Doctor Who: Gods and Monsters

The conclusion to the long-running “white TARDIS” plot arc is, as will probably be clear from the cover, also a sequel to the TV story The Curse of Fenric. In fact, since it wasn't even clear that the plot arc had a Big Bad at all, let alone who it was, until the end of the previous instalment, this, in many respects feels like a standalone story, albeit on a grand scale.

Having said that, it does have numerous references to past stories (both TV and audio), and, of course, you won't know who Lysandra and Sally are if you haven't listened to, as a minimum, Black and White. Much of it takes place on an artificial world created by Fenric, and, despite detours elsewhere, has relatively little connection to the outside universe. There's quite a lot of scheming, much of it couched in terms of chess terminology, as the main characters attempt to outsmart one another, although the story never becomes too complex to follow.

While all the members of the unusually large TARDIS crew have a key role to play in the action, it's really Hex who comes to the fore, particularly in the closing quarter, as consequences of events right at the beginning of the arc finally come home to roost. It's this powerful conclusion that saves the play, which is otherwise a largely solitary battle against cosmic foes that lack anything in the way of human motivation. Yes, the Earth is threatened, but even that feels abstract.

Fortunately, that ending is satisfying, raising the story just enough above the average to warrant the four stars. It works as a conclusion to the arc, tying up as much as it can, although it's perhaps less effective on its own, and leaves things deliberately open-ended, as a lead-in to whatever follows.