Audiobook Review – Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Some of the best Star Wars stories come in book form. While there’s plenty to chew on when it comes to movies and TV shows, Star Wars fans should look to the countless literature about our favorite galaxy, far, far away. And if you’re an audiobook fan, listening to these stories on applications like Audible can be a very enjoyable experience.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

This review is about the audiobook version of Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan. While this review can also be applied to the written version of the book, the Audible version is quite the experience. Narrated by Marc Thompson, Thompson brings author Drew Karpyshyn’s words to life in the best of ways. Using different voices for the various characters and the right inflection during tense scenes, Thompson helps immerse the listener in the story.

The Old Republic is often a time period within the Star Wars lore that isn’t spoken about enough in the live-action and cartoon mediums. Thankfully, there’s many books, comic books, and video games that play within this time period. Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan fills in the gaps in between the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords video games. It’s a very enjoyable story that’s well-written and gives you characters that you will be eager to see in a live-action sense. If we ever get live-action projects set within The Old Republic.

The Old Republic

Just as the title says, this audiobook focuses on Revan. A Jedi, Sith, hero, villain. Revan has a complicated past and even a more complicated present. Dealing with the fractured memories that plague his mind, Revan is both a savior and a boogeyman for Sith and Mandalorians alike. In many ways, Revan is almost like Anakin, but perhaps what Anakin could have been if he wasn’t manipulated by the Emperor. Revan, though; experiences his fair share of manipulation by his time period’s Emperor.

When you read this book, you realize that any power you saw in the Skywalker saga can’t hold a candle to the power both Jedi and Sith possessed in The Old Republic days. It is also interesting to read about a time where there weren’t just two Sith, but instead an entire population of Sith, with their own culture and populous. Is it a great place to live? No. But, it’s cool to read about.

Scourge: The Emperor’s Wrath

Just as Revan is a great character to follow, so is Scourge. A Sith Lord, Karpyshyn wrote a great counterpart to Revan. Unlike Revan, Scourge is a Sith Lord who is selfish, brutal, and encompasses everything we know about Dark Side users. That is until he meets Revan and finds out the truth about the Emperor. He becomes an unlikely ally and it’s really enjoyable to not only see Scourge develop, but also see Scourge and Revan play off each other. Their dynamic is really interesting and I could have read an entire book that was just their times together.

There are many twists and turns in the book. Many huge revelations that will make you squeal in excitement and shock. Not only is it a great Star Wars story, it’s a great book altogether. It’s never predictable and while it’s shocking, it never does anything that disrespects the characters or story that it built up.

Is There Anything Bad About This Book?

There’s really nothing bad about the book – if there is criticism, it’s that it does skip time unexpectedly a few times. While these time jumps can be a little jarring, readers will get their footing quickly, and will enjoy the new direction the book takes. This book is so good, it’s hard to contain one’s excitement while even writing this review.

100% Worth It

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan is 100% worth a read. If you like audiobooks, listen to it on Audible. Marc Thompson is a great narrator who has narrated many Star Wars books and he’s wonderfully talented. This book will make you yearn to see these characters in more Star Wars projects and you’ll want to read this book over and over again.