A story with an interesting focus on the lore of the Dark Times, as well as River's imprisonment, I found myself quite satisfied with (and horrified by) the final entry in this anthology. 3.5/5

Afraid this review is a little rushed, as I have to return the anthology to the library now - I'll try and remember to smooth it over when I return home. Spoilers ahead.

The Qwerm, the alliance between the Time Lords and other time-faring species against the Yssagaroth... lovely callbacks to deep Gallifrey lore, presented in a form  accessible even to purely nuwho readers! Although I enjoyed the focus on the lore of the Ancients, I was a little miffed at the idea of an ancient, barely-post-Anchoring Time Lord calling her Ship a 'TARDIS', and using all those other flashy new terms of the modern era of Time Lords. The idea of a Time Lord caught between one regeneration and the next physically as well as mentally is a fascinating one, and one I hope will be explored more thoroughly in other adventures. The use of an imposter TARDIS is always great fun, and this tale is certainly no exception!

I did think that Andy Lane latched on a little too hard to the whole makeup-and-clothes aspect of River at the start, but several of her dimensions could still be felt, so it didn't have too great an impact - I do love the idea of her talking to the orthopods in the walls (and, sometimes, them talking back). It seems to be getting at the underbelly of prison life often ignored by River stories in favour of the glamour of regular-escapee - the effect it has on her cannot be ignored, and there was certainly a sense of that impact here. Again, an idea I hope to read more of in other stories!

There was plenty of that trademark Lane horror I've come to expect, with grotesque creatures infesting a TARDIS, almost threatening to cannibalise her, along with her pilot, who has been there so long as to (half) fall under stockholm syndrome... However, I really felt like the dismissal of Forcade's crew and lack of time spent getting to know them was detrimental to this story. I always enjoy that personal element, that getting-to-know-characters-you'll-never-see-again-only-to-have-them-cruelly-ripped-away-just-as-you-were-starting-to-like-them, and I feel like I didn't get that at all from this story. With most of Forcade's team dismissed as mere "sweeties" not deserving of their own names, that emotional gut-punch was sorely missed. It felt like a story itching for a longer format, and a little restless at what it ended up with.

Still, a solid story, and a good ending for this fun anthology!