One of the greatest figures created old republic

This is a great book. Taking place after the KOTOR games it helps fill in the gaps.

It is well paced and excellently read by Marc Thompson. The only negative I would suggest is the ending. I don't wish to spoil anything but when you get there you might agree.

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Awesome!!!

Absolutely awesome!!! I can not think of anything that could make this any better! I'm going to start it from the beginning again! 10/10!!

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stunning

Loved it struggle to put it down When I had to It did everything right in my opinion always kept me 2nd guessing where the story was going Extremely satisfied With everything especially the End strongly recommend giving this 1 A listen

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I LOVE THIS BOOK

Revan is the one character I love in the star wars universe. This is great book for me

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This is the best thing ever!

If you could sum up Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan in three words, what would they be?

Awesome!, Vivacious and Powerful.

What did you like best about this story?

The story of course! (Also the narration of the author)

What does Marc Thompson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Marc Thompson actually made me visualize the area, persons, actions, voices, appearances and actually all of it. It was like watching a movie.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, actually! Some parts made me laugh, some surprised me and also a lot of parts shocked me.

Any additional comments?

Every Star Wars fan has to read this book. I find the Story of the Old Republic better then the movies.

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1 person found this helpful

Why don't they make these into movies?

The story is so good, the characters are written well. why don't they make this into a movie?

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A wee but sad

Really good book but sad. Speaking was clear and concise and carried the words written excellently

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Don't understand the hate

This novel saved the character of Revan and gave him a proper ending (ignoring the actual SWTOR game) instead of just leaving him as just a cool character and a mask.

I loved seeing his relationships with characters from the first game being properly depicted and his tragic story following the evenst of the first game is well wrtitten.

One thing I do agree with is that the ending felt a bit rushed, but despite that the novel is amazing and a must read fro Kotor fans.

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The KOTOR 3 I Always Wanted

I'm a big KOTOR fan, and still avidly play SWTOR. I knew some of Revan's fate as it was revealed in KOTOR 2 and in some of the main quest line content in SWTOR (Sith Inquisitor class, at least). But I've not yet played the Shadow of Revan expansion in SWTOR. I've been burning to know more about Revan's fate, probably since the end of KOTOR 2 when I played it in late 2007. And even though this novel came out in 2011, for some reason I haven't gotten around to it till now. (I think maybe I thought I had to read the other SWTOR novels first, but that is not the case - though I did enjoy the one I did read, Deceived.)

And oh boy did I enjoy it! This was basically KOTOR 3 for me and I loved it. It's also the first time I've experienced a Star Wars audiobook - I don't know if this is typical for them, but all the music and sound effects, not to mention the actor, Marc Thompson taking on different accents for all the characters, made this more like a multi-cast radioplay than an audiobook! Incredible production values.

It features several well-known characters from KOTOR 1 and 2, and introduces some memorable new ones - not least the conflicted "Lord Scourge", who despite his name (other characters laugh at this too), perhaps steals the whole show.

I don't want to spoiler anything, but the novel added a lot of new information and lore to the timelines and backstories of both KOTOR games, and SWTOR; such that on returning to SWTOR recently, I felt incredibly enriched knowing more of what had happened in the past. The novel really is a KOTOR geek's dream.

I also enjoyed the way the novel was structured, told from the alternating points of view of both Revan and Scourge, with a strong tension as you anticipate their eventual meeting. In Part 2 there is also an unexpected change in POV (and jump forward in time) to yet another classic KOTOR character.

Karpyshyn, who was lead writer on KOTOR 1, and heavily involved in SWTOR I believe, has a snappy, plot-focused style, perhaps befitting of his huge experience writing for video games. Characters are well-realised, and the scenes are evoked with just the right amount of detail in a concise and potent style. But the pace is excellent, always moving forward with an addictive momentum which meant that this was a real "page turner", if that label can still be used for an audiobook. I got through it in less than a week, which is a new record for me (and it's not short at ten plus hours long). This style is something I recognise from Karpyshyn's Mass Effect novels, which I also really enjoyed.

The author has a real skill for describing lightsaber duels in particular. They are frantic, shown in great expedient detail, and choreographed for maximum drama. The battles from this novel now fill my imagination as much as any I've seen on the big and small screens. Thompson does an incredible job of matching the pace of the prose here as well; and the enthusiasm with which he delivers every sentence in the book anyway, including the narration, is infectious.

In contrast, I'm also re-reading Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, and have just started the new 2017 Thrawn novel by Zahn on Audible (also voiced by Thompson) - finishing Revan left a gaping hole, so it's great to see there are tons more new Star Wars novels to go at, as well as all the older "Legends" ones I never got to). In my experience, Zahn's style is very different - much steadier and more contemplative, with a larger focus on detail and character inner life. This fits well with Thrawn, who is central to all of the Zahn novels I've read, him being a contemplative and incredibly intelligent strategist. I like both author's styles, and find it interesting to compare them. Though I have to admit that the frenetic and heroic pace of Revan was hard to put down!

The ending of Revan was somewhat expected, but also unexpected. There's a strong sense of dramatic irony - I knew, like most readers probably do, that these characters aren't around per se in SWTOR, set 300 years later. But then you are wondering, do they just die of old age, or is there a darker fate awaiting them? It's a strong motivator to push for the ending. I don't want to spoil anything, and I liked where things were left off. It felt satisfying yet also surprising, which the best endings often are. Yet I did feel it pulled its punches a little.

I also felt that occasionally the plot logic was a little thin, but the novel works hard to convince you of its plausibility, and you are still taken along for the ride. I marvelled at how all these strands, started in one set of games (KOTOR 1 and 2), and ended in another (SWTOR), were weaved into a compelling middle with its own unexpected twists and turns.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention a few moments that felt quite cliched.

But all in all this is one of the most entertaining and immersive novels I've ever consumed (Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca is the only other electrifying page turner for me, which I read in a similarly speedy time frame). Part of this is obviously because I am a big Star Wars fan, and especially a huge geek of The Old Republic era (KOTOR was a seminal game for me both as a player, and in terms of the impact it had on my career - it was one of the main games that steered me into game narrative); but this is also just an incredibly well-executed novel.

I'm now inspired to pick up Karpyshyn's next book in the SWTOR series, Annihilation, even though I don't think it's a continuation of this one. But I have a feeling there might be some references to it. I'm also keen to check out his own Darth Bane series as well.

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Very good read that introduces "another" SW world

This is my first Old Republic book and although I only played a little of kotor 2 I absolutely understood everything. I really like the non-2D characters like Revan who has a past with the Dark Side but is still a Jedi and the infighting among the Sith.

I also liked the voice acting. Some of the female voices were a bit over-exaggerated but it wasn't too distracting.

There is a fair bit of exposition and the author did a good job presenting past events without makkng it forced.

Although this is book is a part of a series, it functions perfectly as a standalone book. You'll probably want to carry on reading the other though ;)

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