I wouldn't exactly describe myself as a Master Fan, sure if done well the Character can be a lot of fun and I would be lying if I didn't love Delgado, Ainley, Roberts or Gomez in the Part. All those Actors did a marvelous Job at it and were a joy to watch, every time they were on-screen. The same privilege sadly didn't exist for Beevers, who played the Master only once on TV. Not to mention that he shares his Incarnation with another Actor Peter Pratt, 4 Seasons prior. I do enjoy 'The Keeper of Traken', but I would be lying if I said this was one of my favorites Master ever and yet.. he is.

This is mainly thanks due to Big Finish, who since the early 2000s really gave him more Material to chew on. He really has a special Presence to him, in particular on Audio, his Voice is menacing yet has also something gentle to him, one almost could say it's hypnotic! And he really proves that yet again in this Story.

'Mastermind' is a unique Release in the Companion Chronicles, not only do we follow two UNIT Members again (played by the TV Movie's very own Companions), but we also get a History Lesson of the Master, which is I told you it would maybe sound very silly, but really works here. It's very much a three-hander, with Yee Jee Tso filling a lot of the Roles in quite the wonderful Manner. Hearing the Master telling us how he continued to steal bodies and building himself a Crime Empire works a lot more than I would have expected it, probably massively thanks to Beevers and his superb way of narrating it. A good Narration makes or break an Audio Book, you can really tell that with a few BBV Productions, even through some of the Stories are decent or solid, they fall flat due to the monotone Narration of Baggs, which thankfully you are far removed from with any of the CCs.

I think this Story really sells me since it remembers so well how the best Masters can be, charming, intriguing, yet menacing, and those are all Things I truly believe this Story conveys perfectly. At the end of the Day, this one is just an excellent Character Piece and very much yet another proof that this Master can be quite underrated.