(Extremely Spoliing Spoilers) TOR Revan Novel

[ggggtotalwarrior]

I assume most of you who have begun playing SWTOR played KOTOR back in its day. I have not played SWTOR and probably never will. I do however, know about the controversy involving killing Revan at level 37 in SWTOR, and the hatred of the book from KOTOR fans. I was confused at first, when I heard about Revan's cameo in TOR. I had heard that it was 300 years after KoTOR. then I read the book.

Before I begin, I must profess how much of a Bioware/Drew Karpyshyn fan I am/was. I have both KOTORs, the Bane trilogy of novels, and both Mass Effects. I was generally excited upon starting Revan. I would finally know what happened in the unknown regions! Then I heard about the criticism of the book. As I read, I was really wondering what the people online hated so much. The book was excellent, nearly as good as the Bane books.

The first 270 of 280 pages were excellent. The last 10 pages ruined the 2 video games worth of story and the first 270 pages. I was really excited, hoping to see Revan, T3M4 and the Exile escape and save the Galaxy. Instead the latter two died and Revan is kept alive by the Emperor to feed on for eternity. Revan never got to meet his son! WHAT THE DREW KARPYSHYN! You destroyed everything both KOTORs stood for! You killed the Exile! And you raped Revan more than Lucas raped Indiana Jones! Just so that you could make a really expensive MMO in which Revan has a very small role! I'd heard Bioware was unhappy with Obsidian's KOTOR 2, but I didn't expect you to kill it's main character that easily!

I really am thinking of boycotting your Mass Effect 3 game, Mr. Karpyshyn. I realized you didn't make Revan for the fans, but for yourself. You have lost one very big fan today, and maybe countless more since the book came out. I'm am very disappointed in the man who was once of my favorite authors. Thumbs down for you Drew Karpyshyn, Bioware and anyone else involved with that book. Thumbs down to you

What do my fellow readers of the novel think?

(by the way admins I hope this doesnt come off as a pointless rant. Also, I didn't find any thread about this so I posted it here)

[Knight of Heaven]

I read the book and like you i enjoy everything but the end... Its not only lame but it shows that the book was only made to clear the stage for swtor, the markting on this couldnt be much more transparent.

I play swtor, and i killed revan, and i can tell you what bioware did pales in comparisson what Drew did. ( well he wrote the story in swtor too so) but to make you fight not only Revan but HK-47 its a blasphemy, and not to mention HK-47 is much harder to beat then Revan, it is a joke.
I confess the flashpoint is none the less épic but underwhelming. Pretty much what i felt in the end of the book.
Not even the robes of Revan they make it right, when he puts his mask his hood just disapear. That isnt the revan i remember. Also i think there is a major screw up in the story, how come a jedi puts up a plan to do genocide of an entire people? I understand that revan is shadow of his former self, and now his a genocidal lunatic, but to have the republic and the jedi concil backing on his plan, it is major screw up imo.

And other thing that i didnt like was how easly Metraa ( the exile) was killed.... comon. She still apear on the republic side as force ghost that comunes with master Oteg, and she still helps revan survive the 300 years in prison but.. it was underwhelming imo.
BUt i think overall this is a problem with star wars and EU and the continuity cannon. They have exelent things but they screw characters and stories as well, i for instance i realy like The old republic lore, but everything after ROTJ is joke for me.

[ggggtotalwarrior]

The biggest problems I had were the fact that it was obvious that the book was just made for the Revan storyline in SWTOR and the treatment of KOTOR 2. They killed the savior of the galaxy, who killed Nihilius, Sion and Traya with 1 simple swing of the lightsaber. And I don't want any of that "element of surprise" bull . the way he killed the person who cured the "wound in the force" so easily, a character who you have such an attachment to after KOTOR 2, was just horribly wrong, and money grubbing at it's worst. I agree with everything you've said, and it's why Mass Effect 3 and SWTOR won't be on my tab any time soon. The worst part of it all is that Drew Karpyshyn was one of, if not my favorite author. From writing KotOR and Mass Effect games to the Bane Trilogy, I'd been a fan of everything he's done. Until now.

+rep for a very well thought out post, Knight of Heaven

[Knight of Heaven]

Well im enjoying playing swtor, truly. but i felt way underwhelmed to see how they manage the story of Revan and the Exile. They transform this characters in to footnotes on swtor. And worst in to mere footnotes on star wars canon.

[The Dude]

Then add to this the massive cluster that is Mass Effect: Deception, and you can wonder just why Bioware deserves to be praised for its storytelling anymore, when it allows its affiliated authors to rape its established franchises.

The worst part of it all is that Drew Karpyshyn was one of, if not my favorite author.

No offense mate, but if your favourite author is someone who writes video game spinoff novels, you don't read much. There are way, way, WAY better authors out there than Mr Karpyshyn.

[ggggtotalwarrior]

I know his video game spin-offs suck. I learned that from Revan. He is also the head writer at Bethesda. I do in fact read a bit. However, I really liked the story of KotOR 1, which he wrote, as well as the excellent Darth Bane trilogy. George RR Martin is probably my favorite, alongside Tolkien, in fantasy. Karpyshyn, Karen Traviss, Timothy Zahn and a couple others were my favorite Sci-Fi/ Star Wars writers. If the Mass Effect books are also as bad as Revan, then he really shouldn't be an author. I did really, really like the Darth Bane trilogy, but since I read Revan, that's also beginning to feel artificial. The point is, the guy completely raped his own protagonist. How do you do that? To set up the MMO? Even then I don't see the point, as they could've just kept Revan completely uninvolved from the MMO. But instead (I've heard), they made him part of one quest that you complete at level 30 something. I really don't get it. Completely destroy the story of both of those games so their protagonists make minor appearances in the MMO? Why?

This is from Wikipedia, this is what they ruined-

Revan was chosen by IGN as the top 12th Star Wars character,[3] as well as also being chosen by IGN's Jesse Schedeen as, along with Darth Malak, the fifth best Star Wars villain.[4] IGN's readers chose Revan as their 7th top Star Wars character.[5] UGO Networks put the character as the ninth top Expanded Universe character.[6] Jesse Schedeen listed Revan as one of the Star Wars character that she wanted in Soulcalibur, calling him "one of the rare Expanded Universe characters that unquestionably stands alongside the best of the movie characters".[7] Robert Workman, from GameDaily, listed the character as one of his favourite Star Wars video game characters.[8]
ScrewAttack listed the moment where it's revealed that the player character is Darth Revan as the tenth "OMGWTF" in video gaming.[9] Edge also listed the moment as one of the most jaw-dropping moments in video games.[10] GameDaily's Chris Buffa listed the moment as the fourth top video game spoiler,[11] and Robert Workman listed the moment as one of the eight BioWare moments that shocked him.[12]

[Knight of Heaven]

Well to be correct revan is current theme trought out swtor. there is alot of quests one in dromund kass, and other narr shaddaaa, about him and all. But what i feel is that revan deserved more, then an apearence on a flashpoint ( dungeon) for both Republic and empire ( they are diferent stories for both and a few side quests that mention him. The point also revan is the final boss for the flashppoint but is overall very easy to beat.. HK-47 is much much harder that is lame.
That said its not all too bad, i feel they did a good job with Voice acting, and its apearence its acceptable, but the story felt underwhelming indeed.

I notice this hood issue, in beta wasnt like that, i guess have something to do with the game mechanics that remove the hoods when you want to show a head gear piece.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[The Dude]

If the Mass Effect books are also as bad as Revan, then he really shouldn't be an author.

Oh, no, William C Dietz wrote the latest mass effect novel that everyone is up in arms about. The three books written by Karpyshyn are fine. I was just using your example as a general point that Bioware is allowing all sorts of different books where established settings get screwed over by them.

[Lt.Bradford]

They're fixing Dietz's book. Just announced it on the BSN.

I felt fine with how they dealt with Revan. Why? Because it shows that Bioware isn't afraid of killing off characters by plot armor. A lot of people die through ToR, and even more are likely to die through the patches and expansions. He gets closer to his story, and players get to have an effect on how things end. ToR isn't about Revan. That generation has passed on, it's a new era of Galactic Heroes which are being forged.

Seriously, the guy needed to die and they sent him out pretty well. I haven't had a problem at all. If you're too afraid to hurt a character because of popularity, then they're as bad as a Mary Sue.

[PGeo36]

It's why I hate MMO's they generally ruin the Lore. I guarantee Revan wouldn't have ended the way it did if TOR wasn't around.

[Knight of Heaven]

They're fixing Dietz's book. Just announced it on the BSN.

I felt fine with how they dealt with Revan. Why? Because it shows that Bioware isn't afraid of killing off characters by plot armor. A lot of people die through ToR, and even more are likely to die through the patches and expansions. He gets closer to his story, and players get to have an effect on how things end. ToR isn't about Revan. That generation has passed on, it's a new era of Galactic Heroes which are being forged.

Seriously, the guy needed to die and they sent him out pretty well. I haven't had a problem at all. If you're too afraid to hurt a character because of popularity, then they're as bad as a Mary Sue.

Its not that he died at all it is how he died. i felt way underwhelm in his story.