Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

“DRAGON’S WRATH – THE TREASURE HUNT THAT LOSES THE MAP”

After the success of the Time Ring Trilogy, Dragon’s Wrath finds itself in the unenviable position of continuing the first series of Bernice Summerfield audios with an adaptation of Justin Richards’ New Adventures novel—handled here by Jacqueline Rayner. On paper, it’s a cracking idea: an Indiana Jones-style archaeological romp where Benny joins a dig in search of a legendary dragon statuette that could solidify Romolo Nusek’s political claim over an entire space sector. In practice, however, it’s a sluggish and confused story that struggles to maintain momentum, energy, or clarity.

The twist is that Benny already has the statuette. So when the expedition “finds” it anyway, only for the team to be picked off one by one, the tone lurches into murder mystery territory. Unfortunately, what could have been a tense thriller ends up being a plodding slog of indistinct characters, bland exposition, and murky plot progression.

FLAT CHARACTERS AND UNINSPIRED PERFORMANCES

Lisa Bowerman, as ever, brings warmth and spark to Benny, but she’s given far less to work with than in the previous three audios. Her rapport with the other characters—especially the forgettable Nicholas Clyde, played by Nigel Fairs—lacks dynamism. Clyde, supposedly Benny’s sidekick in this outing, is a character without strong traits or memorable lines, making his presence feel more functional than vital.

Meanwhile, Richard Franklin (Captain Yates himself) plays Romolo Nusek—but you’d barely notice. His performance is disappointingly muted, lacking the charisma or menace needed for a man whose claim to power could hinge on a mythical artefact. For a guest appearance from a Doctor Who veteran, this is easily the weakest in the range so far.

AUDIO ISSUES THAT DRAG THE EXPERIENCE DOWN

The technical side doesn’t help matters. Sound design and editing are noticeably rough around the edges. Scene transitions are jarring, echo effects are overused and oddly applied, and sound effects often feel disconnected from the action, making immersion difficult. Dialogue scenes sometimes drift without direction, and the script dumps a slew of alien names and locations with little context, making the worldbuilding feel more confusing than enriching.

It doesn’t help that the story opens mid-action and never quite establishes its stakes clearly, resulting in a lot of early disorientation that never really settles. The pacing is uneven—over-explaining at some points, then rushing breathlessly through others—leading to a strange mix of sluggishness and confusion.

A CLIMAX WITHOUT PAYOFF

The final episode does its best to inject some urgency with a hearing that tries to unpack the mystery behind the murders and the artefact. But even here, the dialogue-heavy scenes drag, and the political intrigue lacks bite. Things build up to a would-be thrilling climax involving nuclear missiles heading for the planet… and then it all just fizzles out. There’s no real catharsis, no resolution that feels earned—just an abrupt halt, leaving the listener unsure what, exactly, just happened.

The political backstory—the tension over who gets to rule, and why the statuette matters—is underdeveloped and far from engaging. It’s a backdrop that should give the story weight but ends up as confusing noise behind the sluggish main narrative.

BONUS: A BOND SONG THAT BOMBS

Perhaps the strangest choice of all is the audio’s theme music. Dragon’s Wrath opens and closes with a full-on pastiche of a James Bond theme—sultry vocals, dramatic chords, the works. But it’s wildly out of place, lacking the charm or swagger of the real thing, and more confusing than clever. It only adds to the feeling that this production doesn’t quite know what it wants to be.

📝 VERDICT: 34/100

Dragon’s Wrath is an unfortunate stumble in Benny’s otherwise promising first audio series. Despite a decent core concept and the ever-reliable Lisa Bowerman, the story suffers from janky editing, lifeless supporting performances, muddled plotting, and inconsistent pacing. As a murder mystery, it lacks suspense. As a political drama, it lacks depth. And as an audio adventure, it simply fails to engage. Coming after three strong outings, this is a major misfire—and one of the most forgettable entries in the early Bernice Summerfield catalogue.

12.11.2020

s**t. The editing is lackluster, many times it feels like they skipped a scene. The story is unfocused, seemingly chasing after several goals, achieving none. Why is there a musical number at the beginning?
1/5. Barely distinguishable from noise.

You guys are mean. Adventure Is My Name forever <3

This episode is boring though. And the sound design and quality is very wobbly. I have nothing more to say. It's so nothingy, it just goes in one ear and out the other.

Bernice Summerfield

#1.06. Dragons’ Wrath ~ 2/10

◆ An Introduction

Series One is drawing to a close, and it’s actually been pretty damn good… for the most part: I don’t think there is anyone that’ll defend something as awful as ‘Beyond the Sun’.

This finale actually brings forth some changes and features that would become commonplace for the range; single-disc releases, and Paul Vyse’s logo for the series. Here’s hoping this will be a successful end to a decent run of adventures.

◆ Publisher’s Summary

The Gamalian Dragon is a jewel-encrusted statuette captured by the warlord Gamaliel from the legendary Knights of Jeneve after the Battle of Bocaro. It is now sought by Romolo Nusek, apparently Gamaliel's descendent, to prove his right to assume his ancestor's mantle as ruler of the Sector.

When Benny joins a group seeking to find the legendary statuette, she has a secret. No one can possibly find one on Stanturus because she's already carrying it, left for her by a murdered colleague.

The trouble is, the expedition does find one and, as a result, most of them are mysteriously slaughtered. Benny realises she and historian Nicholas Clyde must discern the traitor in their midst. Could it be Gilder, the obsequious administrator from Benny's own university? Could it be Truby Kamadrich, the famous archaeologist? Or might it be the bizarre librarian Reddick, who never leaves Nusek's vaults, protected by an inhospitable volcano?

◆ Prof. Bernice Summerfield

This episode was absolutely unbearable, and about the only thing I can give any praise to is Lisa Bowerman’s performance, which was painfully average.

Benny has seemingly been on a pub crawl, and been chucked out at 3am. She loves a good mystery.

◆ Story Recap

There was once a great battle on Stanturus Three, between Gamaliel and the Knights of Jeneve. An apparent descendent of the former is sending Prof. Summerfield there on an archaeological dig because of an interest in his dynasty’s history… but it soon turns out that Romolo Nusek just wants to destroy any evidence that claims his ancestor was anything but a hero.

◆ Vacuous Adventures

Justin Richards has written many amazing scripts: this is not one of them. Unfortunately, this episode was so vacuous and empty that I couldn’t even turn my review into a colossal rant – which is why I still got some enjoyment out of slating ‘Beyond the Sun’.

◆ Sound Design

There were significant problems that caused ‘Dragons’ Wrath’ to be delayed for a whole year. After several false starts, post-production duties were entrusted to Toby Richards and Emily Baker… who wouldn’t know what quality is if it kicked them in the shins! Half the time it sounds like the performers are recording using water damaged equipment.

◆ Music

Toby Richards and Emily Baker decided to create a new theme song for the range… and I absolutely despise it! Whoever decided to ditch the original theme for this sub-par 007 reject deserved the sack. Thankfully, the wider fandom seem to agree with me: the original theme would be reinstated by the final episode of Series 2.

As for the incidental music in ‘Dragons’ Wrath’, it’s painfully average at best, completely forgettable at worst.

◆ Conclusion

“It’s one of the best guarded artefacts in this part of known space.”

If by some miracle you managed to get through this episode without wanting to deck the people responsible for post-production, I congratulate you. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with Toby Richards and Emily Baker for the next three releases… though, that’s a good excuse to crack open the Disaronno!

‘Dragons’ Wrath’ was the first single disc release for this range, yet it somehow managed to feel like it was triple its length. The plot is mind-numbingly boring!