Star Wars: The High Republic: Tempest Runner
In this Star Wars audio original, delve into the cutthroat world of one of the High Republic’s greatest foes, the merciless Lourna Dee. The Nihil storm has raged through the galaxy, leaving chaos and grief in its wake. Few of its raiders are as vicious as the Tempest Runner Lourna Dee. She stays one step ahead of the Jedi Order at the helm of a vessel named after one of the deadliest monsters in the galaxy: the Lourna Dee. But no one can outrun the defenders of the High Republic forever. After the defeat of her crew, Lourna falls into the hands of the Jedi—but not before she hides her identity, becoming just another Nihil convict. Her captors fail to understand the beast they have cornered. Just like every fool she’s ever buried, their first mistake was keeping her alive.
Lourna is determined to make underestimating her their last. Locked onto a Republic correctional ship, she’s dragged across the galaxy to repair the very damage she and her fellow Tempest Runners inflicted on it. But as Lourna plans her glorious escape, she makes alliances that grow dangerously close to friendships. Outside the Nihil—separated from her infamous ship, her terrifying arsenal, and her feared name—Lourna must carve her own path. But will it lead to redemption? Or will she emerge as a deadlier threat than ever before?
Written by: Cavan Scott
Read by: Jessica Almasy, Dan Bittner, Orlagh Cassidy, Sullivan Jones, January LaVoy, Kathleen McInerney, Tara Sands, Vikas Adam, Jonathan Davis, Neil Hellegers, Saskia Maarleveld, Soneela Nankani, Marc Thompson and Shannon Tyo
Release Date: 31st August 2021
Out today is the newest Star Wars audio drama and the next installment in the publishing-wide The High Republic initiative, Tempest Runner, from Cavan Scott. After the events of Out of the Shadows, the Nihil and Lourna Dee are in dire straits as the Republic pushes their advantage. After being captured, Lourna must find a way to survive with the Republic and her past pushing in from all sides.
Unlike the more ensemble adult High Republic releases so far, this is very much a story dedicated completely to Lourna Dee, focused on dissecting her and finding out what drives a person into becoming a Nihil. That means the story has a lot of flashbacks and doesn’t spend too much time progressing the overall initiative, everything stays more or less in the same place from beginning to end, but it still effectively gives depth to a character that hasn’t really had much so far. I’m glad we got this story because I think it’s important to give the Nihil this level of depth. A couple other stories have done that through side characters and plots, but this is the first time we’ve gotten an entire story built around a Nihil. There were a few beats in Lourna’s arc that didn’t land quite as hard as I might have liked but I think I’ll enjoy it more the second time around, especially once the script is out. By the end of the story I understood her on a deeper level than I did before, which means it did its job.
Because this is such a tightly focused character study, I really hope Lourna is here to stay for the initiative. Almost all of the Nihil outside of Marchion, Lourna, and one or two others have ended up being relatively disposable, and the state of the organization at this point makes me wonder how much longer it can hold together. I’ll be disappointed if we spent this much time getting to know Lourna only for her to stop being important after phase one.
Despite being almost entirely focused on her, what time we do spend with characters beside Lourna is also great. It’s really cool to see characters like Keeve, Sskeer, Avar, and more in a different medium like this, and the fact that Cavan also writes the Marvel comic makes the transition feel seamless. I’m already pleased with the way the story in the comic compliments this one, even more so than I was with The Rising Storm.
With each audio drama, I wish more and more that the script would be released on the same day, or at least closer to release rather than the following year. Not only would it make the story accessible for more people, I also think it would enhance the experience for people who can and do enjoy the audio already. I love the atmosphere and performances, but I’d also like to be able to have an easy reference to help keep track of different voices and dialogue.
Wanting a script aside, the production value and sound design for the audio are very, very on point. It’s easy to close your eyes and let the acting, music and sound effects build the scene in your head. It isn’t hard to tell Cavan has a lot of experience writing these kinds of stories. The performances are all around great, and I loved getting voices for so many characters who have only lived on the page until now.
Tempest Runner may not be my favorite of the initiative’s releases so far but it’s still very much a worthy installment in what has been a fantastic storyline to follow. I had been hoping this would be enough to satisfy me until wave three comes out in a few months but I’m looking forward to it just as much now as I was before. Cavan has cemented himself as one of my favorite Star Wars writers and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Guest review by @NumidianPrime
- Mann, George (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 24 Pages - 10/05/2021 (Publication Date) - Random House/Star Wars (Publisher)
