945: Tempest Breaker was an intense situation
In this episode, I felt the intensity of a full cast recording…
Friends, friends, friends.
Welcome back to Teatime Reading where there are books in progress.
My narration journey continues in 2025, so before we get to the review,
I’d appreciate if you check out my works on A03
As I have mentioned in the past, The High Republic has been an impressive overarching story with middle grade, young adult, and adult stories across novels and comics. As the stories come to an end, I decided to catch up on the few books I hadn’t gotten to.
One of the convenient things about a road trip is that there is ample time to listen to audiobooks, and with Cavan Scott’s High Republic adventure Tempest Breaker, I got the full experience.
A big part of this audio drama was the full cast. It added to the already compelling synopsis.
Lourna Dee is not a villain. She’s not a hero. She’s a survivor. The former Tempest Runner, wanted by both her Nihil allies and the Republic, has evaded imprisonment and death from both groups more times than she can count. But even Lourna cannot outrun the mysterious blight that devours everything wherever it appears. And Marchion Ro, the Eye of the Nihil, has announced that only he knows the secret to stopping it.
Desperate, the Republic and Jedi turn to Lourna with an offer: help the Jedi stop the blight, and in return, Lourna will have a clean slate and the chance to decide her own future.
Teamed with Avar Kriss and Keeve Trennis, the same Jedi who once hunted her, Lourna leads the search for the Nihil’s chief scientist, Baron Boolan, the only being who may have answers to the mystery of the blight, as well as Marchion Ro’s true plans.
Lourna weighs the Republic’s offer of true freedom against her own instincts for survival as her team heads deeper into Nihil territory, straight toward the very dangers Lourna has worked for so long to elude. And when the opportunity arises to face off against Marchion Ro himself, even Lourna Dee may be willing to sacrifice everything to fulfill a quest for revenge.
I will say that there was a slight challenge with keeping track of the timelines because of the multiple voice actors, but when the story clicked into place, I found it to be an incredibly visceral experience. The tension of the action worked because of the incredible vocal performances and the themes of revenge, survival, and second chances really worked in this audio drama.
It also made it easier to deal with the traffic on my route. But jokes aside, this was the story that made me understand Lourna Dee as well as Kreeve Trennis, two characters that hadn’t always connected with me in Phase 1.
Now, as I wrote this, I also realized that I hadn’t listened to the first Lourna Dee-centric audio drama Tempest Runner. That is part of the challenge of a sweeping world and time period such as the High Republic: covering all the stories.
That may explain the gap in my understanding for the character, but I have accepted the fact that I won’t cover every single story. Tempest Breaker was an excellent story, and the last moments really got me and propelled me into the next book in the High Republic: Into the Light by Claudia Gray.
But that, my friends, is another review.
Until next time, keep your bookmarks close.
Peace, Love, Pages.
Note: As Always, Affiliate Links are here for your convenience at no cost to you. All reading was at my own expense.