Son of the Dragon

"Behold, my people, the bride of Dracula!"

Writer: Steve Lyons
Format: Audio
Released: September 2007
Series: Main Range 99

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Peri, Erimem

Synopsis

I am Prince Vlad III - son of Vlad the Great, and sovereign and ruler of Ungro-Walachia and the duchies of Amlas and Fagaras.

BUt since my father's murder, I have had another name.

I am Dracula.

Verdict

Son of the Dragon was a great audio adventure! I've come to the last of the two-digit releases and I'm finally getting somewhere but I realise that I still have a considerable way to go before coming close to catching up. I was really looking forward to this story beforehand because of the TARDIS team and I liked how they were once again involved in an adventure that was a pure historical. That theme certainly works well with Erimem but I was also a little surprised to hear that it was teased that she would depart the TARDIS once again. Is that a hint for the future, perhaps? Adding her alongside the Fifth Doctor and Peri made for a terrific trio and I liked the contrasting experiences each of them went through during the story. Peter Davison gave an assured performance as the Fifth Doctor and I think he's definitely more bubbly and happy alongside Peri and Erimem rather than the likes of Tegan or Adric. The 1462 setting was fantastic and I liked how, rather than being all about vampires, this story took us back in time to meet the real man himself. Vlad the Impaler as he was also known, so he was probably more sinister than the vampire! Given how much horror he provided, I was quite surprised to see that Erimem became infatuated with him. She was initially quite courageous and offered a large sacrifice by offering herself to become Dracula's wife in return for the Doctor and Peri's safety. The way she grew to like him was surprising but I liked how the Doctor told Peri that had she come from this time, she may not think he was so bad. His line about viewing history in its context was something I loved and that's probably because I have just attained a History degree! The way Erimem revealed she wanted to depart the TARDIS was quite surprising and I was actually shocked she wouldn't want to say goodbye to the Doctor in person. Peri was taken aback as well. Radu was a tremendous character and I really enjoyed his relationship with the Doctor throughout the audio. His role as Dracula's brother also made the title a little more meaningful and ambiguous which I thought was very clever. The accounts of Dracula's wife and the tension that came with Erimem perhaps suffering her fate in the river was very good. The cliffhangers throughout were of a very high standard which was pleasing but I wasn't sure why each part had a little pre-titles scene. The ending was well-paced and quite emotional which was good and I thought it was well done as a whole. Overall, a very good story!

Rating: 8/10