Paul S. KempBesprekingen
Auteur van The Old Republic: Deceived
Besprekingen
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In the simplest terms this book is about two friends (two somewhat shady, definitely reckless and utterly unrepentant in their derring-do's adventurer friends) who's one last heist before they retire to a semi-respectable life brings about unforeseen consequences to trouble their lives.
Nix is a master thief with a whole satchel of useful 'gee-gaws' and quite a bit of cleverness. He's always trying to look ahead, but tends to miss the smaller things in the process.
Egil is a warrior Priest for the The Momentary God...and possibly the only worshiper. Not overly abundant with clever schemes like Nix, he's amazingly resilient and a tank in fights.
I'm never actually sure just how serious either one is being--they tend to go back and forth so quickly it takes a couple seconds to catch up and realize 'oh dear lord he was serious!'. Their friendship and support is a welcome balance to the novel, it grounds the book and keeps it from becoming too cynical or dark. And this book gets dark, make no mistake the villain(s) of this piece do horrific things in the name of greed and power.
Kemp's writing is quick, well paced and exciting...at least as far as when Egil and Nix are on the page. The sections devoted to Rakon and his machinations made me more than faintly queasy; when the full scope of the horror the Norristru men visited upon their own is made clear, I felt even worse. How anyone could do such a thing...well. Its disturbing.
I am of two minds in how Egil and Nix dealt with Rakon in the end. Its really no more than he deserved, but it drove home the fact we're not dealing with two guys who are saints. They're just as affected by their emotions and notions of right vs wrong as anyone else. Though it was heartening that they would face the consequences together if any came their way.
Looking back it's a pretty basic concept: Two rogue adventurers get in to trouble and things are't what they seem. Add in a couple damsels in distress and there you go. BUT once I actually sat down and got in to the story I was hooked by the depth of the characters. Witty writing, humor and realistic personalities shined through along with the twisting storytelling. the pacing was excellent with plenty of action so while the usual fantasy hallmarks were present they wove in very well.
I'm very likely to read the next book in the series which is very unlike my usual reading habits but that just attests to how unusually good I found this tory.
Looking back it's a pretty basic concept: Two rogue adventurers get in to trouble and things are't what they seem. Add in a couple damsels in distress and there you go. BUT once I actually sat down and got in to the story I was hooked by the depth of the characters. Witty writing, humor and realistic personalities shined through along with the twisting storytelling. the pacing was excellent with plenty of action so while the usual fantasy hallmarks were present they wove in very well.
I'm very likely to read the next book in the series which is very unlike my usual reading habits but that just attests to how unusually good I found this tory.
In fact, the most interesting part of the whole novel is learning that an Imperial Moff had a same-sex marriage. That's really it. You get a glimpse at how the organization of the Rebellion started in Rhyloth, but that would make "Twi'lek Insurgency" a more fitting title than Lords of the Sith.
-introduce "daen nosi" just for one book in the whole EU and immediately kill the guy who uses it?
-Marr (his char. read like a woman) micro-jump? all these things are reminded me of something from the sequels, ignorance toward the whole universe and its rules (the same usage of the Force as young Chiss for hyperdrive)
-277 Khaedryn plot armor just to save the main char. later? Kells reasoning?!
-294 Jedi knight force lightning just from anger/fear to die??
-no idea why someone has to vomit each couple of pages
-so little cast of characters, but 3 of them have to start with "K"
+ Relin seemed like the most reasonable character
+ horror elements
Chronologically concurrent with the conclusion to Legacy of the Force, Crosscurrents takes a step back from that series. The first eight chapters, a little less than 1/2 the book, alternate between present time and the earliest era of Star Wars novels: 5,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. While Jacen Solo (Darth Caedus, in the Legacy of the Force series) complicated our idea of the Sith, the Sith Lord Saes is much more an obviously evil character. "There is no right or wrong," he says. "Only power."
The strangest part of this novel is the introduction of Lignan ore, which enhances the powers of only dark side force users, and the suggestion that DNA determines whether an individual force user can use light or dark side powers. This strict dichotomy between light and dark doesn't match what has been happening in the star wars universe through the New Jedi Order and Legacy of the Force series. And we know many Jedi who have fallen to the dark side only to return again. In addition, very little of cosmological significance happens in the book.
Sith Saes, Jedi Relin, and the Lignan are thrown forward in time by a faulty hyperspace jump. (The suggestion that this occurred due to time dilation while traveling near the speed of light, although it ignores the acceleration to and from light speed, is scientifically plausible). Saes was once Relin's Padawan, and Relin is filled with rage due to the death of his current Padawan just prior to the accident which hurled him forward in time. What might have been another story of a Jedi struggling to choose between the dark and light sides of the Force is instead simplified by Relin's affirmation that he knows that he's falling ut doesn't care. Jedi Jaden Korr mistrusts the Jedi Order in the wake of the Centerpoint crisis, and he is full of doubt. Kell Douro works for a hitherto unknown group of Sith; he considers the Force to be but one aspect of Fate, the lines of which he can see. The novel also features Khedryn and Marr, scavengers who were in the right place to be swept up in Jaden's adventure.
While the story is interesting to read, very little actually happens, and the characters make nonsensical choices. Prior to the battle of Kirrek in the war between the Sith and the Jedi, Relin and his padawan Drev collect information on Saes' movements. In the present, Jaden has a Force vision which leads him to Fhost, and Kell is sent to Fhost seeking the meaning of a similar vision received by the Sith. Khedryn and Marr are also on Fhost, having discovered a distress call from the moon in the vision. Jaden hires them to take him to the source, and Kell follows. The Sith ship carrying Saes and Relin arrives at the planet around the same time as Jaden, Khedryn, and Marr.
After sneaking aboard the Sith ship, Relin defeats Saes but leaves him alive, choosing to flee the ship after his attempted sabotage fails. But as soon as he is retrieved by Jaden's ship, he decides he has to sneak back aboard, kill Saes, and destroy the ship. So we essentially have two different versions of the same story describing Relin's attempts to infiltrate and then sneak around the Sith ship. Meanwhile, Jaden explores the moon to discover the dangerous fruits of research from the Thrawn era. The story continues in Riptide.
This story is interesting enough to be worth reading, so I give it three stars. But the introduction of confusing new elements that contradict all the new things which have been introduced recently into the Star Wars universe, and the repetitive plot noted above, means I can't give it the four or five stars which I reserve for excellence.
Absolutely no-one in this series had a good time, they were all awful and nothing nice happened for anyone. It's still a fun read, though, with lots of cool magical things happening and horrible awful locations to inspire you.
I still have to say I recommend this to anyone with an interest in fantasy novels, and particularly those with even a passing interest in Forgotten Realms or the Dungeons & Dragons universe(s).
(eGalley provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
Plot Summary
The book follows Engil the Warrior Priest and Nix Fall the thief. Together they form an Indiana Jones/Brenden Frasier’s character in the Mummy type duo. They rely and help each other and together they make a really funny team. When they kill a demon they accidently piss off a man of the noble family who needed that demon to fulfill a pact that keeps his house in power. So then that noble kidnaps them and tells them that they need to steal a horn which will release an other, imprisoned demon.
What I Liked
I really liked the relationship between Engil and Nix-plus they were funny, i like funny characters
Almost all the characters were really well developed
i liked the random little twists
good action
good story
What I Didn’t Like
Some of the characters feel flat-mostly the bad guys
There were too many hints to back stories with little explanation (but there is a second book planned so maybe that’s where we’ll find it?)
Some of the other characters were more annoying than anything else
So I would give it 3 1/2 out of 5, and hopefully the next book will have more answers and better developed characters, though Engil and Nix do very well on their own.
Happy Readings
What did this book do well? Portray Vader as the "Apex Predator". When the story moved around Vader pursuing helpless rebels it did well. When he made use of his respirator to instill fear into the hearts of his "prey" it did well.
Another thing it did well was Isval. She was a good character that provided most of the truly impacting moments. Her development is solid up until her last scene... which was completely unnecessary and missed huge opportunities.
What really hurt it for me was that it did not fulfill my expectations; expectations I got because of the marketing. Had I read this without said expectations I would have had a different opinion... perhaps it doesn't help that I did this one right after finishing Timothy Zahn's "Thrawn" which was IMO a great book.
Deceived is a book about Darth Malgus's life after the attack on the Jedi Temple. The book begins with two parallel stories, with Zeerid Korr and Aryn Leneer in one and Malgus in the other. Malgus attacks the Jedi Temple and kills Aryn's mentor Ven Zallow in a duel. Aryn feels his death through the force and seeks revenge on whoever killed him, turning her back on the Jedi order to do so. After the temple is captured by the Sith, they use it as leverage to try to negotiate a peace treaty, much to Aryn and Malgus's irritation. Malgus wishes to continue the conflict, as he believes that only through this conflict one can fully understand the force. Aryn needs a pilot to get to the newly captured Coruscant, and she gets the help of Zeerid Korr, a former Republic soldier and now spice runner. Their ship gets shot down as they try to get through the Sith blockade and they crashland onto Coruscant. Aryn decides to instead kill Malgus's lover to make him feel what she felt when Zallow died. Aryn decides against it when the time comes because it isn't what Zallow would have wanted. Malgus and Aryn have a second fight, this time Malgus wins but spares Aryn because she spared his lover Eleena. Malgus kills Eleena himself as he sees her as a weakness. The book ends with Malgus plotting to take over the Empire and Zeerid and Aryn settling down on a farm.
Thoughts:
This is one of my favorite Star Wars novels that I have read. I absolutely loved Malgus's character and how his ideologies clashed with that of his Sith leaders. I feel like that is something you only really see in stories about Jedi so it's a bit refreshing. I didn't find Aryn and Zeerid's romance to be annoying, it was actually quite wholesome. The story felt like it ended as a win for both groups, as Aryn and Zeerid got a peaceful farming life and Malgus got the opportunities to take over the Empire, so there wasn't really a winning side. All of the scenes where Zeerid is piloting a ship are super good. I know that it sounds oddly specific, but it's just something I remember specifically enjoying. I would recommend this book to any Star Wars fan looking to delve a little deeper into the lore and history of Star Wars.
Your average mind numbing bland character book to kill some time
The story involves a rebel plot on the planet of Ryloth to kill Vader and the emperor. Right off the bat you know the plans are destined to fail since i'm pretty sure everyone knows both survive to the movie Return of the Jedi. That sort of takes some of the suspense out of the book, but the action makes up for it. We get to know some of the rebel leaders and fighters, but it mostly focus's down to two.. Cham (leader of the Ryloth Freedom Movement and father to Star Wars Rebels Hera) and Isval (badass woman with a vendetta against Darth Vader).
As soon as the rebel plot begins, the action starts in the book and it keeps up to the very end.
I am not sure of the exact timeline of where it takes place but it is before the TV show Rebels and a couple years after Episode III.
At the front of the novel, there is a helpful chronology which shows how the many books fit into the timeline along with those big films. ‘Crosscurrent’ is set near the end, forty years after the film ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’.
‘Crosscurrent’ uses several viewpoint characters and also starts off in two different eras, so the reader needs to focus. First up, 5,000 years before the Battle of Yavin, Sith Lord Saes Rrogon – a Kaleesh male – rips the crust off a moon to mine a huge supply of Lignan. This is an ore which hugely enhances the power of dark side users. In hot pursuit of Saes is Relin Druur, his former Jedi Master and Drev Hassin, Relin’s current Padawan. Drev is an Askajian male while Relin is human, which in a galaxy far, far away doesn’t mean an Earthman, of course. The Jedi need to stop the Sith forces getting hold of the Lignan as a major battle is coming up.
Meanwhile, 5,000 years in their future, Jaden Korr, human male and Jedi Knight, has a Force-inspired vision telling him he must go to the black hole of Fhost. Undeterred by the fact that Fhost doesn’t have a black hole, he sets off. Also headed there is Kell Douro, an Arzat assassin who eats peoples’ brains, who has been sent by the Sith. Fhost has no native species and only one real settlement. At the edge of known space, it is a haven for an assortment of bad types. Clearly, the scene is set for action!
I was hooked by page 40, which is soon enough. These kinds of books are written in a very tight style with much plot and nary a wasted word. Words that add a bit of depth to the characters and setting are not wasted and this was done with some skill. ‘Loose wires hung from everywhere, the entrails of science’ is a nifty way of describing a wrecked control room. A lift door stuck half open is an eye frozen in the act of closing.’ The descriptions of the action, sometimes quite gory, are also well done. The characters are changed by the events as in any good fiction and there is even some Jedi wisdom applicable to writers: just because you can’t do everything doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything.
Of course, there are loads of sizzling lightsabers, blistering blasters and speeding spaceships, which is what you want in a good space opera. This novel was crafted by Paul S. Kemp, a corporate lawyer, alas. But a man who likes ales, cigars and single malt scotch can’t be all bad. I enjoyed his book.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
‘Star Wars: Riptide’ by Paul S. Kemp is a follow up to ‘Star Wars: Crosscurrent’ and features many of the same characters. To avoid plot spoilers it is best not to read this review if you haven’t read ‘Crosscurrent’ yet, which you should do. It’s quite good.
Following the events in ‘Star Wars: Crosscurrent’, the clones exit their dead moon on the ship that belonged to the Arzat assassin Kell Douro. Jedi Knight Jaden Korr pursues them, assisted by Khedryn and Marr, the interstellar scrap merchants who got involved in the last adventure. Marr has some Force sensitivity and Jaden starts training him in Jedi ways. Khedryn is learning to be less self-centred and more concerned with the rest of the galaxy. He’s a bit of a Han Solo sort, the devil-may-care adventurer with a secret heart of gold.
The bad guys are interesting here. Darth Wyyrlok wants Jaden Korr alive, for reasons unknown, and dispatches two Umbarans called Nyss and Syll, a brother and sister pair who somehow nullify a chap’s connection to the Force by their very presence. All things are connected to the Force but Nyss and Syll are not. They are a kind of hole, a vacancy, and can make themselves undetectable to Force users. They have another clone helping them which they term an Iteration, to be activated when needed. Nyss soon shows himself to be both deadly and ruthless.
Meanwhile, the clones that started all this trouble, the ones who escaped from the moon, are heading for some mystical presence they call Mother which is calling them across the galaxy through a female named Seer who hears that entities summons. The world of ‘Star Wars’ now covers a long span of years and evidently has a kind of pre-history, ancient civilisations that preceded both the Republic and the Empire and had different kinds of science. There is mention of Rakatan technology in connection with Mother and of an even older race, half-legendary, called the Celestials. Of course, all this stuff may be familiar to die-hard fans but it was new to me and added pleasing depth to the whole ‘Star Wars’ concept. The clones are dying from a condition acquired in the last book and hope that Mother can save them. Even though they are given to lopping the heads and limbs off people who get in their way, author Paul S. Kemp manages to elicit some sympathy for their plight.
This is a fine action/adventure story with lots of fighting, chasing and last minute escapes for the heroes, just like in the movies. In fact, it reads like the novelisation of a pretty good film. It’s never slow and the pace picks up to breakneck speed at the end as all the protagonists come together for a grand finale. ‘Star Wars: Riptide’ is just as good as ‘Star Wars: Crosscurrent’ and might be even better. A solid, entertaining contribution to the franchise. I wouldn’t mind more adventures featuring Jaden Korr and his mates.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
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The only thing I have learned from their . . . Relationship was fear. Their interactions felt so empty, and Vader bowed before his master out fear, not loyalty.
The passage where The Emporer said he was a traitor to his loved ones, maybe in their eyes, but if you were groomed . . . does it make you a traitor?
I found a funny thing in one paragraph. Vader ignites his blade, and then in the next one, he activates it again? Was this an editorial mistake?
This story was totally action-packed with lots and lots of fight scenes, which was superb. I enjoyed it. Further, it was only about the Freedom fighters.
I felt this novel was short in explaining the relationship between Master and Apprentice. And I feel robbed. All in all, it's still a good novel in the new Canon.