Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan by Drew Karpyshyn

The resident EU expert on Old Republic Sith, Drew Karpyshyn  is back with his newest book, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan.

Revan is the third in a line of Old Republic novels tying into the soon to be released MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic.  At 3954 years before the events of Episode IV: A New Hope, Revan is the earliest novel in the EU timeline and set approximately 300 years before the other two Old Republic novels and the new The Old Republic video game.

While the novel has a handful of companion or supporting characters, there are two main characters, Revan and the Sith Lord Scourge.

Revan will be familiar to Star Wars fans who have been exposed to the Knights of the Old Republic video games and comics.  Before this novel, I would say I fell into the middle of EU fandom in terms of how familiar I was with Revan.  I had read his Wookieepedia entry, played KOTOR (but didn't finish it), played KOTOR II all the way through, and was familiar with the general outlines of the characters story. Let's face it, the use of the Mandalorian mask makes Revan one of the coolest looking Sith or Jedi ever created.  This cool visual look is one of the keys to  him becoming such a fan favorite.  If I was a casual Star Wars fan, the cover of this novel would have me excited and intrigued and definitely would make me want to read this book.

In this novel Karpyshyn makes the character of Revan accessible for new fans, at key points along the way, we learn more and more about the character and his history.  For fans familiar with the character, as Revan learns more about his past, we also get new information that adds depth to his story and changes some of our understanding as to "why" he turned to the Dark Side.

I quickly bought into the character of Revan and was pulling for him throughout the novel.  He is hardly a perfect hero, one scene in particular in the Jedi Temple reveals a petty or grudge holding streak that makes clear even the redeemed Revan is hardly a lily white hero.  

Revan is a much more realistic hero then the austere Jedi that would seem to be the Jedi Order's ideal.  Revan  has some similar strengths and weaknesses as a character that Anakin Skywalker has.  Comparing these two characters provides some interesting similarities and differences.  But while Anakin is never able to find that balancing point on the precipice of the Dark Side, Revan has found a path in life and is mature enough to do what is right even if it is not what he would desire in his heart. 

In exploring Lord Scourge we get to learn more about Sith society during this period of time, get an interesting new character, and learn a lot about the mysterious Sith Emperor.

Scourge isn't as compelling an anti-hero as Darth Bane, and while it is clear Scourge goes through some character growth in the novel, he felt a little two-dimensional to me.  It also seemed like his expertise and skills where attributed to him to fit the story instead of the other way around.  I can understand the limitations  on character development because Revan is the star of the book, but perhaps 10 more pages could have been added to flesh out Scourge a little more and get inside his head the way Karpyshyn did with Darth Bane. I am left to wonder about the character  true intentions and his ultimate fate.  I have a feeling we will be hearing more about Lord Scourge at some point.

I am very intrigued to learn more about the Sith societal structure,  politics, and particularly the Emperor.  The Sith society we see here feels a bit like John Jackson Miller's Lost Tribe of the Sith, only more extreme.  The Emperor in many ways seems like the ultimate Star Wars Sith Villain.  I am not sure how they could craft a character that would top this one in power.  

Some of my favorite scenes in the novel involve Revan and the Mandalorians, the relationship between Revan and Canderous Ordo is well done and gives us a much needed look at Revan the man instead of the myth.

One of the strengths of Karpyshyn's writing is his ability to craft an intense and entertaining duel or fight.  This skill was used to great effect in the Darth Bane series as well as this book.  In Revan we have a number of fights, that each had their unique aspects.  I particularly enjoyed one of the penultimate duels between Revan and another character. 

One of my pet peeves with recent EU materials is the use of Force visions and the way characters interpret and react to them.  I can see why it is used, because it appeared in the movies and as such is one of the more canonical Force abilities, it would seem to be a safe one to play with.  It just seems that lately we have seen a familiar scenario play out regarding Force visions, and I think they are being over utilized as a MacGuffin.

There is one character that fans will be very disappointed to not see in the novel, but overall this is a novel fanboys and fangirls will embrace.  It's got Revan, Sith, and Mandalorians, what more could you ask for?

There is a very short excerpt in the back of Revan for James Luceno's forthcoming novel Darth Plagueis.

All in all Revan isn't a perfect novel, but it gives fans of the central character some sense of closure,  not necessarily the one you are hoping for or expecting, and ends on a note that is both happy and bittersweet.  Revan is a solid stand alone novel full of little geek out moments. For fans who have read the previous Old Republic novels, I liked it more then Fatal Alliance, and almost as much as I enjoyed Deceived. 

Star Wars: The Old Republic Revan is available in Hard Cover, eBook, and Audiobook formats on Tuesday 11/15/11.  For more information visit Random House's Revan page.

You can also learn more about author Drew Karpyshyn on his website: http://drewkarpyshyn.com/

Games for Soldiers: Clone Wars Actress Catherine Taber's Charitable Effort for the Troops

Actress Catherine Taber, who portrays Padme Amidala in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series has been doing her part to try to make U.S. soldiers jobs a little easier by giving them more recreation options in their limited down time.

Her charitable effort Games For Soliders can be found at http://gamesforsoldiers.com .

So far Ms. Taber and her group has sent 77 boxes of video games to the Troops overseas.

From Gamesforsoldiers.com:

Hi!
I'm Catherine Taber, an actress in film, television and VIDEO GAMES. 

I wanted to do something to say thank you to all of our brave men and women serving in the US Military so... 

I contacted some of the game companies I had worked with to see if they would like to donate some games. From there, I asked friends and family if they would like to say anything to the troops - Since March 2008 I have received numerous letters to send, games, consoles, comic books and some have also sponsored the shipping costs for my boxes (especially my awesome parents who are both Army Vets (: Thanks Mom and Dad! ). 

As of May 2011 - thanks to many people's generosity, I have been able to send over 77 boxes! I've received so many wonderful responses from the soldiers who have received our boxes. And through word of mouth, I now have units contacting me requesting games! So 

Thank you again everyone AND please keep sending me your games!
Video Games are a simple and easy thing to send - and they can provide some entertainment and hopefully relaxation to our troops overseas - in their rare moments of downtime.

Please take a minute and visit the website.  Donate money if you can, games, or just spread the word for this great charitable effort.  

You can contact Games for Soldiers at catherine@gamesforsoldiers.com and you can donate to Games for Soldiers by emailing donate@gamesforsoldiers.com.  

Battle Meditation Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The General (4.08)

The eye of Sauron, err General Krell.  

What do you get when you combine a strategically inept and tactically allergic Jedi General and a battalion of battle hardened Clone Troopers?  You get the powder keg that is Umbara, and tensions continue to build in the second of four Umbara episodes.  

"The path of ignorance is guided by fear."
General Krell orders Captain Rex and the clone troopers of the 501st Legion to conquer a heavily fortified Umbaran airbase, and will not accept anything less than victory. It is an almost certain suicide mission, unless the clones can use their ingenuity to defeat their new enemy.

In the history of warfare it is common for planners to prepare to fight the next war like they fought the last war.  Planning for weapons and tactics that they have encountered before.  When met with innovative new weapons or tactics, this can lead to large scale slaughter on the side that is unprepared for the paradigm shift in warfare.  It is pretty clear from the Umbara arc, that the Republic was ill prepared to face the technology that the Umbarans possessed on the battlefield and that General Krell is either unable or unwilling to recognize this reality and adapt to the changed conditions on the battlefield.

Krell's inept leadership leads to a full scale meeting amongst the troopers where they debate whether or not to even follow Krell's orders of a full forward assault on the Umbaran airbase.  Fives is one of the most vocal of the clones during this debate, only very reluctantly agrees to follow orders in this case.  I have a feeling that Fives decision is entirely based on his relationship and history with Captain Rex and if not for Rex, Fives would have done something about General Krell at this point.

The debate over Krell's orders leads to a very interesting and heated debate between Rex and Fives:

Rex: That's the price of war Fives, we're soldiers we have the duty to follow orders and if necessary lay down our lives for victory.
Fives: Do you believe that? Or is that what you where engineered to think?
Rex: I honor my code, that's what I believe.

This episode to me was central to the character progression of Rex.  The Captain is trying as hard as he possibly can to follow orders, follow his training, and to uphold his personal code of honor.  In a way Rex is exemplifying the Japanese idea of Bushido, the "way of the warrior-knight."  What we see in the end of the episode is that Rex reached his breaking point, where he could no longer follow Krell's orders to march straight ahead into the teeth of the Umbaran MHC's and the almost certain slaughter of all his troops.

Rex presented a two man infiltration plan to Krell, which Krell explicitly rejected, he then ordered Rex to follow the General's original plan.  Rex at this point disobeys a direct order from Krell and continues with his own plan.  This is a remarkable turn for a character who is basically the ideal Clone Trooper in every respect.  The ability to think critically and be adaptable on the battlefield is the greatest strength that the Clones have over battle droids, in many ways, Krell is more similar to the Droids on the battlefield then the Clones are.

It seems pretty clear that Rex will have a very difficult decision to make in the conclusion of this story arc, and that when push comes to shove, he will always pick those under his command over his commander.

In this episode we also see some very interesting behavior from the Clones.  On their march to the airbase, we see the Clones brutally executing injured Umbarans instead of taking them prisoner.  Once the airbase is captured we see Umbarans taken as prisoners.  It has me wondering what the Clones orders are regarding fighting organics versus droids.

The Umbaran technology was particularly impressive, stunning visuals combined with some really cool sound effects.  We had three main vehicles in this episode the Umbaran Fighter, the Crawler Tank, and the Mobile Heavy Cannon (MHC).  Each of these Umbaran vehicles featured the illuminated and ray shielded cockpit design and the funky holographic control interface.  The Fighters that were co-opted by Fives and Hardcase feature a great deal of maneuverability.   The Crawler Tank is bristling with gun turrets and the MHC was just enormous.  I really enjoyed the animation on the MHC, particularly the recoil effect when the main cannon fired.

We got the introduction of a Prequel film character in this epsiode with the debut in TCW of Sergeant Appo.  If you recall Revenge of the Sith, Commander Appo by this point has replaced Captain Rex as the Commander of the 501st Legion.  Appo is subsequently killed in the Expanded Universe novel, Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader.

I really enjoyed the addition of Appo in this episode and his apparent unquestioning loyalty to General Krell serves as an interesting counterpoint to Rex and Fives.  Did the Kaminoans change something in the Clones DNA or training by the time Appo was grown?  Or is Appo as ruthless as Krell and Darth Vader?

There is some pretty strong foreshadowing that Krell is taking a turn to the Dark Side in this episode.  Just before he receives the holocom message from Obi-Wan, Krell is standing next to either a wounded or dead Clone Trooper and he callously kicks the Trooper out of his way so that he can stand more comfortably.  This is an incredibly dismissive move, contrasted throughout the episode with the Clones care fore their fellow brothers removing them from the battlefield when they fall.  The biggest moment however was towards the end of the episode when the Clones take the airbase, Krell is standing at his ledge-top command post and looking down at the destruction below seemingly pleased as flames dance in his yellow eyes.  This is purely my own conjecture, but I believe Krell is being either used directly (as Dark Side follower, but not true Sith Apprentice) by Sidious, or he is being used indirectly in that Sidious senses that Krell has fallen and is putting him in position on Umbara for a certain goal.  What is that goal? What was Sidious hoping to accomplish? Let me explain.

It has been speculated by other commentaries, most eloquently by Eric Geller at TFN in his review of Darkness on Umbara a parallel to Timothy Zahn's novel Outbound Flight, with Palpatine removing Anakin and Obi-Wan from that mission to protect them.  While I think this is certainly a valid theory, I have a slightly different one in terms of what is going on.

In Attack of the Clones we see Palpatine maneuvering Padme and Anakin together, we also see the slaughter of the Sandpeople by Anakin after the death of his mother.  In Revenge of the Sith we learn that Anakin has been confiding his deepest darkest secrets to Palpatine.  Palpatine in effect has been Anakin's closest friend and surrogate Father, though most of this relationship occurs off screen.

It is undoubtedly true that Palpatine knows that Anakin blames himself for his mother's death, because he wasn't there to free her and subsequently protect her.  It is also undoubtedly true that Anakin has talked to Palpatine about the troops under his command and about his indispensible Commander, Captain Rex.  Palpatine the Sith Lord that he is would be able to sense Anakin's affection for Rex and his emotional attachment to his troopers.  By pulling Anakin off of Umbara, Palpatine is setting up the 501st Legion to be slaughtered and Captain Rex to die.  This ideal outcome, would further emotionally scar Anakin, and the added element that Anakin once again was not their to prevent this tragic outcome, would further reinforce Anakin's desire to have control, order, and more power.  Palpatine in effect is not recalling Anakin to protect him, but to hurt him.

Rating:  Episode 4.08, The General gets 9.0 rockets right to the face of an Umbaran Centipede.  This episode improved upon the already amazing visuals from the previous one, and added even greater story and character development.

Direct Link to Watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The General (4.08)

Next Time on Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Plan of Dissent (4.09)

"The ignorant man follows, the wise man leads."
After the Republic conquers an Umbaran airbase, General Krell orders Rex and his men on towards the heavily fortified capital. Realizing there's a better plan, several clone troopers disobey orders to carry out a rogue, covert operation.

It looks like we have a good idea about who these Clones are and what their covert op is, also from Starwars.com entries on the characters on the Explore: Plan of Dissent page.

General Krell continues to devise costly tactics that risk the lives of the clones, despite being presented with seemingly safer alternatives. He refuses to listen to an idea proposed by Rex and Fives to destroy an orbital Separatist supply ship, instead sticking to his original plan of an overland assault. 

Clone Captain Rex is torn between his duty to follow orders, and his commitment to keeping his troops safe. General Krell's commands seem to needlessly risk the lives of the 501st, and some of the troops are willing to defy orders to keep their brothers safe. 

The pragmatic Jesse has been studying the captured Umbaran starfighters at the airbase, for potential use in a covert, rogue operation. 

Hardcase got a taste of the Umbaran starfighters when he stole one to provide much needed air support for the 501st troopers. Now, he's getting the hang of the tricky fighters. 

Fives has had it with Krell's misguided command. He knows of a better alternative to capture the Umbaran capital, and will go to any length to carry out his forbidden plan.

SOURCES: Starwars.com and Wookieepedia 

Starwars.com hints at Obi-Wan vs. Savage Opress Duel

The header image for the Explore The Clone Wars section of Starwars.com has an interesting image of Obi-Wan dueling Savage Opress on top of a nebulous outer space background.

 A hint of what's to come later in Season Four perhaps...

The Clone Wars: Plan of Dissent (4.09) Preview

Things are about to get pretty interesting for some of the Clones in the 501st Legion. Under the command of the tactically allergic General Krell, the Clones have taken some serious lumps in the last two episodes.  It is a wonder their are any troopers left under Captain Rex's command. 

"The ignorant man follows, the wise man leads."

After the Republic conquers an Umbaran airbase, General Krell orders Rex and his men on towards the heavily fortified capital. Realizing there's a better plan, several clone troopers disobey orders to carry out a rogue, covert operation. 

 I have a feeling that since Fives survived another episode and is the most outspoken opponent to General Krell's leadership, that he  will be the leader of the group of Clones that goes rogue. 

It also sets up Fives to have his head on the chopping block in the final episode of the arc. 

Sorry Rex but Fives is my favorite Clone. 

ARC Trooper Fives, the illegitimate love child of Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer.

Plan of Dissent Preview Clip

SOURCE: Starwars.com