The Memory of Winter

"He didn't do what he did for thanks."

Writer: George Mann

Format: Audio

Released: 7th April 2016

Series: NSA 25

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

In 15th century France the time travellers encounter a band of soldiers protecting a mysterious young woman. Joan of Arc is troubled by voices, telling her things that she should not know about: things concerning the Doctor's own people, the Time Lords. Compelled to discover where she is getting the information from, the Doctor and Clara are drawn into danger.

Verdict 

The Memory of Winter was a superb audio story and it concluded the current run of Twelfth Doctor and Clara audios in magnificent fashion! It really was the best of the four story run so far and I think it's fitting that they saved the best until last. I had full confidence that George Mann would deliver as he is a sublime writer with his Engines of War novel ranking as one of my all time favourites. His other story in this audio series, The House of Winter, was the only other of the three audios to score the same rating as the latest instalment does here so I think it's fair to say that I enjoy him as a writer. And why wouldn't I? He certainly knows how to tell a story. It's been quite some time now since I listened to The Sins of Winter, over four months in fact, but the overlapping arc of these audios remained fresh in my mind as I've listened to each story from the collection. It all started long ago with The Gods of Winter but after delays with release and my hesitation to purchase it, I finally completed the set and ensured that I have kept up with every Twelfth Doctor story, no matter the format, so far. However, I will not be purchasing the 'Choose the Future' novels because they're not my cup of tea. Anyway, onto the story and I thought the plot was absolutely brilliant! I loved the setting of 15th century France and upon reading the story synopsis, I was very intrigued by both the inclusion of Joan of Arc and the mention of the Time Lords. The moment where the Doctor spoke about there being another Time Lord in the area, my face lit up with excitement. It was similar to my reaction when I watched The Doctor's Wife on broadcast. Even though the Doctor did end up back on Gallifrey in Heaven Sent/Hell Bent, this story was clearly set prior to its events so I was looking forward to seeing which Time Lord it was that had survived. However, as the story title might suggest, we didn't get another Time Lord. Clara suggested that it could have been Missy and given that she considered her to still be alive, I personally think the story would be set slightly after The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar but then I'm also inclined to place it before that and shortly after Dark Water/Death in Heaven because of the heavy use of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. But at the end of the day, I guess story placement isn't really important and the fact that what we got was an excellent audio is what really matters. Joan of Arc is a very interesting historical figure to use in a story and l liked how her horrific death was foreshadowed by Clara. She became much more famous after her death, as is often the case in history, but as I'm studying for a History degree I do love it when we have a story that features a historical figure. I was not expecting her to mention Gallifrey though! That was magnificent. Jemma Redgrave was an excellent reader for the story and I'm now very much looking forward to the UNIT: Extinction audio series that features her playing her usual role of Kate Stewart. Her impression of Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor was superb and her likeness of Clara was also pretty good. Jeremy Winter was a great member of the Winter family and I loved how this story served as the origin of how the calling card fell into the family's hands. The Doctor's realisation of that after taking off in the TARDIS was simply wonderful. The Thrake served as a very good enemy and its connections with Time Lord history was of great interest. Joan of Arc's role with the Thrake was outstanding and I loved how she eventually contributed to its defeat. Mann wrote the Doctor excellently with his personality captured with ease and I loved the line about him not liking compliments. But Clara was keen to console him after not meeting another Time Lord that he may have thought would happen. I'm glad it ended on a humorous note though. Overall, a fantastic audio and definrely the best of the series! 

Rating: 9/10