Star Wars: Doctor Aphra

An Audiobook Original

By: Sarah Kuhn

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Jonathan Davis, Sean Kenin, Carol Monda, Euan Morton, Marc Thompson, Catherine Taber, Nicole Lewis, Sean Patrick Hopkins

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra, rogue archaeologist, is in trouble again.

A pioneer in the field of criminal xenoarchaeology, Aphra recognizes no law, has no fear, and possesses no impulse control. To her, the true worth of the galactic relics she discovers isn’t found in a museum, but in an arsenal. This viewpoint has led to a lot of misunderstandings. After her latest plan goes horribly wrong, her criminal past is on the verge of catching up to her, when suddenly Darth Vader, terror of the galaxy, swoops in with his lightsaber ignited, and...saves her life?

Don’t get her wrong—it’s not like she’s ungrateful. Sure, her new boss is a lord of the Sith. And OK, she may have just become a pawn in a deadly game being played by him and HIS boss, who happens to be the Galactic Emperor. And yes, the life expectancy of anyone who disappoints Vader can be measured in seconds.

But she’s back doing what she does best. She’s got a ship to fly, a heist to pull, and two unorthodox but effective metal buddies: Triple-Zero, a protocol droid specializing in etiquette, customs, translation and torture, and BT-1, an astromech loaded with enough firepower to take down a battlecruiser. Together, they might just find a way to get the job done and avoid the deadly performance review that waits at its conclusion.

Just kidding. She’s doomed.

©2020 Sarah Kuhn (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Full cast value

Story is ok, but the performance is so good it dont mather!

Emily woo carries

A great retell of a great story

I'd say they are going into right direction with these audiobooks, although I think there are improvements to be made.
For example, the voice acting was brilliant in my opinion. However, I think they could find more fitting voices to certain characters. Especially if those characters are likely to appear in future audiobooks.

And then there is the story. It's based on Marvel's Darth Vader comics from 2015, which was one of the best comics series (in my opinion), but I never felt like it needed to be retold from a slightly different perspective. On the other hand, it's nice to listen to this and follow the comics in the same time for visuals. Because they used the same lines here as in the comics it was quite simple to do so. However, it also means they sold us the same story the second time. With a few addition to be fair, mainly from Aphra's past, but in the galaxy so rich as Star Wars, I would really prefer new epic stories.

For people who are considering buying this audiobook, I'd suggest that there are better Star Wars audiobooks and you can still get this story in a different format. However, if you really want Doctor Aphra's story in audio format then you are still getting a pretty decent product (in my opinion).

I didn't expect this!

This is a new take on Star Wars storytelling. Whole book is actually a recording of Dr. Aphra and her (mis)adventures and Emily Woo Zeller gave her all the character she needed.

This is not an audiobook, it's a radio drama. Which is a good thing. Another fantastic performance is Marc Thompson as Darth Vader, but the rest of the caat was good too.

This novel is fast paced, tense, very often with some funny moments and it has everything a good Star Wars book needs. Recommended.

I'm just sad it's over and I want more of Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra. I think I will delve into comics now. :)

Most annoying narrator ever

If your liking to induce a headache and listen to more annoying character than Jar Jar, then it's a must!

Aphra

Having read the comic books I know the story well. This covers the Darth Vader comics that are set before. This is a good production, however Aphra makes the original film characters who appear, to be idiots. This is not the fault of the cast. If a production is made of the actual Aphra comics then this would be better. A good first attempt.

Great Story

Energetic, mixed voice actors really liven the story telling from some of the other SW content with one voice actor. Droids in this are great 😂

Story a little sketchy but worth a listen.

As the title said, story was a little sketchy in places but well worth a listen as entertaining in places.

Good adaptation of the Vader comic

This is a good interpretation of the comic into audio novel format. I wasn’t sure how well it would work but it’s pretty good. Well read by Emily Woo Zeller and a great supporting cast

Star Wars really doesn’t need this character

I get it, need to appeal to all demographics but Dr. Aphra is just wrong for this world.

Fun romp through the galaxy

This is a light hearted, semi Comedy! Fun, not serious, with some killer droids to boot.

Much to much on the quip front

The light hearted, flippant style just didn't sit right with me, very out of place in how characters interacted. Performances were very good, just the way they were asked to deliver it.