One of Zoe’s memories is considerably more recent than it first appears…
This marks the end of an era for Big Finish as this final regular Companion Chronicle brings to a conclusion one of the long running threads through the series – Zoe’s battles with the mysterious Company. John Dorney returns to complete the tale which he began a long time back in Echoes of Grey, and balances the tricky tasks of paying off the various plotlines, as well as creating a story which works in its own right.
One of the Companion Chronicles’ strengths has been its ability to get inside the heads of its protagonists, and Dorney allows us a look at both Zoe and Emily Python’s Kym psyches – which gives the listener an advantage over them both as the story careers towards its inevitable end. The plot is suitably twisting with plenty of references to other adventures set in the same time period (Warriors of the Deep’s set up treated seriously for once), and although I initially wondered if there was an element of cop-out about the last few minutes, on reflection, it’s the right ending… particularly the last two words – delivered beautifully by Wendy Padbury.
Sadly there are no extras on the disc bar a trailer for the new Early Adventures line; it would be interesting to hear Dorney and producer David Richardson’s take on how far the Chronicles have come – and, indeed, from Padbury, whose Fear of the Daleks was one of the very first in the line – but maybe it’s right that the work speaks for itself.
Verdict: A triumphant end for one of the jewels in Big Finish’s crown. 9/10
Paul Simpson
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