions (Atton Rand and the gang), is given a name and an ending so badly implemented that I almost stopped reading right then and there. Not to mention that the canon established by the games is trampled to suit the overall goal of the book, which appears to be to set up the story for BioWare's new MMO, THE OLD REPUBLIC.

With all of that in mind, I'm still asking myself: What was the point of this book? If it was to give KotOR fans some closure, it utterly failed in that regard. I'm sitting here more unsatisfied with the state of Revan's story than I ever was in the seven years since playing the game. If it was to set up the new MMO for potential players, I have no real idea how anything that happens in this book would be more informative than just playing the games or reading their synopses, since a lot of what happens is just extended action scenes, sans the one chapter that actually, and directly, sets up the MMO.

This book is one of the most disappointing things I've ever read, and that is not an exaggeration. Seven years of waiting led up to this book - a book that didn't even bother to supply meaningful endings for the characters that Karpyshyn helped create. But, again, I have to mention the bias here; my expectations here were extremely high. I'd expected to revisit old characters, see their stories to an end, and unravel the mystery of Darth Revan that the games had spun so well. But when all is said and done, we have a bitter and (unbelievably enough, given the timeframe) rushed ending for Revan, a token mention of characters we'd spent so much time with (if they were lucky enough), all of which is completely overshadowed by the story of a Sith pureblood named Lord Scourge: a story so uninteresting, I nearly skipped most of his chapters.

And then, as if to rub it in our faces, the rug is pulled out from underneath us, revealing the book's true intentions: a not-so-subtle sign pointing the way toward THE OLD REPUBLIC MMO. "You happy now? Move on - preferably in the direction of the TOR subscription page."

No, thank you. The Endar Spire still spins with or without this book.

-Some Spoilers Below-

The book started off strong, and it was enjoyable and interesting seeing how Bastila and Revan (as well as Canderous) have carried on throughout the years after the events of the KOTOR 1-2. However, too many characters were simply swept under the rug. Carth Onasi was never mentioned at all, in fact.

Instead, a lot of time was spent on a new character, Lord Scourge of the Sith. Besides the ridiculously Dark Side-esque name, I actually didn't mind these segments - they were an interesting look into the reclusive Sith Empire.

Revan and Canderous go on an interesting quest for Mandalore's Mask, which while it was one of the exciting and awesome segments of the book, rife with tension and combat sections, had a lot more potential. All the clans converging on the area in question at once would have made a brilliant cathartic climax to that plotline of the novel, but instead we get kind of an anticlimatic resolution to the Mandalorian plotline.

After this, the book starts to go downhill. Less and less time is given to Revan; he even gets captured at one point, his ship shot down with a single shot from the new character Lord Scourge. And then he proceeds to spend most of the remaining time of the book imprisoned. How exciting, for the character we had waited to long to see back in action.

The exile then makes an appearance, and is even given a name. She and Scourge actually find common ground in an interesting twist, and pull off a xanatos gambit which I found myself enjoying, even if Revan had been shunted to the sidelines for these segments. Revan gets his characteristic mask back right after escaping, and it's an awesome scene of reclaimed identity and power.

Along the way, the Emperor's past and identity were revealed, and I must say it's a disappointment. There's a reason the movie 'Jaws' was improved by the shark not being shown for most of the movie...we can always imagine something worse than what actually is. The author fleshed out a lot more of his past than was necessary, stripping away the mystery with the subtlety of a rampaging bantha.

-Major Spoilers Ahead-

And now we come to the fabled climax, Revan, the Exile, and even Lord Scourge united against the Emperor, or should I say, Lord Vivius. Vivius? Are you kidding us, Drew? *sighs*

The battle starts off on a high note, with an exciting melee frenzy and the three battle their way to the Emperor's chambers. Too much of the pages during this segment are taken up by Scourge wondering about his kriffing visions, instead of focusing on the epic battles.

Revan pulls a Leeroy Jenkins and charges ahead of the others to meet the Emperor one-on-one. It's an enjoyable battle, but underdeveloped and too short. Revan is described as being master of both the Light and Dark side of the force, but one of the first guidelines of superb writing is to show, not tell. Drew could have shown us this instead with an extended fight scene, in which Revan is seen using both Sith Lightning and Jedi Healing abilities, as well as the other myriad applications of both sides of the force. Instead, we're just told he's using both sides of the force, and the fight ends much too quickly.

Scourge and the Exile arrive, and Revan rises to his feet - and things are looking up. Two iconic figures - nay, legends, from the Old Republic metaverse, and an interesting new Sith Lord, versus the fabled Sith Emperor? I set down the book to get myself some coffee and popcorn before resuming to fully enjoy the anticipated battle at this point.

And....Scourge has another of his little visions, and decides it's time to abruptly kill off a main character, backstabbing the Exile - who isn't even given a final word. Revan is knocked unconscious by one burst of lightning, and the battle is over before it even begun. Katharsis had been stabbed in the back by Drew as surely as the Exile had by Scourge, and I nearly stopped reading at this point.

Look, we all knew they had to fail, because the Emperor is still alive and well by the time of the Old Republic MMO. But that didn't mean the climatic defeat of Revan and the Exile had to be as short and insulting as it was. We should have been given a chapter long battle, with Scourge dying heroically during the battle, and the Emperor slowly gaining the upper hand versus Revan and the Exile, wearing them down. At which point, Revan could have sacrificed himself to allow the Exile to escape, a'la how Starkiller did at the climax of the Force Unleashed, nearly killing the Emperor. Revan and the Exile indeed deserved to nearly have killed the Emperor, rather than failing before the true battle ever began.

The Exile dying as ingloriously as she did was such an understatement of her character. After besting Darth Nihilius, Darth Kraya - she should have exercised at least some measure of caution against Scourge, and at least put up a fight better than a millisecond.

So, to conclude, I believe this happened because we and the author had very different ideas about the purpose of this story.

To Drew, the purpose of this was to, "Quickly and neatly tie up loose ends from KOTOR 1-2 so that we can get to the Old Republic MMO."

To us, the purpose was simple. "See our favorite heroes from the Star Wars universe, Revan the Conquerer and the Exile the Void, in action one last time."

Disappointed is an understatement. This was above average for the average star war's book, but it was such a failure when you consider the star studded cast it had at it's fingertips. I find myself eager to write a fanfic to fan-retcon this abomination, or at least to bang my head against the wall until I have amnesia about the fates of Revan and the Exile.

[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, 2.5 stars.

**This review contains spoilers.**

I think I can best describe the experience of reading this book with an analogy.

Imagine that it is the mid 1970's and you just saw "Star Wars" in the movie theater. You wait for a couple of years and rush out to see "The Empire Strikes Back" when it is released. Then, after a six or seven year wait, Lucas announces that the third movie is coming out. You finally get to learn what happens to Luke, Leia, Han, and all the rest. However, Lucas decides to set the new movie 300 years after the ending of "The Empire Strikes Back." But don't worry, he also decides to write and release a book so you can learn what happens to Luke and the gang. OK, so the book comes out. You learn some minor cool facts. Han and Leia got married and Leia is pregnant. But, Lucas decides not to include other characters such as Ben Kenobi, Yoda, Lando, C3-PO, etc. Instead, you get to learn a lot about a new Sith character, Lord Whiplash. In fact, over half of the book is about Lord Whiplash because Lord Whiplash is going to be in the new movie. Lucas, facing a publication deadline, has to wrap up the book and return his attentions to his new movie (which is much more important anyway) and hurriedly writes: "R2-D2 is smashed to bits. Han's dead. Luke's feeding the Emperor for eternity. Leia never finds out what happens to her brother or husband. The end."

***Spoilers End***

I'm done with Star Wars. This book is just another disappointment in a long line of disappointing Star Wars movies, games, and books. I refuse to spend any more money with this company.

If you like Revan, the Exile, Kotor1, or Kotor2 don't read this book. If you have to read it, then borrow it from someone. Don't financially support Lucas for selling us this garbage.

Where Revan wakes up and this was all a bad dream. I know I would wake up happy to find this bad book was a bad dream. What a slap in the face for fans of the KotOR games.

Karpyshyn stated in advance that some fans who had played through KOTOR were going to be disappointed, that the Revan of the novel would be different to the character many gamers had created, both in terms of personality and power. Fair enough. Bioware created an RPG where fans' choices would affect the development of Revan's character and where by the end he would be an unstoppable badass, because in gaming terms that makes perfect sense. For a novel, the canon light-side Revan was the natural choice for the character, and his talents would have to be downgraded because it's hard to create a sense of tension and risk if the protaganist can easily mow down any opposition he faces.

The problem is that the criticism Karpyshyn was trying to anticipate was a straw man. The problem isn't that Revan can't take down a half-dozen enemies with one force power, or that after having his memory wiped and being brainwashed by the Jedi he somehow decided to follow the Jedi way. What drew me - and, I hazard to guess, most fans - to a Revan novel was the fascinating complexity and thoughfulness that had gone into Revan's backstory, as revealed in conversations with those who knew him in the KOTOR games, especially Kreia, HK-47, the Disciple, and Atton in KOTOR 2. They told a story of a man who saw through the childish philosophy of the Jedi Code and turned aside from it when he knew it was necessary, without, crucially, instantly going to the other extreme and becoming a pantomime villain of a Sith Lord. The idea was that Revan was a Jedi who saw a threat the magnitute of which the Republic was structurally incapable of dealing with. Knowing from bitter experience (the Mandalorian Wars) that he could never convince those in power of the need for radical action, he decided to create - by force - an imperial dictatorship capable of resisting an invasion by the 'true' Sith. Yes the conquest would be brutal and destructive in the short term, but he deliberately avoided damaging infrastructure during his attack on the Republic in the hope that in the long term he would be able to rebuild and strengthen so as to save the galaxy from the horrors of complete devastation. Whatever you think about the decision, it raises fascinating questions ripe for exploration as literary themes: when does the end justify the means? what constitutes necessary evil? what if you do something terrible for the greater good but then fail in the process (as Revan did) so that the greater good never arrives and only the terrible deeds remain?

Instead we have this paper thin plot, with paper thin characters (read the other reviews for summaries). There's good and evil and straight heroes and villains, none of whom are remotely interesting because they're absurdly two-dimensional. Canderous, given such surprising pathos in both KOTOR games, is a half-baked sidekick. Bastila goes from the strong and principled but arrogant and naive woman of the first game into a simpering stay-at-home mum. The exile is just your run-of-the-mill Jedi. T3 buzzes about for no apparent reason, while the much more interesting prospect of HK's involvement never materialises. The new Sith are instantly forgettable stereotypes, while the emperor only stands out because he's ridiculously powerful (although as one reviewer has already noted, he's really Darth Nihilus Mark II, except nowhere near as intriguing or intimidating as Obsidian made Nihilus in Kotor II). Revan himself mouths platitudes about neither Jedi or Sith being right and harmonising between light and dark, but his character is essentially a wise-cracking (with jokes that aren't funny) Luke Skywalker light. Oh, and (spoiler) it turns out he only invaded the Republic because the emperor did some magic on him and Malak. Brilliant.

We knew to expect this of course. Matt Stover tried to deal with some of the above questions when - for a brief moment - he turned the EU intelligent with Jacen and Vegere in Traitor. It even looked like they were continuing it with the intriguing opening to Legacy of the Force, before Troy Denning and the editors put their foot down and Jacen by the end of the series had seemingly arbitrarily transformed into Darth Voldemort.

To summarise, this isn't great. It's a run of the mill Star Wars novel, which for a writer who showed such promise in at least the first Bane novel is itself a disappointment. Even worse, he's done it to Revan, who has become so popular among Star Wars fans despite only appearing in a couple of games almost a decade old precisely because he was compelling and different, a Jedi more assertive and calculating than any other Jedi, a Sith more humane and restrained than any other Sith. Furthermore, the prose is average at best (for those who ask what else to expect from a Star Wars novel, read Stover, or Karen Traviss, or even Denning), and repeatedly dips into being juvenile and crass; it shows no improvement since Karpyshyn's first novel, which is worrying. Meanwhile, the author's general structuring, plotting and character development seem to be getting worse as time goes on.

Those looking for a typical Star Wars novel, go ahead. Fans of Revan, avoid. Instead, dig out that old copy of Kotor II, find all the parts for HK, play as a female character so you can get the Disciple, and make sure to gain influence with him, Atton and Kreia. Then listen to them talk about Revan, and try and forget you ever heard this novel existed.

In 2004, the Star Wars video role-playing game Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (TSL) revealed that the tale of our Jedi hero from the first Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) game was not over. We learned that our KotOR character, a.k.a. Revan (playable as either gender but established as officially male by the people who keep track of such things for the purposes of products like this novel), had regained some of his lost memories and, abandoning his loyal companions, left the known galaxy to confront some sinister threat in the Unknown Regions.

TSL also brought into question what Revan knew when he attacked the Republic as Darth Revan, leader of his own evil Sith Empire, years before, and what his motivations truly were. That game concludes with another Jedi character, the Exile (also playable as either gender, but established as officially female), following Revan into the Unknown Regions to help him confront the threat that the game suggests are a people known as the "True Sith," the living legacy of a culture even more evil than the bad guys encountered up to that point in the series.

For many years fans of the Knights of the Old Republic saga waited for the conclusion to the story to get their answers: What was this threat? What did Revan know? Did the Exile find him? Did they succeed? Hopes for a completion of the trilogy in the form of a Knights of the Old Republic III video game were repeatedly raised and dashed.

When the Star Wars: The Old Republic multiplayer online RPG was announced, it was billed to fans of the KotOR games as the continuation of the Knights of the Old Republic saga -- a "KotOR 3-12" so to speak -- despite the fact that it is set some 300 years after the events of the original video games. Many fans still held out hope that the closure they sought would be delivered, not "300 years" after the fact, but by being able to witness the events that transpired in the Unknown Regions involving their heroes.

Over six years after KotOR 2 provided an Empire Strikes Back-style "non-ending" to the KotOR saga, The Old Republic: Revan attempts to provide that closure for fans of Revan, the Exile, and the KotOR video games, while introducing them to the villains of The Old Republic MMORPG.

It accomplishes what it set out to do in the most rudimentary sense. It offers answers to the primary questions and provides a link between the KotOR games and the era of The Old Republic MMORPG, while containing enough lightsaber action to satisfy those who simply enjoy immersing themselves in the Star Wars setting. Unfortunately, the novel achieves little more. Even more disappointing for many readers will be the overwhelming sense that it didn't try to.

Many of those simply looking for a canon glimpse at their ultimate Star Wars hero -- Revan -- will walk away enthralled by his combat skills, dominating display of Force power, ability to manipulate his adversaries without their knowledge, and the fact that not only does he once again don the robes that have defined his appearance since KotOR's release, but he utters the most memorable line in the book.

And despite the fact that Revan is only the point-of-view character for roughly a third of the book, the newly introduced Sith pureblood Scourge will help satisfy the thirst for more lightsaber and Force power "pwnage" for many readers.

As a warning to readers that require a clear-cut victory for their hero over the villain: this book does not offer closure in that respect. Instead, it prolongs the overarching conflict to allow Bioware to capitalize on the popularity of the primary characters by bringing them back -- in some fashion -- for an encore in The Old Republic MMORPG.

Those looking for something more than campy Star Wars entertainment from the novel will likely be disappointed as well. The storytelling and characterization lacks sophistication, approaching the level of that found in teen/young adult books. The Old Republic: Revan was an opportunity to show us who these characters are, where they came from, what they think, and the "world" they live in. It's hard to say it "whiffed' in this respect, because it never really tried to swing the bat.

The story is so focused on the actions of the three primary characters that, aside from Scourge's introduction, we get negligible insight into the characters' pasts and experiences that might indicate WHY they think and act as they do now. WHY was the Exile so loyal to Revan? WHY did Revan believe in strategic sacrifices that resulted in deaths on a planetary scale? Was it his upbringing in the Jedi Temple? His masters? A figure he idolized? We never find out. When the Exile encounters a planet stripped of the Force, she neither compares nor contrasts it with tales of what one of the villains of TSL was capable of. In fact, she never even thinks about her adversaries at all, despite the fact that most TSL players will have made the connection immediately. Many times it will feel to some readers as though the characters never existed out of the events relevant to the story being told in the novel, nor that they are part of the larger Star Wars narrative.

This last point also proves to be among the most frustrating. The Republic, the Jedi Order, and their conflict with the Sith bind the Star Wars setting together, yet the Old Republic: Revan, fails to paint a picture of the "world" these characters inhabit. It ignores most of the supporting cast from the games -- Bastila, Canderous, and T3-M4 are the only supporting characters that get face time -- even when bringing in a character like Admiral Carth Onasi to alert the reader to the desperate state of the Republic military or a member of the reformed Jedi Council such as Visas, the Disciple, or the Handmaiden to emphasize the inability of the Jedi to deal with a Sith invasion would have helped paint a picture that demonstrated for the reader the dire importance of the Revan and Exile's mission. Even the planet on which much of the novel takes place is written more like it was taken out of a script from a video game, with all the action taking place at a handful of key buildings/rooms. The scope of the Sith Empire and the terrifying buildup of the Sith military in preparation for an attack on the Republic is never shown to the reader.

Ultimately, one's enjoyment will depend greatly on what one was looking to get out of the book, moreso than many other titles. Those looking for a Star Wars or Revan fix may very well find that they eat it up. Others will be sorely disappointed in the novel's minimalist approach to just about everything. This reader didn't expect much from a literary standpoint and still wound up put off by the lack of effort on display.

After waiting years to here what happened to Revan after he left to investigate the sith empire the punchline is:

***spoilers***
He was immediately (seriously) immediately captured and imprisoned for several years. When Exile, finally, rescues him they both get killed the next day confronting the emperor. Wow.

Bottom line:
If you want a bit narrative to fill the gaps between KOTOR 1&2 and TOR is the thing for you. But if you bought the book because you thought Revan was a cool character and you wanted to see him in action again then this book will probably fail to please.

The Old Republic era had become a growing favorite of mine and this book about Revan was something I had been eagerly awaiting after having liked the video games and his story. Beyond the thrown together story lines I had hoped to see more familiar faces, but was only teased briefly by them. Terrible ending that had such potential as thing started to wrap up, but it unterly failed.

Like many, I was introduced to Revan and The Exile throught the execllent KotOR 1 and the interesting, but flawed by being a unfinished product that LucasGames rushed out the door to make extra cash from holiday buyers.

Which turned out to be a portent for this book.

Now, I went in understanding there was no real chance that Revan and anyone that showed up to help against the 'real Sith,' could win. It was an impossibility with The Old Republic MMO's story and I had no problem with the idea, even if it meant continuing the recent and annoying tradition of writters killing off some of the more intersting characters in the Star Wars universe.

This book though, felt like an extended backstory, not for Revan, but TOR. This didn't wrap up KotOR 1 and 2 so much as flush both storylines down the nearest toilet and clear the way for the new game.

The end result for me, is I have really no desire to even buy TOR-MMO. Instead I think I'd rather forget this book exists, pop in KotOR 1 and (the players patched up version, thanks again LucasGames,) 2. At least those games were well thought out and intersting.

Wait till this one is in the .99 cent bin before buying if you just have to know what happens. Which, after you read it, you'll probably decide you didn't wanna know.