Just when you thought we were on a break from the High Republic… a new challenger emerges. Well technically, Tempest Runner by Cavan Scott is not a new story but today marks the first day when Star Wars fans can read the story of Lourna Dee in print as opposed to experiencing it as an audio original. And that? Is definitely a good thing.

The Nihil are not having a good time and one of their Tempest Runners, Lourna Dee, is especially not having a good time. When her latest attack plan fails, Lourna finds herself a captive of the Republic but luckily for her, they don’t know who exactly they have as their prisoner. But escaping from the prison ship the Restitution is not going to be an easy task… especially when her own past is rising back up to haunt her.

Let’s get the audio versus print discussion done up front. I received a digital review copy of Tempest Runner in its original audio drama format back in August but unfortunately stopped listening perhaps a third or so of the way through as I was having too muc trouble following the story. Judging by Twitter, I was not the only one who struggled with being able to keep track of what was going on. Tempest Runner differs from both Dooku: Jedi Lost and Doctor Aphra (Del Rey’s previous two audio originals) as it does not have an overarching frame tale and therefore a narrator of sorts nor does it feature at least some characters who we’re already audibly familiar with from the movies. While reading the script, I noticed that the story jumps from scene to scene fairly rapidly which turned out (combined with being at bad at recognizing voices) to be too much for my brain for process and handle in audio form. I did not have the same struggle here in print especially since I could flip back and forth and also refer to the cast list at the front of the book.

That was an extremely long-winded way to saying that if you too struggled with listening to the audio version or just don’t prefer audio in general but are still interested in Lourna’s story? Give the script version a try. It’s quite possible you’ll have better luck with this medium.

Now on to the book itself.

Unsurprisingly, Tempest Runner is very much the Lourna Dee show.

The supporting cast around Lourna have a few intriguing members like Sestin and Wittick but everyone very much revolves around the twi’lek. That’s not to say other characters don’t have their own motivations but this is definitely Lourna’s story and she’s the only one with any sort of real arc so despite the lengthy cast list at the start, don’t go in expecting most of the other characters whose names you might recognize (ie: any Jedi) to have a deep, meaningful story arc.

Ever since Light of the Jedi, Lourna Dee has been the Nihil character I’ve been most intrigued about. She is unapologetically ruthless and driven and while at first naming her ship after herself seemed a bit odd, that tendency has taken on a whole new meaning after Tempest Runner. To put it simply and without going too far into spoilers, Lourna Dee has not had an easy life. None of this excuses her eventual turn to piracy but it certainly puts it in a new light. It also gives all of her decisions within the book/story itself a certain weight to them.

On the non-Lourna front, one of the really nice, distinct things about the print version is how we actually get to see most of the translations from Shyriiwook or Aqualish which is a particularly nice feature where Burryaga is concerned. While learning his lines second hand is something very much in keeping with the movies, it’s nice to “hear” it directly from him for once. It’s also worth noting that while Marchion Ro has a very small role in this book, I very much enjoyed his parts in it.

While not a good introduction to for anyone new to the High Republic era, Tempest Runner is a must read for anyone intrigued by the Nihil and this print version is absolutely the answer to anyone also plagued by an inability to follow the story in audio version. (Like me!) Don’t be intimidated by the brick-like size of the book and give it a try.

Thank you to Del Rey for providing an early copy of the book for review purposes.