The Master and Margarita

"In death, his body had become a garden."

Writer: Matthew Sweet

Format: Novella

Released: November 2020

Printed in: I Am The Master 06

Featuring: The Master

Synopsis

Marooned by the Doctor on Earth for 77 years, the Master becomes scientific advisor to the Soviet equivalent of UNIT – with a deadly agenda of his own. But his plans take a strange twist with the coming of the unearthly Comrade Cap...

Verdict

The Master and Margarita was a pretty average novella to conclude the I Am The Master: Legends of the Renegade Time Lord collection off stories. I can't help but feel a little let down by how this has finished and whilst the book as a whole has certainly been a welcomed and positive addition to the Doctor Who universe and a great extension of adventures for six different incarnations of the Master, this one felt to me that it had the billing of the main event given how current it was with the latest series and the front cover only bearing the Sacha Dhawan, but it just didn't live up to the potential in my view. I thought it was great for the difference of the volume in having an extended story in the form of a novella rather than just a normal short story, but I think this was sadly the worst of the collection. I loved how things started with the reader literally being addressed by a strange aura or being, but I was stunned that we never really seemed to come back around to that with any kind of meaning or impact. It was strange because it was a good start that really jumped off the page. I didn't understand why it took so long for the Master to be introduced and I was actually kind of expecting some follow on from Spyfall and the events that led to the Master ending up stranded on Earth for 77 years. Instead, we had a  long introduction to some of the Russian characters and established the setting, but there just seemed to be too much going on all at once without enough time to develop. The uncovering of an ancient reptile that certainly had the description of a Classic era Silurian was interesting and I thought it would be great to combine the Master and this Classic foe, but it never really developed into much which was a shame. I mean, K'vo was a good character and I really did find her interesting but I felt that I should have cared more about her and what she was up to considering she had just been uncovered and released from suspended animation after forty million years. That's quite the sleep! I wasn't a big fan of the Master not being referred to by his name throughout the story on a number of occasions as without visuals, I just don't see why it's needed or what harm it does. It would really help in my view to just keep things simple, especially in a story that isn't full novel length. As a whole, I thought the story was a little all over the place in terms of structure and I'm not entirely convinced everything was wrapped up. The whole theme of the mushrooms and the fungus theme was not great at all in my view and Comrade Cap had the potential of being a good character, but he didn't really stay around for long and we didn't know much about him. His challenging of the Master and what he'd done on Earth in over a decade was good though, but I will also say that I didn't think the writing was overly well-suited to the latest incarnation of the Master. There wasn't enough enthusiasm or maniacal nature for my liking. In terms of the Master as a whole, I loved the idea of the Master trying to replicate the Doctor by taking up a role as scientific adviser at the Soviet version of UNIT but I don't think it was best suited to the Dhawan version. That was furthered in my eyes when it came to the relationship with Pelageya Vlasova as the next door neighbour. She was an intriguing character and her fascination with the Master was good, although I think her parrot Margarita didn't really warrant a titular character and didn't really offer much to the adventure at all. The Master's admiration for Jo was wonderful though and I also really enjoyed the moment where Carpe impersonates the Third Doctor and asks what it was like to be imprisoned in his own past. Overall though, I thought it was a mediocre story with some highlights and moments that thankfully saved it but it wasn't quite the conclusion to the collection I hoped for! 

Rating: 6/10