Stories Audio Drama Faction Paradox Audios The Shadow Play 1 image Overview Characters How to Listen Reviews 3 Statistics Quotes 1 Overview Released October 2001 Written by Lawrence Miles Publisher BBV Productions Runtime 65 minutes Time Travel Unclear Story Arc (Potential Spoilers!) War in Heaven Location (Potential Spoilers!) The Eleven Day Empire Synopsis PRIMER FOR THE SPIRAL POLITIC (POST-WAR EDITION) 2: THE SONTARANS Era: Last thirteen-million years. Technology: Military (blatant), limited time-awareness. It's perhaps unwise to think of the Sontarans as a species, as such. A homunculus breed, hatched by the million and engineered for full-engagement warfare, the Sontaran military machine is regarded by many time-active cultures as an "occupational hazard": a force of nature rather than a race, compelled by duty and genetics to acquire new technologies for its endless war effort. It should be remembered, however, that with the backing of a higher power even the crudest of breeds can become something quite different. Listen Listened Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save Characters Justine Lolita Sontarans Eliza Morlock Show All Characters (5) How to listen to The Shadow Play: Faction Paradox Faction Paradox 02: The Shadow Play Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Default Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 3 reviews 18 June 2025 New· · 180 words Review by Goibniu 1 Just delightful. That’s really the best way to sum up my experience with The Shadow Play—it’s the kind of story that leaves you eager for more. The set-up that began in the previous audio drama is brought to a satisfying close here, with all the major players firmly established and some seeds sown for future stories. The political maneuvering and intrigue in this story feel at times like a precursor to what would later become the backbone of the Gallifrey series—there’s a sense of layered plotting and behind-the-scenes scheming that’s really compelling. While the storytelling is a bit more conventional than the first part of the Faction Paradox Protocols, the eccentricities of the characters and the mystical, ritualistic atmosphere keep things feeling special. Production and cast are all-around good, making it easy to get lost in the world of the Eleven-Day Empire. The performances are immersive, and the sound design does a great job of drawing you into the story’s unique blend of chaos and order. I’m genuinely looking forward to listening to the rest of the Faction Paradox Protocols. Goibniu View profile Like Liked 1 15 November 2024 · 92 words Review by ItsR0b0tNinja Spoilers 3 This review contains spoilers! The Shadow Play is an interesting continuation of the Faction Paradox story that started in The Eleven Day Empire. The story was OK, but that is to be expected to what is essentially the second part of a two-parter. There wasn't anything bad about this serial, but it did feel a little thin. There were some interesting developments, but it was very much designed to tie up the previous release and set us up for future stories. The voice acting is good, with some appropriate over-the-top acting to liven up the story. ItsR0b0tNinja View profile Like Liked 3 13 January 2025 · 81 words Review by turlough Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! An interesting continuation of the previous episode with some genuinely interesting ideas, especially around Justine and the Grandfathers shadow, but there again seems to be a lack of plot progression with this story. I suppose linearity is an alien concept to Faction Paradox stories so it's sort of on brand, but I wish there was just some sort of flow of time from start to finish, as despite enjoying the story a lot, I couldn't really tell you what went on turlough View profile Like Liked 2 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating41 members 3.76 / 5 Member Statistics Listened 62 Favourited 5 Reviewed 3 Saved 2 Skipped 7 Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite ELIZA: We don’t have to go back to our own times, though. We could go back to the age of the dinosaurs or something. JUSTINE: Why would we want to do that? ELIZA: I don’t know. It’d just be interesting. You know. We could start our own Faction Paradox mission there. In the middle of the Jurassic or wherever. JUSTINE: A mission? ELIZA: Yeah, why not? JUSTINE: For prehistoric reptiles? ELIZA: We’re agents of Paradox, for gods’ sake. For all we know we could be the ones who go back in time and start the human race. We could be the original Adam and Eve! Eve and Eve! Whatever! JUSTINE: If that were true I think we’d have been informed. ELIZA: I’d just quite like to ride on a dinosaur. — The Shadow Play
