Ooh boy, what a ride.

I was at first skeptical, but once I saw the cover (and when my Cyberman bias took over), I decided to give it a go.
And it was worth it.

Great alternate take on the Cybermen origin, even showing their earlier versions that quite differ from what we are used to (for example:the Cybermen were doubting their decision of undergoing conversion).

Every character was great here and had a great part in the plot.

The soundtrack is one of the best, 5 is quite lucky of getting the best soundtracks BF ever made. It starts as usual for 5 era - synthesizer plus a bit medieval music, but as the story progresses and the stakes get higher, the music becomes more and more techno, and I LOVE that.

The only problem I have with this story is the ending. For some it might seem reminiscent of "The Visitation", but there it sort of made sense. Here it is downright strange:after escaping the Cybermen the surviving Mondasians leave their planet in spaceships and head to Earth, which is prehistoric at that moment. And the Doctor quite strongly implies that they may be the humanity's predecessors. Very, very strange decision that doesn't quite click with me :(.

But overall, a really great audio, I enjoyed it A LOT. If it wasn't for the ending, I would've rated this story higher, but for now it gets what it deserves - a very very nice surprise.