The Vardon Horse

"I would rather flee or hide than unleash our destructive capability on any race."

Writer: Richard Dinnick
Format: Short Story
Released: June 2017
Printed in: Myths & Legends 06

Featuring: First Doctor

Synopsis

The First Doctor is mistakenly thought to be the Silver Soothsayer when he arrives on board a ship amidst terrible conflict. The situation isn't too dissimilar to a recent adventure of his, and he sees a similar solution to ensuring that the Vardons and Kosnak don't get what they went of the Xeraphins

Verdict

The Vardon Horse was an above average continuation of the Myths & Legends short story collection, but there was definitely some improvement to be made. I did actually really like the basis for this story and it was certainly a myth I actually knew about this time – it's not too difficult to ascertain which one it is judging from its title – but I didn't think it was utilised all that well. I mean, we've already seen it occur in Doctor Who with The Myth Makers which did so in brilliant fashion and I just don't think the concept worked in space, especially in a three-way battle. The implications this story had for Time-Flight were good and I appreciate the effort that writer Richard Dinnick went to in trying to thread some small details out and giving the war between the Vardon and Kosnak (sp.) its own story. It's certainly an audacious one! It wasn't quite up to scratch in my opinion but I think a lot of that is down to trying to squeeze everything into what is such a small format. At just twenty-two pages long, there is only so much you can do and it was very much still an entertaining read. I thought the diary format worked well despite the days and months being unfamiliar and therefore a little difficult to follow. The writer being Odyson was good and I liked his style and the description that came with the style of storytelling was very much appreciated. I wasn't a big fan of the Doctor not being referred to by name and I would have loved some explanation as to how he came to be travelling alone, but I guess the writer was very clever there because it didn't have to be explained when we were just reading diary entries. The characterisation of the First Doctor was actually terrific and I really liked the referenced to the aforementioned story where he encountered the use of the Trojan Horse. However, that just further reiterated in my mind the repetitiveness of this story and whilst I'm all for basing stories upon real-life myths, this was one that had already been done so I wasn't as into it which was a big shame. I thought there needed to be a bit more elaboration concerning the actual war and not just relying on our memories of the aforementioned Fifth Doctor story as we didn't get much of that from a perspective that was being targeted. Their amalgamation into one being was intriguing and really great concept but I remain unconvinced that so many would have gone along with it so quickly. I did though like how the Doctor's perceived status as the Silver Soothsayer gave him some authority. Zarak turning out to take advantage of the situation was a very good and unexpected ending with him carrying out a coup, planning things to ensure that it looked like Furis was the one in the wrong and had ordered the murders. That was a really great twist and saved this one from being a disaster. I was very pleased that things ended with high quality but as a whole, this one was still lacking a little.

Rating: 6/10