Annihilation: Star Wars: The Old Republic, Book 4

Drew Karpyshyn once again writes an amazing Star Wars book. If you're a fan of Karpyshyn's previous Star Wars work you will like this book. It's definitely the strongest novel in the 4 Old Republic novels, with the best story.As far as needing to read any prior material, you don't need to read the previous TOR books as none of them connect. Though you may want to read The Old Republic The Lost Suns graphic novel as that is where these characters are introduced. It's in no way necessary as Karpyshyn makes sure the reader knows that went down in the graphic novel.As far as story I was skeptical going in to this book, characters that no one knows with a villain that no one knows but I was proven wrong. The characters are alive and have emotions which can be rare sometimes. You never miss the Jedi or Sith as far as being central figures in the story and you'll enjoy the pacing of the story.If you like Star Wars you'll like this book. If you like TOR era in particualr you'll like this book. If you like good singular Star Wars novels that don't connect with 30 other books you'll like this.A must read for Legends fans!

Jedi Master Satele Shan was the hero of the last book Fatal Alliance. In Annihilation it's her son Theron's turn, a son that as a Jedi she should not have had because that means having an attachment to another. For this reason Theron was raised by Master Ngani Zho.Theron doesn't have any Force abilities but he joined SIS in order to serve the Republic and he sets out in the beginning to assist a friend that doesn't want his help. In doing so his boss bench's him and he's assigned to work on a plan to destroy the Empire's greatest weapon, the Ascendent Spear. It's a ship created by a Darth that requires a Sith to interface with it directly and draw on the force making it a very menacing machine.Theron makes it known that he was on the team of analysts who comes up with the plan and is called into the briefing by the Supreme Commander of the Republic, who turns out to have some history with Satele Shan who is now the Grand Master of the Jedi Order. Representing the Jedi is Master Gnost – Dural, and it's his former Padawan, Darth Karrid who controls the Spear.Lot's of action, a quick pace, and some humor mixed in with a Twi'lek. Annihilation is a good addition to the Star Wars Universe.

I will admit to being one of those annoying readers who prefers to hear about the exploits of Sith and Jedi, or at least somewhat Force-Sensitive characters. So even though I have read previous Drew Karpyshyn novels, I was a tad bit hesitant about pre-ordering this book--after all, I'm still relatively new to the Star Wars universe, so it would have been a simple matter to make a note of this one for later and pursue a different novel while I waited for mass-market paperbacks to hit the shelves.Boy, am I glad I didn't. This book is outstanding.I found the characters to be believable, relatable, and enjoyable to read about. They have real problems, regrets, expectations, and (dramatic gasp), flaws! They make mistakes--sometimes very big ones--and they kick themselves for it later. One icident that stuck out in my mine was when Theron sustained a shoulder injury early on that ended up troubling him later. This may not seem like much, but its one of the things that makes Karpyshyn a great author: he understands that people can't shake off injuries just like that, and that his characters won't have unlimited stamina.I was glad to have read The Lost Suns graphic novel just a few weeks prior to this. Without it, though, you won't be lost-- Karpyshyn understands his audience, and that the Star Wars universe really is vast: every reader may not necessarily be up to speed on the latest events. Karpyshyn manages to catch the reader up without delving into tedious summarizations or (shudder) convenient flash-backs.This book was definitely worth dropping the extra couple of dollars to pre-order it. I highly recommend it.

This was one of the better Star Wars video game tie-in novels. The shot-outs to the two world wars are innovative and novel within the Star Wars franchise. The gambit by one of the heroes that brings the main antagonist into the final battle is a work of art. Theron is an interesting hero who reads well. The politics of the Sith Empire are intriguing, although a bit underused. The Ascendant Spear provides an interesting twist to the Star Wars super weapon shtick.This was a fun book to read, and I wish I'd stumbled across it years ago.

This is another Star Wars novel inspired by the various Old Republic video games. When the novels set in this era began to be released they made for quite a change from the multitude of those that had primarily been set around the six films or during several decades that subsequently follow the events of ‘Return of the Jedi’. They have now become more numerous and, unfortunately, as a result become a bit samey.‘Annihilation’ is not the most original of Star Wars plots. The Sith Empire have a super ship/weapon of mass destruction that could turn the tide of the war and, therefore, the Jedi and various Republic agents are devising a way to destroy it against all odds. During these events the various Sith Lords are continuously vying for power in efforts to ascend through their ranks. It’s all been seen before, but the novel does do this type of thing quite well.Annihilation’ doesn’t feel like a very suitable title. There isn’t really any ‘annihilation’ involved and at this particular time in the war against the Sith Empire the Republic seems to somewhat have the upper hand. It certainly is less under a threat of annihilation than it appears in many other Star Wars novels throughout the various eras.Some of the characters are already established from other media other than the various novels. This tends to mean their characterisation within this book isn’t as strong as it could be. Knowledge of various comics does, no doubt, enhance the story but it is not essential.The main protagonist, Theron Shan, is descended from a prominent line of Jedi but has no aptitude for the force. His heritage is, perhaps, more interesting than he is himself. There is some effort in the book to indicate that he is a bit of wild card but it doesn’t quite come across. If anything he seems a bit subdued at times. He is a pretty capable character though and without the force he copes more than adequately with fighting the Sith.Gnost-Dural is in many ways little more than a typical Jedi Master. His characterisation seems to just depend upon him being a Kel-Dor. This leads him to be very like Plo Koon.Teff’ith is a good character but it often feels that she doesn’t really need to be in the novel and that she has just been included for the sake of it.There are really only two Sith Lords of any note in the story and Darth Gravus does no more than fulfil the role of the ‘idiot’ Sith. Many Old Republic novels seem to possess these Sith Lords who, despite their power and intelligence, serve as cannon fodder for the purpose of the story. Darth Karrid is potentially more interesting but is little more than an internal ship component. Certainly within the confines of this novel there is little to suggest exactly how or why she fell to the dark side other than her obsession with being in a symbiotic relationship with her ship.Minister Davidge is one of the more interesting characters. Even though he is of some importance in the Sith Empire he is not obviously or overtly evil. Instead he is an administrator, just trying to get his job done but happens to work for Sith Lords.The Darth Bane novels by the same author possess much better characterisation and a more intense exploration of the dark side.

THE STORY:(3,641 BBY) Set after the events of 'The Old Republic' computer game and following on from 'The Old Republic: The Lost Suns' comic books, this book reveals a galaxy where the Sith Empire is finally being defeated by the Republic but calls upon one last trump card; a near-invincible warship called the Ascendant Spear. Knowing that the Spear could turn the tide of the war once more, the Republic sets special agent Theron Shan and Jedi Master Gnost-Dural the task of taking the ship out of the fight.WHAT'S GOOD:I was a bit dubious about the idea of Theron Shan as this book's main protagonist but actually found it quite refreshing to read about a non-Force-sensitive who uses Jedi techniques whilst simultaneously scorning Jedi philosophy. He reads a little like James Bond, with a curious mix of morality and ruthless expedience. Gnost-Dural (the Jedi voiced by Lance Henrikssen in the online chronology for TOR) complements this well by being the sort of battle Jedi who doesn't agonise over every being he kills. I also enjoyed seeing the stuff going on behind the scenes in the war, with Darth Marr's desperate attempts to hold together the fragmenting Empire and the revelations about the history between Supreme Commander Jace Malcom and Grand Master Satele Shan being of particular interest.WHAT'S BAD:It's a little hard to quantify, but overall this book just felt a bit shallow. It lacked the depth and complexity of say a Timothy Zahn novel, coming over much more pulpy. That's not always a bad thing, but I just feel (as with Karpyshyn's 'Revan') that the subject matter deserved a more in-depth, sweeping epic. Another slight disappointment was that, as the last 'The Old Republic' novel, I would've liked to have seen some follow up to the other novels of the series. How is Zeerid Korr from 'Deceived' doing by the end of the war? What became of Darth Marr's apprentice after the end of 'Fatal Alliance'? Maybe a cameo from Lord Scourge from 'Revan'? I understand the TOR novels were all supposed to be independent stand-alones, but it really wouldn't have hurt for a bit of interlinking.

Started the forst in this series, have this for when I am ready to start on the next chapter

I read this book after the first few old republic books and games and it fits in well with the back stories from the years before episode 1 I'm a fan of the series and I'm glad in this book the don't directly follow a jedi or someone eventually becoming its more a separate entity working outside of the order so a new view of the universe and lots of plot twists make it an interesting read so I gave it full marks

Lots of adventure and good plot and characters, good ending to the series of the old republic, decent read all 4 books