Book review
I listened to this book via Audible.
Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra is probably one of the most popular new characters to come into existence since Disney took over Star Wars, and has certainly been one of my favorites. She’s like Han Solo meets Indiana Jones with a bit of a chaotic-evil twist. This book is an adaptation of the early run of the 2015 Darth Vader series of comics, told entirely through Aphra’s point of view.
In fact, the story is a frame narrative, with the doctor making a recording of her experiences, complete with flashbacks within flashbacks. Currently, the only way to experience it is the full-cast audio drama, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they release a text version like they did with Dooku: Jedi Lost. That’s important because the cast really brings their A-game, making characters new and old come to life. A special shout-out to Nicole Lewis, who was also in the recently-released audio version of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor – both Sana Starros and Maya are that much better for her performance.
The story isn’t a straightforward translation of the comic books, everything has been reworked to be seen from Aphra’s sometimes-skewed perspective, and her narration of events gives an insight that you can’t always get from the graphic medium. Additional details and stories have been added as well, to show what our protagonist was up to when Darth Vader was off stealing the spotlight of his comic (how dare he!). It makes for a deeper origin story for Aphra, and while you might not want to be her friend, you’ll certainly want to hang around to watch whatever train wreck she’s about to get herself into.
If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll enjoy Doctor Aphra – it’s got adventure and love and lightsabers and secrets and spaceships and everything else that people identify with the franchise. I think anyone can appreciate this wonderfully produced story – you can just close your eyes and be transported to a galaxy far, far away and imagine the voices coming to life. It’s definitely one of my favorite Star Wars reads in a while!
- Goodreads rating – 3.84
- SUMMARY – Andrew Bulthaupt