Torchwood Monthly Range #10 - "Moving Target" by Guy Adams

I think at this point the Torchwood Monthly Range is just excuses for writers to turn incidental characters from the show into absolutely brilliant leads. We've had Yvonne, Queen Victoria, Andy and now Suzie, that one member of Torchwood who was killed off so Gwen could join. Guy Adams, who previously made a planning officer a deeply complex character, now has the job of humansing a one time antagonist into the main character. And boy did he do well.

When Suzie Costello wakes up, she finds the world outside frozen in time, and only one seemingly ordinary woman for company. With a stream of bloodthirsty alien hunters after them, Suzie has to play the hero or face an unthinkable truth.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

God this one's depressing. I probably should've known going into an audio starring the bundle of joy that is Suzie Costello but christ does it just traumatise you out of nowhere. First of all, Suzie's great. Immediately, she's more than just an insane psychopath willing to kill to keep her job and Adams manages to massively humanise her without completely changing who she is; plus, Indira Varma puts on a stunning performance. Besides from Suzie, we have Alex, an easy to like, relatable character that the Adams pulls no punches in f**king over every chance he gets. She's a little annoying at first but once we've spent half an hour with her and she begins to crack in this nightmare reality of being constantly hunted, you get really attached to her, which makes what happens so much worse. Moving Target also boasts what is probably the most hateable antagonist I've experienced in a while. Basically, all of Moving Target is an anti-hunting allegory, with a big space company considering humans to be nothing more than unintelligent animals and sending the rich and talentless down to Earth to hunt and kill Alex. Moderating this is The Referee: the most punchable little robot you've ever darn met who is just constantly spouting this vile rhetoric of how it's ok that he's selling people's lives to the highest bidder. Genuinely disgusting villain and the single thing that makes the allegory work so well because god does it highlight the backwards entitlement of hunting. And then there's the ending, where The Referee reveals he chose Alex because she's "future proof" as, despite being pregnant, it's ectopic and her husband is having an affair, which would've lead to her suicide in a few weeks anyway. Now knowing this, Suzie chooses to mercy kill Alex instead of letting the hunters kill her. It's a real gut punch and floored me when I first experienced it.

However, most of the positives occur in the second half. Like I said before, Alex can be quite irritating in the first half hour or so and it's quite a bit slower than the rest of the story as it's setting up what's to come. Also, it's got a real bad case of "character thinking out loud for absolutely no reason" because, until Alex shows up, Suzie has nobody to exposit to and so just talks to herself. It's really just a personal grievance but it's a trope I can't stand. Honestly my biggest problem here is the Referee got away with it. It's less of a criticism, I just really wanted the smug bastard to be put in his place at some point.

Moving Target was brilliant. It also ripped my heart out and stamped on it. It moves a little slowly but two great characters and one of the most horrendous antagonists I have ever seen make this a great listen.

9/10

Pros:

+ Does leaps and bounds for the character of Suzie Costello

+ Alex is an incredibly down to earth and relatable character

+ The Referee is genuinely one of the most despicable antagonists I have encountered in a while

+ An utter gut punch of an ending that left me speechless (heh...) for hours afterwards

+ Really well implemented anti-hunting allegory

Cons:

- First half is a little too slow

- Has the classic audio story syndrome of having character think aloud for no reason

- I just wanted the Referee to be put in its place one single time

Top 5 Best Torchwood Monthly Range Stories:
5. #8 - Zone 10 by David Llewellyn
4. #2 - Fall to Earth by James Goss
3. #10 - Moving Target by Guy Adams
2. #9 - Ghost Mission by James Goss
1. #4 - One Rule by Joseph Lidster

Top 5 Worst Torchwood Monthly Range Stories:
5. #6 - More Than This by Guy Adams
4. #3 - Forgotten Lives by Emma Reeves
3. #5 - Uncanny Valley by David Llewellyn
2. #1 - The Conspiracy by David Llewellyn
1. #7 - The Victorian Age by AK Benedict