The Shadow at the Edge of the World

"Hell is empty, and all of the devils are here."

Writer: Jonathan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: May 2014

Series: Charlotte Pollard 1.02

Featuring: Charley

Synopsis

The Ever-and-Ever-Prolixity has granted Charlotte Pollard her dearest wish and set her loose once more in time and space. But where has it brought her? Waking amid the minatory darkness of a forest floor, she has no notion of where she is, or when.

Welcomed at gunpoint and beset by danger, Charley finds herself immediately embroiled in a frantic struggle for survival. For there are perilous shadows in this night-time forest. There are hungry, watchful eyes. And there is something ancient also, something tracking her, something implacable and ruthless which knows Miss Pollard of old...

Verdict

The Shadow at the Edge of the World was another very good audio adventure to continue along the first series of the Charlotte Pollard spinoff! The immediate follow on from The Lamentation Cipher worked well and I thought Charley was well composed and calm when confronted by Turnerman who was cornering her with a gun. The forest setting was quickly established and I thought that was good and Charley having no knowledge of where she was made for an interesting start as we learned of the surroundings. Charity and Susan were good characters and their nature being one of somewhat nicer than Turnerman's made for a good dynamic amongst the female cast. Their claims to be in the forest for the truth were interesting and I thought the Slatherings actually were rather impressive for an audio format. The escape effort was exciting and tense and the female survivors having to make their own weapons said a lot about the predicament and how long they had been stuck in the forest. Emmeline claiming to know of Charley was a fun moment and the way it later linked with her psychic tendencies was good. Charley saving the group from apparent slaughter with a burst of light that came from the power of the prolixity was an unexpected turn of events and her shock reaction at not being aware she could produce sudden light bursts was fantastic! Finding out that the setting was Scotland at the edge of the world during 1936 was good and I loved how close to home that was for Charley, both in time and geography. She was pondering on returning to her family which would be nice, but for now she was stuck. The sedation of Emmeline following her ravings and claims of being trapped with the devil was very good and I enjoyed Charley's reaction to that as she didn't agree with it at all. The human females forgetting who they were or why they were in the forest was an intriguing revelation and I liked learning that they were all that was left of an expedition focused on a temple that was supposedly older than should be possible. That peaked my attention! I loved the concept of the curse regarding the temple and it being said that the pilot that saw it along with the photographer both taking their lives was certainly something to add to the mystery. Charity not being attacked by the Slatherings was good and I liked how she knew there was no threat. So Turnerman killing it made for a very impactful moment. Charity knew this was her fiancé and was silent for days afterwards. The two-day time jump was a little sudden but still worked well and the Slatherings driving the group away from civilisation was a good plot move. Charley challenging Susan on imagination and battling with the issue of truth versus madness was probably the highlight of the audio for me! Emmeline's secret sparking fear in Susan was good and the idea of the path to the temple being well trodden was so simple but effective. The confirmation that the Slatherings were all the men of the expedition wasn't much of a surprise but it's still an enjoyable plot move and I liked how the females had come to the temple many times before only to be made to forget. The Viyran field shop turning out to be at the temple was good and them being the supposed devils was excellent. The imagery of the floating Slatherings being taken aboard was amusing and I loved the twist of Charley not being known to these Viyrans. They'd been wiping the memories of the female humans as the virus they were here to eliminate only effected men and the women were needed as natural immunity. The portal link with the prolixity was fun and that being how both Charley and the virus got through was great stuff. Turnerman having her whole memory wiped was enjoyable as she probably deserved that and this Viyran emissary also wanting Charley against her will was fantastic. She wasn't having that and jumped back into the portal! Who knows where she'll end up next. The Viyrans reporting back through time was superb and I liked how they sent a message from the future to capture Charley because she possessed the lamentation cipher and the keys to universal havoc and Viyran obliteration. She was the greatest treasure and that fits well. Overall, a fine audio!

Rating: 8/10