Book Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Annihilation SPOILERS!

In 2012, Drew Karpyshyn came back once more to butcher the epic Star Wars canon, this time invalidating The Old Republic: The Lost Suns while simultaneously dumbing-down the characters to the point where no one cares--not even the fans. Synopsis: The Sith Empire is in flux. The Emperor is missing, presumed dead, and an ambitious Sith Lord’s attempt to seize the throne has ended fatally. Still, Darth Karrid, commander of the fearsome Imperial battle cruiser Ascendant Spear, continues her relentless efforts to achieve total Sith domination of the galaxy. But Karrid’s ruthless determination is more than matched in the steely resolve of Theron Shan, whose unfinished business with the Empire could change the course of the war for good. Though the son of a Jedi Master, Theron does not wield the Force—but like his renowned mother, the spirit of rebellion is in his blood. As a top covert agent for the Republic, he struck a crucial blow against the Empire by exposing and destroying a Sith superweapon arsenal—which makes him the ideal operative for a daring and dangerous mission to end Ascendant Spear’s reign of terror. Joined by hot-headed smuggler Teff'ith, with whom he has an inexplicable bond, and wise Jedi warrior Gnost-Dural, Darth Karrid’s former master, Theron must match wits and weapons with a battle-tested crew of the most cold-blooded dark side disciples. But time is brutally short. And if they don’t seize their one chance to succeed, they will surely have countless opportunities to die.


And ignore all that claptrap. Drew Karpyshyn--like Troy Denning, Stephanie Meyer, Christie Golden, Dan Brown, and Kevin J. Anderson--couldn't write this story even if he tried. He always rewrites the characters past so that what happened before refuses to logically match what the character was. The Ascendant Spear isn't a big threat; in the novel, it has yet to be fully tested, so using the words "fearsome" and "reign of terror" are hardly concise with what it really is: an untested, unstable weapon that only kills one ship and Darth Karrid. Karrid is neither ruthless nor relentless at any point; she's constantly whining about Darth Malgus' death in the TOR flashpoint. Gnost-Dural comes off as an idiotic Jedi who has no idea what he's doing. And the vast majority of the novel is handed over to Satele and Jace's secret-but-not-so-secret relationship post Hope-trailer. Oh, and there's not once a scene depicting a crew of "cold-blooded dark side disciples."


The novel opens with Jedi Knight Satele Shan giving birth to Theron Shan. Fast-forward a few years (after the Jedi Knight kills Vitiate and Darth Malgus is killed by who-knows) and Theron's ambushed by a Houk but easily stuns his fellow SIS agent instead. He's stumbled onto Operation Transom. Turns out that Operation Transom is to stop Morbo the Hutt from auctioning Republic POWs to the Sith Empire. Theron wants Morbo to call off a hit on the Old Tion Brotherhood just to rescue the yellow-skinned Twi'lek Teff'ith. She's in danger, and, despite leaving half the shipment of spice behind, manages to escape with her boss before anything interesting can happen. SIS director Marcus Trent talks with Colonel Jace Malcom, Supreme Commander of the Republic Military, about the disaster of Operation Transom on Nar Shaddaa, the moon of Nal Hutta, and Darth Vitiate's demise, plus the fact that the Empire is reeling from Gus' failed coop and death. Trent's worried about Ascendant Spear's unconfirmed slaughter of Republic ships and its commander, Darth Karrid--once Gnost-Dural's apprentice, formerly Darth Malgus's student. Jace assigns Theron and wants a joint force of SIS, Military, and Jedi team.

Darths Ravage, Marr, Mortis, Rictus, and Vowran argue about placing Karrid on the Dark Council and Marr updates Karrid. Meanwhile, Karrid offers assistance to her rival, Darth Gravus, at the battle to retake Leritor, but he orders his ships to attack her. Karrid kills Gravus and the Republic Fleet. She transmits Gravus' treason to the Dark Council. The Dark Council agree that  Gravus was an idiot and appoints Karrid as a member. Jedi Master Gnost-Dural is assigned to Operation End Game. Jace learns that Theron is Satele's son and demands that he (Theron) be on the mission. Jace, Gnost-Dural, Theron, and Marcus plan Op End Game. Jace tells Theron that he's his father; Jace and Theron agree to start getting to know each other IF Theron survives End Game. Theron, despite Teff'ith telling him not to contact her, has her set up a contact on Ziost. Theron and Gnost-Dural arrive on Ziost and they "secure" a black cipher from Minister Davidge's office. The black cipher allows the SIS to monitor Imperial transmissions and make further plans. Davidge reports to Darth Marr and Marr suggests to push the war forward on several fronts. Jace and Trent order Theron and Gnost-Dural to contact Teff'ith.

Gnost-Dural informs Theron that Satele wants to meet with him and for Teff'ith not to mention it to Jace. Satele tells Theron that Jace in angry and vengeful because  of the war and that he might corrupt Theron; Satele recalls the night  she and Jace argued about the war. Theron and Gnost-Dural persuade Teff'ith to help with the promise that Theron disappears for good. Theron, Gnost-Dural, and Teff'ith board Reaver Station; Theron learns that Jace and Trent ignored the warnings and left Ruan and Duro vulnerable. Theron asks Teff'ith to alert Satele that Ascendant Spear will be at Duro and have the Grand Master force Jace to send a fleet; Gnost-Dural and Karrid duel--Gnost-Dural is captured. Teff'ith is arrested on Coruscant and holds up in a CSF building until Satele arrives; Teff'ith tells Satele everything. Gnost-Dural manages to convince Karrid about the Republic knowing of the attack on Duro and that he was the distraction; Karrid orders Ascendant Spear to head for Duro. Teff'ith and Satele convince Jace to send a couple of fleets to Duro; Jace and Satele are going, as is Teff'ith. Jace orders the fleet to eliminate the Ascendant Spear. Theron breaks Gnost-Dural out and they split up.

Gnost-Dural holds off soldiers and Sith while Theron, finally, forces Karrid to sever her link with Ascendant Spear. Jace orders the fleet to pound on Ascendant Spear. The Sith ship buckles and Karrid races back to take control; Theron escapes as Karrid is killed by a shot from the Republic fleet. Ascendant Spear is destroyed. Theron and Gnost-Dural escape. At the award ceremony, Jace and Satele part on better terms; Theron leaves a message for Jace, saying he wants to get to know him. Theron gives Teff'ith her credits and says he'll always watch over her as that's what family does.


Though Drew tries his best to crank out a better book since he quit BioWare, he still fails to bring together a descent story. Instead, just like TOR:Revan, he rushes through it and manages to assassinate their characterizations. For instance, Gnost-Dural is a Jedi librarian and historian, not combative at all; Jace Malcom is a hardened war hero what was always characterized as tough and always looks out for innocent civilians--here's he's completely ruthless and unethical; Satele is just a whiny character that constantly harps on the past; Theron's cold and constantly screws some things up just because; Teff'ith is suddenly completely idioitc and says "We" instead of "I"; The Dark Council are probably the best characters, simply because Drew hates Jedi and has always praised the Sith, or at least writes them better than the Jedi and Republic.

Upcoming book reviews

Okay, sorry, but that last list I made was way too long with too many books. From here on out, I'm just sticking with the series I've started.

Confirmed:
Honor Harrington (from In Enemy Hands on up, including the Saganami duology and Torch Slaves duology) by David Weber with Eric Flint [This will take a while to do, so bear with me]
The Old Republic: Annihilation by Drew Karpyshyn [It comes out soon, that's all I know]
Halo: The Thursday War by Karen Traviss [haven't visited Barnes and Noble yet this month]
Halo: Cryptum by Greg Bear [I will get around to it in about three weeks or so]
Halo: Primordium by Greg Bear [when my library gets it]

Star Wars X-Wing series (from Wedge's Gamble on up) by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston [can do from home, but they're all in different boxes, so please be patient. I'm also loaning them to a friend, so it will take a while]

Possibilities:
The Vorkosigan Saga (from Brothers In Arms upward) by Lois McMaster Bujold. Was going to do this, but the local library no longer has Brothers or Mirror Dance or Memory.
The Wess'har series by Karen Traviss
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (broken into two parts) by JRR Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (broken into two parts) by JRR Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (broken into two parts) by JRR Tolkien

I will try and post regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the future, but if Life takes a different turn, then I may be forced to change the posting schedule. I'll let you all know in advance if I can.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance SPOILERS!

The first ever The Old Republic novel is penned by Sean Williams. Don't let the following synopsis fool you, though. It doesn't happen like that till half-way through the novel, much like a Kevin J. Anderson novel. It also contains one big discrepancy: Satele Shan is listed as the Grand Master when the events of the trailer Deceived take place weeks before—that's what the book leads one to believe, anyway—when she was a Jedi Padawan. Synopsis: From across the galaxy they've come: agents of both the Republic and the Sith Empire, an investigating Jedi Padawan, an ex-trooper drummed out of the Republic's elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian. An extraordinary auction has drawn them all together—in quest of a prize only one can claim. Each is prepared to do what he must to possess the treasure, whose value may be the wealth of a world itself. None intended to leave empty-handed. All have secrets, desires, and schemes. An nothing could ever unite them as allies—except the truth about the deadly danger of the object they covet. But can Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire—enemies for millennia—join as one against the certain doom of the galaxy?

The novel opens in Wild Space, where Jet Nebula, in the Auriga Fire, has captured the Cinzia. After a failed attempt to board it, Jet pilots the Fire away as Cinzia explodes. They scan the wreckage and notice something. On Coruscant, Jedi Padawan Shigar Konshi storms through the skywalks on a mission for the Order, seething from his meeting with the Jedi Council on Tython where they passed over him for testing in the Trials to become a Knight. A violent confrontation takes place in a nearby warehouse where former Republic trooper Larin Moxla confronts the sole survivor, and instigator, of the conflict, Mandalorian warrior Dao Stryver. After a brief fight with each other, Shigar and Larin team up to find Styver and figure out what Cinzia and Lema Xandret mean. On Dromund Kaas, in Kaas City, Sith apprentice Eldon Ax, recently returned from failed a mission her master Sith Lord Darth Chratis sent her on, is asked by the Dark Council and Chratis about the mission. She reports failure but Darth Howl is lenient and demands that Chratis tell Eldon everything. Eldon is Cinzia nad her mother was Lema and all that was being blocked by Chratis. From Imperial Intelligence, they learn that the cargo of the Cinzia ended up on Nal Hutta, in an auction the Hutts are holding. A Sith spy within the Republic, Ula Vii, hears rumors about Lema and the Cinzia and passes it to his Imperial masters where Chratis and Eldon are about to depart for Hutt Space.

All four journeys are made: Shigar and Larin, Chratis and Eldon, Ula, and Stryver. They all meet in a violent clash of interests that ends up with a small group of hexagonal droids attacking them. Though they're destroyed, Stryver escapes with Cinzia's navicomputer. Eldon copies the memory hardware from one of the destroyed droids that might lead back to Cinzia's point of origin. Shigar and Larin deal with the primary Hutt auctioneer, Tassaa Bareesh, during the aftermath of the violence oer Cinzia's contents. They make a deal with the Hutt and are allowed to leave and continue with their journey.With a complemement of Bareesh's own guardds, Jet and Ula, Shigar is able to retrace the origin points via the Force. They leave for the origin planet, Sebaddon, located near a black hole on the very edge of the galaxy. The hexagonal droids seem too pwerful to stop, so the Republic and Empire fleets team up and destroy the droids, in spite of the problems between them. Plus Eldon and Satele accidentally kill a clone of Eldon who'd been unknowingly controlling the hex army. Eldon takes control of the hexes herself and commands them to kill Darth Chratis then orders the droids to destroy themselves in the lava of Sebaddon. The alliance breaks and the Republic and the Empire plunge back into war.The primary character's lives change for the better, including Eldon who is taken under the wing of Darth Howl.

All in all, a less than stellar Star Wars novel penned by one of the most mediocre authors for the franchise. The characters are stale and unmoving in their beliefs and literally are just one-dimensional characters that are cardboard cutouts. Other than the events, nothing really happens with the characters that makes the reader want to read this.