After finishing playing with the games "Knights of the Old Republic", every fan felt unsatisfied, wanting to learn the further fate of one of the most popular characters in the universe - Revan. Finally, a book was created that bridges the gap between "KOTOR" and "The Old Republic".
Revan was a Jedi Knight who switched to the dark side during the Mandalorian Wars and then returned to the light. He is one of the few to understand the entire essence of the Force, without divisions into the light and dark sides. After the adventures in "KOTOR" there are many understatements about Revan, which Drew Karpyshyn reveals in this book.
The action begins two years after the events of "KOTOR", even before Revan leaves for the Unknown Regions. We meet him when he is tormented at night, attacked by visions of the Force that promise a new threat. At Revan's side we find, as could be expected, Bastille. The threat is not related to the events of "KOTOR 2", but to the Sith Empire preparing to invade. Revan, wanting to prevent this, sets off on another journey, accompanied by a Mandalorian friend - Canderous Ordo.
Karpyshyn approached the narrative form in an interesting way. The chapters alternate between the story of Revan setting off on a new adventure and Lord Scourge in the Sith Empire. Both are brilliantly written, intriguingly and climatically. Only, as you can guess, after some time both stories will catch a cold, leading to the expected finale.
Initially, the reader who does not remember the plot of "KOTOR" may feel a bit lost. Fortunately, the writer, by delving into the thoughts of the title character, outlines these events for us, reminding us of their meaning and influence on Revan himself. His desires to retrieve the memories he had taken and discover the mystery of his journey to the Unknown Regions are the driving factors behind his actions. He is aware that the visions are closely related to this, but the very desire to prevent the threat is more of a secondary concern. Karpyshyn has also not forgotten about the fans of the game, who remember it very well - you can find many pleasant flavors and references in the book. The writer skillfully approached this topic, trying to create a novel that would be both a continuation and an autonomous work. What I really liked is his approach to the Mandalorians. The presentation of their warlike culture and political situation after the lost war is something I've been waiting for. Many threads known from the game are continued, although not all of them have been addressed.
Naturally, over time, Revan reaches the Unknown Regions where the story of Lord Scourge has been taking place all along. The atmosphere from the beginning of the story of the Sith lord is skillfully guided into the dark. The author delves into the warrior's philosophy in an interesting way. Thanks to this, the character takes on expression and we see in him something more than just a devoted lord. To the advantages, we can add a well-described Empire policy, which is based on intrigue and conspiracies. Finally, thanks to Scourge, we also get to know the Emperor's story, which turns out to be really satisfying.
After Revan reached the Unknown Regions, I got the impression that Karpyshyn had accelerated too much the pace of the action, which was previously at a good level. One can get the impression that successive events follow one another too quickly, leading to a violent end. This procedure is gently rewarded by a little surprise waiting for us during the grand finale.
On the technical side, the book is at the level typical of good EU novels. The whole thing is easy to read and pleasant. The author feels the universe, linguistically remaining within the realities of SW. Nothing irritates me more than constant comparisons based on things taken from everyday life. Such a thing then destroys the atmosphere and has a negative impact on the reception. Fortunately, in "Revan" we will practically not experience it ..
Drew Karpyshyn has created a novel about Revan that was to be expected. It is read quickly and with bated breath, revealing the secrets that follow us from the moment we finished "KOTOR". Well-written action, great atmosphere and captivating story perfectly fill the gaps between "KOTOR" and the events related to Revan in "The Old Republic".