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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Trauma shapes a villain who is an anti-hero in the end. Not a fan of the Nihil so this was not my fav audio drama. Bad bitch Twilek tho.
My beef with the High Republic "campaign" is it is densely populated with uninteresting characters, and Cavan Scott valiantly tries to flesh one of them out here (to be frank I found the flashbacks to her past somewhat irritating and kept wanting to be brought back to the present). The excellent voice actors bring her and others to life, so it is not a total drag. The titular character is mercurial and her nature shifts abruptly, with her attitude change in the last chapter being particularly puzzling and contrived. While supposedly plumbing the depths of the character's past, it ignores revelations about her past associations in Out of the Shadows.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Solid, the first part was the peak, but I simply loved Lourna's time in prison and the arc she gets so close to completing before sabotaging herself. It's too long for an audio drama, in my opinion, though.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to like this. I really did. The backstory of Lourna Dee sounds like it should be a cool story. And at times it is. But it's let down by two main things: there's some really terrible voice acting (like really wooden performances) and at the end of the story Lourna is, fundamentally, exactly where she was at the start of the story. I'm not entirely sure it was worth the listen, tbh. Maybe for the next audio drama, I'll just read the script instead.
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my favorites things about Lourna Dee is you never know if she's telling the truth of if she is cooking something up, waiting for the perfect moment to execute her plans. The book centers Lourna Dee and is a deep dive into her characterization as well as her backstory. I'm glad that Lourna got her own book to herself since she seemed like such an interesting character in the other High Republic novels. I thought Cavan Scott really delivered in rounding out her character while also keeping it consistent with the appearances she's mad so far.
The metaphors for Lourna Dee are pretty on the nose, but I think they work to great effect.Making the setting of this novel a prison is a pretty overt way to frame her character arc, but I think that it worked out well. The mask she adorns is also a bit obvious, especially when other characters comment on it. But, like I said, it works. The contrast of these very obvious metaphors and the way she operates, withholding the truth, scheming, and sneaking around make her a very intriguing character. She wears her heart on her sleeve but thinks that covering up with a band-aid is enough to conceal it.
The main theme of this novel is about control and how others wield it. In Lourna's case,she had been at the mercy of men her entire life. The things she does, the things that she continues to do, all point to her wanting to finally take control of her life. During the flashback at the book opens with her trying to take control of the mount she is riding and ultimately failing, a pretty big piece of foreshadowing for the entire novel. We also see her try to take a subtle form of control when she asks her father to particpate in illegal spice trade, like the other Twi'lek colonies. Not only was it about control over capital, but she would also be taking control over the family with this plan. When her family resists her control, she betrays them for another form of control. Thus, the cycle starts.
This cyclical battle with control over what she really desires is consistent throughout the book. Does Lourna continue her battle for her ultimate goal, to control the Nihil and then the galaxy, or does she try to break free from this Ouroboros of abuse and finally do something for herself. I thought Cavan Scott did an excellent job at portraying this internal struggle. Lourna Dee wants to do the right things, some of the time, but she knows that she is too far gone for that to really matter. Even if she does stop, what about all the people that were left behind in her wake? Her anger and grief are so big that they amassed their own orbiting, sucking everyone in her life inside. The prison where she was trapped allowed her to look back on all this and think: what is it really worth it? While the question remains unanswered, I think the reader knows what she would say.
The plot itself was not much to write home about. I feel like most readers who have read The High Republic will know how it ends. I think the meat of this book is within the flashbacks you get with Lourna Dee rather than the actual A plot which just serves a vehicle for Lourna Dee's character arc. I found the drama pretty fun and the action sequences were pretty good as well. Overall, I never felt like this book was too slow or too fast. It is a pretty short listened compared to other audio books. The cast of voice actors did their jobs very well and kept me engaged until the very end.
The only compliant I have is that it was hard to get a feel for some of the sequences of events as well as the environments the characters were put in. I left confused when the perspective switched from past to present and some of the scenes were hard to image in my head.Lourna getting caught under the mining drill was one of them. I had a hard time pictures how that happened and had to look up pictures of them to make sure I knew what I was imagining.
This book made me even more of a fan than I already was and I really enjoyed my time with it.
The metaphors for Lourna Dee are pretty on the nose, but I think they work to great effect.
The main theme of this novel is about control and how others wield it. In Lourna's case,
This cyclical battle with control over what she really desires is consistent throughout the book. Does Lourna continue her battle for her ultimate goal, to control the Nihil and then the galaxy, or does she try to break free from this Ouroboros of abuse and finally do something for herself. I thought Cavan Scott did an excellent job at portraying this internal struggle. Lourna Dee wants to do the right things, some of the time, but she knows that she is too far gone for that to really matter. Even if she does stop, what about all the people that were left behind in her wake? Her anger and grief are so big that they amassed their own orbiting, sucking everyone in her life inside. The prison where she was trapped allowed her to look back on all this and think: what is it really worth it? While the question remains unanswered, I think the reader knows what she would say.
The plot itself was not much to write home about. I feel like most readers who have read The High Republic will know how it ends. I think the meat of this book is within the flashbacks you get with Lourna Dee rather than the actual A plot which just serves a vehicle for Lourna Dee's character arc. I found the drama pretty fun and the action sequences were pretty good as well. Overall, I never felt like this book was too slow or too fast. It is a pretty short listened compared to other audio books. The cast of voice actors did their jobs very well and kept me engaged until the very end.
The only compliant I have is that it was hard to get a feel for some of the sequences of events as well as the environments the characters were put in. I left confused when the perspective switched from past to present and some of the scenes were hard to image in my head.
This book made me even more of a fan than I already was and I really enjoyed my time with it.
When I was reading all the (canon) high republic books I skipped this one because I couldn’t stay concentrated on the script format of the book. I tried twice, then I got the audiobook and for anyone who struggles with reading a script the audiobook for this one is a great listen with a full cast. I found myself really enjoying this book when I listened to it.