In this entry, the Ethicist gets an adventure all of his own. Of course Dr. Who is still hot on his tail, but soon he too becomes tangled in the plot, together with HMF.

The tale is wonderfully told, and I really enjoyed the bard. I can tell how much effort went into that. I also like the time shenanigans, and the fact that there are no easy answers in the end.

The story takes it down a notch after the action of the last few stories to be a bit more linear. It may not be as exciting as the past few stories, but I think this story is necessary. You need stories in which the characters can just be the characters and allow you to become attached to them. After last story's proclamation of Doom and Despair in Alex's future, I can totally understand why this story is here, as we need to get to know Alex more.

And the fun thing is, so does Alex. He is trying to find who he is after the revelation of last boxset and deal with some of his feelings about it. A nice parallel.

Meanwhile the meat of the exciting stuff lies with Cass, who becomes the spider in the web, and unravels the knot that the others have made in the situation. The narrative has really been focusing on Cass's relationship with alternate timelines and knowing the future, and I wonder where it will go.

A quieter affair, wonderfully told, and a lovely way to spend an hour.

May I note that for me this series has this wonderful feeling of pathos. Everything feels so important, even the quieter stories like this. Could just be me but I feel like they've really thought this arc through. I hope it will stick to the landing.

This didn't do much for me I'm afraid. I don't feel like the ongoing plots have moved at all, and its fine to take a moment away but at least if its good it helps. I'm not a huge fan of Cass or Alex they're just kind of there for me, same as quite a few of 8's companions, and all his Time War ones in all honesty. If we have to wait until the fourth story for them to reconcile then it'll be very predictable.

I LOVED the setting, this planet with two intertwining timelines (one where people starve, one where people are infected by blighted crops) and Alex and the Doctor competing with each other to try and save the world in their own way.

Then there's Cass who, in full Dune style, gets prescience and is the actual saviour. I love that they are sticking with it at the end of the story, it opens up so many possibilities and as a big Frank Herbert fan and specially God Emperor of Dune I couldn't be more excited for what is to come. (If they do make it work is another thing)

Also of my friends hated this one but I found it quite alright tbh