Time Reaver

The Tenth Doctor Adventures #1.2

Released: 16 May 2016

Listened: 11/6/22

This Jenny T. Colgan story has an interesting high concept: a weapon that stretches the perception of time for the victim, so seconds last hours. Obviously, that’s pretty horrific if you’re using it on someone in pain, but it’s equally horrific as a drug: people want to extend pleasurable experiences, so use the weapons on themselves. All of this takes place on a “crossroads” planet, a way-station that millions of people pass through every day, and where legal enforcement is sketchy at best. It’s a bit odd that the Doctor seems very fond of it, although he does like a bit of anarchy in some incarnations. The mobster characters I could take or leave, but the secondary protagonists are relatable and well played. The only fail in this story is that it’s really hard to portray someone having their personal time stretched to infinity on audio. You end up with characters narrating what they’re seeing to themselves, sometimes really slowly; that could have been done better. At the end, the Doctor declares a desire to visit a library, so we know what that means.