This story has its fans but I personally found it to be a bit of a slog. Harcourt is a likeable enough villain and the message of knowledge without purpose being useless is neat enough, but overall it's just pretty boring.

As the trailer says, it's Saturday night teatime in 1977 all over again!

Small nitpick - I have an issue with the Doctor on the cover, because he's wearing the wrong outfit and it doesn't look right next to Leela. Aside from that, I love how the teacher-student relationship between the Doctor and Leela is developed in this story! Leela's awesome in this story, still being the warrior and it's awesome how she learns a lot throughout, reflecting the theme of the story.

Harcourt is a great opposite to the Doctor. They're both very similar, yet reflective in their ideologies. Therefore, their interactions are very thrilling, as it presents a darker perspective on the Doctor's mind. It's great how he utilises different things from his library to fight the Doctor, and the reveal at the end was unexpected. Also - I found it amusing when the Doctor mentioned Churchill when talking to Harcourt, considering that the actor who played him has played Churchill numerous times in the Moffat era.

The dark and gory imagery that they describe is very similar to the Hinchcliffe Era, and I think that it would've suited that era, and would've probably been one of the things that led to him getting fired. Thankfully, Big Finish don't have those restrictions from the BBC, and therefore it leads to some really compelling storytelling.

The side characters have a really traumatic story, which Justin Richards has written really well. The fact that they have a deep affection for each other, but aren't real, is horrible - and the journey they take to overcome the truth is really fascinating and kept me hooked throughout. Also - Daisy Ashford is in this story - How many 3DA actors are there in this range?!?!

A great story that fits really well into Season 14. The Doctor and Leela are fantastic against the Renaissance Man, with a really strong message and the final scene highlights that message perfectly.

Very much a bore of a story I was left kinda just nearly sleeping through it