Annihilation

Star Wars: The Old Republic, Book 4

By: Drew Karpyshyn

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Based on the epic videogame from BioWare and LucasArts.

The Sith Empire is in flux. The Emperor is missing, presumed dead, and an ambitious Sith lord’s attempt to seize the throne has ended fatally. Still, Darth Karrid, commander of the fearsome Imperial battle cruiser Ascendant Spear, continues her relentless efforts to achieve total Sith domination of the galaxy.

But Karrid’s ruthless determination is more than matched in the steely resolve of Theron Shan, whose unfinished business with the Empire could change the course of the war for good. Though the son of a Jedi master, Theron does not wield the Force - but like his renowned mother, the spirit of rebellion is in his blood. As a top covert agent for the Republic, he struck a crucial blow against the Empire by exposing and destroying a Sith superweapon arsenal - which makes him the ideal operative for a daring and dangerous mission to end Ascendant Spear’s reign of terror.

Joined by hot-headed smuggler Teff’ith, with whom he has an inexplicable bond, and wise Jedi warrior Gnost-Dural, Darth Karrid’s former master, Theron must match wits and weapons with a battle-tested crew of the most cold-blooded dark-side disciples. But time is brutally short. And if they don’t seize their one chance to succeed, they will surely have countless opportunities to die.

©2012 Drew Karpyshyn (P)2012 Random House Audio

The only Old Republic book I really like

I don't play KotOR, so the other books in this series didn't make much sense to me. I never got attached to the characters or their stories, putting the stories into historical context was difficult, and I ended up returning them (all but Revan, which was also written by Karpyshyn). As a stand-alone story, I love this book! Quirky characters, witty banter, intra-galactic espionage, and an excellent pace. It's not the Bane trilogy, but I still love this book, and listen to it whenever I have a afternoon that needs filling (Bane is my favorite star wars trilogy, but it's a weekend project).

Excelent Story and another great Old Republic book

First let me point out that I was completely unprepared for such an outstanding production from an audiobook. My typical read/listen is more of a Michael Crichton or J.R.R. Tolkien book which is usually simply read aloud and I had not expected the accompanying sound effects, music, or voice narration to all come together and blow me away. I lost track of the hours just waiting for a chance to continue listening to the story.

Marc Thompson is by far the best narrator I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. While the production team may or may not have enhanced the voice for certain characters, Marc's pace and even narration will make you forget that you are in fact listening to a person reading a story, something that some other narrators make you only painfully too aware of (odd sounds, limited tone for multiple characters, annoying voice, etc.)

As for the story, if you have seen other comments about the story being average or anything short of excellent, ignore them. Take the story for what it's meant to be, an action-packed adventure by a highly adept intelligence agent set in a galactic universe. If you want to be entertained then this story more than just does the trick.

To address the Star Wars specifics about this book, it was interesting to hear about a non-Jedi as the main character since sometimes reading / hearing every other word be the "Force" gets repetitive... not that I mind because I love hearing that!!! This book focuses more on the supporting elements / figures of the Republics infrastructure with just enough Jedi / Sith involvement to make you realize that the force is very strong with this book!!

Since my discovery of this book I have worked back through all the Old Republic books and am now listening to the Thrawn Trilogy; the one constant I appreciate aside from the excellent story line is of course Marc Thompson narrations.

Simply outstanding!

I can give this book nothing less than a perfect score across the board!

Drew Karpyshyn is a creative genius and an incredible storyteller. Annihilation, like Revan, was a gripping tale that I was unable to pry myself away from. I even found myself tuning in for a chapter or 2 during downtime at work! Because of this book and Revan, I will most definitely be checking out the highly recommended Bane trilogy next!

Marc Thompson gives a top notch performance here. I was a bit critical of his performance of female voices in Fatal Alliance, but here, he’s vastly improved. Understand, I don’t expect the man to sound perfect, acting as a female. In Fatal Alliance I would find myself cringing at some of the female voices, but here, I was much less annoyed by his portrayals, in fact, some were done quite well! As usual, Marc’s acting of the male and other character’s was excellent!

The music, sound effects, and background ambience, add to an overall performance that kept me looking forward to my hour long commutes to and from Pittsburgh.

I would recommend this audiobook to any Star Wars fan who has, at least, played SWOTOR, read Decieved, or simply has enjoyed Drew Karpyshyn’s other books. You can enjoy the book as a stand-alone story, but will likely enjoy it more if you’re more familiar with the Old Republic setting.

Star Wars; The Old Republic; Annihilation

Annihilation was a good addition too The Old Republic galaxy of Star Wars. My only complaint is the sith characters in this book are weak. Definitely a light side of the force story.

Best Star Wars I have ever read!

Would you consider the audio edition of Annihilation to be better than the print version?

At this time, I have both read this book and listened to it. I love the different accents Marc Thompson gives the characters. I think I do like the audio version more.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Annihilation?

The first, sort of, action scene where Theron steals the Black Cipher. It was a really fun part of the book.

Which character – as performed by Marc Thompson – was your favorite?

While my favorite character is Theron (how can he not be!? He's the son of the 2 most freaking awesome characters ever!!!), I love the way Thompson preformed Teff'ith. I love her accent and the way he makes her sound. Not much different from the way I read her, but definitely gives more life to the character.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Star Wars meets 007 in this action adventure!

Any additional comments?

Again, this is the best Star Wars I have ever read. It was extremely fast paced and was filled with both intense action and some family drama. I suppose I am used to reading a series, but this book just blows every other single Star Wars book out of the park!

The adventure continues.

Would you listen to Annihilation again? Why?

I would for the excellent narration.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Annihilation?

Where the connection between the son and the parent is revealed.

Have you listened to any of Marc Thompson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have. Just as good as his last ones.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

Any Star Wars fans should check out Marc Thompson's narrations.

Amazing Final book

This book was amazing especially since the main character was not a jedi but instead a spy.

relatable

I really felt like I could relate with the main character and was certainly rooting for the republic (not always the case for me). great story

Magnificent narrator / exciting story

The story was very exciting and the narrator did a wonderful job to enthrall the reader.

FUNNY

Out of all the Star Wars books that I have read and listen to, this is got to be the funniest book I have ever had! There a few scenes in here that are hilarious. To me anyways. There's one scene at the end where Theron waves his fingers in the air and asks his Jedi companion (I forgot his name) to use the Force. And he replies "the force is not as easy to use then you think!" And don't get me started on the Twi'lek...
So definitely give this book a try, in my opinion!

Really interesting.

It was my first audiobook ever. I was quite worried that listening to someone else reading the book for me would be annoying. However, Marc Thompson did a great job. The only thing that felt a little bit awkward at first, was the fact that the same male narrator was doing female voices, however it didn't spoil the fun. I don't have any comparison, but solely from my first experience I must say that Mr Thompson did a really awesome work.



Karpyshyn reactivated my interest in Star Wars universe. On few occasions I had to stand up while the intensive action was taking place. Every Star Wars fan should either listen or read this book.

Enjoyed Revan. Enjoyed this too!

I love these books and this comes from someone who doesn't read or even listen to books very often at all.

Great writing. Great narrator. Love this duo. Their other book, Revan, introduced me to audio books and was so good, I came back for another.

They always leave me wanting more by the end but theyre a great listen. Thanks for keeping me company on my long walks to and from work. I appreciate it.

This will sound silly

But coup de gras is not coo de grass. That proved such a distraction at times that is seemed to take me out of my immersion within the story. That aside it’s a good old republic story.

Decent story

it was a good story, no doubt. But I would have loved something more in the vein of Path of Destruction.

Not bad

A little slow getting started but was a somewhat decent story in the end

not the best

definitely not the best old repunlic story, poor charecter development and without personalities they seemed to just be there then it ends.

Very good

I think that it's the weakest of the old republic series because I'm not a huge fan of family stuff. But still, an excellent star wars book

Drew karpyshyn strikes again

The second star wars book that completely drew me in no pun intended but I couldn't put it down even for a minute. Just as compelling as the authors brilliant ending for the legendary Revan and the amazing tales of Darth bane. Marc Thompson in my opinion was born to play the roles of Georges infamous universe I would recommend this audio-book to any star wars fan looking for a story to be invested in great characters and jaw dropping emotion loved every minute of it best buy.

I would love to see more come out in the near distant future.

Good but a bit commercial

This is the most obvious attempt in the KOTOR books to try to drive interest in the game.
That said, the story of good and the narrator is superb again.

A particularly good story if you don't always want the main protagonist to be a Jedi/Sith.

Love the the old republic books

great story teller great sound effects and story .finished of the old republic books perfectly