I have been on a Star Wars kick recently and after finishing The Fallen Star, I decided to listen to the audio drama Tempest Runner. I know what you are thinking “Josh, what is the difference between an audio book and audio drama?” Well an audiobook is just someone reading the book, whereas the audio drama is a bunch of voice actors putting on an entire production. There are sound effects and music. It is definitely a fun format (some audiobooks borrow some of these elements and become a sort of hybrid, but this type of drama is exclusive…like there is no book to buy if you want this story).
The Tempest Runner is a fantastic production. It felt at times like I was listening to a movie. I just wish the story was on par with the format. This is supposed to be the origin of Lourna Dee. I thought it was going to be her battle with Avar Kriss, but alas, that battle actually happened in the comics (very frustrating that so much of this stuff happens in like fifty different series). Instead, we catch up to Lourna onboard a prison ship. She needs to navigate prison life, while also dealing with some unsavory characters from her past.
Okay, from here there will be spoilers…
-I liked that she was from some colony world where she was part of the “royal” family (they were not royalty, but sort of close). I remember in an early book that someone mentions that Lourna is definitely from the Core Worlds and has a more refined history than some of the other Nihil.
-I hated how rushed her backstory was. Like, she is betrayed and sent to the slave pens. It felt like she was there for a few days or weeks before the Jedi rescued her. I think it would have better served the character, if she had been a slave for awhile. Maybe the Jedi fail to rescue her and the other slaves. Maybe the Nihil end up attacking the slave ship and that is how she joins them. I feel like that would have fit her better. It just felt like the story went from her betraying her family for the spice trade to the slave pens to the military academy to joining the Nihil to becoming a Tempest Runner in a very short time. Like faster than Luke’s training on Dagobah.
-I enjoyed the ending. She has a new ship and it seems like she wants to challenge Marchion Ro (although, I should try to figure out if Avar fights her in the comics after this or not…since this story takes place after the attack on the Republic Fair, but before the destruction of Starlight Beacon).
-I never really saw anything about Lourna that made me dislike her. They glossed over any horrible things she did. She has a weird code of ethics, but it is still her own code. She is the typical anti-hero. It was kind of weird. A character like her, if you make her someone that we like, you also should make us feel dirty about liking her. Have her as sympathetic, but then have her murder a bunch of kids and puppies to remind us that she is ruthless. Ya know what I mean? I always think of Silvio killing Adriana as the perfect example of a guy you like, but then he does something horrible and you go “ohhh yeah, he is an awful human being!”
So yeah, it was a decent story. There were parts I did not like, but there were some that I did. It was entertaining.
