Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen

On June 22, 2022August 15, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel6 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio (Audiobook – 10 May 2022)

Series: Star Wars

Length: 12 hours and 46 minutes

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

2022 is a great time to be a Star Wars fan as we are currently being bombarded with a string of awesome shows, cool comics, and fantastic novels (a movie also would be nice, but apparently there are issues there). Fans like me are currently having a great time with the Obi-Wan Kenobi live-action show that has been all manners of fun, especially as it brings Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen back to their iconic roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. However, this is not the only recent Star Wars release that focuses on this iconic duo, as author Mike Chen presents Star Wars: Brotherhood. This is Chen’s first Star Wars novel and follows these two great characters as they embark on a dangerous political adventure right after the events of the film, Attack of the Clones.

It is dark days for the galaxy as the destructive Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatists have just begun. As the galaxy splits down the middle and more and more systems join the war on opposing sides, the Jedi begin to take a new role as soldiers, the fragile peace they have long guarded slowly disappearing.

When an explosion devastates the neutral planet of Cato Neimoidia, home of the Trade Federation, the Republic is blamed by Count Dooku and the Separatists. Desperate to keep Cato Neimoidia from joining the Separatists, the Jedi dispatch Obi-Wan Kenobi to the planet to investigate the explosion and attempt to maintain the peace. However, Obi-Wan has his work cut out from him as he encounters a hostile planet, blinded by mourning and a long history of prejudice from the Republic. Worse, not everyone wants him to solve the crime, as Count Dooku’s sinister agent, Asajj Ventress, is also on Cato Neimoidia, attempting to turn the populace against the Republic.

At the same time, Anakin Skywalker has been promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight and works to balance his new responsibilities with his secret marriage. Despite orders not to intervene on Cato Neimoidia, when Obi-Wan finds himself in himself trouble, Anakin races to help him, dragging along a promising Jedi youngling. However, with their relationship forever changed by Anakin’s promotion, can the two Jedi brothers still work together as they attempt to grow beyond master and apprentice?

This was a fantastic new addition to the Star Wars canon that fans of the franchise are really going to enjoy. Containing an interesting character-driven story, Brotherhood was a great first outing from Chen, who successfully explored some of the best characters and settings of the Star Wars universe.

Brotherhood has a rather interesting multi-perspective narrative that I felt was pretty good. This cool Star Wars novel is set right at the start of the Clone Wars and seeks to not only highlight some early aspects of the conflict but also dive into the minds of the iconic protagonists, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. The book has a strong start to it, with a devastating bombing going off on a neutral planet that forces Kenobi to investigate by himself. Arriving on a planet thick with emotion, undue influences and conspiracies, Kenobi finds himself in all manner of danger, while his former apprentice, Anakin, is forced into a far less interesting mission. Chen does a good job introducing the key elements of this book, and you soon get invested in the protagonists’s storylines, as well as the deeper emotions raging within them and other supporting characters about the bombing and wider events in the galaxy.

While I liked the start of the book, the centre of Brotherhood honestly dragged for me. Now part of this is because I had to have a break from audiobooks for a few weeks, but even when I started listening to Brotherhood again, I had a hard time making much progress. The slow investigation and Anakin’s slightly lumbering narrative, combined with the occasionally unnecessary plot around Mil Alibeth, just didn’t hold my attention as much as I had hoped, and it ended up being a bit of slog to get through it. Luckily, the pace really picks up towards the end as the various storylines start to coalesce into a more compelling and exciting read. I managed to get through the final third of the novel a heck of a lot quicker, and I was substantially invested in the characters, including a few supporting figures, and the narrative as a result. Everything comes together pretty well in the end and Chen delivers a mostly satisfying conclusion that hints at the wider threat to come. An overall entertaining, if slightly staggered narrative, I did have a lot of fun getting through it.

I mostly enjoyed how Brotherhood was written, as Chen did an outstanding job of blending compelling plot elements with deep character development and some fantastic universe-building. The main story itself features a mixture of investigation, conspiracy and personal conflicts, as Obi-Wan visits a hostile planet impacted by all manner of anger and mistrust. The author makes excellent use of multiple character perspectives to tell a complete and wide-ranging narrative. While a good portion of the plot focuses on the main two characters, Chen routinely throws in the perspective of several great supporting figures, including some antagonists, and it was fantastic to get some alternate views on the events occurring. As I mentioned above, I found the pacing was a bit off in the middle of the novel, and there were certain parts of the story that I had a harder time getting through. For the most part, though, the book flowed pretty well, and the switch between various characters helped facilitate that. While this is primarily a character-focused book, I did think that Chen did spend way too much time having his characters over-analyse everything in their heads, as the constant contemplation of their emotions or actions slowed the story down in places. However, I did think that the author was particularly good at capturing action, with some brilliant and intense scenes featured throughout the book. The ones that really shined to me where the sequences that showcased the Jedi character’s abilities in battle, as Chen made them come to life in a vibrant and powerful way. Overall, I thought that this was a mostly well written story, I loved how Chen’s distinctive style helped to enhance the narrative in places.

Brotherhood proves to be a particularly interesting piece of Star Wars fiction as Chen sought to not only expand on the main characters but also explore the wider universe during the early Clone Wars period. Written mostly as a standalone novel, Brotherhood has a lot of interesting canon elements that established fans of the franchise will deeply enjoy. The book is closely connected with both the events of the second prequel film, Attack of the Clones, and the following Clone Wars animated series. It was also apparently written somewhat in sync with another 2022 Star Wars novel, Queen’s Hope by E. K. Johnston, which I haven’t had a chance to read. However, despite this, most readers familiar with the films should easily be able to jump in and read Brotherhood without any issues as Chen does a great job of explaining all the key characters, concepts and other elements. There is also a ton of stuff for established fans of the franchise to enjoy as Chen spends a bit of time adding in some interesting elements and some great fan service.

One of the more interesting things featured within this novel is the examination of the early days of the Clone Wars. This hasn’t been greatly explored in the current canon too much, so it was cool to see the start of the war, with some of the earlier battles, conflicts and issues surrounding this galactic civil war. Chen spends a bit of time showcasing how the Clone Army was incorporated into the existing Republic structure, as well as the militarisation of the Jedi as they became commanders and generals. There is also an interesting examination of the rise of extremism during the Clone Wars, as various factions start to cause trouble outside the actions of the main armies. As a result, Brotherhood serves as an excellent bridging novel between Attack of the Clones and some of the preceding material, and I loved how Chen spent time setting up a few things for the Clones Wars animated series, although the sudden and unexplained appearance of a female clone was a bit odd. I also had a lot of fun seeing some of Palpatine’s machinations here as he subtly manipulates events to get the Jedi even more involved in the war and more integrated with the clones. There are also some key moments of the corruption of Anakin that occur here, and it was fascinating to see the moment that Anakin revealed his massacre of the Sand People to his future master.

While I deeply appreciated all the above, the most fascinating bit of Star Wars universe-building in Brotherhood had to revolve around the planet of Cato Neimoidia, the capital of the Trade Federation as Chen really went out of his way to explore this planet and its people, the Neimoidians. For years the Neimoidians have mostly been seen as the exploitive and evil villains from The Phantom Menace and were never really explored in that much detail. Chen spends a massive part of the book providing a deeper look at them and it soon becomes quite a compelling part of the novel. In particular, the Neimoidians and their Trade Federation are shown to be mostly neutral, trying to stay out of the war and disavowing the actions of Nute Gunray and his faction who are supporting the Separatists. When Obi-Wan arrives at Cato Neimoidia, he is introduced to their rich culture, unique society and a distinctive mindset that relies heavily on calculation and risk-assessment. However, Obi-Wan soon discovers that there is far more to being a Neimoidian than he ever realised, as the Neimoidians have a long history of being ignored, ridiculed and prejudiced against by the Republic. This long history of abuse, combined with the bombings on their planet, proves to be a deeply captivating and powerful part of the story. All these great Star Wars elements add a lot to the narrative of Brotherhood, and I had an outstanding time seeing all the clever new ways that Chen worked to expand and explore this iconic universe.

While the story and Star Wars universe are key parts of this book, Chen spends most of his time working on the characters. Brotherhood features a great cast of point-of-view protagonists who all have their own deep and unique journey through the book. However, the focus is on the pairing of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, whose relationship lies at the core of the book. Both characters are featured very heavily throughout Brotherhood, and you are soon deeply invested in their individual narratives as well as their joint story. Chen paces out their appearances together very well, and you get to see them act as both a team and independently, although one of the main themes of the book is the examination of how well they work together as a team and how close they are. The author spends a lot of time exploring the unique relationship this master and apprentice duo have especially now that Anakin has become a full Jedi and they are now equals. This proves to be a fascinating element to focus on and I loved how powerful the character work around the pair and their relationship was.

On an individual level, Chen spares most of the focus to look at Anakin, who is going through a lot at this point in his life. Not only is he dealing with the sudden abilities of having to be a Jedi, but he is now secretly married to Padme, is trying to get used to his new robotic hand, and also bearing some anger and guilt at his actions of Tatooine. This presents many complications for Anakin, and he is constantly battling his emotions, desires and the feelings of disconnection that he feels to the rest of the Jedi. Chen does a great job of exploring the complex emotions and history surrounding Anakin, and you get a real sense of the inner conflict he feels all the time, especially when it is reflected in other characters. He does end up coming to grips with many of these issues as the book progresses, although some of them remain, leading to darker events in the future. The author’s focus on Obi-Wan is a little less intense, although there are still some very interesting elements there. Most of Obi-Wan’s concerns reflect his current mission as he finds himself dealing with a culture he doesn’t understand and whose emotions he has trouble responding to. At the same time, Obi-Wan is deeply concerned for Anakin, and his constant worries and examinations of their strained relationship deeply impact him. I found it fascinating to see Obi-Wan’s observations during this period, especially as he witnesses and chooses to ignore some warning signs around Anakin. Chen does a good job of trying to establish the more confident and wiser version of Obi-Wan that we see in The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith, and I it was very fun to see him negotiating and investigation on Cato Neimoidia.

Aside from these central characters, Brotherhood contains some other great characters whose storylines prove quite fascinating. The most prominent of these is Jedi youngling Mil Alibeth, whose unique connection to the Force makes her very sensitive to the pain people are feeling, so much so that she spends much of her earliest appearances trying to cut herself off from the Force. Mil finds an unlikely mentor in Anakin in this novel, and I appreciated the impromptu master-apprentice relationship they formed, especially as it benefits them both. Two Neimoidian characters, royal guards Ruug Quamom and Ketar Kor, also serve a significant role in the story, although in two different ways. The younger Ketar, whose family suffered greatly due to Republic prejudice, is extremely hostile to Obi-Wan and becomes a secondary antagonist, driven by his rage, anger and the manipulations of others. Ruug, on the other hand, is a veteran soldier and commando whose more cynical world view, a result of her long life of violence and black ops missions, allows her to see past her emotions and investigate the bombing properly. This results in Ruug becoming an ally to Obi-Wan as she tries to find the truth to save her people from more pain. Ketar and Ruug serve as interesting counterpoints to the Neimoidian emotional spectrum, and their separate impacts on the story are extremely fascinating. You really grow to like Ruug through the book, especially as she sticks to her principles, while Ketar, despite being an easily manipulated idiot, is one of the more understandable Star Wars antagonists you will encounter in, and his dive towards extremism is both powerful and understandable.

I also loved seeing fan favourite The Clone Wars’ character Asajj Ventress in this book, who serves as Brotherhood’s primary antagonist. The events of this book represent Ventress’s first canon interactions with Obi-Wan and Anakin, and it was fascinating to see them attempt to work out who or what Ventress is. Ventress ends up being very slippery and manipulative throughout Brotherhood, and she swiftly outmanoeuvres Obi-Wan by playing to the Neimoidian prejudices and emotions. I loved seeing this early Ventress appearance, and her conversations with Obi-Wan are really fun, especially as Ventress’s sarcasm, venom and contempt shine through in every sentence, only to be met by Obi-Wan’s politeness. This ended up being a great first major outing for Ventress, and I really enjoyed seeing how her rivalry with the Jedi began. The interactions, development and introductions of these great characters serve to really strengthen Brotherhood as a whole and I had a great time seeing Chen’s interpretations about all this amazing figures.

Naturally, I decided to check out the audiobook version of Brotherhood, which turned out to be an excellent decision. The Brotherhood audiobook was a fun experience that once again makes great use the classic and iconic Star Wars sound effects and music to enhance the story. At 12 hours and 46 minutes, this is a pretty standard length for a Star Wars audiobook, although it took me a little while to get through it. I had a lot of fun again with the sound effects which do a great job providing the ambient noise of the story that helps to bring the listener into the story. In addition, the always awesome Star Wars score is utilised to amazing effect during key parts of the book, and it is really impressive how much John Williams’s epic music can increase the impact of a scene.

In addition to the music and sound effects, the Brotherhood audiobook is greatly enhanced by its excellent narrator, Jonathan Davis. Davis is one of the best Star Wars narrators out there and his outstanding voice has been well utilised over the years. I have personally enjoyed Davis works in several fantastic audiobooks such as in Lords of the Sith, Kenobi, Maul: Lockdown, Master & Apprentice, Dooku: Jedi Lost, Doctor Aphra and Tempest Runner, and he is always great value for money. This was once again true for Brotherhood, as Davis does an outstanding job presenting the complex story to the listener while also bringing the various characters to life. Davis does a particularly good Obi-Wan Kenobi voice, which really helped here considering the character’s prominence in the plot. The rest of his voices are also very good, with multiple major and iconic characters come across in distinctive ways that fit how they have been portrayed in other media, particularly Yoda. In addition, the various new characters introduced in Brotherhood are also gifted fantastic and appropriate voices that allow the listener to distinguish who is talking. This excellent voice work, alongside the music and sound effects, really helps listeners to enjoy the compelling story and this is easily the best format to enjoy Brotherhood in.

This was another awesome addition to the rapidly expanding canon of the Star Wars universe. Mike Chen’s Brotherhood had an impressive and compelling narrative that not only explores some intriguing areas of Star Wars lore, but which also perfectly features two of its most iconic protagonists. A fantastic read that will appeal to anyone currently enjoying the Star Wars universe, Brotherhood is really worth checking out and I look forward to seeing what other awesome novels are added to this brilliant, expanded universe later this year.

Amazon Book Depository

Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost

On March 17, 2020August 9, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel21 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio (Audio Production – 30 April 2019)

Script: Cavan Scott

Cast: Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Pete Bradbury, Jonathan Davis, Neil Hellegers, Sean Kenin, January LaVoy, Saskia Maarleveld, Carol Monda, Robert Petkoff, Rebecca Soler and Marc Thompson.

Length: 6 hours and 21 Minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Prepare for another deep dive into the Star Wars canon with an audio drama that explores the past of one the biggest villains from the prequel movies, Count Dooku, with Dooku: Jedi Lost.

Dooku: Jedi Lost was one of the more interesting pieces of Star Wars fiction that was released last year. Based on a script written by Cavan Scott, an author who has written a multitude of comics, novels and radio drama tie-ins for several different franchises, Jedi Lost was originally released as an audio production featuring several different actors, with the script also released in novel format a few months later. I have been meaning to check out this unique story for some time, as it was one of the few pieces of Star Wars fiction that I did not read in 2019. This is actually one of the first entries I am ticking off my Books I Wish I Read in 2019 list (barring The Russian by Ben Coes, which was an honourable mention), and I am really glad I decided to check this piece of fiction out.

For many in the galaxy, Count Dooku of Serenno is one of the most dangerous and evil villains that ever lived. The leader of the ruthless Separatists during the Clone Wars, apprentice to Darth Sidious and master of several ruthless assassins, Dooku is rightfully feared and hated by many. However, he once was one of the most respected and powerful members of the Jedi Council. A former apprentice to Yoda himself, and the mentor to two exceptional Padawans, Rael Averross and Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku dedicated decades of his life to the Jedi, before suddenly leaving and taking a different path. But how did such a revered Jedi turn to the dark side of the Force? That is a question that Dooku’s new apprentice, Asajj Ventress, is trying to understand when she is given a mission to find Dooku’s missing sister. Searching for leads through Dooku’s journals and messages, Ventress is given unprecedented access into Dooku’s past.

The son of the ruthless Count of Serenno, Dooku was abandoned as baby by his father the moment his abilities with the Force were identified, only to be rescued by Yoda. Upon learning the truth about his birth years later, Dooku struggles with balancing his duties as a Jedi with his connections to his family and home planet. Conflicted, Dooku finds comfort in his friendship with the troubled young Jedi Sifo-Dyas and the mysterious Jedi Master Lene Kostana, whose mission of locating and studying Sith artefacts fascinates Dooku and leads him to his first experiences with the dark side of the Force. As Dooku rises through the ranks of the Jedi Order, he finds himself stymied by the bureaucracy and corruption of the Republic and the hypocrisy of the Jedi Council. As the first waves of darkness fall across the galaxy, how will the younger Dooku react, and what will Ventress do when she realises what sort of person her new master is?

Dooku: Jedi Lost is an incredible and deeply captivating piece of Star Wars fiction that cleverly dives into the past of one of the franchise’s most iconic villains to present a compelling and intriguing story. I ended up listening to the full cast audio production of Jedi Lost, and I really enjoyed this fantastic and intriguing book. The plot of Jedi Lost is uniquely set across several different time periods, with the details of Dooku’s life being relayed to a younger Ventress at the start of her Sith apprenticeship through journal entries, detailed messages, oral histories and even some visions of the past. Scott did an excellent job of setting his story across multiple time periods, which allowed Jedi Lost to showcase the life of the titular character while also presenting an exciting, fast-paced and at times dramatic narrative that includes several plot threads that jump from timeline to timeline. All of this results in an excellent Star Wars story which features some fascinating inclusions to the franchise’s lore and which is enhanced by the incredible audio production.

At the centre of this book lies an intriguing and captivating exploration of one of the most significant antagonists in the Star Wars canon, Count Dooku. Jedi Lost contains quite a detailed and compelling backstory for this character, and you get to see a number of key events from his life. This includes his complicated childhood, the forbidden communication he had with his sister, the connection he maintained with his home planet, parts of his apprenticeship under Yoda, the tutelage of his own two apprentices, his time on the Jedi council, his first brushes with the dark side of the Force and finally the chaotic events that led him to leave the Jedi order and take up his position as Count of Serenno. Every part of this background proved to be extremely fascinating and it paints Dooku as a much more complex character, with understandable motivations and frustrations. He actually comes across as a much more sympathetic person thanks to this production, and readers are going to have an amazing time finding out what events and betrayals drove him away from the Jedi and towards his new master. The storytelling device of having Ventress read and analyse Dooku’s old messages and journal entries ensures that the story quickly jumps through the events of his life, and no key events really seem to be missing. I personally would have like to see some more detail about Dooku’s training under Yoda or his teaching of his apprentices, although I appreciate that this was already an expansive production and there was a limit on what could be included in the script. I also wonder what sort of story this could have turned into if this was told exclusively from Dooku’s point of view, however, this first-person narration probably wouldn’t be as feasible as a full cast audio production. Overall, those fans who check out Jedi Lost are in for quite an in-depth and fascinating look at the great character that is Count Dooku, and I am sure many will enjoy this exciting examination of his backstory.

In addition to exploring the character of Count Dooku, Jedi Lost also presents those dedicated Star Wars fans with a new canon look at the Star Wars universe before the events of The Phantom Menace. You get an intriguing look at the Republic and the Jedi Order in the years leading up to events of the Skywalker Saga, and it was fascinating to see the similarities and differences between the various eras in the Star Wars lore. In particular, I found in interesting to see that the groundwork for the Clone Wars and the fall of the Jedi order had already begun, with ineffectual leadership, corruption in the Senate and complacency in the Jedi Council all eventually leading the dark events of the future. Jedi Lost also shows the earlier days of several Jedi who were supporting characters in either the movies or the animated shows. In particular, this entry focuses on Sifo-Dyas, the Jedi who foresaw the Clone Wars and was manipulated into creating the Republic’s clone army. The story explores how Dooku and Sifo-Dyas were close friends growing up, while also showing the origin of his prescient powers, and he proved to be a rather compelling side character. Jedi Lost also saw the introduction of Jedi Master Lene Kostana to the canon. Lene Kostana was a rebellious Jedi who scoured the galaxy for Sith artefacts in the belief that the Sith were going to rise again. She proved to be an interesting mentor character for Dooku, and her recklessness and unique way of thinking had some major impacts in Dooku’s character development.

I also liked how this piece of Star Wars fiction focused on the early career of Asajj Ventress, one of the best Star Wars characters introduced outside of the movies. Much of the story is set immediately after Dooku claims Ventress as his apprentice and personal assassin, which allows the reader a compelling view of Ventress’s early brushes with the dark side of the Force and the initial corruption and manipulation she experienced under Dooku. This proved to be quite an interesting part of the novel, especially as the reader got to see Ventress’s thoughts and reactions to several revelations about Dooku’s past. Thanks to the way that the audio production is set out, Scott also included a rather cool element to Ventress’s character in the way that she is hearing the voice of her dead former Jedi Master and mentor, Ky Narec. While Ky Narec’s voice was mainly included to allow Ventress to share her thoughts in this audio production without becoming a full-fledged narrator, this ethereal character gives the reader a deeper insight into Ventress’s character. I also enjoyed the discussion about Ventress’s past with Narec, and it helped produce a much more in-depth look at this fascinating character from the expanded universe.

Like most pieces of expanded universe fiction, Jedi Lost is best enjoyed by fans of the Star Wars franchise, who are most likely to appreciate some of the new pieces of lore and interesting revelations. This production also bears some strong connections with another piece of Star Wars tie-in fiction that was released last year, Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray. Master & Apprentice was one of the most impressive Star Wars novels released last year, and it featured a story that focussed on Dooku’s apprentices, Rael Averross and Qui-Gon Jinn. Jedi Lost heavily references some of the events that occurred or are represented in Master & Apprentice, and it was interesting to see the intersections between the two separate pieces of fiction. I particularly enjoyed seeing more of the unconventional Jedi, Rael Averross, and it was great to see some additional interactions between the proper and noble Dooku, and this rough former apprentice. Despite all of this, I believe that Jedi Lost can easily be enjoyed by more casual Star Wars fans, although some knowledge about the prequel films is probably necessary.

People familiar with this blog are going to be unsurprised to learn that I chose to listen to the audio production of Jedi Lost rather than read the book that was produced from the script. I have a well-earned appreciation for Star Wars audiobooks, which are in a league of their own when it comes to production value; however, Jedi Lost is on another level to your typical Star Wars audiobook. As I mentioned above, Jedi Lost was released as a full cast audio production, which is essentially an audio recording of a play. This was the first piece of Star Wars fiction I had experienced in this medium, and I really loved how it turned out. The cast did an amazing job with the script, and they acted out a wonderful and highly enjoyable production which I thought was just incredible. The production runs for just over 6 hours and 20 minutes, and they manage to fit a lot of plot into this shorter run-time (in comparison to normal Star Wars audiobooks), as the use of dialogue results in a lot less narration. Due to the way Jedi Lost is structured, with Ventress reading out journal entries or having Dooku’s tale told to her, there is a little more narration of events then a production like this would usually have. I think this was necessary to ensure the reader was clear on what was going on at all times, and it didn’t ruin the overall flow of Jedi Lost in any way.

Jedi Lost features a very impressive and talented group of actors who go above and beyond to make this an awesome audio production. As you can see from the cast list above, this production made use of 12 separate narrators, each of whom voice a major character (with some of the actors also voicing some minor characters as well). Many of these narrators have expansive experience with voicing Star Wars audiobooks, and I have actually had the pleasure of listening to several of these actors before, including Euan Morton (Tarkin by James Luceno), Jonathan Davies (Master & Apprentice), Sean Kenin (Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber), Robert Petkoff (multiple Star Trek novels, most recently Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack) and Marc Thompson (Dark Disciple by Christie Golden, Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee and Scoundrels and Thrawn by Timothy Zahn).

There is some truly outstanding audio work done in this production, with several actors producing near-perfect replication of several iconic characters from the Star Wars franchise. I particularly have to praise Orlagh Cassidy for her exceptional portrayal of Asajji Ventress; her take on the character sounded exactly like the Ventress that appeared in The Clone Wars animated show. I was also deeply impressed by Jonathan Davis’s Qui-Gon Jinn and Marc Thompson’s Yoda, both of which were incredible replications of the characters from the movies. Davis also did a great job once again portraying Rael Averross, a fun character who he first brought to life in Master & Apprentice, and I loved the somewhat laidback voice he provides for Rael, especially as it reminds me of an older cowboy character from a western (I personally always picture Sam Elliott when I hear it). Other standout stars in this production include Euan Morton, who came up with a great take on the titular character Count Dooku. Morton was able to produce an impressive and commanding presence for this character, and he did a great job modulating the character’s voice to represent the various jumps in age that the character experienced. The same can be said for Saskia Maarleveld’s Jenza and Sean Kenin’s Sifo-Dyas, whose characters also aged extremely well throughout the course of the production. I also really loved the voice that Carol Monda provided for new character Lene Kostana, and I felt that it fit the character described in Jedi Lost extremely well. I honestly loved all the rest of the voices that were provided throughout this production, and each of them brought some real magic to Jedi Lost.

Just like with a normal Star Wars audiobook, one of the standout features of the Jedi Lost production was the incredible use of the franchise’s iconic music and sound effects. I really cannot emphasise enough how amazing it is to have one of John Williams’s epic scores playing in the background of a scene. Not only does it really get you into the Star Wars zone, but this music markedly enhances the mood of any part of the book it is playing in. Hearing some of the more dramatic scores during a touching or tragic scene really helps the reader appreciate how impactful the sequence truly is, and nothing gets the blood pumping faster during an action sequence than Duel of the Fates or some other fast-paced piece of Star Wars music. The sound effects utilised throughout this production are not only really cool but they also have added significance for an audio production like Jedi Lost which relies on dialogue rather than narration to establish the scene. Having the various classic Star Wars sound effects reflect what is going on can be really helpful, and often the clash of lightsabers and the pew-pew of blaster bolts give life to a battle sequence. I always appreciate the way that certain sound effects can help paint a picture of what is happening in the room that the dialogue is taking place. Having the susurration of a crowd or the light hum of a starship engine in the background always makes a book seem more impressive, and it makes for a fun overall listen.

Dooku: Jedi Lost was an incredible and wonderful production which I had an extremely hard time turning off. Cavan Scott’s clever and intricate script, combined with the outstanding audio production, is a truly awesome experience which I deeply enjoyed. I loved learning more about the character of Count Dooku, and I think that Scott came up with a fantastic and intriguing background for the character. Jedi Lost is an excellent piece of Star Wars fiction, and I am extremely happy that I listened to it. Highly recommended to all Star Wars fans, and if you decide to check out Jedi Lost, you have to listen to the spectacular audio production, which is just amazing.

Amazon

Throwback Thursday: Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

On February 6, 2020May 2, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel20 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio (Audiobook – 7 July 2015)

Series: Star Wars

Length: 11 hours and 11 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

For this week’s Throwback Thursday, I go back and check out an amazing piece of Star Wars fiction with Star Wars: Dark Disciple by tie-in fiction extraordinaire Christie Golden. Dark Disciple is a compelling and intense Star Wars novel that features two fan-favourite characters from the extended universe in a fantastic adventure that is deeply connected with The Clone Wars animated series.

A Jedi shall not know anger. Nor hatred. Nor love!

For years, the galaxy has been locked in one of the most destructive struggles it has ever known, the Clone Wars. Led by the ruthless Sith Lord Count Dooku, the Separatists have engaged in a gruelling and bloody conflict with the Republic that has led to the death of countless innocents. While the guardians of the Republic, the Jedi, have tried in vain to capture Dooku and end the war, their methods appear inadequate to stop him. After a particularly brutal massacre, the Jedi Council do the unthinkable and sanction the assassination of Count Dooku, believing that only his death will bring peace to the galaxy.

To that end, the Council turns to maverick Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. Unpredictable, brash and experienced in undercover work, Vos is the perfect candidate for this dangerous mission. However, this is not a one-man job. In order to track down Dooku, infiltrate his defences and defeat him in battle, Vos is going to need a partner. At the suggestion of Master Yoda, Vos seeks out the one person who knows the Count better than anyone else, Dooku’s former apprentice and assassin, Asajj Ventress.

After losing everything she held dear at the hands of Dooku, Ventress is desperate to leave her past as a Sith behind. But her hatred for Dooku is all-consuming, and she jumps at the chance to finally kill him. However, Ventress believes that Dooku can only be defeated by someone empowered by their emotions and able to access the dark side of the Force. Tutoring Vos in the methods of her race, the Nightsisters, Ventress is able to make Vos stronger and more powerful as he sits on the knife’s edge between the light and the dark side. But this balance is fragile at best, and all it will take is a single push for Vos to fully embrace the darkness. Between the machinations of Dooku, terrible secrets from the past and his growing feelings for Ventress, can Vos remain true to his vows and complete his mission, or have the Jedi have unleashed a great new evil upon the galaxy?

Dark Disciple is an intriguing addition to the Star Wars canon which not only has some major connections to the popular Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series but also contains a cool and at times dramatic story about love, darkness within and redemption. Dark Disciple was actually based on a script for eight unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars that were never made due to the Disney buyout of Star Wars and the subsequent cancellation of the animated show. These episodes were written by The Clone Wars screenwriter Katie Lucas (who provides a foreword for this book) and subsequently adapted into this book by acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author Christie Golden. Golden has authored many tie-in novels for various franchises, and I have previously enjoyed her World of Warcraft novels, including War Crimes (probably my favourite piece of Warcraft fiction) and Before the Storm. While Golden had written a few pieces of Star Wars fiction before this book, Dark Disciple ended up being her first novel in the current canon. In the end, this turned out to be an excellent read and I was really impressed in the way that Golden ended up turning this cool script into a deep and compelling novel.

Seeing as it is based off an unused script for the show, this book obviously has some strong connections to The Clone Wars television show. This book is set a little while after the events of the already aired episodes of The Clone Wars and continues their range of storylines a little further. Not only does Dark Disciple contain several characters whose main appearance was in the animated show, but it also refers to events from several episodes, including episodes that Katie Lucas wrote herself. As a result, Dark Disciple is probably best enjoyed by those readers who are familiar with the show, who will have a greater appreciation of the book’s various story elements. That being said, anyone who has seen the Star Wars prequel movies will be able to easily follow what is going on, and will no doubt enjoy the complex story it contains.

Fair warning to fans of The Clone Wars series, though: you are going to experience some sense of crushing disappointment after reading this. The book itself is pretty damn awesome, but it’s supremely disappointing that the story contained within this novel never featured as the amazing extended arc for the animated series it clearly would have been. While I really loved this novelisation, I cannot help but imagine how emotional and explosive it would have been acted out and animated as part of the show. As I review this book, it is actually less than a month until the release of the seventh and final series of The Clone Wars. While I am deeply excited for this final season, after reading this book I am a little sad as I know that the storyline contained within Dark Disciple is unlikely to be featured in it.

That being said, I really enjoyed the fact that this book focuses on two amazing characters from the animated series, Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos. Ventress and Vos are fan-favourite characters who have had significant appearances within the expanded Star Wars universe. Ventress is best known for her role within The Clone Wars universe (first appearing in the original 2003 Clone Wars show), where she first served as a major antagonist, before developing into more of an anti-hero. Ventress ended up being the focus of several major arcs within The Clone Wars series, some of which were written by Katie Lucas. Her success in the animated series saw her utilised in several books and comics set in the same period, although most of these are no longer canon. Vos also has an interesting origin as he was first seen as a background character in The Phantom Menace. Thanks to his cool look and some fan interest, the character was given a fleshed-out origin story as a Jedi and subsequently utilised in several works of expanded fiction. This included books and comics and an appearance in one episode of The Clone Wars. While Ventress and Vos had several interactions in the old Star Wars Legends canon, Dark Disciples is actually the first time that they meet in the current canon. Their whole relationship is a major part of the story, and I liked how it formed and developed throughout the course of the book.

I really enjoyed how Ventress was utilised in this book. Ventress is one of the best original characters in The Clone Wars, and I have always loved the gradual journey to redemption that occurred within her story arc. As a result, a book where she is one of the main characters is deeply intriguing to me and I was excited to see how she continued to evolve after her last appearance in the animated series. There are some major developments for Ventress in this book, and if you ever enjoyed this character in the animated series and wanted to know her ultimate fate than you need to read this book. Personally, I think that this was an amazing continuation to the character arcs that had been featured within the shows, and as I mentioned above, I am disappointed that it was never included as part of The Clone Wars. In adapting the script into this novel, Golden makes sure to really cover the background of this character, so those readers who are unfamiliar with the shows will be able to understand her complex and tragic backstory. I also think that Golden did an amazing job of capturing the complex character that was Ventress in this book, getting past her prickly outer layer to see the more complicated emotional person within. This was a near perfect examination of one of the best Star Wars characters who never appeared in a movie, and after reading this book it will be a shame not to see more of her in any of the planned animated shows.

Perhaps the most compelling part of this book is the complex and gripping central tale about Quinlan Vos’s fall to the dark side of the Force. This was an intrinsic part of the book’s overall plot, as Vos and Ventress both believed that having the easy power obtained by dark side users was the only way to defeat Dooku. This turn to the dark side is spurred on by lies, revelations and intense emotions, and it necessitates some deep dives into Vos and Ventress’s respective psyches, resulting in some dramatic and personal moments from both of these great characters. Watching Vos’s slow decline as he slips further and further away from the light side is painful at times, especially when you just know he is eventually going to turn. Even then, despite realizing it was coming, the point when he fully breaks bad for the first time (yellow eyes included) is pretty powerful, as he lashes out at the only person he has, and will ever, truly love. In many ways, Vos’s fall reflects Anakin’s later turn in Revenge of the Sith, in that he believes learning about the dark side is for the greater good, the Jedi Council pushes him to do something he has moral issues with and his emotional connections to a women push him over the edge. There are also some amazing scenes in the later part of the book where the reader is unsure whether Vos is actually evil or is just pretending to have fallen to fool his foes, which leads to a lot of uncertainty and hostility from the other Jedi and Ventress as they try to work out his plan. Overall, this was an outstanding centre for this book, and the complex web of deceit, deeper examination of how one falls to the dark side and all the drama surrounding this part of novel, was really cool to read.

One of the other parts of the story that I found to be interesting was the depiction of some of the other Jedi in this book. Throughout this story the Jedi, particularly the members of their ruling council, are shown to be walking a bit of a darker path thanks to the impacts of the Clone Wars. While not attempting to learn more about the dark side of the Force, members of the Council are beginning to propose action that they usually wouldn’t consider, such as the assassination of Dooku, or the execution of Vos and Ventress. This is a really intriguing take on their characterisation which plays in well with the future events of Revenge of the Sith, where their boldness in attempting to take over the Republic to protect it or Mace Windu’s attempt to kill Chancellor Palpatine backfires on them. Windu in particular comes across as a bit of an arse in this book, and the rest of the council (with the exception of Yoda and Kenobi) seem like meek followers going along with him. I thought that this aspect of the books was pretty interesting, and it liked seeing some hints of this once wise and noble Jedi Council beginning to act more rashly and dramatically.

Like most of the Star Wars books that I look at for my Throwback Thursday articles, I ended up listening to the audiobook version of Dark Disciple, which was narrated by Marc Thompson and ran for just over 11 hours. I have mentioned several times before about how I find Star Wars audiobooks to be a step above most other audiobook productions I listen to, and Dark Disciple was yet another awesome example of just how cool they can be. This audiobook in particular does an excellent job of utilising the huge range of iconic Star Wars sound effects to create an exciting or appropriate atmosphere for much of the story, and there is nothing cooler than hearing lightsaber or blaster sound effects during a battle sequence. In addition, this format also features some of the incredible and memorable music from the films. John Williams’s epic score from the prequels was on full display in this book, with some of his most awesome pieces being used throughout several scenes to great effect. Nothing amps up an action scene quite as much as having the pulse pumping Duel of the Fates playing in the background, while hearing the mournful composition known as Anakin’s Betrayal playing during the scenes where Vos is turning to the dark side of the Force is a real emotional gut punch that brings back memories of Vader and the Emperor killing all the Jedi. This was actually one of the best utilisations of Star Wars music in an audiobook that I have so far experienced, and I really loved how much it increased my enjoyment of this fantastic audiobook.

In addition to the cool sound effects and dramatic music, the audiobook also benefited from the talented voice work of Marc Thompson. Thompson is a veteran narrator of Star Wars audiobooks, having worked on a huge number of their tie-in books since 2007. I have previously listened to two Star Wars books narrated by Thompson, Thrawn and Scoundrels, and with both of these I was really impressed with the realistic and clever voices that he came up with for some of iconic Star Wars characters. Dark Disciple is another exceptional example of Thompson’s skill, as he was able to reproduce the voices of several of the book’s major characters. Not only does he do an amazing job replicating Ventress’s voice, but he also produced excellent examples of Yoda, Count Dooku and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s voices from The Clone Wars show. This is some first-rate voice work which, when combined with all the extra sound effect and musical inclusions, made Dark Disciples an absolute treat to listen to, and I cannot recommend this format highly enough.

Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Goldie is an outstanding and highly enjoyable piece of Star Wars fiction that I had an amazing time listening to. Featuring a first-rate story that revolves around two amazing characters and their complicated relationship to the force (and each other), Dark Disciple is one of the better Star Wars novels that I have had the pleasure of reading. A perfect tie-in to the amazing The Clone Wars animated series, this book is a must read for all fans of that series, especially before the seventh and final season is released. Dark Disciple comes highly recommend and is a force to be reckoned with.

Amazon