Revan - TJW Book Review

Ever since I began playing the Knights of the Old Republic on my original Xbox, I became fascinated with the characters that were introduced into this time period of the Old Republic. And anyone who knows me, has listened to the podcast or read my posts on the blog, know that I am intrigued with the characters of Jedi Knight Bastila Shan and former Sith Lord Darth Revan.

Much like the Han and Leia in the Original Trilogy, Darth Revan and Bastila Shan are that couple that play off each other so well in their dialogue. Just when you think these two characters are going clock the other with a gaffe stick, you find these special moments in the game (if you are basically playing the light side path) that remind you of those moments that Han and Leia had with each other throughout the three original movies.

In the novel Revan by Drew Karpyshyn, we see a little less banter between Bastila and Revan but a lot more emotion and seriousness in their dialogue. Without giving away the plot and circumstances of these two characters in the novel, I will say that there is a feeling uncertainty between Bastila and Revan.

We know that the canonical story of the original Knights of the Old Republic video game shows the redemption of Revan and his ability to redeem Bastila after she temporarily goes the dark side. The second installment of the Knights of the Old Republic known as The Sith Lords, includes cameo appearances of Bastila, Malak and Carth Onasi. And even though Revan is mentioned throughout the game, he never makes an appearance. At this time, we are uncertain of what happened to Revan and Bastila following the events of the first game. There is a lot of speculation as to his fate. Mystery shrouds the main character of this second game and we are uncertain what connection this character has with the Revan and Bastila story line.

While we have all been given the opportunity to do our own bit discovery in the new Star Wars The Old Republic video game, for those that want a clearer understanding of how the loose ends are tied up from the first two video games, I highly recommend reading the Revan novel. It is one of best expanded universe novels I have read!

Drew Karpyshyn knows how to write Star Wars and is, in my opinion, the best expert of the Old Republic era. He has proven it not only through his scripts for the Knights of the Old Republic video games but also with his Darth Bane trilogy of novels. And Revan is the best example of bringing this era of the Star Wars Expanded Universe to life. The novel is enhanced even more with a new Sith Lord named Scourge as well as meeting some old buddies we know from the video games such as Canderous Ordo.

This book is a page turner all the way. The descriptions of battles, environments and interactions between the characters are solid! It is a great book and one that needs to be on bookshelves of Star Wars Expanded Universe fans!

Let me know what you think of the novel! Or let us know your favorite characters from the Old Republic era! Email us at: jundlandwastespodcast@gmail.com

See ya on the Jundland Wastes!
All the best,

Mark
Co-host of the TJW Podcast