Doctor Aphra (Star Wars)

by Sarah Kuhn

[Quirky Cat]

Doctor Aphra is an Audible Original (I believe), and the first audiobook adventure for a Star Wars character that I am mildly obsessed with. It is basically her origin story all over again, so fans from the comics will find a lot of the details and storyline to be familiar.

Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra calls herself an archaeologist, but that isn't an accurate depiction of who she is, or what she does. She may be one of the best at digging up information about rare artifacts, but keeping those artifacts safe is a completely different story.

You see, Doctor Aphra has a tendency of getting these grand schemes in her head, and more often than not, that results in her getting in completely over her head in the process. Take the situation where she ended up working for Vader. An event that would naturally for an early end to her life.

One of the highlights from this audiobook telling of Doctor Aphra's story is that it is fully narrated. Emily Woo Zeller, Jonathan Davis, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Sean Kenin, Nicole Lewis, Carol Monda, Euan Morton, Catherine Taber, Marc Thompson all play a role in this adventure, and it really does bring the story to life. At least, it did for me.

“Oh, right. There are no auxiliary systems, and I don't have a crew. Time to get creative.”

Doctor Aphra's story is so full of chaos and determination, much like her comic series. I know I'm slightly biased in saying this, because all I've wanted for years is a novel about this character, but I am so happy that she finally got an audiobook story all to herself.

Even if it was essentially a retelling of what happened to her early on in the comics, with a few twists, turns, and flares for fun. It was still a blast and a half (pun intended), and would be a great way to bring new fans into the fold.

“Ohh, all this murder talk! You really know how to charm a girl! A girl who happens to be a blood-filled sac of flesh.”

I absolutely adore all of the sass and spunk that was infused into this audiobook. Seriously, it was hilarious. It had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. And don't even get me started on how entertaining Tripe-Zero is.

Frankly, I think my biggest complaint about Doctor Aphra is that it was too short. Seriously. It was a little over seven hours long, and while it did do a good job of covering her adventures with and against Vader, I would have happily taken more. Say, the rest of her adventures that are in comic book form. Or even something new! I certainly wouldn't have complained about that. Not one bit.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks