Post by Mister Buch on Nov 30, 2011 20:25:19 GMT 1
So I finished reading 'Revan'. I liked it much more than Knight did, and not just because I like arguing with him and yous.
Here's the review I'll be posting on Amazon (and a modified version on my blog):
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I should start by saying that I was a huge, huge KotOR fan. That game changed my life and my interests. Revan and the other characters are a real part of my life, and I can't tell you how much I've longed for some kind of continuation of their story, over all these years.
I like this book. But it is very, very flawed. I'm giving it three stars rather than the two given by my good friend, Annihilatrix1138. So here goes. (And there will be a few spoilers here.)
I'll concede right away: Lord Scourge is an absolute waste of time and has no business taking up over half of this novel and thus more pages than Revan himself. He is clearly there for the express purpose of advertising / setting-up the MMO. This is ridiculous in a book about Revan.
However, Scourge's scenes (teaming up with the Exile and alone before that) were pretty good. He himself was a dull character clearly from the same mould that produced 'Darth Bane', but his chapters were, honestly, a lot of fun.
This book features only three chapters with Bastila, and absolutely ZERO mention of Carth, Atton, Mira, Visas or the Disciple. The word 'Carth' is not in this book and the rest of Revan's crew are written off the the quickest, laziest way imaginable ("Oh yeah, they're very busy with the import/export business they set up with Art Vandelay"). These things are all inexcusable in a book about Revan. I don't expect them all to get a chapter, but to write-them off in list-form is just too much.
However, Canderous gets an absolutely beautiful send-off. And I like the way the Exile goes out too. Even if Lord Scroob is involved. I just wish Carth, Mission, Jolee and Atton could have had the same. Or at least a line or two.
The actual prose is amateurish in the extreme, riddled with cliches, nonsense, mixed-metaphors and cheesy dialogue.
However, I always, always wanted to know 'what happened next'. Even to Lord Screech. That's good writing, and it's admirable. And there were several little moments or lines that made me very happy. I'd say this is better than any of Karpyshyn's previous works.
As for Revan himself... he gets a decent ending, if not the one I'd have picked. (Or at least I thought it was an ending - turns out he will reappear in the god-damn MMO, thus trivialising this book's plot before it's even published).
However, I like how the great man comes across here. He's powerful and smart, he's funny, respected, tortured, wise, sarcastic and rebellious. This is definitely the same Revan I fell in love with.
And most crucially, he HAS an ending now. (Sort of - again I loathe that he apparently reappears in the MMO.) It's an ending of sorts. 'Revan's tale' is over. I like endings, and I'm so glad that one of my most beloved characters ever (and the Exile, who I also love far too dearly) now have finished stories, in which they atone for their guilt and share one or two really beautiful moments.
This is probably the major reason why I like the book. I like it because of the Canderous bit, the bit where Revan invites the Exile to watch a home-movie of his wife and son, and the fact that I got to see them again. I think those are good reasons to like a book about Revan, even if it does have massive flaws and a clear focus on the new game rather than the ones it is supposedly based on.
So I can't say this is a good book, and any KotOR fan must go in there expecting to be repeatedly short-changed. As always with Karpyshyn, it seems to have been written to a deadline and given very few re-drafts.
However, I really do recommend it.
Revan and the Exile have an ending here. And it's not bad.
Here's the review I'll be posting on Amazon (and a modified version on my blog):
-------
I should start by saying that I was a huge, huge KotOR fan. That game changed my life and my interests. Revan and the other characters are a real part of my life, and I can't tell you how much I've longed for some kind of continuation of their story, over all these years.
I like this book. But it is very, very flawed. I'm giving it three stars rather than the two given by my good friend, Annihilatrix1138. So here goes. (And there will be a few spoilers here.)
I'll concede right away: Lord Scourge is an absolute waste of time and has no business taking up over half of this novel and thus more pages than Revan himself. He is clearly there for the express purpose of advertising / setting-up the MMO. This is ridiculous in a book about Revan.
However, Scourge's scenes (teaming up with the Exile and alone before that) were pretty good. He himself was a dull character clearly from the same mould that produced 'Darth Bane', but his chapters were, honestly, a lot of fun.
This book features only three chapters with Bastila, and absolutely ZERO mention of Carth, Atton, Mira, Visas or the Disciple. The word 'Carth' is not in this book and the rest of Revan's crew are written off the the quickest, laziest way imaginable ("Oh yeah, they're very busy with the import/export business they set up with Art Vandelay"). These things are all inexcusable in a book about Revan. I don't expect them all to get a chapter, but to write-them off in list-form is just too much.
However, Canderous gets an absolutely beautiful send-off. And I like the way the Exile goes out too. Even if Lord Scroob is involved. I just wish Carth, Mission, Jolee and Atton could have had the same. Or at least a line or two.
The actual prose is amateurish in the extreme, riddled with cliches, nonsense, mixed-metaphors and cheesy dialogue.
However, I always, always wanted to know 'what happened next'. Even to Lord Screech. That's good writing, and it's admirable. And there were several little moments or lines that made me very happy. I'd say this is better than any of Karpyshyn's previous works.
As for Revan himself... he gets a decent ending, if not the one I'd have picked. (Or at least I thought it was an ending - turns out he will reappear in the god-damn MMO, thus trivialising this book's plot before it's even published).
However, I like how the great man comes across here. He's powerful and smart, he's funny, respected, tortured, wise, sarcastic and rebellious. This is definitely the same Revan I fell in love with.
And most crucially, he HAS an ending now. (Sort of - again I loathe that he apparently reappears in the MMO.) It's an ending of sorts. 'Revan's tale' is over. I like endings, and I'm so glad that one of my most beloved characters ever (and the Exile, who I also love far too dearly) now have finished stories, in which they atone for their guilt and share one or two really beautiful moments.
This is probably the major reason why I like the book. I like it because of the Canderous bit, the bit where Revan invites the Exile to watch a home-movie of his wife and son, and the fact that I got to see them again. I think those are good reasons to like a book about Revan, even if it does have massive flaws and a clear focus on the new game rather than the ones it is supposedly based on.
So I can't say this is a good book, and any KotOR fan must go in there expecting to be repeatedly short-changed. As always with Karpyshyn, it seems to have been written to a deadline and given very few re-drafts.
However, I really do recommend it.
Revan and the Exile have an ending here. And it's not bad.