Reviews

Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott

andrewr15's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The tale of Dooku’s rise to power (and subsequent fall to the Dark Side) is a classical tale of disillusionment and fundamental human frustration. While it takes a moment to adjust to a non-Christopher Lee sounding Dooku (though maybe that’s for the best given the attempt at Neeson later in the drama (through no fault of the actor, Neeson is hard to do)), the audio drama weaves a tale that is oh so familiar at this point of a man at odds with the tenets of his religious order and the restrictions and short sightedness of them. While this is a well worn trail since the days of Lucas’ prequels, Jedi Lost presents a different perspective, one that displays the confusion of a young Jedi discovering his family and his lineage. It’s thrilling, compelling, the dual stories bringing depth to both Dooku and Ventress in ways that are refreshing, and emboldens their complexities within the broader canon.

matthew_pawlyszyn's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jasonpwrites's review against another edition

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5.0

A nice epistolary book that gives a background of Dooku. And making it an audio drama-type book made it an interesting and welcome part of the Star Wars universe.

madqueeen's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed learning more about Dooku’s upbringing and rise into who he became. I only wish we would have seen more of how Dooku came to know Ventress and take her in as his assassin. Especially since she was the narrator of the story.

allymagerr's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 stars

rudiboiii's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Good overall. Great inside into Dooku during his time in the Jedi Order and why he defected

allibrooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

basharria's review against another edition

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3.0

Overall good, with a great ending and some captivating moments. The Jedi are depicted (at times) far too poorly, and Dooku's descent into the dark side is only briefly touched on. The drama chooses too wide a scope and tries to cover too much time, and as a result it feels a bit like a slideshow. Enjoyable but leaves you wanting a whole lot more.

beasleysbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

theroguerebels's review against another edition

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4.0

“You must join me Obi-Wan, and together we will destroy the Sith!”
-Count Dooku

Some of the most mysterious and elusive characters in Star Wars are the Sith. In the canon, there are really only a handful of them and only a couple of them that have a defined and detailed story. Anakin Skywalker is one Sith whose story is very fleshed out, and Maul (although initially his story was uh… cut short) now has a lot more of his story brought to light. The rest of the Sith characters are mostly a mystery. Including Count Dooku.

Or as I like to call him…

Doo.

This story brings a lot of Dooku’s story to light. Which is a wonderful insight into such an important character in the Skywalker Saga that we know so little about.

But Dooku is not the only main character of this story. One of my personal favorite characters Asajj Ventress is the fulcrum around which this story is told. Although we know a bit more about Ventress and her history than her mysterious master, this story brings a bit of light into the early days of her apprenticeship with Dooku.

Now then.

This is not exactly an audiobook. It’s an “Audio Original” story narrated by a full cast! This gives us something pretty different from the usual audiobook experience. There are lots of pros and cons to something like this. Starting with the cons a few things were tough to get used to. The way the story is told is not as descriptive as a book usually is. In a book, there is usually a lot of description on the page to paint the picture for your mind’s eye. As this story was written for this format, it depends heavily on the audio effects and dialogue to paint that picture for us. It’s not that this is a bad thing in itself but it definitely makes things easy to lose place without an easy text to follow. Not only that but this particular story jumps around a bit which in general also can be confusing if you miss something. The performances themselves are all well done. As usual, the people who put these things together do well at gathering an immense amount of talent. It’s always a bit sad for me when characters we’ve come to connect with for so long are voiced by a different person than we are used to but that is simply the reality of the business I suppose and something I try not to hold against the next person to inherit the shoes. In this case, most of the voices were wonderful but the two main characters are particularly important. Asajj Ventress was voiced very well and performed admirably although a bit differently than The Clone Wars performance I am used to. Dooku was a bit too different for my tastes. In Christopher Lee and Corey Burton, there is such a distinctive and resonant tone to his voice that anything different just seems off. While this voice actor was wonderful in his performance and accent, the voice just didn’t have the same resonance I always think of when I think of Dooku. Where most of the characters slipped right into their place in my head, every time I heard Dooku I would slip out of the story a bit and wonder who it was before remembering that it was Dooku. As for the pros, there are plenty. As always the audio track is packed with more than voices. All the music and sound effects are masterfully mixed into the story. Since this story was written for this medium, it’s able to really take advantage of its strengths and delivers the audio experience in a unique way. The story and content not only fill in a lot of gaps in our knowledge of Dooku in particular but tell a compelling story through Ventress and her experiences. In her quest for knowledge, we learn much as well.

More things that were lost that I found interesting were sprinkled throughout this story. Recent mentions like Pijal and Rael Aveross. The Nightsisters, Hal’Sted and Rattataka. Pet convors, and duels with Ky Narec. Visions and the Bogan Collection. A mysterious helmet that belonged Lord Momin. Shifting Sands and the Windrunner. Yoda’s training and lessons in patience. Jedi Seekers and the search for ancient Sith relics. Visions of the future and Sifo-Dyas. Sith Beasts and noble blood.

If you are a Dooku fan this is what you’ve been waiting for. While many questions remain in Dooku’s story, we have a much better idea of the kind of Jedi he was before falling to the Sith. He was able to see the failings of the Jedi and the Republic long before their twilight. It’s a shame he wasn’t able to stop it.

Sal P.


“The Republic is changing Yoda, has changed. We all know it. Even if we won’t admit it.”

– Dooku