Terror of the Master

Masterful audio novel

Released: 2 January 2021

Listened: 7/3/21

This is a Big Finish audio novel, a proof-of-concept released a few months before the first official entry in that series. That means it’s a narrated story, not a full-cast recording. However, because it’s read by John Culshaw, who is easily capable of impersonating the Doctor, the Master, the Brig, Yates, and Benton to a very accurate degree, it has a full-cast quality to it. Given that it’s set after Jo, but before Sarah, he’s relieved of having to do many women’s voices. This period was also during the construction of the “Whomobile,” which gives the story a nice hook to talk about pollution, which concerned the recently-departed Jo, and also Mike. In fact, even the Master seems concerned about rising pollution levels on Earth, but of course his method of dealing with it is entirely horrible, teaming up with an ameboid creature who can both absorb and emit carbon dioxide in large quantities. As usual with this version of the Master, he’s chosen an ally whose goals aren’t entirely aligned, and makes his plan rather precarious. The audiobook format, as opposed to Big Finish’s usual full-cast dramas or low-cast “chronicles,” means that the story is much longer, about three and a half hours, although the plot itself isn’t much more involved than a typical story. However, it does give you a chance to experience the internal thoughts of the characters, which is especially interesting when it’s the Master. Big Finish adds period-appropriate background music and sound effects, which really makes the whole story more like a heavily narrated “chronicle,” than an audiobook. It was a good experience, and I’m happy to try it out again.