The Seeds of War

"One more victim of the Eminence."

Writers: Matt Fitton & Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: March 2013

Series: Monthly Adventures 171

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Mel

Synopsis 

Humanity is emerging from a long, exhausting war. Against an enemy so powerful, so implacable, it seemed unstoppable – right up until the moment it stopped.

Now, despite its 'victory', the human race is on its knees. The Doctor and Mel join its struggle for survival to try to ensure it has a future.

A race against time takes them from the Great Tower of Kalsos to the Reliquaries of Earth. In an epic journey across the ten systems, their fates are intertwined with one family. The Tevelers are to feel the effects of war more than most...

The Doctor has a plan. Mel is sure he can save the day. But something is lurking. Watching. Waiting. A presence the Doctor knows of old. But just how far does its influence pervade?

The Eminence awaits...

Verdict 

The Seeds of War was an excellent story to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures from Big Finish and conclude a really strong trilogy for the Sixth Doctor and Mel! This pairing really is going from strength to strength and I really liked how they were headed for  Kalsos and its massive freestanding tower. The biggest in all of the colonies. It was a good premise for Mel to experience something resembling an intergalactic tourist site so when they arrived it was typical that it seemed it hadn’t finished being built! Except that wasn’t quite the case as the Earth Alliance were actually tearing it down as the last standing representation of the Eminence. Now, it’s been eight years since I listened to Destroy the Infinite which depicts their first chronological appearance, so I was surprised as the story went on how much I was remembering about the gaseous enemy and their Infinite Warriors. It’s really good to have this one as a sequel to that Fourth Doctor Adventures story even though this was released first which is a fun little quirk. The Doctor obviously knew all about the Eminence from his first encounter and his reaction when he got a sniff of them returning here really sold them as a strong enemy. I’m a big fan of them and there’s definitely more to come from them. The ambiguous ending with them not entirely being defeated was great and leaves things open for another return. The suggestion of them always being in the mind of the Doctor was good too and I loved how he played on that by making them think he was working for them. The opening episode in particular was probably by favourite as it just set the scene so well and the cliffhanger finish of the tower collapsing was superb! There was really strong action and the stakes just instantly felt high, no pun intended. The shock of the likes of Barlow and Trellak to the Doctor and Mel’s lack of local knowledge was excellent. I enjoyed the history lesson about the Eminence and how they were slowly defeated, but the Doctor wasn’t so sure. Their infection of the seeds in a world seemingly at peace but slowly being starved was sublime. That’s such a subtle but brilliant means of destruction! Helgert’s reaction to their apparent demise being intentional was fantastic and it was a shame that all of his and Sisrella’s efforts to clean the soil and irrigate were helpless. The seeds were never going to grow again thanks to the Eminence infection. It was really good that the Eminence didn’t actually feature that much at all and the mere threat or mention of them was enough to make them a strong enemy. That’s the sign of a good monster in my estimation! They worked very well. The relationship between the Doctor and Mel was decent here and whilst it was admirable to hear how much faith the latter had in the former, the Doctor’s annoyance at her constantly making promises on his behalf was certainly understandable. She could also see he wasn’t quite himself when going into cryogenic suspension to get to Earth to the seed bank. That being the saving grace of the crop issues was good and I liked the futuristic setting of just being able to planet hop! But they needed seeds from before the war to ensure that they were not infected. The lack of the TARDIS was important and I always enjoy how vulnerable things are for the Doctor without that safety net being close by. The sacrifice of Kenneth at the seed bank to see off the Eminence was really good and the emotions when it seemed both Sisrella and Barlow had perished in the blast was strong. The heartstrings were also well and truly tugged when Helgert suddenly passed away as his heart just couldn’t take it anymore. Overall though, a really strong audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10