Nicholas Briggs

Warning: this review contains spoilers.

****

This is the second part in the “Cyberman” series, in which the Cybermen will become the future of humanity if nothing is done to stop them. This installment was just as effective in delivering chills as its predecessor was. The scene where it is implied that Commander Barnaby has been converted to a Cyberman is terrifying: no background music, the only sound being his dialogue, panicked choking, silence, and then a Cyberman-style “There is show more nothing to fear”. Brrrr!

I had thought of giving this a 3.5 rather than a 4 because I find the Cybermen in this story hard to understand when they say more than one sentence at a stretch. I’m also not fond of people smooching right in my ear. Ew. But that ending, plus the extreme timeliness of the story (refugees and immigration, maintaining a decorative presidential front in the face of war, and the questioning of the president’s advisors being considered tantamount to treason), make me think it does deserve 4 stars after all. show less

The Daleks have had to learn the hard way that humans can't work 24/7 without respite. They need food, rest, and hope. The latter of these items is provided through the inspirational speeches of Susan "Suz" Mendes, known throughout the Dalek empire as the "Angel of Mercy". Meanwhile, Alby, whom she thought was dead following the Dalek invasion of Vega VI, is alive and well and confused as to why the woman he loves appears to be collaborating with the agents of their destruction.

This was a show more solid second installment in this Dalek Empire arc. I thought the Daleks sounded more intelligible than in the first one. The Dalek emperor was a hoot, with his deep voice and his mannerisms that were similar to the Cyber Leader from Earthshock -- "Excellent!" will always crack me up when a Doctor Who baddie says it in a robot voice. Overall the sound design was good, although I thought the spaceships landing totally sounded like passenger jets :) The levels were a bit hard to balance as well; the Daleks were really loud but the people were quiet, so I was having to juggle the volume a fair bit.

Story-wise, this had some good moral complexity built into it: doing what it takes to live another day and biding your time for a bigger payoff, or going out in a blaze of glory? And the ending had a really good cliffhanger. Looking forward to the third installment! show less

When the Daleks come to town, it’s never good news, and Vega VI is about to find this out firsthand. Our human protagonists are geologist Suz and her driver, Alby, who become separated from each other in the aftermath of the Dalek invasion. Alby had fled Vega VI before it was too late, whereas Suz was trapped on the planet with many other inhabitants, providing slave labour to the Daleks as they mine the minerals that Suz was studying. Suz may be down but she’s not out—she’s going to show more fight back however she can, and Alby too is going to fight to get back to her.

This was an OK start to the “Dalek Empire” series proper; there are four other Big Finish audio dramas that introduce this plot thread, and this one is the beginning of the actual Dalek Empire spin-off series. I am always a fan of Dalek stories because the Daleks are ridiculous in some ways; however, they seemed to be carrying the idiot ball a bit on this one, not seeming to realize that humans need food and rest in order to be able to work efficiently. I guess this series is where they learn that lesson! As to the human characters, they were all right too. I do like a wise-cracking Scottish-accented man, and Suz is certainly tenacious.

The sound design feels a bit more basic than later Big Finishes, which is not surprising given that this was produced in 2001. (It’s just about old enough to vote; I’m writing this review in April 2019, and the audio drama was released in May 2001.) Some of the Dalek Supreme (or the emperor)’s communications weren’t quite clear, but fortunately the underling Daleks had a convenient habit of repeating back its orders!

This is probably best listened to in as close to one go as possible, lest you lose momentum. show less

To the Eleventh Doctor, the Sunlight Worlds might as well be in a parallel universe -- apparently these 400-odd planets are run by the Daleks, who are seen as *saviours* by the human population. What is their game? No Dalek has ever been known to do something good without a nefarious scheme behind it, and the Doctor intends to find out what it is.

This turned out to be a great read. Nicholas Briggs, as the voice of the Daleks on the show, has devised a thrilling, heart-sinkingly tense story show more that I read in only a couple of sittings. I even liked the children whom the Doctor takes under his wing; usually I find children in Doctor Who stories to be obnoxious or uninteresting, but these three kids have their own distinctive personalities and do not fall victim to Excessively Cute Syndrome. And the Daleks are properly chilling as well, speaking in standard case (as opposed to ALL CAPS, which they have done in other stories) and having all eventualities covered when carrying out their plan.

I would recommend this if you are a fan of Eleven or the Daleks. show less