Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra can tell her own story, and that’s exactly what she does in the new audiobook Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn. If you haven’t read Star Wars comics in recent years, you’ve missed out on one of the best new Star Wars characters. Doctor Aphra, introduced in the ongoing Darth Vader comic, is a rogue archaeologist, troublemaker, opportunist—you get the idea. She makes grand plans. And they frequently go awry. Rinse and repeat. One of those plans puts her Darth Vader’s path. But he ends up saving her life. Then employs her. That’s the story we revisit in the new Aphra audiobook. And when I say audiobook, I mean that it’s really more of an audio drama.
Random House Audio
Featured Image: Random House Audio
The audiobook revisits Aphra’s time with the Lord of the Sith, but this time, she tells the story from her perspective—which is totally and completely reliable. Kuhn brings in material from the comics, yes, including everyone’s favorite murder droids Triple-Zero and BT-1. But the audiobook covers new ground too. My favorite new scenes go back in time to when Aphra met Sana Starros. We know their relationship got messy, but what was it like in the beginning? Well, we have an exclusive clip featuring Aphra and Sana when they’re both at university, and it is flirty and fun and everything I want for these two babes. Listen:
That gorgeous performance comes courtesy of a stellar cast. Emily Woo Zeller brings Doctor Aphra to life. Nicole Lewis voices Sana Starros. Jonathan Davis, Marc Thompson, Catherine Taber, Euan Morton, Carol Monda, Sean Kenin, and Sean Patrick Hopkins round out the cast. They take this story of Aphra working with Vader (and you know, worrying about whether the Sith Lord will kill her) and make it sing. And what a gift it is.
Doctor Aphra is available wherever you listen to audiobooks now.
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of The Jedi Mind, available for pre-order now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.