– Spoiler Review –
Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original, written by Sarah Kuhn and performed by a full cast, takes the earliest adventures of the titular doctor and presents them from her own point of view. Thanks to it being full of humor, heart, and adventure, this Aphra fan (I can’t pretend to be anything but) had every expectation broken by the audiobook, and the cast, especially Emily Woo Zeller as Chelli Lona Aphra and Nicole Lewis as Sana Starros, dazzled to the point I grinned the entire way through the production and immediately wanted more!
Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original adapts and expands upon the doctor’s initial appearance in the comics, which started with 2015’s Darth Vader #3 (Vol. 1) and ends with 2016’s Darth Vader #25 (Vol. 1), including the crossover Vader Down and the “Rebel Jail” arc of the Star Wars (Vol. 1) series. But to call it simply an adaptation is disingenuous, as reframing the entire story from Chelli Lona Aphra’s own POV, providing new and perceptive windows into her thoughts, and expanding with new story content heightens this audio drama into something far more…a true original. Writer Sarah Kuhn weaves a thrilling, humorous tale of both the source material and new content, while adding motivations and deeper characterizations of Aphra as she navigates life working for the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader. Much like in many of her series’ own issues, Aphra narrates her adventures as a recording to the listener, which the audiobook plays up to great effect, as she rewinds, encrypts, and deletes sections, producing laughs, tears, and so much more (like an excellent reveal regarding the whole conceit later on). Most of the new content, beyond the brief space battle between Aphra and Maz Kanata as heard in the first excerpt, is focused on the history between Aphra and Sana Starros, an ex we met early in the comics, finally filling in the blanks regarding what caused bad blood between the two. The source material is already an excellent story to cover, and Aphra’s exploits and bumbles through working with Vader are what made me come to love the character so much, but the additional scenes really shine, while Aphra’s narration elevates the stories we’ve already had. In fact, reading the original material is not a necessity to enjoy the audiobook, it stands firmly on its own, so fans curious about the phenomenon of Aphra can jump right in here and get arguably one of the best glimpses at what makes the character so special to so many of us. That being said, having a few issues open to read along is a great supplement, as I didn’t find Triple-Zero as scary without his glowing red eyes (he’s still very funny and creepy!), so if you happen to have the comics, or end up getting them after listening, it would be a fun way to enjoy a re-listen to the audio drama*; I didn’t have the comics out often, but many of the lines and moments in the audiobook brought back images of specific panels…I may have read them a few times! When I finished the audiobook, I immediately wondered when we would get another one, adapting the first volume of her own comic series maybe, because I so thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience; Bravo, Kuhn and team!
As for the cast, let’s talk about the star of the show: Emily Woo Zeller. I always had an idea of what Aphra’s voice would be like in my head, and while I can’t for sure say exactly how it sounded, Emily Woo Zeller’s take turned out to be even better than I ever could’ve imagined. Zeller IS Aphra, bringing to life every little inflection, deception, snarky comment, and “pew pew” with an unmatched gusto; you can hear how much she puts into the role and it pays off time and time again, taking Aphra effectively off the page and providing fans with even more reasons to love the character. The way her voice drops and sweetens around Sana, how big she goes when she’s cueing up for the epic reveal or moment to her story, the steely determination to find the next door and survive, to even a few tears, Zeller spares no expense to give fans a fully realized and memorable Aphra. And the script Zeller has to work with is such a big expansion on who and what Aphra is, digging into what drives her, why she lives life on the edge, and even how a relationship with Sana effects her, it broadens our understanding of Aphra in ways we only were beginning to discover in her prose debut for From a Certain Point of View. I’m an even bigger fan of Aphra after this audiobook than I was before, which I did not think was possible as she’s already my favorite character of all time now, and it’s thanks to Kuhn’s script and Zeller’s killer performance.
The majority of the audio drama is Zeller’s show, but there’s a full cast and every member really makes a mark. The next big standout, and for good reason, is Nicole Lewis as Sana Starros, a character who has far outgrown her initial shock introduction as Han Solo’s “wife” into a wickedly good character on her own. Lewis ensures Sana’s voice absolutely fits the description of Corellian whiskey Aphra so lovingly calls her when she lays eyes on her, and she transforms between the young, studious Sana to cold and hurt so damn well, each side can be felt in her voice. The chemistry between Lewis and Zeller is infectious, making Sana and Aphra’s eventual bad blood all the more saddening, and all their scenes together so damn compelling regardless of how things do down; the chemistry is even more impressive once you realize they didn’t even record together! This relationship is the lynchpin of the audio drama and Lewis and Zeller secure its place as some of the best material within, as their parts together are definitely my favorite. In the comics, it hadn’t been explored what happened between them so I’ve been dying to learn what went down and what’s revealed here lives up to all my expectations, plus I’m very glad it happened in this audiobook over anywhere else. It’s also some of the Star Wars’s biggest, most out there and open LGBTQ+ representation, taking what was merely hinted at in the original run of these comics and bringing it fully into the light; Aphra’s current comics haven’t skimped on her relationships with other women, but having an LGBTQ+ relationship at the center of one of the bigger releases of the year is another great step in expanding representation in the GFFA. We’re still a long way from better and more visual rep, of course, but each step like this is a win.
The rest of the cast, and the overall production, shines as well. Sean Kenin delivers some creepy, posh murderbot as Triple-Zero which, despite my mention earlier about the character losing a little creepiness without a better description of/seeing his spooky red eyes, brought plenty of hearty laughs and a constant unnerving feeling whenever he was around and talking of torture; it’s much like I imagined Trip to sound like and I’d love to hear Kenin continue the character, especially if they were to audiobook the “Remastered” arc of Doctor Aphra (Vol. 1), while the beeps and boops of Beetee were much as I hoped. Marc Thompson, from the bass tones of Vader (and the production messing with the voice/adding the breathing) to the growls and howls of Black Krrsantan (among others) really showed his impressive range. Seeing Vader from Aphra’s POV offered much of what added to her characterization, as we see her struggle to be seen for what she can be, something her parents Korin and Lona miss in their misguided attempts to protect her…and Aphra thinks Vader might just be able to see. With Krrsantan, the original Vader comic didn’t really explain how the two came to work together so I appreciated how the audiobook expands on their connection in fun ways. Speaking of Aphra’s parents, Korin and Lona, the flashbacks here also helped build into Aphra’s characterization, why she has this drive to survive and the (sometimes false) bravado, not wanting to appear weak as she feels Lona was on their journey away from home when she was younger. Digging into these vulnerable areas is part of what makes this such an excellent glimpse and take on Aphra. Along the way, Han (Thompson again), Luke (Sean Patrick Hopkins, in one of the best non-Mark Hamill Luke’s I’ve ever heard), and Leia (Catherine Taber) all make appearances, as the story covers the events of the Vader Down crossover, arguably turning said miniseries into a more enjoyable experience by kind of laughing at the seriousness of the original story, and also the “Rebel Jail” arc of the Star Wars (Vol. 1) series, which allowed the women to team up, reluctantly, and save the day from without any help from the guys (one of my top 10 moments from the comics over the past 5 years). And for a few smaller appearances: Euan Morton’s time as Palpatine left a memorable impression and I almost wish he got to have more lines!; Carol Monda seemed to enjoy being Maz Kanata but her part in the audio drama was over far too quick; and Jonathan Davis helped Boba Fett really live up to Aphra’s nickname, Boba Man. Nick Martorelli, the producer of the audiobook, really put together an excellent overall package, from the usage of John Williams’ music at key moments (plenty of prequel soundtrack love) to the fun effects for Aphra messing with the recording, and many thanks to Elizabeth Schaefer for putting this together and thinking of Kuhn immediately, because she was definitely the right person for the job. Many of the nitpicks I had for Dooku: Jedi Lost weren’t as prominent or as noticeable here, but that might be my Aphra fan bias showing (like it likely has for most of this review)!
UPDATE: Scriptbook Review
Audiobooks aren’t for everyone, for a multitude of reasons, be it a hearing impairment doesn’t allow one to partake or one doesn’t really enjoy sitting and listening no matter how entertaining it will be, so it’s awesome Random House Audio and Del Rey made it a habit to release the scripts in hardcover for all fans to enjoy. Doctor Aphra’s script, out April 6, gives us a glimpse into some of the funny descriptors and little additional details Sarah Kuhn hid amongst its pages. As you can tell from my glowing review above, the production and voice acting is absolutely stellar for the script, giving it a humorous and heartfelt life that’s infectious to listen to from start to finish, so if you can enjoy it, I’ll continue suggest you do so. Otherwise, or to add to your next listen of the production, you can’t go wrong reading this story via Kuhn’s script.
Reading this through gave me an even bigger appreciation of Kuhn’s writing, handling of Aphra, and how she weaved a more cohesive, Aphra-focused version of events originally seen in Darth Vader-focused comics. The story stands out more, as much as the excellent voice acting, and Kuhn’s ability to mesh the story we know with more agency for Aphra, as well as fill in some much needed (and VERY APPRECIATED!) blanks regarding the past between Sana Starros and Aphra, is what really makes this such a compelling read/listen. In a way, reading the scenes revealing Sana and Aphra’s past together made them feel even shorter than I remembered when listening, more so because these are compelling, heartfelt, and honest moments between the two and I couldn’t help but read faster than I listen to an audiobook. These scenes show the genius of their addition by adding context to their reunion later on in the story and reading it solely as a script brought it to my attention even more than I appreciated while listening. Likewise, the added aspect of Aphra’s thoughts and purpose through the story bring the comic version of her to talkative, but enduring life, feeling like a natural extension of her first prose appearance in From a Certain Point of View.
Insight into Kuhn’s directions regarding atmosphere for specific locations, specific beats for Aphra and her narration, or directions for those awesome Wookiee growls for Black Krrsantan, also highlights how great the production team and actors were in implementing those ideas. In particular, seeing the atmospheric descriptors for planets and locations really made me appreciate the background noises they used, as it invokes what Kuhn was thinking better than I realized. Having heard how voice actors like Emily Woo Zeller, Nicole Lewis, and Marc Thompson (in particular Vader and Krrsantan) imbue the script with so much emotion and humor (or very specific Wookiee growls!), reading the script makes it very obvious how wonderfully written the material was for them, assisting with their fun, memorable performances. Though if you haven’t or won’t be listening to the audio, from Kuhn setting the scene to those acting directions, it’s easy to build up a similar profile for situations and how these voices might be brought to life in your own mind. Like I said, reading this script now, after several times listening to the audio, has really expanded my appreciation of the script. Not listening does mean the absolutely choice decisions for music placement or little noises Zeller makes to add to Aphra’s conversations and narration aren’t included with the script but it’s not hard to image them included.
In the end, the Doctor Aphra audio drama’s scriptbook is the same great story, with the same great humor, emotional resonance, and overall sense of fun, all emanating from the page this time. If you’ve been waiting for this release due to avoiding the audiobook for a variety of reasons, this will be well-worth the wait, while fans of the audiobook and character can’t go wrong by adding this book to their collection.
END UPDATE
Here are a few other things:
- *As I said earlier, having read the comics through a few times, I could picture specific panels as I listened, and I enjoyed it when I read them while listening a few times. If you’re curious how the Chapters matched up with the comics, like the first volume of Darth Vader, I went ahead and put together the list here: Chapters 2-5 cover Darth Vader #3 (Vol. 1); Chapters 7,8 cover DV #4; Chapter 11 is Aphra’s version of DV #6; Chapter 13 roughly covers flashbacks from Doctor Aphra‘s (Vol. 1) “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon” arc; Chapters 14, 17, 18 are basically DV #7; Chapters 19-23 covers DV #8; Chapter 25 is DV #9; Chapters 26-28 are DV #10; Chapters 30-32 are DV #11; Chapter 34, with 33 building into it, is DV #12; Chapter 35-40 cover the Vader Down crossover; Chapter 41, 42 are Star Wars #16 (Vol. 1); Chapter 44 is SW #17; Chapter 45, 46 are SW #18; Chapter 47, 48 are SW #19; Chapter 49 is DV #21; Chapter 50 is DV #22; Chapter 51 is DV #23; Chapter 52 is the tail end of DV #24; and Chapters 53 & 54 are DV #25.
- Leading up to the release, I came out with a speculation article covering who I thought all might make an appearance and what their parts might include. Some of guesses were complete misses, like assuming we’d get more about Aphra working for the Droid Gotra (they almost don’t get mentioned!), Cylo or Thanoth would actually be seen, or we’d get some Aphra (Vol. 2) characters, while others I wasn’t terribly far off on, like we’d get Lona in flashbacks, how Utani Xane sent her to jail was explored, to Boba Fett only really being billed in the cast because its such a recognizable name, not because his role got expanded in any real meaningful way. Regardless, by now it should be obvious I wasn’t disappointed to matter the veracity of my predictions!
- SDCC went virtual this year and the audiobook got its own panel! You can catch the whole 46 minute panel here, while the official site has a quick-hit of 7 memorable things discussed. It was a blast to listen to, from everyone’s enthusiasm about the project and insight over the process in bringing the whole thing to life. Also, the call for the Nick Martorelli Cut is worth watching for alone!
- I really appreciated the shorter chapters, as I remember Dooku: Jedi Lost having less chapters but longer ones, as this was easier to take breaks or jot down notes before picking up with the next chapter.
- Also like Dooku: Jedi Lost, whether audiobooks aren’t your bag or you’re not able to enjoy them, especially due to being hearing impaired, their will be a script book to come so everyone will be able to enjoy this!
This Aphra-fan is still grinning from listening to Doctor Aphra – An Audiobook Original, which improves on its source material and expands everything we know about the character with a heartfelt, humorous script by Sarah Kuhn, while a captivating performance from Emily Woo Zeller and the rest of the full cast, including Nicole Lewis as Sana, helps break every expectation. I need another entry, immediately!
+ Sarah Kuhn’s script excellently adapts what came before and grows beyond, providing our most insightful glimpse at Aphra yet
+ Emily Woo Zeller delivers in every possible way as Chelli Aphra
+ Nicole Lewis’ chemistry with Zeller is infectious, making Sana/Aphra drama work so damn well
+ Remaining cast shines
+ Production excels, especially playing up the recording conceit
– We don’t already have another one!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content and I bought a copy right away anyways. All opinions are my own.
DOCTOR APHRA REVIEWS:
Volume 2: Fortune and Fate (#1-6)
Volume 1: Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | The Screaming Citadel crossover (#7, 8) | Remastered (#14-19) / Arc Review | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) / Arc Review | Worst Among Equals (#26-31) / Arc Review | Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (#32-36) / Arc Review | A Rogue’s End (#37-40) / Arc Review | Full Volume 1 Review
Annual: #1 | #2 | #3