City of Spires

"The Redcoats will soon be upon us!"

Writer: Simon Bovey

Format: Audio

Released: April 2010

Series: Monthly Adventures 133

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Jamie

Synopsis

Arriving in a hail of musket fire, the Doctor unexpectedly finds himself in the highlands of Scotland, where the ruthless Black Donald and his band of rebels are fighting the Redcoats. But the highland warriors no longer fight for the Jacobite cause and the English officers answer only to the mysterious Overlord. What has happened to Scotland and why are its moors littered with advanced, oil-pumping technology?

Reunited with his faithful companion Jamie McCrimmon, the Doctor must venture into the sinister City of Spires to find the answers. But standing in his way is the deadly Red Cap...

Verdict

City of Spires was a very good and intriguing audio adventure to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures! I have been fascinated from the very start of the trilogy within this range to have the Doctor, now in his sixth incarnation, reunited with Jamie given how the two parted ways in The War Games with the companion having all of his memories of travelling with the Doctor wiped from his mind, excluding their first encounter in The Highlanders. The moment the Doctor comes face to face with Jamie here is terrific and I liked how he referenced those aforementioned Second Doctor serials and tries to explain how he's the same man, but just looked a little different back then. However, Jamie had no memory of even the first meeting with the Doctor which shouldn't be the case because the Time Lords allowed him to keep those memories. Something was clearly wrong, and that was further evidenced when it came to the Scottish timelines being completely muddled up. Jamie's ageing didn't add up with the Battle of Culloden, and we were now in the 1780s but elsewhere geographically it was the nineteenth century! I found that interesting and it not being completely resolved by the end was a nice way to set up further adventures through the pair who were now a brand new friendship all over again. The way things came full circle from the first meeting between the Doctor and Jamie at the end as they apparently begin again was excellent. I thought the first half of the story was outstanding and I loved exploring the relationship between the Doctor and Jamie. It was really good to have the Sixth Doctor meeting Jamie again and the latter realising that there was some sort of indescribable chemistry between them was great stuff. I liked that a lot. The Scottish setting and the presence of the Redcoats was terrific, with Jamie's position as Black Donald was magnificent. He embraced the role well and it was a nice twist to have him in a position of authority. The mystery of the Overlord was fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed the references to a 'she' having sent the Doctor. I'm intrigued to hear if that continues in the next set of audios and delivers on a big reveal. Alice was a fun character to accompany the Doctor and Jamie and I liked how she was able to point out that the pair seemed to be picking up on an old relationship. I was a less a fan of Victor though but the guest cast as a whole were more than decent. I thought things were much better before the truth of the Overlord was revealed and I'm still not sure what to make of the fact that it was essentially an assembly of leaches. The Red Caps fitted in well with the setting, but as mentioned for me this was all about the Doctor and Jamie. I loved the reference to The Moonbase when the Pied Piper was brought up and I'm just excited for what comes next between the pair. The actual city was an interesting concept but I just couldn't get enough of the new pairing! Overall, a solid adventure and I'm looking forward to hear what comes next. 

Rating: 8/10