Star Wars: Red Harvest Book Review

Star Wars: Red Harvest, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Joe Schreiber. This novel is the fifth event on the Legends novel timeline. This tale takes place during the Old Republic Era. It takes place 3,645 years before A New Hope.

SUMMARY

A Dark Lord of the Sith intends to live forever. He’s on a personal quest to make it happen, by experimenting on unwilling Sith students, at his very own Sith Academy. This Sith needs a special ingredient for his sinister concoction, a Murakami orchid, s a force sensitive flower.

The Sith, Darth Scabrous, has hired bounty hunters to search for the precious flower. When the prize is brought to him, it comes with baggage… a Jedi that’s bound to it. Without the Jedi, the flower would die.

Chaos ensues. Darth Scabrous manages to bring the dead back to life. In the process, an infectious disease is born and spreads quickly throughout the academy. In the horror, the bounty hunter and the Jedi, fight for survival as they desperately search for a way off the planet, Odacer-Faustian.

CHARACTERS

There are a few interesting characters but the only two I’ll mention are Darth Scabrous and Hestizo Trace.

First up is Darth Scabrous: He’s in charge of the Sith Academy on Odacer-Faustin. He dwells in his high tower, shrouded in mystery. Scabrous is disturbing, he lusts after an immortal life. His madness drives him to commit heinous acts and experiments on his own Sith students.

Hestizo Trace: She’s a Jedi in the Agricultural Corps. She has a life/force bond to the rare Murakami black orchid. She is pretty confused but has valid reasons for that. She isn’t the greatest Jedi when it comes to battle. Her primary focus is on her flora understanding. She is focused and has a strong telepathic power.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I honestly don’t really know how I feel about this book. It was entertaining but geez, it gets into some weird places. Yes, Star Wars is a fantasy, a sci-fi fantasy. Red Harvest feels less sci-fi and more like a horror fantasy with a few elements of Star Wars. Druid-like Jedi and zombies… talking trees and force flowers.

Joe Schreiber is an excellent writer when it comes to character development and descriptions. The way he describes events are unique and so very gory. It’s so good how he does it. I’d say the way he writes gore, is nastier to read than it would be to see.

I liked most of the Characters, though the bounty hunter, Tulkh seemed to have changed his personality throughout the story. The others were consistent. I like how the main Jedi character has some deep thoughts and internal soul searching going on.

So, do I recommend you read Star Wars: Red Harvest? Sure. It’s not spectacular, but it isn’t horrible. Pick this up around Halloween.

RATING

I will give this book a C. It was fun, weird, and creepy, but only “great” half the time.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Decieved Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Deceived

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Deceived, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Paul S. Kemp. This novel is the fourth event on the Legends novel timeline. This tale takes place during the Old Republic Era, it also counts as book two in The Old Republic series. It takes place 3,653 years before A New Hope.

SUMMARY

A war has been raging between the Sith Empire and the Republic. In this tale, the two factions sit on opposite sides of a table to negotiate a peace deal. While the peace negotiations are taking place; Sith Lord Darth Malgus, his companion Eleena, and a Mandalorian, spring a surprise attack on the Jedi Temple on the Republic world of Coruscant.

A Jedi knight feels the disturbance in the force and will do anything it takes to get back to Coruscant to avenge the attack on her fellow Jedi.

CHARACTERS

There are many great characters I’d like to mention, but I’m only going to talk about two, Darth Malgus and Aryn Leneer. An honorable mention goes to Zeerid Korr.

Darth Malgus: He’s s an absolute beast. He’s one angry Sith. This guy is so full of hate! His desire for conflict is his driving force, the thought of peace drives him deeper into madness. Looking at the cover of the book, he looks like pure evil, intimidating to all in his path. Malgus has one weakness and with a slip up in battle, exposes it to his foes.

Aryn Leneer: She’s a Jedi with empathic force abilities. She is powerful in the force, feeling what others cannot. While the galaxy she knows begins to crumble, her will does not allow her to sit idly by and wait for a solution as her peers do. She comes to a fork in the Jedi road, one that leads to light… the other to darkness.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Paul S. Kemp is such a good high intensity writer. I really enjoyed reading this novel. I think it’s important I mention that there is a whole other storyline that takes place in the book that I didn’t mention in the summary, not because it’s bad, but because I don’t want to give you all the information.

For me, it’s rare to sit at the edge of my seat while reading a book. The first few chapters were so intense. I couldn’t peel my eyes from the words. The character development was excellent. The chemistry between all characters was fluid. I really hope to come across these characters again somewhere in The Old Republic timeline… but I doubt it. Darth Malgus is so disturbingly awesome. I can’t think of anything negative to say about this book. I loved every page of it.

Do I recommend that you read Star Wars: The Old Republic – Deceived? Absolutely. Buy it now. Read it now.

RATING

I give this book an A+. It was fast paced, surprising, and just so cool. I have nothing negative to say about the book.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Revan Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Revan

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Revan, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Drew Karpyshyn. This novel is the third event on the Legends novel timeline. This tale takes place during the Old Republic Era. This also counts as book one in The Old Republic series. It takes place 3,954 years before A New Hope.

SUMMARY

To keep this spoiler free, a lot of information will be left out. Revan, a Jedi Knight, is tormented by a piece of his life he has no recollection of. He begins his investigation, in an attempt to regain his memories. An opportunity arises when Mandalorian soldier Canderous Ordo advises Revan that the Mandalorians are seeking out an important relic to their culture, Mandalor’s Mask. Because Revan has ties to this relic, he believes it may be a piece of the puzzle in regaining his memories. His investigation will also lead him to the dead world of Nathema, where he crosses paths with Sith Lord, Scourge and Darth Nyriss.

The ruler of another faction in the galaxy, the Sith Emperor, is extremely powerful. He had plans to conquer the Republic and rule the entire galaxy, but first he must overcome the pesky obstacles in his path.

CHARACTERS

I’ve selected my two favorite characters to talk about, some plot points are mentioned but I remain spoiler free.

Scourge: The Sith Lord who was summoned by the Sith Emperor, Vitiate, to find and eliminate the root of the assassination attempts on Dark Council member, Darth Nyris. He’s big, prideful, intimidating, and fierce. Yet, he’s also weak… internally he’s not as confident. He hesitates often, second guessing and rethinking either his actions or words.

Revan: A Jedi Knight who’s been through some crazy stuff. He actually fell to the Dark Side once before but was redeemed. He’s confused and tormented by his past, in that he can’t remember it. It’s known across the galaxy how powerful in the force Revan is. He’s focused and humble, yet confident in himself. [He wears an awesome looking mask too]

OVERALL THOUGHTS

This book is fantastic! It’s pretty epic, as well as a tragedy! Drew Karpyshyn basically wrote two stories and tied them together very well. One story following the protagonist, the other following the antagonist. I was surprised that both of the main characters were extremely interesting. The book is a page turner for sure! It’s thrilling and I didn’t think it was predictable. The story was great, I can’t recall anything cheesy or tacky about it. I really like this novel.

My only negative, which also contains a positive, is the lore. Wow, do we get tons of Jedi and Sith Lore! The positive side, it’s so much material that made my imagination run wild, I wanted more and more! The negative, it’s so much material that we won’t get to read about. I enjoy the history, there’s always going to be history, just a bummer when I can’t read the details.

So, do I recommend that you read Star Wars: The Old Republic – Revan? Heck yes!

RATING

I will give this book an A-. The minus because there are so many pieces and questions I want answers to.

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