Scan barcode
A review by whatmattersmost
Orphan Black: The Next Chapter by Heli Kennedy, Lindsay Smith, E.C. Myers, Malka Older, Madeline Ashby, Tatiana Maslany, Mishell Baker
4.0
I was audibly excited when I heard that there was going to be a continuing story arc and that the audio would be narrated by Ms Maslany herself. The platform that was used for this retelling - set ten years after the closing events of the series, is a service called SerialBox which releases books one chapter at a time and makes us listeners wait excrutiating periods of time between chapters (ok so it was actually only a week in between but....) Luckily for you, all ten episodes have been released now so you can spare yourself the wait. Each chapter has written as well as audio launched at the same time and your subscription includes both formats which is a really interesting format. I found myself reading and listening at the same time like those read along books from childhood with the tapes that narrated.
As far as the story goes, this was definitely written with fans of the series in mind. All of the beloved core clone characters were back and I was so excited to hear their voices again through Tatiana's narration. This new story brought in a whole new set of "sestras" who are self aware. Although it was refreshing to have new characters, I feel like the origin story for those ladies was not as fully realized as I wanted them to be. I really wanted to know who was behind that experiment, how many cousins there were and how it linked back to Leda. Instead, the action focused more on a targeted bio-weapon that was set to be unleashed and the effects that they had on clones. The new "cousins" were simply a plot vector by which this weaponized virus was introduced to the plot. I wanted MORE from this younger set of clones.
I loved how they brought up the two younger characters from the original storyline who were only 8 or 9 at the time the series wrapped and framed their clone life through the lenses of teenage girls who are trying to balance their parent's experience with the one they wanted to see. Watching them come into their own over the course of the story added a satisfying layer to the evolution of all of the main characters as well as the change of perspective that time and technology can bring about.
The epilogue of this serial was narrated by none other than Jordan Gervais who played Felix in the series and left a delicious little opening through which another chapter could creep out if the authors and powers that be will allow it. I'll gladly hand over my $9.99 to continue in the tidy little Orphan Black Universe.
As far as the story goes, this was definitely written with fans of the series in mind. All of the beloved core clone characters were back and I was so excited to hear their voices again through Tatiana's narration. This new story brought in a whole new set of "sestras" who are self aware. Although it was refreshing to have new characters, I feel like the origin story for those ladies was not as fully realized as I wanted them to be. I really wanted to know who was behind that experiment, how many cousins there were and how it linked back to Leda. Instead, the action focused more on a targeted bio-weapon that was set to be unleashed and the effects that they had on clones. The new "cousins" were simply a plot vector by which this weaponized virus was introduced to the plot. I wanted MORE from this younger set of clones.
I loved how they brought up the two younger characters from the original storyline who were only 8 or 9 at the time the series wrapped and framed their clone life through the lenses of teenage girls who are trying to balance their parent's experience with the one they wanted to see. Watching them come into their own over the course of the story added a satisfying layer to the evolution of all of the main characters as well as the change of perspective that time and technology can bring about.
The epilogue of this serial was narrated by none other than Jordan Gervais who played Felix in the series and left a delicious little opening through which another chapter could creep out if the authors and powers that be will allow it. I'll gladly hand over my $9.99 to continue in the tidy little Orphan Black Universe.