Deceived Review & Paul S. Kemp Interview
Scheduled for release in March 2011, Deceived is the second novel based around Star Wars: The Old Republic. We were lucky enough to get our hands on an early copy of the upcoming novel and quickly devoured each and every page. Hit the jump for our review and a special interview with the author of the book, Paul S. Kemp.
Update: Excerpts of Deceived chapters one and two are now online for those interested in getting a sneak peak before release.
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived takes place directly before and immediately after the sacking of Coruscant and tells two very different stories. The first of which follows Darth Malgus, the Sith Warrior made famous in both the Deceived and Hope cinematic trailers. Malgus is portrayed as the epitome of rage and aggression. He is a single minded force that quickly finds himself at odds with the subtle political maneuverings of Sith like Darth Angral and Darth Baras from Threat of Peace. This tension is escalated further by a deep emotional connection to his Twi'lek slave and companion Eleena, a scandalous act in the eyes of the xenophobic Sith.
The second story revolves around a young Jedi named Aryn Leneer and a former Havok Squad Trooper turned Smuggler named Zeerid Korr. These two old friends find themselves heading to a devastated Coruscant for completely different reasons. Against all of her teachings, Aryn is drawn to the Republic capital in the name of vengeance; this internal struggle showing a unusually human side of the monk-like Jedi. In contrast, Zeerid is driven by the love of his daughter and his desire to give her a better life. However, the galaxy is a rough place and sometimes making ends meet involves dodging Hutt Cartel hit squads while working for The Exchange.
Eventually these stories collide violently, causing each character to question themselves, their choices, and their place in the galaxy with some very interesting and unique conclusions.
Deceived is a remarkably different book then Fatal Alliance, the first novel set around Star Wars: The Old Republic. While the story in Fatal Alliance spans the width and breadth of the galaxy, Deceived takes place almost entirely on Alderaan, Coruscant, and a relatively unknown planet called Vulta with only passing visits to Ord Mantell and Dantooine. Paul S. Kemp also approaches his characters differently then Sean Williams, choosing a less-is-more approach. While this creates a shorter cast, it allows Kemp to give a great deal of personality to each character -- even lesser players like Vrath Xizor, an ex-Imperial Agent turned mercenary, and Darth Adraas, a conniving Sith who has mastered the art of political sabotage.
All these factors combine to make a story that is very easy to follow. And while it certainly won't take much time for an avid reader to finish, it is very enjoyable while it lasts. The focus on individual characters as opposed to galaxy changing events makes Deceived a good book for people who enjoy Star Wars but are not up to date on every aspect of the expanded universe. To put it in a way only SWTOR fans will understand, if Fatal Alliance is Threat of Peace, then Deceived is Blood of the Empire.
- Previous
- Next
- Page 1 of 2
- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/14/2010 6:37:01 AM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 10:44:26 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 6:36:47 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/14/2010 12:51:32 AM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/15/2010 12:51:38 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 6:14:11 PMI prefer a style like that of Drew Karphinshin shown in the Bane books, similarly to Paul Kemp, less was more - the story revolved around Darth Bane and the Jedi Johun Othone in the Path of Destruction and Rule of Two, and then Darth Bane and Darth Zannah in Rule of Two and Dynasty of Evil. The chapters progressed as certain points in time, rather than create a new chapter for the change of location and character, if it happened at the same time we got it all in the same chapter, where as in Fatal Alliance many events that happened at the same time were split up between the sheer multitude of characters in seperate chapters. We got it in the order, first the Jedi, then the Trooper then the Sith.... and then we got it again in the same order.
That's my preference, which I'm sure others will agree and disagree with.
- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 9:36:45 PMI just use WoW because it's the most recent example I can think of, but that plot line was wore out a long time ago by numerous books, movies and games. Hell, it was even the back drop for Army of Darkness! While Army of Darkness is an awesome movie, let's face it, it's not because of the plot. It's a shame really, because I usually enjoy Sean Williams' work.
- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 6:06:39 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 4:56:49 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 4:35:48 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 3:59:55 PMThanks for the very-carefully written review! I didn't feel the story was spoiled. Can't wait to lay me eyes on it myself.
- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 3:12:52 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 7:33:02 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/13/2010 9:26:33 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 12/14/2010 5:43:34 AM