The Monthly Adventures #035 - “...ish" by Phil Pascoe

It’s been quite a while since I’ve listened to a story that I hadn’t already experienced (discounting The Maltese Penguin as I don’t want to think about The Maltese Penguin as it makes me sad). In fact, the last Monthly Adventure that I hadn’t already listened to was The One Doctor, eight whole audios back, so when I finally found myself with a new and shiny story to dig into, boy was I glad it was ...ish. A story I had been looking forward to since I began my marathon, the blurb to …ish fascinated me and my fascination was only furthered when I heard glowing reviews from multiple members of this site. An abstract murder mystery where the killer is the English language? Sounds unmissable.

The Articulate Worlds: a star system of words, where lexicographers gather to discuss the complexities and mysteries of language. At the grand opening of a new, universal dictionary, the Doctor has found himself once again embroiled in a deadly affair, where the oldest word in the universe is out for blood.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

If you had to give …ish one positive, one thing about it that could be talked about in depth, it would be that it is overflowing with ideas. Pascoe clearly had a fantastic concept and ran with it until it became a story, and it worked in the most glorious way possible. From the endlessly fascinating setting of the Articulate Worlds, a whole solar system built on the study of language, to the threat itself, the first word in existence that has gained sentience, Pascoe turned a neat little idea into a maelstrom of stellar concepts that make for an endlessly fascinating listen. And I think I need to stress how good of an idea the antagonist - the Omniverbum - is. The birth cries of the universe formed the longest word in existence and it is alive; a suffix of that word, the endlessly changing “...ish” has infected a living dictionary and is now spreading to all known languages in the articulate worlds. It is a genuinely terrifying and endlessly existential creature that absolutely excels as our villain and works to be this nigh lovecraftian enemy whose presence hangs over the entire listen. Well, at least for the first half, which is an incredibly engaging little mystery with some fantastic atmosphere. The first part alone is a clean 10/10 from the setting, to the incredible and evocative performances to the maddening intrigue of what exactly this “...ish” is, it all works to build some incredible tension that crescendos at the brilliant Part 2 cliffhanger, when the Ish manages to infect the attendees of the convention.

However, I feel that this story could’ve done with this climactic moment coming at some point later in the narrative because I feel that, after this, everything just sort of loses steam. At this point, the Ish has taken over and basically succeeded, so all we have to do is run around until we can think of a way to save the day. The mystery and atmosphere both pretty much crumble, mostly in part to how bad the exposition becomes at this point. Sure, a lot of the first half was explaining the mechanics of the world, which I’m fine with since it allows the plot to introduce itself but three quarters in? By that point, I feel like we should be moving a lot faster, not to mention that everything becomes near incomprehensible. …Ish definitely feels like a story you have to listen to at least twice to fully appreciate, considering how much is dumped on you at once with not so great explanations. And in the end, I think the conclusion just bores me. Everything feels far too easy and it’s one of those ending we’re all the characters sort of sit around and chat about the adventure they just had like it wasn’t a near death experience. But, I do have to say the second half isn’t a complete let down, there are some really fun moments that really take advantage of the story’s ideas, like the Doctor and Peri confusing the Omniverbum by using the British and American forms of certain words or the syllable “ish” getting bleeped out to try and resist infection, leading to a everybody sounding like their in a censored episode of South Park.

…Ish was a fascinating story with a treasure trove of golden ideas behind it. Rarely do you get a story that so effectively uses its premise to its advantage and actually allows it to play a major role in every plot beat. It didn’t manage to keep its momentum and I do agree with the seemingly popular sentiment that it gets too wrapped up in its own ideas to keep making sense, but it was such an interesting experience that I don’t mind it and overall, I feel it was just a few polishes away from a shimmer.

8/10

Pros:

+ Brimming with fascinating and wholly original ideas

+ The Omniverbum is a terrific and oddly lovecraftian concept

+ Brilliant first half with an engaging mystery

+ Great performances all round

Cons:

- Loses steam by the second half

- Becomes too convoluted for its own good

- Underwhelming ending that feels far to convenient