There’s a line in Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca’s original run on Darth Vader that has stayed with me ever since I read it. It’s Aphra looking up at Vader as she agrees to work with him. “But you’re my next mission, aren’t you?” she says. “And the next. And the next. You’re what I’ve been looking for all my life.” It’s a line that also appears in the audio drama and one that rang through my mind as I heard Darth Freaking Vader say “Doctor Aphra” for the first time because apparently that’s what I’ve been waiting for all my life.
I won’t pretend to approach Doctor Aphra, a Star Wars audiobook original by Sarah Kuhn, from an unbiased point of view. If you’ve ever seen any of my tweets or any of the relevant reviews here at Tosche Station, you’re likely aware of how much I love Aphra. Not only do I adore her as a character but she also means a ton to me as a half-Asian queer woman. She was one of the first times I can recall feeling truly represented within the Star Wars universe. So while I was predisposed to appreciate this story because I love the main character, my expectations were also absurdly high. Sarah Kuhn not only met those expectations but soared over them with an audio drama that’s fun and engaging and does everyone’s favorite rogue archaeologist justice. Continue reading
Audiobooks aren’t my usual means by which to consume media but when presented with the opportunity to get an early copy of Rebecca Roanhorse’s newest gift to the Star Wars universe, I jumped at the chance. In fact, my response to the possibility was just the word “WANT” in all caps in response to the offer.
If you came out of The Last Jedi hoping to learn more about Paige or Rose Tico, Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein, is likely the book you’ll gravitate towards. While on a mission, Paige and Rose’s ship is boarded by a smaller one crewed by two people with a desperate mission. Their planet is ruled by and treated poorly by the First Order and they fear that their people might die if the New Republic doesn’t find a way to aide them. Knowing there’s little the Senate will do, General Organa tasks Cobalt Squadron with seeing while they can do… all while, elsewhere in the galaxy, Starkiller Base is rapidly approaching completion. 
Film novelizations are, in their own way, just as tricky a needle to thread as film adaptations of novels. You’re taking someone else’s words and ideas, meant for one medium, and transposing them to another, hopefully doing them justice while at the same time adjusting and adapting them to fit the new medium. At their best, film novelizations can open up the world of the movie considerably, adding more scenes and characters and background information which couldn’t possibly be crammed into a two or even three-hour movie. At their worst, they’re a limp, lifeless transposition of the screenplay, lacking any of the energy or vitality which made the film entertaining. The Vonda N. McIntyre novelizations of 
