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This is the novel we did not need. It's a very, very poor attempt to reconcile the Knights of the Old Republic games with The Old Republic the MMO. It was entirely unnecessary. Did fans of Revan and the Exile want closure? Of course we did! But we didn't need it in the way we got it. I would have been content (barring getting KOTOR 3, of course), with a novella or novel about the Exile finding Revan and them returning to the Republic. Instead we get a horribly shoe-horned story that proclaims at the end "Play SWTOR! PLAY IT NOW!" Pretty much proves that LucasArts gave zero shits about real closure for KOTOR fans and thought they'd lure them into the SWTOR train by falsely promising answers about Revan and the Exile.

Let's start at the beginning. We'll skip past my rant about Revan being male instead of female to make room for the problems at hand. The problem with 'choose your own character' games that allow you to shape the protagonist (something BioWare is well known for), is that when it comes time to canonize them for other media, you are going to piss a lot of people off. Revan is supposed to be a force of nature, a brilliant tactician, a charming and charismatic leader. The Revan in the novel is a piece of cardboard. At one point he's described as speaking in a monotone, emotionless voice, which is just as bland as he's portrayed. It's like Drew couldn't decide Revan's personality, so kept him blank as possible and threw in a few quirks that disappear as quickly as they appear. Now, we find out Revan married Bastila. Meh, not the way I would have gone, but they wanted the Shan line to continue, apparently (as evidenced by Satele and Theron), so Bastila is carrying Revan's spawn, which apparently gave her a personality transplant (more on that later). Instead of helping the Republic recover, which was the whole freaking point of KOTOR, Revan made a deal with the Council that he's allowed to marry Bastila and they'll be left alone. Yeah, no, the real light-side Revan (male or female), wouldn't do that. Then he abandons everyone for a short sidequest with Canderous before flying off half-cocked in the Ebon Hawk, only to be captured for years by someone he should be able to break with his pinkie. Revan is supposed to be all powerful but half the time he's getting overpowered by mooks.

Next, let's go to the Exile. Rule one, don't ever mention the name 'Meetra Surik' in my presence, because I may break something and I can't guarantee that it won't be a piece of you instead of the furniture. It's obvious that Drew did barebones research on KOTOR 2 and the character of the Exile, because everything she went through is wiped out and she's portrayed as a basic Jedi. This gets even worse the further you go, she acts like Revan's teenage padawan fangirl, excitedly singing his praises while feeling immense jealousy over his marriage to Bastila. WHAT? The Exile had two guys swooning over her (Atton the snarky pilot and Mical the thoughtful scholar), she doesn't need REVAN to feel fulfilled. Funny how Revan marries Bastila but the Exile is reduced to the simpering jealous friendzoned girl who cries out "notice me, senpai!" all the time. NO, NO, NO, NO. Ugh, I can't even talk about this anymore. Meetra Surik is NOT the Exile. And for an added bonus (SWTOR Spoilers!) (view spoiler)[In SWTOR during the story for Taral V and Maelstrom Prison, the Exile's force ghost is portrayed as insane, speaking gibberish and riddles, and if you ask Revan about her, he barely says ANYTHING other than she was his most loyal and trusted friend. We get it, BioWare, you didn't make KOTOR 2. That's no reason to shit all over it. (hide spoiler)]

Onto Revan and the Exile's companions. You don't see 90% of them, okay, fine. What's sad is that Carth, who is essential to KOTOR, and all of the Exile's companions, are never given a mention. The others are quickly brought up and dismissed as to why they won't appear. If you were hoping that it meant Revan and the Exile would assemble a new team for their latest adventure, well, you'd be WRONG.

With the title Revan you would think this book was all about Revan. Well, no, two thirds of it are about some Sith Lord douchebag named Scourge. He's smart, he's powerful, he's amazing... except he can't defeat droids and can never tell where his loyalties lie because he can't tell who's lying and who isn't! First he's loyal to the Emperor, then Darth Nyriss, then Revan and the Exile, and then the Emperor again. He's a truly awful character and my immense dislike of him grows even more in SWTOR. This book should have cut out Revan and the Exile entirely and been renamed Scourge, following the dunce and all his bumbling adventures.

Basic plot breakdown: Revan is captured by Scourge. Years later, the Exile goes to save Revan, teams up with Scourge to save him, and all three go to take out the Emperor. Except at the last minute, Scourge betrays them because he has a vision of someone ELSE killing the Emperor, so Scourge kills the Exile (who is barely given a paragraph to acknowledge her demise), and Revan is taken hostage... again.

Time for some random annoyances!
-When the Exile touches down on the dead world, it would have been the PERFECT time to bring up Darth Nihilus, the guy who fed off the Force and sucked worlds dry. Not even a mention.
-Bastila has gone from powerful Jedi and master of the Battle Mediation to barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Instead of looking for Revan, she plays dutiful mommy to her kid.
-In KOTOR 2, Mical theorizes that when Revan invaded the Republic, he had a purpose, that he was trying to stabilize the Republic while trimming away the unneeded bits. This is destroyed in the novel when it's revealed that Revan and Malak were brainwashed by the Emperor to attack the Republic because LOLEVIL.
-The way Revan's memories came back. What the hell.

All of this tripe was written to hype up The Old Republic, when it should have never been written. SPOILERS FOR SWTOR (mostly about the Jedi Knight story and the Shadows of Revan expansion).

(view spoiler)[The person that Scourge saw, the one he killed the Exile, betrayed Revan, and gained immortality for, is the Jedi Knight. This is laughable because it turns out that the Knight doesn't actually kill the Emperor and he's likely to become a raid boss (as of October 15, 2015).

Revan is dragged further into the mud. During a level 30ish flashpoint (dungeon) called The Foundry, Empire players fight and kill Revan. Except in SoR, you find out he's not dead... EXCEPT HE IS. His 'light side' died but his 'dark side' lived and he has, at this point and time, screwed the entire galaxy but energizing the Emperor (way to go, Revan). (hide spoiler)]

And now a rant about Scourge, filled spoilers from SWTOR (please feel free to skip as it's just me venting).

(view spoiler)[Scourge. How I loathe this character. He is forced on the Jedi Knight as a companion, even though you can constantly say you want him locked away or nowhere near you (which is what I did thanks to this awful book). He won't leave even after the Emperor is 'dead'. He acts like he, Revan, and the Exile were best friends and he didn't stab them in the back (literally with the Exile). Worst of all are the mountains of fangirls he has accumulated because he's mysterious and muscular and hot (gag, please kill me) and they would give their souls away to romance him (he is thankfully not an option). Here's the thing. During conversations he flat out states that he cannot feel emotions, normal pain, temperature, etc, due to the ritual that the Emperor used to make him immortal. This makes it impossible for him to love or be intimate with anyone, but apparently some people think that the actual love interest (a doctor) will be able to make a potion that will negate a DARK SIDE RITUAL's effect so Scourge is free to love their female Knights with his big red cock. NO! The entire idea makes my brain bleed. Scourge is a poorly conceived character who betrayed TWO great characters and served as a shitty bridge to the MMO. I hate him with the fires of both Tatooine suns. FUCK YOU SCOURGE! *waves both middle fingers around* (hide spoiler)]

In closing, if you are a fan of either KOTOR games, AVOID THIS BOOK AT ALL COSTS. Go read something great that Drew has written, like the Darth Bane series or Annihilation. Don't waste your time with this crap.