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.

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Ok, so. I was recently saying how I was hoping (for no particular reason) to “catch up” on Star Wars books before THE HIGH REPUBLIC books begin to launch this winter. I’m not super confident that I’ll pull it off, but I’m still keeping that goal in my sights.

DOOKU: JEDI LOST was a good way to sneak in a Star Wars book, listening to it primarily in my car while running boring errands (audiobooks, FTW!) Although Del Rey released a physical copy of this one (as seen in my picture) I wanted to experience DOOKU: JEDI LOST in its original format. I absolutely ADORED Sarah Kuhn’s DOCTOR APHRA audiobook recently, and DOOKU: JEDI LOST was another completely captivating experience. And I mean…I guess these are more like radio plays than audiobooks? With full casts & sound effects & music…there’s a lot that goes into these and the payoff is BIG! I sincerely hope there are more of these in the future!

Count Dooku is one of those characters that really didn’t do a whole lot for me until I watched THE CLONE WARS. Of course Christopher Lee is great in the prequels, Dooku just wasn’t someone that really captured my imagination in many ways. More recently, Claudia Gray shed new light on the character in her brilliant MASTER & APPRENTICE. As I mentioned in my review, we see aspects of Dooku’s personality that were just barely hinted at in the prequels. DOOKU: JEDI LOST is honestly so connected to MASTER & APPRENTICE, they almost feel like companion stories!

DOOKU: JEDI LOST is really a proper origin story for Count Dooku, as we follow him from his time as a Padawan all the way through to him becoming the disillusioned Jedi we’ve understood him to be. The way the story unfolds is complicated, and to be honest, occasionally a little bit confusing. But you have to just roll with it, and it all works out in the end. The perspectives in the story shift a lot, but ostensibly, we experience Dooku’s backstory through the eyes of Asajj Ventress (one of my favorite Star Wars characters OF EVER!), as she plays back a series of recordings he’s made over his life.

Villain origin stories can be…complex. I mean, they should be. Right? I think what Cavan Scott does here with Dooku is so remarkable because he really toes the line between making Dooku into some tragic figure, and creating a situation where Dooku’s eventual seduction by the dark side seems inevitable.

But goddamn, it really is fascinating to see Dooku in entirely unexpected ways. As a friend, a brother, an ally, a hero, a mentor. Someone with a very solid moral compass, a sense of humor, and a curious mind.

Overall, the voice work on this was amazing. I will confess to occasionally feeling a bit lost/confused due to some shifting perspectives, and a passing similarity between some of the men’s voices in this. In hindsight, listening to this while reading the physical script would have been an ideal situation. But I kinda wanted to experience this as it was originally released.

Also…the decision to have Rael Averross speak with a sort’ve Texan drawl was certainly…a choice.

Anyway, this was fucking awesome, and I really hope there are some more of these in the works!!

May the Force be with you!!!