Whispers of Terror is one of those early Big Finish stories that makes you sit up and go, “Oh, they really knew what they were doing.” Just three releases in, and they’re already experimenting with the format in bold ways. Set inside the Museum of Aural Antiquities (yes, really), this one takes the idea of recorded sound and spins it into something properly creepy. Voices are preserved like historical artefacts,and one of them—Krane—isn’t quite as dead as he should be. What follows is a tangled conspiracyfull of manipulated recordings, political murder, and a villain who exists purely as sound.

That idea shouldn’t work as well as it does, but on audio it’s brilliant.Krane is everywhere and nowhere, whispering from corners, lurking in static, slipping through speakers. It’s exactly the kind of story that couldn’t be done on TV, and Big Finish leans into that hard. The sound design sometimes gets a bit overexcited, but mostly it adds to the tension, especially when paired with Peter Miles as Gantman—the blind curator who finds himself at the mercy of a monster he can’t see, only hear. Miles is fantastic: all quiet authority and simmering intensity, and his scenes anchor the story in something really human.

And then there’s Sixie. This is Colin Baker’s Doctor still very much in his TV-era bombastic mode—grumpy, shouty, and brilliant. But the story puts him in a situation that challenges that persona. Here’s a man who loves the sound of his own voice, suddenly up against someone who can turn that voice into a weapon. It’s such a smart concept,and the moment where Krane tricks Peri by mimicking the Doctor’s tone is genuinely chilling. It’s not perfect—some clunky dialogue here, some overcooked editing there—but it’s a strong, stylish reminder that Doctor Who doesn’t need visuals to pack a punch.