The House on the Edge of Chaos

"The chaos gets in when order is defied."

Writer: Eddie Robson

Format: Audio

Released: July 2019

Series: Further Adventures of Lucie Miller 1.03

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Lucie

Synopsis

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Lucie to a vast house on the planet known as Horton's Orb. The only house on Horton's Orb, in fact. Outside its outsized windows there's nothing. No land. No sea. No sky. Just an endless expanse of static. 

Inside the house, there's an upstairs and a downstairs – servants below, gentlefolk from the finest of the house's families above. Alas, there are altogether too few eligible ladies on the upper floors these days. Meaning there's a vacancy for Miss Lucie Miller, single and unattached...

Outside the house, the static howls on. Except now, the static wants to get in.

Verdict

The House on the Edge of Chaos was a very good story to continue my way through the first volume of the Further Adventures of Lucie Miller! This was another solid adventure and I really enjoyed the unique setting of the outer reaches of Space. It was a place that should not be inhabited, so of course in the Doctor Who universe it would be habited. I really thought the guest cast were strong with Alana the absolute standout for me. I enjoyed her relationship with the Doctor very much, speaking of which it was another stellar performance from Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. I love his relationship with Lucie Miller and whilst I still think Charley is his best companion to date, this pairing is really growing on me even more and I do hope there are more adventures to come. There's a lot of room between and within series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures that I think could be utilised so a second boxset like this and beyond should be more than feasible! Lucie didn't hesitate in announcing their presence which was pretty humorous and a fine example of her loudmouth style. I liked how their arrival was met with caution as they should not have been able to get inside from the out due to the static. The concept of nothing is difficult to comprehend because logically it just doesn't make sense, but the static in play here was utilised really well. It provided a strong sense of fear but also gave a direction of what needed to be defeated. Horton's Orb was an interesting name for a planet and the sole house on it would logically be owned by a Horton. That was the case as we learned about Darius Horton and the disturbing make up of the house. The Doctor describing it as being made from the likes of bone marrow and teeth was very disturbing and beyond belief quite frankly! The thought of that, even if it was cloned, was horrifying. It was good uneasiness though and really enhanced the atmosphere positively (from a listener perspective). Lucie was mortified. I loved the imagery of the static figures having the face of his supposed late first wife as well. That was just cruel. Darius reacted to that statement in the expected way and I thought it was a really strong element of the story. It painted the picture nicely. Frances and Berrington were good characters and I thought the advances of the former towards Lucie were a nice way to end, even if she did lightly let him down. I thought a little more in terms of sound effects could have been used for the static, but I really did like the simplicity of the conclusion with the Doctor drawing out all of the Horton DNA and essentially bringing the only house to nothingness. That was pretty darn effective! I thought the cliffhanger finish was brilliant as the Doctor was getting a little angry at the TARDIS for not going where instructed, and his threat of going on manual was very stern! Overall, a great audio! 

Rating: 8/10