Stories Audio Book Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trips Short Trips Free Speech 1 image Overview Characters How to Listen Reviews 1 Statistics Quotes Overview Released Tuesday, December 29, 2020 Written by Eugenie Pusenjak Narrated by Jacob Dudman Runtime 44 minutes Inventory (Potential Spoilers!) Psychic Paper, Sonic Screwdriver Location (Potential Spoilers!) Skaz Synopsis On Skaz, speaking costs money. Aymius Todd is trapped in a police interrogation. They want to know about his links to the Garrulous Liberation, and his encounter with a man called the Doctor. But, Aymius is running out of words, and if he can’t afford to finish his story, then he’ll never be able to speak again. Winner of the The Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trip Opportunity 2020 Listen Listened Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Characters Tenth Doctor How to listen to Free Speech: View on Big Finish Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Newest First Oldest First Most Likes Highest Rating Lowest Rating Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 1 review 27 April 2024 · 229 words Review by efficacy 2 A short trip set in a really interesting world where it costs money for every word you speak, so only the rich can say what they like. Clearly it's an allegory, but it is handled well, with the Doctor mainly in the background and the focus on a character who is short of cash and so has to choose his words wisely. The choice of the famously talkative 10th Doctor is a good one, as his rambling contrasts sharply to the short, to-the-point, speaking style of the main characters. It will come as no surprise, given the title, that the story resolves around the desire for free speech, and this aspect of the story works well. There is also a kind of clumsy romance sub-plot which obviously exists to highlight the difference in speech patterns of the wealthy and the poor, but felt unnecessary otherwise. My biggest issue was that the speech patterns of the poor people were not short enough. Several times the main character added an expression, a phrase, or a few extra words which were simply not necessary. A life of counting every word would likely have taught everyone how to say the absolute minimum words in any situation. Overall, a fun story in a very clever world which made good use of the 10th Doctor and did not include a spurious alien invasion. Like Liked 2 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating71 members 3.57 / 5 GoodReads AVG. Rating173 votes 3.99 / 5 The Time Scales AVG. Rating39 votes 3.65 / 5 Member Statistics Listened 111 Favourited 6 Reviewed 1 Saved 1 Skipped 0 Owned 12 Quotes Add Quote Submit a Quote