They didn’t always ask to travel with the Doctor. And even if they did, they didn’t know what the consequences would be.
They didn’t always ask to travel with the Doctor. And even if they did, they didn’t know what the consequences would be.
SHORT TRIPS: COMPANIONS
After a solid start to its range of short story collections, Big Finish opted for a much less bizarre linking motif for its second collection: stories which focused in various ways on the Doctor’s companions. This is a much more extreme collection than the first: the highs are higher and the lows are lower, but overall it’s well worth picking up and bodes well for the many collections to follow.
The Tip of the Mind — Peter Anghelides — It’s a damn shame this guy left the novel range, and this story proves it. The Doctor thinks he’s being sent to visit Zoe to get his memories back but in fact he’s going to wipe hers for the Time Lords — great idea. Unfortunately the framing device, though well-written, doesn’t really work.
The Splintered Gate — Justin Richards — Nice little mood piece, which shows Ian as a much more vulnerable character than one would suspect. Not sure precisely what it’s foretelling, though.
The Man from DOCTO(R) — Andrew Collins — Fun stuff simply because Harry Sullivan is so enjoyable to read about. Sure, it’s silly, but it’s supposed to be — the funny parts are funny and that’s what matters.
Apocrypha Bipedium — Ian Potter — Excellent story. Potter wraps together The Myth Makers and The Time of the Daleks with skill, but the real show here is Potter’s work with narrative convention. By varying his prose style and utilizing unreliable narrative, this is a story which stands up to close analysis and proves very entertaining as a result. It’s great to see something this intelligent in a short story anthology.
A Boy’s Tale — Gary Russell — I’ve never been a supporter of Russell’s writing, but this is something special: a heartwarming little tale of a boy’s quest for companionship. I should have seen the last line coming but I didn’t — great stuff.
Kept Safe and Sound — Paul Magrs — K9 never talked like this on television, but I can’t hold this against the story, which is written so well it hurts. Anyone who’s watched every extant episode of Doctor Who knows exactly how the kid feels when he realizes there won’t be anything new after he reads volume 12 — Magrs is one of the best authors in Doctor Who prose and he proves it again here.
The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe — Mark Michalowski — I love stories like this: take an unexplained continuity event and explain it in hilarious tongue-in-cheek fashion. The ending is perfect, too.
Hearts of Stone — Steve Lyons — Another Adric story, and one which doesn’t beat around the bush about his personality. It’s hard to read precisely because nobody wants to go through what Adric’s experiencing, but that’s what makes it so good. Another Lyons triumph.
Distance — Tara Samms — Amazing. Excellent prose, perfect capturing of the elderly Ian and Barbara, and a wonderful examination of the role of death in the mind of an older person. Every time I start a “Samms” story I wonder if the author can keep it up and every time I find the answer is yes.
Qualia — Stephen Fewell — A challenging task for Fewell to get the various perspectives right, but he nails it. Another intelligent story that takes two or three readings to have its subtleties captured.
Curriculum Vitae — Simon Guerrier — Coming back from journeying in the TARDIS is, psychologically, just like returning home from war, according to this nice little tale. Using Polly as the narrator was a stroke of genius given her personality in the series.
Notre Dame du Temps — Nick Clark — I love introspective McCoy tales, and his journey to Paris to recover a lost drawing is just perfect for the character. The story would stand up on its own just with that set piece, but add to it the post-Ancestor Cell EDA crew and a lovely conclusion with McGann and you’ve got another winner.
The Little Drummer Boy — Eddie Robson — The ending is great, but the rest is decidedly average, focusing far too much on the time paradox rather than the characters. Tighten this up and it’s a masterpiece; as it stands it’s just okay.
Hidden Talent — Andrew Spokes — The Master runs a reality TV American/Pop Idol series. Can’t you just taste the comic potential? Me neither. Swing and a miss.
The Canvey Angels — David Bailey — The first section is amazingly well-written. Unfortunately, once the Doctor and Peri show up, it just becomes hamfisted and poor, with a terrible Davison and confusing Peri. Way too religious for my taste besides.
Balloon Debate — Simon A. Forward — If Forward hadn’t gone completely overboard with this, it would have been terrible. Fortunately, he did, and it’s hilarious: his little throwaway descriptions of the companions’ actions had me on the floor.
A Long Night — Alison Lawson — What about the companions’ families? There’s never been a better answer than this — it’s poignant without becoming depressing. Even the Doctor is excellent in his brief appearance.
There’s a lot of throwaway material in this anthology, but overall it’s much, much better than its predecessor. Some of these stories actually mean something, and one can tell the authors are starting to push at the boundaries. This bodes exceptionally well for A Universe of Terrors.
Highly recommended.