The Kairos Ring

"These were the dead who could not die."

Writer: Stephen Gallagher 

Format: Audio

Released: February 2021

Series: Beyond the Doctor 01

Featuring: Romana II

Synopsis

Residing on the threshold of E-Space with the Tharil Lazlo, Romana is on the trail of a terrible enemy. Allies of the enslaves, the duo ride the Time Winds in search of the desperate Sluagh.

Meanwhile, on a bloody American Civil War battlefield, young soldier Joshua is haunted by spectres: pale, vicious-looking aliens who prey upon the dead to raise an army of living corpses. With the fabled Kairos Ring they can carve portals into other dimensions – and, by accident, Joshua is blown through one of them.

United with Romana and Lazlo against the dreadful Sluagh, Joshua finds himself catapulted into a strange new world of learning. But one secret is waiting to catch up with him...

Verdict

The Kairos Ring was a very decent start to the Beyond the Doctor series of adventures from BBC Audio! I really like the idea of exploring companions and their lives once they have departed the TARDIS and life with the Doctor, and Romana is a very intriguing case given how she left off in Warriors' Gate with her staying in E-Space. I was very disappointed that there was no mention of K9 in this story and whilst it was absolutely fine that he didn't appear, at least some sort of explanation would have been good! I did though enjoy that we got Lazlo returning alongside Romana as he was such an integral part in her departure so it's good to know that they still travel together. I must admit that I found myself a little disappointed that this story wasn't completely contained to E-Space as the potential of an entirely new universe really is endless so I was hoping for the approach taken in the ninth series of Fourth Doctor Adventures that I'm currently listening through. Alas, it wasn't to be but we did get some fun and interesting setting on the barrier between N and E-Space. I loved the use of the Tharil ability to travel the time winds and how that pertained to Joshua was very strong as the story neared its conclusion. He was a good little character to essentially be the focus of the story, certainly the first half, and his interaction with Romana was good and it was nice to hear their relationship grow throughout. It was good to venture to the American Civil War and the initial connections with the Roman era were a nice mix of history there. I thought Romana was strong travelling alone and it's clear that here she hadn't undergone the character growth we would later see with her in Big Finish and the Gallifrey spinoff. I thought Steven Pacey did a pretty good job with the narration for this one and whilst I thought the pace was probably a little too quick at times, he more than held his own and presented the story well. It would have made more sense for Lalla Ward to perform it, but this was not an issue in the slightest. The tale behind the titular ring was excellent and I loved the harkening back to the Greek mythology when it came to its name and the meaning of opening a gateway by force. That obviously had significance for Romana and Lazlo. Some of the descriptions in this audio were impressive with the idea of the dead not staying dead always something I'm fascinated by. I thought it was well done here and was a pretty eery concept in what felt like a relatively calm story. The Sluagh didn't seem massively dreadful and it is difficult when you only have one actor performing to create a convincing new monster, but Joshua and Tharil sold them pretty well. They didn't seem massively threatening and Romana dealt with them well in the end, but they certainly served their purpose. I thought the little monologue at the end describing how Romana and Tharil went on to have further adventures in E-Space as she, like the Doctor, disobeyed and was on the run from the Time Lords. That was a very nice touch. Overall, a decent outing! 

Rating: 7/10