Boo!

Prerequisites: None needed

His Close Companions isn't a terrible audio, but it is rather the weakest War Master story in the range so far, and it's kinda just disappointing. The concept of the Master telling us a ghost story is honestly great; this range has done great things with horror in the past. However, here it's just pretty bogged down. For one thing, using 2-3 nested framing devices is more silly than it is clever, and it's confusing to hear in an audio drama. I'm of the opinion that this kind of thing works best in a novel (like Dracula). Plus, the central story here is just... not that interesting. The pacing is slow, the characters are dull, and the Master doesn't even do much. He just sort of sits on the sidelines and pushes things around. Maybe there will be some revelation later in the boxset as to what his plans are, but right now, this is absolutely nothing to write home about.

It’s alright actually

📝4/10 → UNDERWHELMING!

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

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: “HIS CLOSE COMPANIONS”

Future Phantoms is a set that sees the War Master sit around a secret room at a college, telling stories to those who find him.

The performances are strong, and there's a spooky atmosphere, but the story never gripped me, and I found it dull and overlong. The script is flat until the very end, where it builds very light tension. The characters leave no impressions, and even the Master himself just sort of exists with little purpose.

This doesn't make me excited about listening to the rest of the set.