Star Wars: The Old Republic - Revan Mass Market Paperback – September 25, 2012

First of all, the abundance of average to negative reviews boggles my mind. What people expected from this book versus what the book became seems to be what pushed people away. Before we actually examine the story itself, I want to note a few things. The Novel is expertly written in typical Karpyshyn style. He builds multiple plots that ultimately lead up to a big climax and a twist ending. This book is similar in that regard to the Darth Bane Books and his Mass Effect novels. Drew's writing style has unarguably been and still is one of the best of the Star Wars to this day. This is something NONE of the negative reviews mention, in fact it also confuses me that in these reviews it was centered on disappointment in how Drew finished the story of Revan compared to what they expected. In this regard I find these reviews so misleading and based on a biased approach of wanting Revan to be in the book the entire way. This book is NOT about KOTOR 1.5, it's about tying together Revan's fate with that of the Exile in KOTOR II, and clarifying exactly what the heck happened with Malak and Revan and the Emperor. If you're reading the book for this reason, you will not be disappointed. Otherwise I have no idea what people expected. I keep hearing that others wanted the whole crew to get back together and fight the galaxy again....except that already happened. Thus again the negative reviews continue to reference wanting a book that somehow is new but completely resembles KOTOR I?Minor Spoilers Below:The story is pretty damn good. First of all, it's centered on Revan, Lord Scourge, and Meetra (Jedi Exile), and Canderous. The book is centered on Revan trying to remember what happened when he and Malak became Sith Lords. Because most of his memories are gone, he can't remember exactly who or what compelled them to start a war against the Republic. Thus he sets out on an adventure to find out more about his past, and basically everything a KOTOR fan has been wondering for so long. He can't do this with everyone on the crew because of certain circumstances, and they all make perfect sense and actually tie perfectly into putting KOTOR I and KOTOR II together in a sense of Canderous' future and the time range of when the Exile leaves. A LOT of things are set up for the future of the game The Old Republic, which I've been Testing for a long time now, and is excellent in itself and the game does a PERFECT segues into the future for the next story. I was actually surprised with how well Karpyshynn weaves the plots together, so on this side I thought the book was great.Now let's talk about Lord Cliché (Scourge) and his story. Although his name is pretty ridiculous, his whole plot is intriguing because his significance in the future becomes severely important for the Empire, the Emperor, and Revan himself. His side of the plot is to introduce the readers to a whole new world ruled by Sith, and capture the nature of a Sith ruled empire, which is done very well. There are some parts that I felt the Sith were being over paranoid about each other, but otherwise I grew very interested in this character as he becomes more susceptible to different teachings that I won't ruin, but his part in the story is very unique, and is purposefully meant to prepare the reader for the background of what to expect when entering the world in The Old Republic.The last part of the book was what I knew was going to make or break it. Unfortunately there are some who are disappointed....like they would have been if Karpyshyn wrote this book any way. What did they expect, honestly? I've seen no better solutions to tie up the sagas of two great stories and leading into another epic one. This is what bothers me the most about this reviews. Everyone is disappointed because Karphsynn wrote a novel that would simultaneously end Revan's story and open a new one. The whole point of this book from day 1 was to do exactly that, transition our understanding of what happen before into the new universe a thousand years later. This book does a great job of setting this up for a game that has a GREAT story in typical Bioware fashion, and of course in parallel with the novel, Drew is ALSO writing the main story for the Jedi Knight in TOR to further build off of what happened in the novel. Thus everything to me as someone who has been familiar with what happened before in both games and what is to come in the new game, I found personally expertly done.This book will go down as the biggest "disappointment" to those who wanted KOTOR 3 and are still upset about it and won't get over it. I haven't seen one review that actually constructively criticized heavy plot points regarding Lord Scourge and Revan. The complaints that he is a generic Sith with a ridiculous name are completely absurd and make no effort to address his relationship with Revan and Meetra later on in the novel, which is by all means completely different than anything you'll read in any star wars lore.I've ranted for some paragraphs and haven't covered everything, but I will make a video review on YouTube soon with a more details as writing and reading this is sort of stale. If you wanted to find out what happened to Revan and the Jedi Exile, you won't be disappointed. If you're so obsessed with Revan and all you wanted was for the book basically to be KOTOR I but the written version, then you really should just go play KOTOR. This book does nothing but make Revan that much more of an Icon because of the actions he takes and the choices he makes even after he's done so much. This is a great novel that isn't getting the love it deserves for an author who has created some of the greatest Star Wars lore INCLUDING inventing Darth Revan in the first place. More respect to his decision in Revan's book should be given.

It's a classic. What more can I say? This book and the original KOTOR game have been a huge inspiration for my own creative projects. I wouldn't be where I am without them. When I was still a fan, Star Wars was the most important thing to me. Most Legends books still hit that sweet spot for me the movies used to, and this one does it exceptionally well.

I don't even know where to begin.I am the definition of a huge KOTOR 1 & 2 fan. I have been waiting (with Jedi like patience) for this book to come out since it was announced in April. Perhaps that waiting did build up my expectations, but in the end: I was as satisfied with the book as I was disappointed.To all those who have written a negative review (or those who are thinking negative thoughts), it comes a bit unwarranted. Drew Karpyshyn (and Lucas) could have given us nothing at all.... and I will admit, some people would probably have preferred this.I don't know how an average Star Wars fan would react to the novel, if they have not played the games, but my assumption is they could appreciate the novel for what it is. Knights of the Old Republic fans WILL have mixed emotions. The ending (without revealing what happened yet) is hard to stomach for those hoping for true closure on Revan. On the whole, it has been said in other reviews: Fans hoping for a KOTOR 1 & 2 reunion will be sorely disappointed.This book is about Revan... and apparently Lord Scourge. On that note, to those with an open mind Scourge is a very interesting read. The chapters alternate between Revan's story and Scourge's... making a distinct and noticeable contrast between light and dark that the reader will pick up on.Without spoilers, the only thing I can say is the book SHOULD have been broken up into 2 or 3 installments. Ultimately, for anyone who is truly disappointed with the novel... my summation is distaste from a lack of control. The book is not the game, you have no control over what Revan does, says, thinks, wears, or looks like. One can certainly use their imagination, but "facts" are facts. In the end, if you liked or loved the KOTOR games... you will have some feelings of closure and love for this book. Just keep in mind, things may not necessarily end as you had always hoped they would.*****Spoilers******Here Im going to go a little more in depth as to what it was that made me rate this a 4 star book.Anyone who has been anxiously waiting for the release of this book (without question) was likely a Knights of the Old Republic fan. This is where I make my first complaint: why not have more interaction between characters of the games? I am not asking for as deep a story as the one we got with Canderous and Revan, but to skip over so many years, the way Karpyshyn does, spoils an opportunity for closure with the other characters. Karpyshyn simply (and obviously) glosses over the prominent characters we grew to know from the games as a means of rushing forth with the main story. If you loved KOTOR then you loved SIDE QUESTS. Karpyshyn should have taken the time to expand where instead he chose to rush.With the tile being "Revan", all of this is understandable... but then why not HAVE more of Revan? Before any true dialogue, before a reconnection to the character even comes close to happening... we are off on an adventure. This is not a game, it is a novel. More of an interaction between Revan and anybody (not even necessarily the characters from the game) would have been nice.What we got with Revan and the Mandalorians searching for Mandalore's mask was great! I was invested and quite interested in reading this section, but this is why I suggest having broken the story arch up into 2 or 3 books. There is almost endless material Karpyshyn could have chose to go in depth with, but with the short upcoming release of TOR in December... his intentions and motivations are pretty clear. He wanted this whole story in place before the release of the game. As someone with a Mac, I have little interest in TOR. My interest lay with the original games and its central characters.With that said, the other central character (the Exile) is a bit of a disappointment. Needless to say, I think most fans prefer Revan over the Exile, but her vastly weaker portrayal (in comparison to Revan and Scourge) is just a let down. Not much more could have been done though, I suppose. Again, perhaps if the story had been stretched out, there could have been more of a connection and caring for the character. When Scourge kills her in the end, I couldn't have cared less... my attention was strictly on what would happen to Revan... which leads me to the books end.The ending is by far what most people seem disappointed with. However, I will attempt to break things down logically. Given the fact that (before the book was even announced) everyone KNEW the Sith were going to invade the Republic, I'm not sure what everyone was expecting? Given this, and the bleakness with which Revan's future was painted in KOTOR 2, I was not exactly thinking Revan was going to defeat the Sith. At the same time, I did not expect (or particularly enjoy) the novels ending. I've waited years for closure, an end to Revans tale. Instead we are given what we were: a sad ending to a love story. Revan did all he did for Bastila and their son.... really? Revan and Bastila barely have 5 or 6 paragraphs together (another huge disappointment as I was very much looking forward to reading their interaction together). The whole thing comes across as a cop out, a means of getting Revan out of the picture; something most people knew would happen. The way it was done, however, I would find it hard to believe if every single fan was not at least a bit disappointed.Don't interpret all of this incorrectly, I get it. I "get" what Karpyshyn was trying (and in many ways succeded) to do, of which I don't feel particularly compelled to go into now. My opinion stems from being such a big fan of the KOTOR series. Waiting all these years, and Revan is simply locked away for "eternity". Could he be freed some day, some how? It certainly seems set up that way. Will a fan of Revan's story truly care? NO. Bastila is left an old woman who never discovers the fate of her lover... if he ever came back, I sincerely cannot see how a fan would enjoy it (in the larger context of the KOTOR story).The book does well in ending the story of one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars franchise, but this isn't to say it ended it well... just that it WAS ended. The book is not a 1 star book, nor is it a 5 star one. Realistically, it falls in between... but I would strongly suggest anyone who is a Revan fan, a KOTOR fan or even just a Star Wars fan pick this book up. One should be happy it exists at all, but I suppose one also needs to understand Revan's place in Star Wars history. Simply put, be satisfied that you can now use more than just imagination to find out how Revan's story "ends".I liked it, but was disappointed. To me, 3 1/2 stars... but considering it could have not existed at all, 4/5.