It's funny that after not loving Call for the Dead, in no small part because it felt lacking of Derek Jacobi without tangible benefit, I then listened to The Persistence of Dreams and found myself much more engaged with the material.

I suppose it comes down to personal preferences, as even though Persistence of Dream is ranked lowest on average here on Timescales, I absolutely loved this audio. I thoroughly enjoyed the single-minded focus on Martine's character, and knowing what we know about the effects of Swenyo, it felt good not only to see these effects head-on, but also it gives this sinister tone to everything. Martine is clearly suffering from this isolation and I wound up really pulled into the plot as we zero in on her character. Because of the way the Swenyo works, it allows us to get a strong sense of the people in her life and her motivations.

The sound design is pretty great even if I don't think this whole audio set uses SFX much to its benefit. Everything works really well here in my opinion, and it all not only sets us up for the final part, but ties into it pretty nicely. Clearly this story isn't for everyone, but I found Samantha Béart was very impressively able to carry a story that otherwise wouldn't have worked without such a strong performer leading it. Her laugh and breakdown near the end was haunting and really stuck with me. The Master might not be in this much but unlike Call for the Dead, I found his emergence and the overall ending to Persistence of Dreams very memorable and showcased his sinister nature quite nicely.

It's tragic what happens to Martine and Cassie even if they aren't the best of people. Maybe because of that exact reason - they feel real, in that sense, and I really got the impression of something being lost here. Something flawed and all too human feeling. So, it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it certainly left an impression on me. It is, however, held back slightly by the uneven nature of this sprawling story, that really is just one large tale in four parts. I don't know how much The Master of Callous benefits from that trend overall, but it does lead to some interesting and even experimental content in The Persistence of Dreams, and I do appreciate that immensely.