Jamie Revell

The premise here - a worldwide catastrophe that takes place so rapidly that only speedsters can deal with it - is a good one. It brings in essentially the entire Flash family, teaming up against a new foe that's almost as fast as they are, and has some defences against their abilities. Added to this, there is some decent character material, notably for Evey, although some of the developments early on are sufficiently line-changing that you know some sort of Reset button has to be hit before the end. There are some clever ideas in here, and the broad cast of characters helps. (This is particularly notable in the special issue, which deals with events elsewhere while the main story is going on as well as filling in the villains' backstory). Overall, it's a fun story that, appropriately enough, keeps up the pace all the way through.

I haven't read the last two volumes, but, compared with Vol 1.... well, the art's a lot better, but we're going for something that's more straight-up comedy, which may, or may not, be to your taste. Certainly, there isn't much depth in this, and you have to be in the mood for crazy high-jinks, in what's essentially a spoof of Suicide Squad.

The story sees Harley forced to team up with other semi-reformed supervillains to deal with a menace at the JLA's abandoned moonbase. There's fun with space travel, a hostile alien that keeps making pop culture references and, of course, Harley's general craziness. The more serious side is supposed to be provided by Lucas Fox trying to decide what his legacy as Batwing really means and where he should go next with it... but that part doesn't work all that well, and feels a bit tacked on. But if you don't want any more than a crazy comedy playing with the tropes of Suicide Squad with some cheesy sci-fi elements thrown in, then this delivers what it's aiming to.

This is, in effect, a ghost story, albeit one clearly tied into the Torchwood mythos. It is set during WWII, down a coal mine where parts of the Torchwood Archive have been sent to protect them from the bombing in London. A young woman is sent to catalogue works from the British Museum and National Portrait Gallery stored down the same mine, and encounters Bilis Manger already there.

The story builds slowly, developing the protagonist's background, the mystery of Manger's presence, and the unpleasant nature of the army guards at the mine entrance. As things develop, it becomes clear that there is something else down the mine with them, hiding in the shadows just out of sight - something for which audio is well suited. Sexism and racism are themes in the background, leading to one disturbing scene that has nothing to do with the obvious ‘monster' and Manger himself is also a constant, unspoken threat.

It's another great Bilis Manger story, with a strong performance also coming from Rosie Baker as protagonist Jill Anderson, who grows as the story does. Given its nature, I'd recommend listening to it in the dark if you can...

How this comes across likely depends a lot on the reader's pre-existing familiarity with Vox Machina and its backstory. Taken on its own merits, it appears to be a straight retelling of a part of the original campaign. This works less effectively than volume 1 did, since there isn't that much of a story here - Grog gets possessed and the party goes on a quest to find the magic ingredients needed to cure him. And fight some monsters along the way and... yeah, that's pretty much it. What works in-game (and I'm sure it did) is less effective in a comic or similar format.

On the other hand, for those who are already fans, it's quite fun. There's some cheeky use of catchphrases, a name-check for a prominent NPC, and so on. The characters feel true to the originals and the artwork is good. The main pull is probably that it's here that Pike and Percy join the party (Tiberius also leaves, presumably not to return in the comic). With Percy, in particular, there are nods to his tragic backstory, although these are really easter eggs that are unlikely to be developed too much in future volumes, since the pay-off comes well after the "origins" period being covered.

And a lot of it's like that. I enjoyed it but, like any prequel, it relies a lot on what you know is coming later. One for the fans, but if you are a fan, it captures the feel of the original and it's fun seeing some of the story being established.

The third volume in this plot arc sees the protagonists no longer stranded, with the TARDIS able to travel to alien planets again – albeit with its full functionality yet to be restored. The previous volume, however, set up more than enough plot to keep this one going as the Doctor and companions seek to avert the dystopian (and ultimately apocalyptic) future timeline that two of the prior episodes were built around. It's relatively slow, and one of the stories is a little weak, but overall, it continues what's been another great 8th Doctor series.

Patience – The first story sees the Doctor and companions hiding out on three different, apparently abandoned, planets. Their pursuers do eventually turn up, but until then it's mostly a story of the interactions between the two pairs of companions, interspersed with the Doctor recounting a fairy tale. By the point that there is somebody else for them to talk to, however, it's already clear that all is not as it seems with the three threads of the story having more in common than initially seemed to be the case. The result is an odd mystery that has something of the feel of a ghost story without actually being one – and that eventually involves Judoon. While arguably nothing much happens for much for it, it's nonetheless an interesting story that also provides some character development that hints at upcoming changes. 4.5 stars.

Twisted Folklore – The theme of fairy tales and folklore continues in the second story. Here, the TARDIS has arrived on a world on the fringes of the Earth Empire where the human rulers are subjugating the indigenous inhabitants. It all ties in to the altered history created by events in the second volume and it becomes apparent early on that the Empire is, in part, using indoctrination through children's stories to achieve its aims. With the companions separated as they help out various parts of the resistance, and the whole thing beginning in media res for no particular reason, it's harder to get to grips with than the previous story, and is quite confusing in places. The details of the Empire's scheme and how the Doctor plans to stop don't make too much sense either, although, on the bright side, there are some strong moments for Liv and the alien voices are done better than is often the case - having a subtle but distinctive sibilance rather than using some electronic distort. 3 stars.

Snow – This is, in large part, a story about grief and abandonment. Sure, there's a mysterious phenomenon that acts as a metaphor for what some of the characters are feeling, but it's not the core of the tale. In addition to this, and almost feeling like a subplot, there are further revelations about how the alternate timeline came about, as we see the origins of the fascist state that was a setting for one of the stories in the previous volume. Unless you count the proto-fascists, however, there are no monsters in this one, which is focussed more on character and emotion albeit with a conclusion that's less maudlin than one might expect. 4.5 stars.

What Just Happened – 5 stars. Speaking of which, it ends (or rather, begins) on a cliffhanger. We know how it ends, but the mystery is in how we got there, which isn't fully revealed until the beginning as well as reflecting the story's wider themes about cause and effect. Some listeners may well find that (like this review) pretentious and confusing but, for me, it's cleverly written, with twists and turns that work in the opposite way to those in a regular story. But what's significant about it is that it's told in reverse, even to the extent of starting with the closing credits and ending with the opening theme music. The basis of it is straightforward, as the Doctor tracks down his nemesis and tries to prevent the destruction of the human race. As previously in this series, the best story is saved for last.

This volume contains the first four episodes of a 16-episode “season” featuring the modern version of UNIT - and, if rumours about a 2025 UNIT mini-series from the BBC are true, it may be the last for a while, at least with this particular cast lineup. The plot concerns an alien artefact uncovered from Palaeocene deposits off the coast of Scotland which, for reasons as yet unclear, renegade Time Lord the Eleven is trying to get his hands on.

The second episode, “Fire and Ice” is something of a peculiarity. That's not because it's largely unconnected with the larger plot arc, concerning instead Ice Warriors in the Australian Outback - that helps break things up and works well. The oddity is that it features Harry Sullivan, apparently transported from the original UNIT era into the present day. We're told that this was due to an “incident” but no further information is forthcoming, as if we're expected to already know about it. I thought perhaps I'd skipped an earlier release, but nope... perhaps it's in a later one intended to come out before this one but delayed for some reason. This leaves Harry's companion, Naomi Cross, similarly unexplained, introduced as if she's a familiar character when she's entirely new and not receiving much in the way of development or anything in the way of background here.

That peculiarity aside (and, in contrast, The Eleven gets to explain who he is no fewer than three times for the benefit of listeners who haven't encountered him before) it's an action-packed storyline full of UNIT helicopters and soldiers dashing about across various parts of the UK. The Eleven is suitably menacing, Osgood is clever, Kate gets to be suitably noble, and there's a significant guest spot for the Curator. The last episode of the four is particularly inventive, building on Day of the Doctor and using both the National Gallery and Hampton Court Palace to good effect.

The set ends on a cliffhanger for one of the supporting characters, and with several questions left unanswered, but otherwise this collection of episodes forms a neat little arc of its own within the larger season.

This set of four hour-long stories are apparently sequential, but each is individual, like most episodes of the modern Doctor Who TV series. For that matter, while it follows on from the end of the previous volume, the collection as a whole is largely standalone and could just as well be appreciated without having heard that first, should the listener choose to do so. Yes, there's the mystery of Jenny's companion, Noah, but that's not solved here, so arguably it's enough to know that his origins are a mystery and leave it at that.

Inside the Maldevarium – As the title hints, this story features Dorium Maldovar the blue-skinned information-broker first introduced in A Good Man Goes to War but here seen before the events of that story. Here, Jenny turns up at his bar for reasons that she hasn't told Noah, and that the listener is also initially unaware of. The result is relatively slight, but it moves along at a brisk pace with a well-realised setting and a feel that mirrors the modern TV series. It's arguably more about Maldovar's schemes than it is about Jenny, but the latter proves entertaining, trying to do what her “father” would do but without the experience to back up her sometimes cocksure attitude. And there's the question of just how much (if at all) Maldovar can be trusted at this stage of his life... 4 stars.

Altered Status – The second story is much closer to that of a typical Doctor Who episode as Jenny and Noah visit a planet that's supposed to be a utopia but (unsurprisingly) is anything but. Asa is clear even before the theme music starts up, this is the Cyberman story promised on the cover which, again, emphasises the ties to the parent show. There's a slight twist on the usual formula, however, in that the cyber-technology we see on display here is much more limited than we usually encounter – for reasons that become apparent as the plot unfolds. The real difference, however, is that Jenny is not the Doctor, once again showing off the mixture of sassy confidence and relative inexperience that's at the heart of her portrayal. There's also a great guest character in the form of a sword-wielding scholastic warrior queen who the Cybermen seem to have misjudged as badly as Jenny herself. 4 stars.

Calamity Jenny – As often in these anthologies of time travel stories, one of them has to be set in Earth's past, and here that's the Wild West. This is the most comedic of the four stories, as Jenny becomes the focus of a series of unfortunate coincidences and extreme bad luck. It turns out that there is a reason for this – although at least one of the coincidences is of a type that both Big Finish and the BBC have used before with a straight face. While the story itself is good, making use of time travel directly, the story suffers a little from the slapstick elements. Not because they're slapstick, since that fits with what's going on, but because it's often hard to figure out what they involve; too many sight gags in a story that has no visuals. Unusually, the story is also narrated but this is worked into the story in an effective way and enhances rather than feeling like a limitation. Furthermore, the American accents sounded (at least to me) more realistic than usual, probably because the narrator at least actually is from the US. 3.5 stars.

Her Own Worst Enemy – The concluding story is slightly strange, mainly because it ends on a mid-story cliffhanger without any resolution. Moreover, it had been three years between the release of volume 1 and this and, three years on from that, there is no sign of a volume 3 that's likely to conclude the story. So that's disappointing. Otherwise, it's promising, starting in media res with Jenny being pursued by a killer cyborg and then figuring out how to use her vortex manipulator to travel back down her attacker's timeline to try and change its history. That's basically all before the title music, with the rest of the story being a clever jumping back and forth to try to disentangle what's happening and put a stop to it. Despite this, it's not as timey-wimey as one might expect, being more a set of flashbacks that elaborate on the guest character's backstories and, as a result, it's as much a character piece with shades of It's A Wonderful Life as it is a story about cyborgs and a dystopian future. But it needed an ending, or at least, a rapid follow-up. 3.5 stars.

Having recovered from the trauma that plagued her in volume 1, Ivy is more her usual self in this collection, which is much more upbeat than its predecessor. It's something of a connecting piece, three stories linking the events of the first volume with the following one, but not reaching any clear conclusion. But along the way, it's a rich portrayal of the character, mellowing Ivy's ecoterrorist tendencies with a more positive portrayal, but not pretending they aren't there.

The two longer stories feature greenwashing and a critique of wellness gurus (just because it's ‘natural' doesn't mean it's good for you...). Neither are particularly strong on their own merits, but both fit in with the theme and are peppered once again with some trippy sequences. Ivy's love of nature comes through in the way this is written, but it also remembers that she is a botanist, often looking at things from a scientist's perspective. In between, there's a one-issue guest appearance by Harley, giving Ivy a boost and setting things up for the next volume.

Despite some middling art in the first two issues, it's all neatly melded together, with themes and personal plot arcs running through what are otherwise episodic stories. Ivy's still more of an anti-hero than a regular one, but this makes it easy to root for her despite her flaws.

This spin-off novella of the Parasol Protectorate series features (unlike those books) a working-class heroine. As the title indicates, it's a romance story, with the central character falling for Madame Lafoux when she takes up a maid's job at Countess Nadasdy's hive. The story is darker in places than the other related novellas I've read, playing up the menace of the vampires rather than their high-class manners - Lord Akeldama, for instance, is tangentially referred to, but isn't in this one.

Other than the vampires, it's a straightforward romance story without any big shocks, but it's entertaining and the perspective is slightly different from the usual. Part of the fun is seeing how it ties in with the larger series, with various guest characters turning up whose backstories the heroine knows nothing of, but a fan of the other books surely will. The sub-plots spun around the central romance do not distract from it, nor do they feel unfinished as in one of the other novellas I reviewed, and it's a fun, if slight, addition to the universe.

The only real connection to the rest of the series here is the one-line reference to the “Torchwood Archive” in the Doctor Whostory The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit. This features Zachary, one of the survivors of that story, here summoned by the newly installed ruler of the Earth Empire to attend a ceremony on an inhospitable planet. This switching of the setting to somewhere else has had mixed success in previous instalments and, on this occasion, it doesn't really work.

The world-building behind it isn't bad. There's a sense of an Empire in decline, and most significantly, a follow-up to events of Planet of the Ood and to the society coped with the emancipation of its slave race - by, as it turns out, enslaving sentient robots instead. Unfortunately, this means that the robot character is the only sympathetic one here; I just couldn't care what happened to Zachary, and even less about what happened to the Emperor. Despite a story that involves them being pursued by hostile forces under the threat of a ticking time bomb, the whole thing manages to feel slow and pedestrian, and it's that lack of empathy for the characters that's the primary reason for it.

Is it terrible? Perhaps not, because the robot is well done, sorely put upon despite doing her best to help the humans. Indeed, maybe it would have worked better in a line other than Torchwood, where, despite a certain bleakness, its distance from the usual themes stands out, but as it is, it feels like an unsuccessful experiment.

While other experiments with stories using historical versions of Torchwood have by and large not succeeded, it's a testament to Goss's vision of the '50s one that its return is as welcome as any that include the main characters from the TV series. Here, they are back for their second full-length (3-hour) story albeit with Andy Davidson as the main viewpoint character. Not, however, quite the only one, with Lizbeth getting a few viewpoint scenes, including an extended flashback alongside Norton. Gideon, on the other hand, while prominently featuring on the cover is barely in it - his presence is pivotal to the plot, but more as a damsel-in-distress than anything else.

The story concerns a “new town” being built on the Sussex coast - Welwyn Garden City and Basildon being real-world examples from the period. Here, it's the basis for a very '50s science fiction plot (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) albeit one that throws in plenty of British elements, rather than the original US ones. It's something that's been done many times before, but it works here, partly because of the way that the story is split into six half-hour segments that keep things fresh.

This allows for some social commentary on the '50s from a modern perspective, although this is perhaps less of a theme than it was in the previous release. Episode titles refer to the newly created NHS and Enoch Powell's infamous “rivers of blood” speech but they're only tangentially relevant to the story. Indeed, there is a distinct modern sensibility here, and not just because two of the leads are LGBT. There are some distinct horror elements, too, including the (off-screen) death of children so it certainly isn't light listening, especially as a sense of despair and hopelessness builds in the final segment. But it has strong performances, and good characterisation of all the leads and is another worthy outing in this series.

One suspects that the decision for the third release in this series to be based around Janet Frazier was more determined by the availability of the actors than for any other reason, but it does allow for a medical-based story that nonetheless fits with the broader Stargate ethos. Set during season 7 (and so not long before the character was killed off) it sees Janet kidnapped so that she can save the life of an injured boy. It's clear from early on that there's more to the story of the injury than at first appears, although I found the various ‘twists' to all be obvious in advance.

While battling a subdural haematoma can certainly be tense, it's not the focus of most adventure stories, so what this one relies on is the evolving relationship between Janet and her kidnapper. There are some nice touches here in terms of the setting, but the kidnapper is more annoying than anything else (he's big on sarcasm) making it hard to build the sympathy that the story is clearly going for.

Having said all that, Teryl Rothery does a good job of reprising her character - perhaps the most prominent recurring character on the show other than the leads - and also portrays Sam and Jack once they turn up. It's a decent story, and a change from the usual that still feels like it could have been a regular TV episode but perhaps not especially memorable unless you're a big fan of the central character... but if you are, this is very probably for you, as she does get to shine.

This is a prequel to the second season TV story Adam, showing the memory-stealing alien's first encounter with the organisation and explaining how it ended up in the box that Jack recovers it from. In this respect, it's not a great mystery - we know roughly what's going to happen from the pre-title teaser, although the scale of it is much greater on this occasion, with the alien (played by the same actor as in the original) being far more successful. The strength, however, is in the characterisation and in the building dread of Adam being seemingly unstoppable.

It's set in the 1950s, and it's notable that the consequent lack of any of the regulars doesn't matter at all. Instead, our leads are Norton Fulgate, a familiar character on the audio series by this point, and his immediate superior Lizbeth Hayhoe, whom we've only seen briefly before. Here, she's very good (as one would expect from Dervla Kirwan), coming across as the stronger of the two even while the story explores her weaknesses and vulnerabilities alongside Norton's more obvious ones as a gay man in '50s London.

This is an ‘adult' story, with sexual encounters for Norton and references to various sexual positions in the dialogue. Plus, there is something undeniably disturbing about having memories stolen and the inability to remember for long that there's even anything there that you should recall. I might knock half a point off for retreading old ground, but no more, so w'ere still in five-star territory, in one of the more successful Torchwood audios not to feature the original team.

A set of three stories that, following on from the end of volume 2, see the Meddling Monk reluctantly forced to travel around with Missy, participating in schemes that are deadlier than his preferred form of chaos.

Body and Soulless - The first story starts in media res on an alien planet being invaded by incorporeal aliens that possess the bodies of the dead. This makes it sound like a zombie story, but that's not really accurate, partly because the aliens are more intelligent than the typical zombie, but also because much of the conflict takes place off-screen, with the battle seen more from a tactical/strategic point of view. A lot depends on how far you can suspend your disbelief while listening to this - the plot is completely bonkers and much of what happens (especially to the Monk) doesn't make a lot of sense. Fortunately, it's carried along by a frenetic pace and Gomez's performance which is, if anything, even crazier than usual here. Any flaws rapidly disappear behind the sheer madness of it all and the plethora of one-liners. 4.5 stars.

War Seed - Next, we're off to contemporary New York, which of course, means English actors doing American accents with varying degrees of success. It's a more straightforward story than the previous one, involving a company that has mysteriously gained access to what appears to be Time Lord regeneration technology. Missy is primarily the driving force behind this one; despite early indications that he might get a bigger role, the Monk is largely reduced to watching from the sidelines. What's going on is revealed at an early stage, with the story mainly being more about how Missy reacts to it than about any implications it might have of itself. Nonetheless, it's another fun piece, the writing of which might well stand out in any other collection. 4 stars.

Two Monks, One Mistress - The final story is the historical one of the set, and both the strongest and the one that's most clearly a comedy. It's set in 16th-century Italy, with Missy trying to deal with one of the Borgias and double-crossing as many people as she can in the process. There are misunderstandings, women doing a bad job of pretending to be men, and characters self-consciously delivering pointless soliloquies (riffing off Shakespeare here), not to mention fun with psychic paper and a very heavy piece of valuable loot. As both title and cover art intimate, we are also introduced to a future incarnation of the Monk and both versions get plenty to do alongside the main title character. Yes, it's another daft plot, but that's rather the point, and the banter between the leads is once again gloriously fun. 5 stars.

The River Song audios started off with the titular character going backwards through the Doctor's timeline in each release, ending with Tom Baker as the oldest living actor. Now that they're confident enough with their replacement actors, Big Finish here continues that trend with a Third Doctor crossover – four stories in which River turns up at UNIT to act as Liz Shaw's assistant while the Doctor is away for an unknown reason.

The Blood Woods – The first story inevitably has to carry the burden of setting up the scene for the others, with River arriving and having to overcome Liz's suspicions and her understandable impression that the Brigadier doesn't trust her to work as scientific advisor on her own. This results in the central plot, about a man who died under circumstances that imply alien involvement, moving slowly at times, as the interaction between the leads has to take centre stage. Having said which, it's actually quite a good plot building in more elements in than one might expect under the circumstances, albeit never with the sort of folk horror feel that it's probably going for.

Liz gets quite a bit to do here, and the chance to show off some of her abilities – she is nominally River's boss in this, after all. But it remains River's story, keeping her as the main focus, playing off against both Liz and the Brigadier. The latter has a comparatively minor role, albeit a crucial one to the resolution, which, in all honesty is pretty straightforward and almost anticlimactic. But the characters make up for it, and the pairing works well, the two main characters both contrasting with and complementing each other. 4.5 stars

Terror of the Suburbs – This is a Stepford Wives pastiche, with a dash of The Prisoner. Unfortunately, it's somewhat weakened by the fact that Big Finish has used much the same premise twice before with Jack Harkness (and some German accents that even I can recognise as bad). The explanation for what's going on is different from those outings, but beyond the ‘70s setting and its accompanying digs at fondue parties and the music of Demis Roussos, the setup is essentially the same. I will say that the villain's identity is clear from early on, although their motives are not, and the sense of mystery is underplayed possibly because River (but not the audience) already knows what's going on.

Elements of physical danger through the story feel thrown in at random, and there seems surprisingly little urgency about dealing with them, even allowing for the fact that most of the characters are either brainwashed or complicit in what's happening. Furthermore, exactly how the villain is supposed to have set all this up in the first place is something that perhaps doesn't bear too close an examination. So its not the strongest story, and feels like it's been done before without too much change, although some will doubtless appreciate the almost entirely female cast even if the characters, by the nature of the setting, come across as rather bland. 3 stars.

Never Alone – The first story is, in some respects, a typical Third Doctor story, except for River and Liz taking the lead – and it's all the better for it. It begins with UNIT investigating an unusual death and then being drawn into the machinations of a mysterious tech company that, among other things, has invented a basic iPod a few decades early. What we get is a good investigatory story, giving Liz and River roughly equal roles that eventually takes a slightly surreal turn as the true nature of the threat becomes apparent.

Although they're mentioned, UNIT isn't really in this one, leaving the leads to solve the problems on their own and giving them an opponent that men with guns would be of even less use against than usual. True, the motivations of the monster aren't especially interesting, but there are some good supporting characters and some nice ideas that pull this distinctly above the average. 4 stars.

Rivers of Light – In the final story, it's revealed what River has really been doing on Earth, as the Doctor turns up and takes exception to what she's been up to in his absence. (Understandably so, in fairness to him). Almost immediately, UNIT receives a call about unusual events at a Yorkshire coal mine. River is trying to keep the Doctor out of it, and, while she isn't entirely successful and Liz and the Brigadier also have significant roles, it's once again primarily her story.

The explanation for what's happening – all tied in with River's presence in this time period – is bonkers but does fit in with the show's larger mythology. A scene at the end tying things further in to the Third Doctor era feels superfluous and was perhaps included only as a test run for something coming in later releases for this Doctor, rather than River. There's also a thread about the relationship between two of the guest characters that seems significant but is never followed up on.

However, the plot isn't really the point here; it's more about seeing River interact with the Third Doctor and having fun with UNIT dating. (For instance, the story is set during the miners' strike... but even some of the characters are actively unclear as to whether this is the big one from the '80s or one of the shorter ones from the preceding decade). Because of all that, it's a big and dramatic conclusion to the box set, even if the underlying plot isn't always the strongest. 4.5 stars.

The final book in the original ‘trilogy' left things open-ended, with one of the early Bobs having disappeared while off exploring deep space. This book follows up on that, and it is more focused than the first three books as a result. What has happened becomes clear early on, and we're off to the titular setting, which has a resemblance to that of an earlier sci-fi classic (Ringworld). The bulk of the book deals with this, exploring an alien culture that's different from that of humans, but not dramatically so, but where the mystery is how the whole thing has been set up.

Original Bob is the main character here, but there are segments involving other Bobs as they assist him, and a major subplot about a schism within the Bobiverse that is left open for future volumes. (Like The Hitchiker's Guide, ‘trilogy' is becoming an increasingly inaccurate term). There, the focus is on how the Bobs have diverged over what are now 24 generations, and it's not just the antagonists who illustrate this, with others having picked up minor interests of the original and made them the focus of their lives.

But, at least for now, that's background, with the hunt for Bender and the exploration of the alien setting taking up the bulk of the page count. There's inventiveness here, and plenty of action, all of it in the easy-going style that the books favour. It's perhaps difficult to maintain the high pace and freshness of the first book over a set of four, and this is perhaps not quite up to the standard of the preceding three volumes, but it's still effective at finding new things to do without, to my mind, falling into repetition.

This short collection takes Aquaman and puts him in a story of cosmic and psychological horror, rather than one of superheroics. It's an interesting change of pace, and one that works, using the inhospitable and lightless depths of the deep sea as a backdrop. It's told primarily from the point of view of the crew of an experimental submarine sent to recover what appears to be an alien artefact from the most remote part of the Pacific Ocean; that they view Arthur as as much of a mystery as the entity they are investigating suggests that this is intended as an alternate reality story.

Ram V's often introspective style works well here, using flashbacks to illuminate the fears and insecurities of the crew - and, to a lesser extent, of Aquaman - as they begin to crack under the strain and a dark secret is revealed. There is some action in here but it's far from a typical superhero story, with the art playing up the spooky atmosphere. It's not perfect, and Black Manta, for example, seems to be included only because somebody thought he should be, not because he really does all that much... but as a horror story that happens to feature Aquaman, it's making good use of the author's strengths.

Near the beginning of the Second Doctor TV story The Abominable Snowmen, the Doctor remembers that he has to return a sacred bell to the Det-Sen Monastery following an unseen prior adventure. This is that prior adventure, a prequel that sets up the TV story in the closing minutes.

It's a return to the format of the earliest releases in this particular series, heavy on the narration, provided here by Peter Purves, who also plays the Doctor in addition to Steven. It has the feel of a pure historical, differentiated from one only by the presence of the ‘real' Yeti - which are described as looking nothing at all like what's on the cover and don't have anything like the central role that their robot counterparts do in the TV story.

The story is also unusually slow, with no action and virtually no sense of peril until the halfway point. Indeed, a large chunk of the first 30 minutes is taken up by discussions on Buddhism, tying in with the Third Doctor's era but otherwise providing little of interest. The slow pace does give some time for character development of the companions, which is a plus, but even this doesn't feel very inspired. Steven also gets a love interest, but, naturally enough, it's obvious that that's never going anywhere. When the villains do turn up, they just aren't interesting, or even as threatening as they're supposed to be.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the story, though, is the presence for the first time in a Big Finish audio of Dodo as a primary character - she has been narrated before, but never properly played by a cast member. Given how little they had to work with, the story brings out her on-screen persona effectively and hopefully, she can be given more to do in future stories, so that we can see rather more of an underused character. As it is, she is crucial to the resolution of this one, but only via a lampshaded-but-never-explained plot point that's a little hard to take seriously. An interesting decision is to have her actor use the Lancashire accent Dodo had in her original appearance, rather than the BBC English she used from then on - it makes her more distinctive, but jars with the few surviving TV stories that feature her.

This feels like something of a missed opportunity. It doesn't quite know whether it's supposed to be a character piece or an action-adventure and ends up doing neither very well. It isn't bad, and has some good elements here and there; the romance may be doomed, but it does at least work, and Dodo is written well. But it's nothing to get very excited about either.

Vala is the narrator for this second SG-1 audio story, which is set during the TV show's final season. That was the only one in which she was a core character and, for myself at least, that makes her less memorable than some of the other characters whose actors presumably weren't available. (Whereas, of course, Black is very memorable in Farscape, so this is by no means a dig at her). The supporting actor is Michael Shanks but this is very much Vala's story, and, following the usual format of the series, it's Black who does the voices for all the other characters who appear.

It's probably fair to describe this as a comedy, something that wasn't too common on the TV series that I recall (with the obvious exception of ‘Wormhole X-Treme') and so perhaps feels a little out of place. Having said that, it's not slapstick or one-note, and there is more to the story than the humorous elements - some of which are due to the desperate situation into which she gets herself, but many to her unreliability as a narrator and her tendency to overstate her accomplishments. As a one-hour story, it's slightly longer than a TV episode would be, but it doesn't feel that way and fits its allotted time slot perfectly.

How well you like this may depend on how much you like Vala, since most of the story takes place before she met the Stargate team, and so doesn't have the feel of a typical TV episode, more of a slightly mad crime caper. Having said which, it works on that level, and if you are a fan of Vala, this gets her personality spot on, and brings it centre-stage, so there's likely plenty to enjoy.

An unusually topical story, this one, and coincidentally almost as much now that the political phase of the COVID enquiry is underway as it would have been in 2021, when this was released. Suffice it to say that if anyone out there thinks that the UK government did a brilliant job during the pandemic and their actions were beyond reproach... well, they're probably not going to like this story very much. For the rest of us, it's a dark and scathing satire whose targets are obvious.

The story is bookended by the ostensible author acting as narrator, with the titular characters each being the subject of a segment in between. On the surface, it's a story about the lengths Torchwood (and Hartman in particular) will go to protect the UK from a deadly rapidly spreading alien threat, but we all know what that's a metaphor for. And the real subjects of the satire are the five people who stand in her way and the obvious lack of preparedness of the government, despite the fact that plans against the eventuality were supposedly in place.

It's worth noting that it's not just government politicians who come in for a bashing here, but their advisors, the Opposition, and the conspiracy theorists who thrived on uncertainty and fear to spread their own misinformation. Although, obviously, names and details have been changed, there are several direct parallels to the real events and personalities of the pandemic - it's clear, for example, exactly who the fifth person is supposed to be. How much of that will be apparent to those outside the UK who experienced the pandemic through their own country's lens I can't really say, but I suspect they will find at least some resonance with the overall theme.

This is science fiction as a dark satire on modern events, something that has a long tradition in the genre. And it works really well.

Two more stories, one in space, and one featuring UNIT. They feature different companions but both manage to evoke the era, with the ‘70s style incidental music, as usual, adding to the ambience.

Conspiracy in Space – The first story features Jo Grant and is a sequel of sorts to Frontier in Space, being set on Draconia a few years before the latter story. An interesting aspect of this is that almost all of the guest characters in the story are themselves Draconian – something that would be unlikely to work on live-action TV. But it does give quite an opportunity to explore Draconian culture from the inside and do an alien-based story that ties into wider Doctor Who lore without being The Web Planet.

As the title suggests, the story is about court intrigue and a conspiracy within some of the highest echelons of Draconian society. The result is rather “James Bond with space-samurai”, riffing off another trope of the show in this era, as well as providing links to both Frontier and Colony in Space. Part of the Bond feel comes from the frequent use of space-parachutes, as well as a villainous threat to use a doomsday weapon. At times, some of the physical nature of this doesn't entirely make sense and if Barnes grasps the true scale and nature of interstellar space, he certainly isn't letting it get in the way of the story. (For a key element to work, Earth and Draconia would have to be in the same solar system, which clearly, they aren't).

If you don't let that get in the way, though, it's a fun romp with double-crossing villains, honourable and dishonourable aliens and a good use, and expansion, of the general setting. A notable feature is how many of the senior Draconians are female, which gives a better variety than we would expect from Frontier in Space – an apparent contradiction addressed in the closing coda, but a definite plus in this story. 4 stars.

The Devil's Hoofprints – While the second story starts out in the UNIT era, as is common with these collections, most of it takes place in 1855, where the Doctor runs into the eponymous footprints – an actual piece of local folklore that is here given a science fiction explanation. This time, he is accompanied by Sarah Jane; the Brigadier also features but has relatively little interaction with the other leads after the first 30 minutes.

Sarah Jane is perhaps less associated with the UNIT era than Jo or Liz, but she still belongs and fits right in here, at least in those segments set in the present day. Otherwise, she's strong and independent, as she was in this era. That's slightly offset by her being held hostage by the villains at one point, Jo Grant style, but even then she is given more agency than her predecessor often was on the TV show.

My problem with this story is that it's often difficult to work out what's going on, with plenty of action scenes, some involving the Doctor and Venusian aikido, but a larger number with the Brigadier. Since the latter is on his own, aside from the villain, we don't have the usual stand-in of somebody explaining what's just happened out loud and, honestly, I just have no idea in places. Otherwise, it's a decent story, using some of the tropes of the era, even if the historical setting was only rarely used during it (although, obviously, that includes The Time Warrior, so Sarah Jane is an obvious fit). 3 stars.

Most of this volume consists of a prison drama, with Catwoman locked up following the events of the previous one, and initially reluctant to try and escape. Instead, we see her recruiting allies at the prison and putting one over on the authorities. Although there are indications that we're in Gotham City, not the real world, for the most part there are no costumed antics or whip-wielding - it may not be grimy despair of some regular prison dramas, but it's still very light on the superheroics, and fits with the tone of the rest of the series.

Needless to say, Selina eventually gets out, to follow up on the story elements we had left over from Vol. 2 - this time without the interruptions as other, wider, DC plotlines had to be shoe-horned in. In between, Eiko takes up the “Catwoman” mantle, pretending to be the real deal while double-crossing her rivals. This may be a smaller element than the prison sections, and it's all closely tied in with the main plot, but it provides something for those expecting something more traditional from a comic about a costumed anti-hero. And the closing sections, once Selina is no longer locked up, are full-throttle action that still leaves room for some emotional drama with Tomcat.

Although the main artists keep changing every two or three issues, in this one, they're all good - although I'm no fan of the “skintight latex” look they've gone with on the covers.

As with many of the previous releases in this series, this consists of four individually titled hour-long episodes, but is really one long story that moves between settings. The main focus, featuring in the first and last episodes, is on the Master's attempts to infiltrate the political system of a world that suffered in the Time War. Exactly why he's doing this, other than it offering some vague tactical advantage, isn't really the point of the story, which keeps the War very much in the background. Instead, it's more about his methods... which, initially, hit a significant snag as he finds himself opposed by another power-hungry schemer who understands the local political system far better than he does.

That leads to a rather choppy story as we jump through the years, following both the Master and his opponent in their slow race to the top. The middle two episodes, however, move in a different direction as the Master seeks to manipulate two of the Doctor's former companions to unwittingly do his bidding. These are the best parts of the plot arc, the first a disjointed nightmare as Jo Grant struggles to aid her ailing uncle and the second a more sedate piece as Nyssa finds her humanitarian work subverted. The latter, in particular, plays up how the superficially benevolent nature of this incarnation of the Master masks his true intentions.

A possible weakness here is that the Master is portrayed here as an outright sadist (even if he's good at masking it) rather than someone who is power-hungry and deeply callous, as he has more often been in previous stories. But it is another great performance from Jacobi, and there's the added joy of seeing him face two of the Doctor's companions. And, yes, it's another very dark piece, where the few genuinely good characters tend to come off badly against not only the Master, but his equally ruthless opponent. And, while the route to getting there includes a number of unexpected twists, the ultimate outcome is never really in much doubt.

A set of three stories featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan, unconnected beyond them likely taking place consecutively. The title story is two hours long, the others an hour each, and it's worth noting that each has a different tone.

The Lost Resort – Reuniting after the events of a previous audio that saw the Doctor travelling alone, the TARDIS crew lands on a planetoid that is home to a decaying medical facility, its robotic staff and their few remaining patients. The place turns out to be hiding secrets, not the least of which is the sudden appearance of what's seemingly a ghost. The resulting story, unfortunately, is a bit of a mess, and the good points suffer for the lack of any grounding in reality.

The presence of the ghost is eventually explained (and key to the larger plot) but the other details of the planetoid seem to be oddity for oddity's sake. The robotic hospital staff are strangely inconsistent, as is the reaction of some of the characters to them – hostile one moment, willingly allied the next. A scene involving antigravity is not only difficult to visualise but highlights the fact that the details of the “planetoid” (whatever it's supposed to be) don't make much sense. On the bright side, and saving the story from a lower rating, it does have some worthwhile things to say about loss and grieving, paralleling the stories of two of the patients with the Doctor's remorse over the death of Adric.

The story also manages to keep the mystery going for most of its length, although once the explanation is revealed, it's immediately obvious how it is going to be resolved. Some of the guest characters are simply odd (although the grieving mother with a surrogate child is a lovely touch), and, for all that he's relevant to the antigravity scene, new companion Marc doesn't really seem to do much. In the end, it's all a bit too weird for its own good, although if you don't find that sort of thing detracts from the emotional elements, you'll like this far more than I did. Because, honestly, that part of it is very good indeed. 3.5 stars.

The Perils of Nellie Bly – Nellie Bly, for those who are unaware, was a pioneering female journalist in the late 19th century who, among other things, emulated the fictional Phileas Fogg by travelling around the world in less than 80 days, racing against another female journalist travelling in the opposite direction. Here, the Doctor encounters her towards the end of her journey, as she seeks to get back to New Jersey before the deadline and her rival. It's a straight historical, and one that's entertaining rather than grim.

The basis of the story is that Bly's rival (also a real person, although only mentioned here indirectly) has bribed saboteurs to delay the trip – which, in the real world, she presumably didn't. This gives it something of the feel of some of the TV versions of Around the World in Eighty Days, with the Doctor and companions trying to foil the saboteurs and allow history to take its course. Assuming you accept the premise, it's fun yet mostly quite down-to-earth (save for the section where Bly puts on an implausibly effective disguise) and Tegan and Marc, in particular, are well-used. 4 stars.

Nightmare of the Daleks – Following the adventure romp, the final story is much darker. It's a sort of base-under-siege, although the Dalek threat is more subtle than it usually is. The initial mystery of how Marc appears to be in two different places at the same time is quickly resolved, but from there on the puzzle is how and why the Daleks are doing what they are doing. Despite the unusual situation, however, this is in some respects a fairly typical Dalek story, with them repeatedly threatening to exterminate the main characters and never quite getting around to it. Still, there is a body count, and also an off-screen torture scene, which combine with the confined setting and the unpleasant working conditions for those on the base to make this both atmospheric and grim.

Among the companions, the focus is primarily on Marc, with Tegan and Nyssa reduced to supporting roles by the short length of the story. It makes slightly better use of Marc's condition than the previous stories do, where it was primarily a hidden bonus, rather than the disadvantage it's supposed to be, although it's clear that the writers have already explored its psychological toll as much as they were willing to and didn't want to flog a dead horse by this point. It's not the strongest Dalek story ever, but it does win points by at least coming up with an unusual situation to put them in, forcing them to rely on different tactics for their larger plan. And there's a good emotional ending to it, as well. 4 stars.

This story follows on directly from the ending of The Dalek Invasion of Earth - but from Susan's perspective not the Doctor's. Indeed, it's worth noting that, although he is often mentioned, the Doctor is not in it at all (unless you count the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising at the start). Exploring Susan's life after the TV story has been done before, most notably in the novel Legacy of the Daleks, but never, to my recollection has it been this immediate. So, if you want to imagine that novel, or any of the other audios, as occurring in the same continuity, you're probably fine. Although it is important to note that this is not a Dalek story in the normal sense, since it really is just about their legacy on Earth, not the murderous pepperpots themselves - for me, that's a plus, but it might not be for everyone.

Without the Doctor, Susan takes centre stage, supported not only by David but also Jenny, the resistance fighter from the TV story. (Here, given a surname, no less). As one might expect, this means that you will need a decent familiarity with the original episodes to get the most out of this, there being plenty of references to it. There are also ‘easter egg' references to various other TV stories set broadly in the same time period, both from the classic and modern show, which, nerd value aside, give it a sense of reality, fitting in with at least a broad history of the future. (And, it has to be said, doing so with far more subtlety than the fanw**k included in Legacy of the Daleks).

The story has three intertwining elements, exploring the fate of the Robomen, the attempts to establish a new government and society in the post-apocalyptic world, and an alien monster that's wandering around underground. Added to the ongoing threat that the Daleks might return, this gives the story plenty of scope to fill out its two-hour slot, and even then, there are jumps in the narrative in a few places to save time. Some of which are explained in the narration provided by Carol Ann Ford, but some of which are not.

At times, it might be biting off slightly more than it can chew and, while the monster does have relevance to what's going on elsewhere, it isn't really needed and doesn't make a lot of sense. But, well, I guess they wanted some action other than the political plot. One could also point out that Ford doesn't sound like a teenager any more, and the new actors playing David and Jenny don't have identical voices to the original... but all of that is unavoidable. The end result is a decent story that fills in some gaps and, for once, shows us something of what happens after the Doctor swans off having defeated the baddies and left the wider societal problems for someone else to fix.