Anthology I: Doubts Cast
A Review by Michael Galasso

So begins part one of a series of reviews covering the Anthology series of fan audio dramas, the first five parts of which were written by Fanworks founder Nathan P. Butler (P = press whore).

Richard Brookes and Adam Bertocci carry the weight of the story admirably. Bertocci, in the role of learned teacher Prevoda Vatil, uses his time as a Jedi to relate the moral ends of the Force to the out-of-touch Brookes. Brookes plays Malchik Raine, someone more interested in using the Force as a tool, rather than using it as directed by the will of the Force.

Brookes carries the dialogue excellently, conveying the personality and drive of the character in an extremely mature and likeable manner. His attitude as the young man left to fend for himself, trying desperately to understand how he could use a power like the Force in the right ways, works so well with Bertocci’s teacher persona that it further draws the listener into the intricacies of the piece.

It’s refreshing to see a Jedi character that actually takes the time to explain the motivations behind the actions of a single Jedi. Too often actions are ruled off as just “not being the will of the Force,” where here the motivations are conveyed as explanations to the Brookes character and help the listener further understand the reasons why the Jedi helped out the young boy in the first place.

Nathan Butler’s signature writing style is again evident in every part of the drama. His high level of description is one of the high points of the peace. I found the balance between description and prose to be pretty evenly distributed. Unlike some of the other Anthology pieces, which rely heavily on inner-monologues and description, Doubts Cast is more of a conversational piece.

The major problem I had with Doubts Cast was the in your face nature of the message. By the end of the piece, I felt like the “keeping the peace by not interfering” message had been beaten over my head with a lightsaber hilt.

Doubts Cast is an excellent first volume in the Anthology series and performs well both as a stand-alone piece and as a sort of moral and stylistic introduction to the entire series. Its message is worth listening to, and passing on the meanings behind the piece is another perk of this great drama.