Toil and Trouble

"Witches were the stuff of story-land."

Writer: Richard Dungworth 

Format: Short Story

Released: September 2017

Printed in: Tales of Terror 04

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, Harry

Synopsis

Answering the call of the Brigadier after departing from Space Station Nerva, the TARDIS is intercepted in the Time Vortex by the deadly Reapers. What kind of paradox are they hoping to feast upon? Does it have something to do with Sarah Jane going missing from the TARDIS attic?

Verdict

Toil and Trouble was an outstanding continuation of the Tales of Terror collection of short stories! This was one was absolutely right up my alley and I loved it from start to finish. Considering the format and length, I thought this was quite sublime. Considering the theme of the collection, kicking things off with Sarah Jane being in the middle of drowning was a good way to go that got readers stuck right in at the deep end when it came to this adventure which I was very impressed by. There was quite detailed description which was good and really sold the ordeal she was going through. I also think it was a clever decision to feature Sarah Jane Smith alongside the Fourth Doctor as she would be very familiar to those fans who have only known the show since its return in 2005. The emergence of the Carrionites into the story was done very well and I was mightily intrigued to find that it was the same three witches we saw on screens doing battle with the Tenth Doctor in The Shakespeare Code. For them, this adventure came after those events which was really fun given that the Doctor was yet to defeat them words, a theme that was played on tremendously well during the course of the story. What seems to be a semi-regular occurrence in this collection, excluding The Monster in the Woods, the illustration for this wasn't great as the resemblance of the Carrionites just wasn't there with what we saw on screen. I liked the placing of this adventure between Revenge of the Cybermen and Terror of the Zygons and it was clearly detailed how there absolutely is a little window there for further adventures like this. As if Carrionites weren't enough, we also got Reapers causing chaos in the Vortex and against the TARDIS! I liked everything that was happening here. The motive of the Carrionites quite clearly being revenge for the actions of the Tenth Doctor was fantastic and I loved how they wanted the true name of the Time Lord in order to defeat him with words, as he had done to them ensuring they remained cursed by the Eternals. That was brilliant. Their plan on killing the Doctor in an earlier incarnation to ensure that they were never defeated in the first place and their kind could be free to roam and devour the universe was fantastic. I liked how they mentioned Martha with loathing and it was more than a little controversial for them to refer to her as the Dark Lady! It was nice to see how much of an impact she made on the witches though. The concept of a blackout in the TARDIS was great and I loved how Harry was scared of the dark in these surroundings. He was the perfect companion for that. Sarah, in a controlled and witchlike state, attacked him in a good sequence. The connection being made between the Reapers and the Carrionites was excellent and I enjoyed how Harry had suspected this was the reason for their presence. Their efforts of wiping out the Doctor before they'd met attracted them because of the paradox it would cause. The Doctor had a plan of landing in the twentieth century as his companions wouldn't be out of place for the Reapers, and his using the signal of the Brigadier for that was really well done. The image of Carrionties and Reapers being in the TARDIS was terrific, especially with the former being devoured and essentially consumed by the latter! It was a quick and sudden end to what was a quite brilliant adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed. Overall, a superb little tale!

Rating: 10/10