The Ashes of Eternity

🤩9/10 = ALMOST PERFECT!

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

WHEN YOU FLY TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN!

Adjoa Andoh reads this BBC Audio Original adventure written by Neil Bushnell, featuring Nine and Rose.

Bushnell gets the dialogue and interplay between Nine and Rose right, and Andoh’s narration brings the two characters to life.

The story is highly tense early on as Rose and Nine get in trouble near a star—a scene that feels very palpable—followed by the Doctor getting injured, leaving Rose responsible for getting them to safety.

The adventure shifts effectively from a space story into a base-under-siege story in a desolate farmhouse in England in 1986.

The sound design brings the remote English countryside to life effectively.

I love the effective threat caused by the looming danger of the Solonite, a sort of fiery alien entity that makes me think of the Hyperions from Titan Comics. The way it acts and kills people is horrendous, which makes for effective action moments.

The only supporting character is an aged artist, grieving a recent loss. She is feisty and effective, a bit like Evelyn Smythe, but less jolly. I like how we slowly learn more about Peggy, which makes her more likeable. This, in turn, makes it more horrible when she is taken over by the Solonite.

The lone Solonite is a vile creature and constantly taunts the Doctor and Rose. It’s a monster with a bit more personality than your average Doctor Who alien.

The story goes full circle towards the end as Rose is forced to save the day after both Peggy and the Doctor are out of action.

The climax is perhaps a bit lengthy and loses me a bit, but the excitement and tension are nonetheless quite high.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

Interestingly, this story is divided into chapters, unlike the previous releases.

The Scandinavian in me is always excited about references to Nordic countries in Doctor Who, so Gavin the Asteroid hitting Uppsala (which has a nice bookshop, apparently) in the future makes me oddly happy.

This story presents yet another theory as to what exactly created our galaxy and solar system, suggesting that the Solonites are behind that.

Andoh delivers the “Nothing can stop us now!” line with almost the same passionate conviction as Joseph Furst in The Underwater Menace.

lesbianism saves the day