Embrace the Darkness – Nicholas Briggs Free Audiobook

Written by Nicholas Briggs
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 256 Kbps

This is the thirty first release from Big Finish in their range of full cast audio adventures starring classic Doctor Whos. It stars Paul McGann as Eight and India Fisher as Charlotte Pollard. There are four episodes, roughly 25-30 minutes each, complete with original theme music between each, and cliff hanger endings. Two episodes per disc on 2 discs, and a short booklet with some pictures of the cast and production notes.

This release is the fourth in the second miniseries of Eighth Doc stories, through which there is a loose story arc revolving around Charlotte Pollard’s rescue from the R101 by the Doc back in their first adventure. The arc has a greater presence on some stories than others, and here it is not important, apart from a brief encounter at the very start of the adventure which will be explained in Neverland.

Following said encounter, Eight and Charlie find themselves in the Cimmerian system. It seems there was a mysterious event here that caused the sun to stop shining, the Doctor sets out to find out just what happened. Pretty soon they are thrown into what seems like a typical `remote spacesation/outpost, crew in dire trouble’ situation. Just as we think we know where the story is going it takes a sudden lurch and things turn out quite unexpectedly. As Eight realises his mistakes and fights desperately to correct them I have to say I was thrilled by the sudden change in the story and the change of tone. It makes a tired old format and concept new and exciting.

McGann is clearly having a ball as Eight. This little miniseries really allowed him to expand the character, and show off several facets. Here it is the ever curious Doctor that we see, trying to do the right thing and correct his mistakes. India Fisher is also in good form as Charlie, and conveys the depth of feeling for the Doctor with ease. There is a great chemistry between the two. The writing and concepts are great, especially the use of audio to convey a world totally without light – which of course we could never have seen on TV. All in all it’s a classic little adventure within the Pollard story arc, but one that stands alone very well. 5 stars.