Absolution

"Our blood is on your hands."

Writer: Scott Alan Woodard
Format: Audio
Released: October 2007
Series: Main Range 101

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz

Synopsis

Confession. Penance. Absolution.

The TARDIS breaks down in a forbidden sector of space. Ghostly voices cry out for salvation and only C'rizz, the Doctor's Eutermesan companion, can answer their call - for only he knows the secret of the Absolver. But will he use it to rescue his friends or save the universe?

The Doctor's sins are catching up with him and the infernal beast Borarus is hungry. Time is running out and Judgement Day is at hand.

Welcome to Hell.

Verdict

Absolution was a fantastic audio adventure and it perfectly portrayed the beauty of the audio format as everything is up for grabs and just about anything can happen. This story saw C'rizz depart the TARDIS in quite shocking style as he would actually die and it left things quite sour between Charley and the Doctor and I'm not quite sure how things have been left for the future. I loved the idea of the TARDIS entering a forbidden sector of space and the confusion of how it got through the trespassing barrier was very good. C'rizz has always been something of a mystery and there have been numerous hints that he is something more than appears ever since The Creed of the Kromon. That was soon realised here and I was quite shocked by what happened once Charley opened the absolver. It contained the souls of all those who were dead at the hands of C'rizz and the concept of somebody with death on their hands travelling with the Doctor just doesn't seem right. It's shocking to think but the Doctor had no idea. I was quite intrigued though to see that he wasn't all that surprised and quickly adapted to the new situation concerning his Eutermesan companion. The religious theme was actually superb and I liked how C'rizz was a member of the Church of the Foundation. Tying this in with the Citadel was a good match and his relationship with Aboresh was most interesting. He figured that C'rizz could do a lot if given the right tools and the use of mental powers in this audio was at the maximum. I liked the concept of Hell being present on just about every society and the Doctor's comment about them all rooting from here was quite similar to my recent viewing of State of Decay and the spreading of the vampire legends. Cacothis was a decent character and his disagreements with Aboresh were really good. Aboresh was convinced that if C'rizz was left in the Divergent Universe then he would have become a god and I was quite impressed with how much he knew. The way the psychic powers reconfigured the TARDIS was also a shock and I thought the part one cliffhanger was superb. The prophecy concerning Borarus was very clever and I was surprised to find that it was C'rizz who would be the one making a sacrifice. The way he wanted to protect the Doctor and Charley once in his true form was quite commendable but I found the revelation concerning him and the aim of the Eutermesans very surprising and rather horrific. Which was good. The ending was extremely emotional and Charley was distraught by what she witnessed as her friend turned to dust right in front of her and the Doctor. He didn't seem effected though and that deeply hurt her and she let her intentions to leave known. Things are quite precarious from here on in. Overall though, an excellent audio!

Rating: 9/10