Heroes of Sontar

"We die for Sontar, the death of our enemies is why we live."

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: April 2011

Series: Monthly Adventures 146

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough

Synopsis

Planet Samur was once a peaceful haven. Pilgrims journeyed across the seven galaxies to meditate in the courtyards of the vast Citadel that spanned its equator. It was Samir's misfortune, however, to find itself situated on the furthermost frontier in the eternal war between the amoeboid Rutan Host and the belligerent, troll-like Sontarans...

Twenty years after detonating a bacteriological weapon over Samur, rendering it uninhabitable, the Sontarans are back: a select platoon of seven has landed here on a secret mission, carrying sealed orders given to them by Fleet Marshall Stabb.

The TARDIS has landed here, too, bringing the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa into the second great Battle of Samur. Fighting not only the Sontarans but mystical mercenaries... and a deadly, decades-old curse.

Verdict

Heroes of Sontar was a brilliant audio adventure to kick off this trilogy of stories for the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough. I was very excited about this as it's the first Big Finish story to feature the Sontarans and they're absolutely one of my all time favourite villains. I thought they sounded a little weird and not quite genuine at the start, but as more Sontarans were introduced to the story I became accustomed with the Classic design and sound. I love that we get a performed story with the Sontarans taking on the Fifth Doctor and the dynamic of the current TARDIS quartet with the older Nyssa was really presented well here. Nyssa was keen to get a sample of the mysterious moss on Samur as she'd developed quite a lot in the half-century since she initially departed in Enlightenment, but this time it backfired as the moss started to grow on her and was heading towards her brain. I thought the song of the Sontarans when it came to battle was tremendous and right at home with the silliness and seriousness of them as monsters at the same time. Turlough had a pretty quiet adventure in all honesty whilst Tegan's interaction with the Sontarans was just magnificent. She didn't hold back in her comments and the sequence where she called one of them shorty and saw that mockery as an intention of war was excellent. I liked the Sontaran continuity in this story with the files of Styre being mentioned amidst a lovely The Sontaran Experiment reference that seemed to have him post his findings and mentioning of the Doctor posthumously. The praying to Linx was also lovely stuff and a great harking back to The Time Warrior. The Sontaran advance to Samur was intriguing and I enjoyed that it was their deepest penetration into Rutan space. The history of their involvement on Samur was not expected and it actually led to a temporary alliance between the Sontarans and the Doctor and his companions. That was a great dynamic and the curse placed on the Sontarans from the Witch Guards was actually fantastic. I liked that history and involvement with the Sontarans actually going back to where they reduced the people of Samur and the Guards to the moss that covered the planet now, and they were immune to it which was helpful! Field Marshall Stabb made for a good head of the Sontarans and his name was very apt! Nyssa's emotional revelation to Tegan about having a husband and a son was a fine injection of emotion into the story and I'm interested as to why she won't tell the Doctor. I get the feeling Tegan won't let that go so easily. I thought the conclusion of this adventure was pacy and exciting and a fitting sendoff for the Witch Guards with the use of the seven Sontarans. The moment where the Sontaran had to admit that there were just seven of them to fend off on that fateful day twenty years ago was glorious stuff. The use of sealed orders was really fun and the fact that there were no orders actually held within was expected, but really good. These Sontarans were expendable and not the smartest of the clone batch, but they weren't giving in early as the curse was lifted. Overall, an excellent audio!

Rating: 9/10