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.
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Posted 12/13/2010 3:06:12 PM- View User Profile
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Posted 12/13/2010 3:09:40 PMhttp://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Deceived/dp/0307879321/ref=tmm_abk_title_0
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Posted 12/13/2010 7:38:30 PMDef Lucas is like this from my favorite random youtube clips from Spaceballs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvmZ9SPcTzU
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Posted 12/13/2010 2:20:08 PMIt seems that Deceived is going to live up to the hype I have personally pumped it up to be.
I'm glad to know that it doesn't focus on 15 different characters. In Star Wars books, some of the character names are so different and unique, it's hard to remember who is who just because of that reason. If I can't pronounce it in my head, along with 2 or 3 other random characters that were just introduced to me, I can't even concentrate on reading, I'm trying to sound out names like a 6 year old learning to read. Which in turn makes it hard to follow because you have to try to remember who you are reading about.
I like it when books are more focused and not all sprawled out. So this looks like it will be right up my alley.
Great review.
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Posted 12/13/2010 2:16:01 PM