The Eight Truths

"Logic is a poor match for fear."

Writer: Eddie Robson

Format: Audio

Released: September 2009

Series: EDA 3.07

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Lucie

Synopsis 

London, 2015. The Doctor's looking for a lost space probe. Lucie Miller's feeling just plain lost, on a world she no longer quite belongs to. Perhaps there's someone who can help. A chance encounter with an old sparring partner leads Lucie to the Eightfold Truth – a bunch of crystal-bearing cranks who reckon a rebel sun is on its way to purge the Earth. As if! 

But what if they're right?

The apocalypse is upon us. As humankind counts down the last days of its existence, the Doctor races to unmask the Eightfold Truth – and uncovers an old and deadly enemy.

Verdict

The Eight Truths was a sublime audio adventure to kick off the finale of the third series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures! This really was faultless from start to finish and exactly what you would want from the first part of a double finale. I liked the idea of a NASA probe going lost and the coincidence that had with what was happening in space. The return of Karen, initially prior to that of the Headhunter, was good and she was seemingly fired over three years ago. Lucie bought into that quickly, but it was always likely that the common villain throughout this audio range would make an emphatic return. The wake up call for Lucie was fun and it was good to start the story in a different way with the Doctor and Lucie separated from the off. The mix of the crystals and the nature of the name of the Eightfold Truth was excellent and led me straight away to think of Planet of the Spiders long before the revelation of the Eight Legs at the cliffhanger finish. That was terrific and I'm a little surprised the Doctor didn't connect the dots earlier! Lucie being questioned on her plan and goals in life was good and she was slowly but surely being drawn into the Eightfold Truth group. That was fantastic to hear develop over the course of the audio. They were an interesting organisation and I really liked that the first aspect of the truth involved the human race embracing its destiny. Kelly was a brilliant character and her upcoming book claiming to reveal all eight aspects was fantastic and a good way of keeping us from knowing the other seven with the book still a few days from release. The Doctor essentially taking her on a date to get access to her copy of her own book was fantastic and a lot of fun. Paul McGann was brilliant as the Eighth Doctor in this one. Lucie being discovered as a perfect for the Chosen One was very good and the arrival of the Headhunter pretending to be Mary, the person in charge of checking the match, was really good. I loved the idea of the language being used in the stellar manipulator being the same as that used in the TARDIS because that meant it was likely for Gallifreyan involvement, and that very much excites me. I thought the cliffhanger of part one with the bomb delivered to the Doctor in parcel form was terrific, but I loved how it set up the second part feeling very different after finding out he had been unconscious for 23 days following its effects! Instead of regeneration, the Doctor opted for a coma after ensuring he didn't breathe in much radiation. He couldn't be wasteful! The stellar manipulator being referred to as a Rebel Sun was really good and sounded important which I liked. As the second part took place three weeks after the first, the conflict that had arisen within the Eightfold Truth through Lucie's matching with the Chosen One and debate on the rewards given to those who had been members for a long time was excellent. I would guess that this will contribute to its downfall, which I presume will occur in the next story. They were certainly growing fast though as they'd reach nearly 250 million members worldwide! That was a pretty formidable number. Karen being used again as only a part of the Headhunter's plan and not being let in on the full knowledge of what was expected to happen wasn't surprising, and I felt a little sorry for her if I'm being honest! The Doctor concocting a whacky gadget for Kelly to show the world that the Rebel Sun was not a real one and simply artificial and subject to interference was just great and a lot of fun. I also loved how he'd used his credentials at UNIT in this adventure, especially with the 2015 setting which I thought was great. He could so easily run into one of his later selves from the modern era! The Doctor also pondering again on his time on Orbis was intriguing. Did he prefer that kind of lifestyle? The frantic pace of the ending with the Doctor revealing the crystal to be a Metebelis one and Lucie instantly showing dislike of the word spider was just magnificent. The followers of the Eightfold Truth belonged to the Eight Legs! A superb cliffhanger and end to what was a sublime audio. 

Rating: 10/10