Star Wars the Old Republic: Revan by Drew Karpyshyn

Today's review will be about:

THE SUMMARY

There's something out there: a juggernaut of evil bearing
down to crush the Republic - unless one lone Jedi,
shunned and reviled, can stop it.
Hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior - the man called Revan has been all of these. He left Coruscant a Jedi, on a mission to defeat the Mandalorians. He returned a Sith disciple, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was the loss of his memories. All that's left are nightmares - and deep, abiding fear. What happened beyond the Outer Rim that Revan can't quite remember or entirely forget? One thing he's certain of: Something dark is plotting to destroy the very existence of the Republic. With no idea how to identify the threat, let alone stop it, Revan may be doomed to fail. For he's never faced a more powerful and diabolic enemy. But only death can stop him from trying.

MY REVIEW

First things first: I would highly recommend that you play the video games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and maybe even Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords before reading this book. That way, you'll better understand the characters and the world that they live in before starting out on this particular journey with them. (Once again, I recommend it, but you don't have to if you don't want to.)
I was first introduced to this cast of characters through KOTOR, and one of the main characters (Carth Onasi) was actually my very first video game crush. I remember playing this video game non-stop for hours, wandering the many levels of Taris, trying my hand at heroism, becoming a Jedi, and eventually saving the galaxy. One of the things that made it interesting even to this day is the fact that you can carve your own path through the galaxy, choose light or dark, mold and ignore whatever relationships you like. (Of course, I always chose Carth to have the relationship with... ;) )
But this isn't supposed to be a video game review! It's a book review!
Okay, okay. We'll talk about the book now.
We start out the book where the KOTOR game left it. Revan is in Coruscant with his wife, Bastila (I fangirl squealed a little too hard when I read this), the galaxy is at peace after leaving Malak's dark clutches, and all of Revan's friends (including Canderous Ordo, Mission Vao, Zaalbar, T3-M4, Jolee Bindo, HK-47, Carth Onasi, and Juhani) are going on with their lives, but Revan can't shake the feeling that something bad is coming. Every night he dreams of a world covered in storm clouds, a dream that he's sure is a memory, one that he will have to go to the farthest reaches of the galaxy to remember.
(That really sounded like a book back summary. Wow.)
The first chapter (other than the Prologue) doesn't start with Revan. Rather, we're introduced to a new character, a full-blooded Sith named Lord Scourge. (Now, I'm not talking about the dark side of the force, oh no! The Sith are a species that originated on Korriban, with red skin and tentacles.) In the beginning of the book, he is introduced as being ruthless and cunning, unwilling to show mercy to anyone who gets in his way. Through him, you can really see into the mind of the Sith (dark side force now), and see how their society works and thrives without drawing the attention of the Republic. Though I disliked him in the beginning, his wit and determination makes him a very good character in general, despite his dark side tendencies. And, he added just enough of spice and shock to make this book good enough to eat. (Om nom nom nom)

A photo of Lord Scourge as he appears in Star Wars: The Old Republic

Revan is, of course, still a main character (The hero of the Galaxy isn't just going to sit around and wait for wars to happen), and he travels around with T3-M4 and Canderous, in the ever-famous Ebon Hawk, trying to figure out where all of the visions he's been having were from. You get to take a step into his past, find out why he turned to the dark side, and you get a feel at the man that he used to be before losing his memory. Not only that, but you get a peek into Canderous's past as well, discovering where he came from and why he left.
The book is actually written by the same guy who wrote some of KOTOR and KOTOR2, so as you can expect, he knows his stuff. His writing really pulled me in, so I would recommend reading this when you don't have a stop to get off of at, because I almost missed mine.
 Other than all of the above, I really loved stepping back into the world that I have been (basically) obsessing over since I was in Middle School, seeing what some of my favorite characters were up to after KOTOR ended, and just having some alone time in a galaxy that I've loved since childhood. If you like Star Wars, and want to see what the galaxy was like WAY (I mean 3,954 years) before A New Hope, I would highly recommend this book. Trust me, I would write about it all day if I could. but instead I'm going to keep this one as short as I can so that you can get off of your chair sooner and go get this book at your local bookstore.
It's that good.

A LITTLE EXCERPT

"The Galactic Market on Coruscant was as busy as ever, but nobody paid any attention to Revan as he made his way through the crowds. Almost two years had passed since he had been proclaimed the savior of the  galaxy. Though the Senate had awarded him its highest honor, the Cross of Glory, in a ceremony broadcast across the HoloNet, and his name was well remembered, his ordinary and rather unremarkable features had faded from public memory. In the aftermath of the presentation he had become a reclusive hero, eschewing public appearances and declining interview requests from any and all media outlets. He had shaved off his beard, and he rarely wore his Jedi robes out in public, making it even less likely anyone would notice him.
He liked being anonymous; it was one of the reasons he had settled on Coruscant. With one trillion people it was easy to blend into the crowd. That was even truer here in the Galactic Market, the most cosmopolitan section of the Republic's capital world. Merchants and shoppers of virtually every known species gathered to conduct commerce in a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, and sizes. Red-skinned Togrutas intermingled with blue-skinned Twi'leks; diminutive Sullustans haggled with massive Hutts; fish-like Mon Calamari shared the streets with feline Cathar. Among such a diverse and interesting group, nobody paid much attention to a lone human and his astromech droid."

Well, that's all for now!

See you next time!

~Sea-Solo

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Watch the commercial for the game KOTOR! (2003)

Wake by Amanda Hocking

Today's review will be about:

THE SUMMARY

Enter the world of Watersong, a place of breathtaking beauty,
immortal power - and terrifying secrets.
Gemma Fisher seems to have it all - she's carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He's always been just a friend, but this summer they've taken their relationship to the next level, and now she's falling harder for him every day. But Gemma doesn't know that her ordinary life is about to change forever.
Penn, Lexi, and Thea are strangers in town for the summer - and they've been watching her. Three sisters with mysterious powers, they invite Gemma to join their exclusive circle, and it changes her in ways she never imagined. Suddenly she's stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she is forced between staying with those she loves - or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

MY REVIEW

I actually found this series when I was shopping at Smith's with my mom. I unknowingly picked up the second book, Lullaby, which had a sticker on front that said "signed", and I really liked the back summary, so I got it. You can imagine my surprise when I figured out that I had bought the second one. One year later, and I've finally read the first book! Yay!
Like the summary above says, main character Gemma has it all. A cute, nerdy boyfriend, beautiful looks, a future career in swimming, etc. What the summary doesn't say, however, is how good this book really is. It's got mystery, romance, mythology  (you all know how much I LOVE that!), family drama, and a lot more wrapped up in a well designed spine and cover. (the picture above doesn't show this, but the cover has a layer that makes it look like rays of sun are going through the water. It's pretty to look at.)

This is what the cover looks like IRL.

Let's start with Gemma, our heroine and main gal. She loves to swim, like a LOT. Almost every night she goes down to the bay by her house and swims in the water, and every morning she gets up and goes to swim practice to train for the Olympics. Due to all of this swimming, she has that golden tan that girls would pay for, and blonde streaks through her dark hair from chlorine. Like many teenage heroines, she has a rebellious side, and she brushes aside her family's concerns about her swimming at night. She says that swimming at night is like floating in a cloud, there seems to be no border between sea and sky. I don't know about you, but reading that made me want to drive to a beach and just spend a day watching the tides come in, listen to their soft shhh as they slide along the sand...
-happy sigh- That's the life... :)

This is a poster that you can get from the hardcover version, I think.

Okay! Back to the review!
Gemma has this great older sister named Harper who reminds me a lot of myself. She went all through her school years without a boyfriend, works at a library, and is EXTREMELY protective of her sister. Since their mom got in an accident a couple of years before, Harper has been the mom of the family, from taking care of Gemma and their dad to doing the laundry and cleaning up the house. She even stops during her lunch break to give their dad his lunch that he frequently forgets. Other than Gemma, Alex, and her dad, she has a couple of people that she interacts with. One of them is a guy who lives in a boat near where her dad works, and during the book you really get to understand him better.
On to my personal favorite: Alex. He's been friends with Harper for ten years, ever since he moved into the house next door, but during this book you get to see his and Gemma's relationship really get into the next level. You'll be able to see in the excerpt below just how awkward he is, plus he's a huge nerd, which just makes me love him as a character even more. When Gemma transforms into something else, he's the one that she talks to about it, and that's because you really get the sense that he's one of those people who you can trust to just be yourself around, you don't have to put on a strong face.
All in all, I loved this book and its never-ending ties to the ocean. I'm not usually into romantic dramas or anything like that, but I would say that even if you don't like that sort of book, you should give this one a try. Trust me, it's worth every page.

And yes, I do know how perfect this book is for my blog. It's got waves and ocean, my theme's ocean.... Hahahahaha...

Well done.

A LITTLE EXCERPT

""The stupid piece of junk won't run." Gemma gestured to the rusty compact and stepped over to where Alex stood on his lawn. "I've only had it for three months, and it's dead already."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Alex said. "Do you need help?"
"You know something about cars?" Gemma raised an eyebrow. She had seen him spend plenty of time playing video games or with his nose stuck in a book, but she'd never once seen him under the hood of a car.
Alex smiled sheepishly and lowered his eyes. He had been blessed with tan skin, which made it easier for him to hide his embarrassment, but Gemma knew him well enough to understand that he blushed at almost anything.
"No," he admitted with a small laugh and motioned back to the driveway where his blue Mercury Cougar sat. "But I do have a car on my own."
He pulled his keys out of his pocket and swung them around his finger. For a moment he managed to look slick before the keys flew off his hand and hit him in the chin. Gemma stifled a laugh as he scrambled to pick them up."

Well, that's all for now!

See you next time!

~Sea-Solo

EXTRA! EXTRA!

To find out more about Amanda Hocking and the Watersong series, visit this site:
http://www.worldofamandahocking.com/