Dooku: Jedi Lost (Star Wars)

Cavan Scott

Apr 2019 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Marc Thompson, Pete Bradbury, Jonathan Davis, Neil Hellegers, Sean Kenin, January LaVoy, Saskia Maarleveld, Carol Monda, Robert Petkoff and Rebecca Soler

About this audiobook

Delve into the history of the sinister Count Dooku in this audio original set in a galaxy far, far away….
 
Darth Tyranus. Count of Serenno. Leader of the Separatists. A red saber, unsheathed in the dark. But who was he, before he became the right hand of the Sith? As Dooku courts a new apprentice, the hidden truth of the Sith Lord’s past begins to come to light.
 
Dooku’s life began as one of privilege—born within the stony walls of his family’s estate, orbited by the Funeral Moon where the bones of his ancestors lie interred. But soon his Jedi abilities are recognized and he is taken from his home to be trained in the ways of the Force by the legendary Master Yoda.
 
As he hones his power, Dooku rises through the ranks, befriending fellow Jedi Sifo-Dyas and taking a padawan of his own, the promising Qui-Gon Jinn—and tries to forget the life that he once led. But he finds himself drawn by a strange fascination with the Jedi Master Lene Kostana, and the mission she undertakes for the Order: finding and studying ancient relics of the Sith, in preparation for the eventual return of the deadliest enemies the Jedi have ever faced.
 
Caught between the world of the Jedi, the ancient responsibilities of his lost home, and the alluring power of the relics, Dooku struggles to stay in the light—even as the darkness begins to fall.

Narrated by a full cast:
Orlagh Cassidy as Asajj Ventress
Euan Morton as Dooku
Pete Bradbury as Gretz Droom
Jonathan Davis as Qui-Gon Jinn
Neil Hellegers as Ramil
Sean Kenin as Sifo-Dyas
January LaVoy as Jor Aerith
Saskia Maarleveld as Jenza
Carol Monda as Lene Kostana
Robert Petkoff as Ky Narec
Rebecca Soler as Yula Braylon
And
Marc Thompson as Yoda

Ratings and reviews

SPOILER WARNING: Some of my favourite star wars novels have been all about the sith and learning about the motivations for their fall too as well as the sort of actions they took behind the scenes to help create the eventual empire (my favourite books are the Bane series and the Plagueis novel). In Dooku Jedi Lost (audiobook version) we see how Dooku goes from being essentially a dedicated padawan learner at the feet of Master Yoda to eventually a successful Jedi Master of his own. We also see how Dooku learns about his family and his own personal past as well as how his loyalties towards the Jedi and his sister are eventually forced into conflict with one another. Eventually Dooku realizes that he wants to put his family and home-world ahead of the republic and the Jedi Order after it is clear to him that the Jedi and the Republic are unwilling to offer meaningful assistance to his home-world during a time of significant crisis (granted it was self inflicted but I understand why Dooku wanted to step in to try and put a stop to things). Overall I would say it's a good story. However this sort of story is too extreme in terms of how much of a time different / development difference their is between what would be the Clone Wars Dooku (I think) who is an absolute monster who doesn't even have the guts to murder his own sister himself (spoiler warning) and the Dooku that has just left the Jedi to rule his home world. At the end of the audiobook we know why Dooku left the Jedi and the Republic however we know NOTHING about why Dooku turned to the dark side and joined the Sith. That structural choice by the story writer left me disappointed. Overall it's just not as good of an experience as the Darth Bane trilogy or the Darth Plagueis novel.

I purchased this because I love Star Wars and I didn't want to miss a character's reasons for turning. I've read all the new canon books and this seemed worthwhile. It is ridiculous to have a text published only as an audio book, and the format is mostly a way to draw out the material of a novella and charge more for it. The acting is melodramatic and none of the voices are even close. My advice is to find a summary of this material, read it, and save yourself 6 hours of tedium.

Pros: The voice performances are well done and its rare to see so many people come together to make a pretty great audio narrative. It's well worth the money when it comes to effects and dedication to making an audio drama. Cons: Dooku doesn't sound like Christopher Lee, the editing pace is too fast for one-liners and plot points to sink in, most of the audiobook is one character reading another character's autobiography, its a bit more corny than I was expecting, and it doesn't really carry the same weight as other audiobooks like Darth Plagueis or the first two Thrawn books. Overview: Pretty well produced and a somewhat interesting narrative. I just find myself struggling to get through it compared to others in the series. Worth the money for die hard fans and those who appreciate an audiobook that has more than one monotone voice.

About the author

Author and comic book writer Cavan Scott is a UK number one bestseller who has written for such popular worlds as Star Wars, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Vikings, Judge Dredd, Pacific Rim, and Sherlock Holmes. He is the author of Star Wars Dooku: Jedi Lost, The Patchwork Devil, and Cry of the Innocents, and is part of Lucasfilm's Project Luminous publishing initiative. He has written comics for IDW, Dark Horse, Vertigo, Titan, Legendary, 2000AD, and the Beano. 
 
A former magazine editor, Cavan lives in Bristol with his wife and daughters. His lifelong passions include classic scary movies, folklore, audio drama, the music of David Bowie, and walking. He owns far too many action figures. 
 
Discover more about his work at www.cavanscott.com