Missy and the Monk

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.