Review: Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn

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

Review: Star Wars: Shadow Fall

What happens when you bring together five New Republic pilots who all fly different starfighters and put them under the command of an Intelligence officer and also one of the Rebellions best generals? You get Alphabet Squadron. And then, if you’re really lucky, you get three whole books about them! Thankfully, we are indeed really lucky or at least much luckier than the Alphabet Squadron crew.

Out today, Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed is the follow up to last year’s Alphabet Squadron and the second book in a planned trilogy about these ragtag pilots fighting a war against a dying Empire. Although they’re fresh off their victory at Pandem Nai, they’re still no closer to tracking down and destroying what’s left of the Empire’s Shadow Wing. Even worse (if your name is Yrica Quell), they also don’t know that Major Soran Keize has returned to the Empire and Shadow Wing. The solution? Alphabet Squadron, along with parts of the 61st Mobile Infantry, are going to set a trap in Cerberon. It’s risk but if it works, the job will finally be done. If it doesn’t, things could get far worse than any of them have anticipated. Continue reading

Review: Queen’s Peril by E.K. Johnston

Fifteen months ago, I wrote a review of Queen’s Shadow in which I expressed a hope that we might get both a prequel and sequel to that book. Mission (halfway) accomplished because Queen’s Peril by E.K. Johnston was published today and it is indeed a prequel to the 2019 novel, covering the time in Padmé’s life from when she was first elected queen through dealing with the Trade Federation’s invasion. (If I close my eyes and wish real hard again, will I also be able to will a sequel into existence too? This is the trilogy we deserve, dang it!) It is precisely the book you think it is and that is a very good thing. Continue reading

Review: The Rise of Skywalker by Rae Carson

Novelizations are inherently tricky to review fairly and purely on their own merits. In the case of Star Wars novelizations, readers have definitely seen the movie before picking up the book and formed opinions, myself included. So let’s go ahead and get my biases out of the way: I came into this book with a fondness for Rae Carson’s writing and with something less than love for The Rise of Skywalker. I don’t say the latter to grind an axe with the movie but rather to offer a bit of clarity regarding my approach to such a polarizing film.

(Usually, I’d put a summary of the story here but you don’t really need that, do you? Besides, it’s fun to change things up sometimes.) Continue reading

Resistance Review: The Breakout

As we end 2019, I’m happy to say that we’re wrapping up the year the same way we started it. That’s right folks: at least for now, Star Wars Resistance is good again.

This week’s episode picked up right where last week’s “The Missing Agent” left off, showing us what happened to Yeager, Synara, and a thankfully, apparently repaired CB-23 in the wake of their fight with bounty hunter Ax Tagrin. Left without no one to rescue them except Kaz and Norath Kev (voiced by the always delightful Daveed Diggs), one might be forgiven for assuming the First Order had them in their clutches. But fear not, fellow fans – competent Kaz is back in action.

Continue reading

The Mandalorian Season 1 – Tosche Station Discusses

There has been a heck of a lot of Star Wars over the last few months and honestly, you couldn’t be blamed if you’ve had a hard time keeping up with it all. But now that we’re past The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian has concluded its first season, we thought it might be nice to look back at the latter… in round table format!  Continue reading

Resistance Review: The Missing Agent

The Skywalker Saga might be over but that doesn’t mean that Star Wars is! Who would have thought only a few years ago that we’d be watching both a new Star Wars movie and have episodes from two Star Wars television shows on either side?

This week’s episode of Star Wars Resistance moves the plot forward a bit with an episode that actually delightfully ends on a cliffhanger! The Colossus picks up a distress call from someone named Norath Kev on a Resistance frequency. Kaz, CB, Yeager, and Synara go to check it out only to find that Norath has been captured by the bounty hunter Ax Tagrin… and that it’s definitely a trap! Continue reading