Having returned from the dark side of the Force, following his memory wipes and subsequent rebuilding of his personality, Revan, one time Sith Lord and ultimate saviour of the republic, is growing increasingly concerned about his nightmares. These are filled with images of a cloud covered world, in a state of permanent electrical torment, and fills him with a dread that there is a power in the outer rim with could threaten the Republic...

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Revan is the latest novel, by Drew Karppyshyn which deals with a character who began his life in computer games and comics.

Essentially, it is a tale of redemption. Having defied the Jedi council by starting a war against the warrior race of Mandalorians and disappearing into the outer rim, Revan, a once powerful and proud Jed, returned as a dark lord of the Sith, to claim the Republic as his own. What this book explores is what happened to him out there to so change his personality.

The book is split between Revan’s search for the truth and events unfolding on Dromund Kaas, the heart of the new Sith Empire, where Lord Scourge, an equally proud and proficient Sith has been tasked with investigating the assassination attempts on Dark Councillor Darth Nyriss. He is eventually convinced, by Nyriss that the Emperor is mad, intending to start another war with the Republic, a war they cannot hope to win. To prove her point she takes Scourge to the planet of Nathema, the Emperors home planet, now completely devoid of life.

It is here that they encounter and trap Revan, imprisoning him for years, until rescues and the inevitable final confrontation, between Revan and the Emperor, which forms the book's climax.

Fans of the character will be delighted that the final part of his story can be told. Karpyshyn weaves characters and events from both the Old Republic games and comics into a single, seamless history. Not surprisingly, the books events take place after the last Old Republic game and stand as a prequel to the new one. With such a complex history to deal with it was gratifying to discover that Karpyshyn has not let the fan boy go to his head. If you are totally unaware of the character's previous appearance, fear not, as the book works just as well as a stand-alone novel.

Well written, the book maintains its perilous balance between its need to please existing fans without alienating a new audience as well as the balance between the expected navel gazing Jedi introspection and well-choreographed action scenes.

7

Charles Packer