The Dead Star [AUDIO/2023.1.5]

★★★☆☆

  I can't see everyone finding the Audio Novels range their cup of tea (it's pretty much the New Series Adventures audiobooks of novels made by Big Finish), but I'm gobbling it up at the moment. I'm all for more novels in the Dr. Who sphere, and if that means we're getting a handful of new, well-written novels in audio form, so be it. The sound effects add to the atmosphere of these stories anyway.

  I'd be hard pressed to call The Dead Star Kate Orman's magnum opus in Dr. Who, but to be fair, she's been off the Who cycle for quite some time now. Time was, she was the hottest VNA and EDA writer renowned for being the author of some of the ranges' best novels. Dead Star is the proverbial Return of the Queen, though one that's more modest than one might believe. The first half of the audio novel shines so brightly; vivid and scrumptious descriptions, incredible characterisations, a compelling mystery, a great setting (London 1968, the near future for Polly and Ben) brought to life by characters you wouldn't mind being around in real life. Orman's strength as a character writer pulls through in the first half so strongly, and I really must stress how much of a joy it is to listen to those three hours.

  The second half is when the ball drops slightly, as Orman has to ditch the delicious atmosphere and lush pace of the first half in favour of plot-mandatory technobabble and a lot of meandering within a space station set in the late 21st century. Thankfully, parts 5 and 6 pick up (or try to, anyway) the infectious energy their predecessors had and tie the novel up in a more or less satisfactory way, but I'm sad to admit that part 4 is a pretty boring stopgap. I love the idea of a mysterious alien starfish causing homicidal mini black holes causing mass destruction, but surely I can't be the only one who thought the mystery and impending doom fizzled out big-time by the end? I'm sad that The Dead Star had a second half that didn't agree with me all that much (not intolerable by any means, though), because its first three parts were genuinely wonderful -- had it kept on with that level of excitement, mystery and grasp on its characters (the Doctor, Polly and Ben are characterised so wonderfully and faithfully to the original TV show), this could have been an all-timer.