Masters of War

                                                                                                  

"There's nothing natural about the Daleks."

Writer: Eddie Robson

Format: Audio

Released: December 2008

Series: Unbound 08

Featuring: The Doctor, Brigadier

Synopsis

The Doctor and his travelling companion, retired army officer Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, take a random trip in the TARDIS – and land on the planet Skaro.

The Doctor helped the Thals to defeat the Daleks years ago, so he is surprised to find the Thal city under Dalek occupation. He determines to help them again, but what is the Daleks' purpose in keeping the Thals alive?

Does it have anything to do with the Daleks' mythical creator, named in their teachings as Davros?

Verdict

Masters of War was a very strong and intriguing adventure to conclude the original run of Unbound stories from Big Finish. I have really enjoyed this spinoff range and it having alternative looks at the Doctor Who universe, and going double length here with the Daleks and Davros was brilliant. I enjoyed the continuity from Sympathy for the Devil to which this was basically a continuation of with adventures between the Doctor and Brigadier, and this was no holiday like Alistair expected! Skaro was certainly not a tourist destination and I loved how this was Unbound's take on an alternative sequel to events loosely based on but differentiated from The Daleks and Genesis of the Daleks. It was cleverly done and it was fun for the Doctor to have had a role in The Great Siege, the Unbound version of the war between the Thals and Kaleds. I thought that was terrific. The truth behind the Siege was fascinating given the high involvement of the Quatch and how they essentially perpetrated the creation of the Daleks. It was really interesting to learn after listening that an alien involvement in that war was initially part of Terry Nation's original Dalek script. I thought that was such a fun detail and it really made me appreciate this adventure more. I'd have probably liked for more interaction and teamwork between the Doctor and Brigadier, but the idea of those two heading up a military mission involving Daleks and Thals was tremendous. The line where the Daleks reveal they returned to Skaro to protect the Thals was superb because it felt so alien to their nature, and Davros wasn't best pleased by that fact. His insistence that all Daleks were created equally was very good and that provided some interesting conversation with the Black Dalek. I was a big fan of that and exploring the Renegade faction of Daleks was magnificent. One element I really enjoyed was a depiction of a first meeting between the Doctor and Davros that was outside of the Dalek genesis. That was a terrific moment and it was fun to know that the Doctor had knowledge of Davros through what he had heard. The idea of Davros being a myth on Skaro and the broadcasts featuring him being computer generated was excellent and something I think could have been expanded upon. Some of the Thals were standout characters with Nadel and Gillen particularly standing out, and it was a nice touch that the Brigadier wanted to stay on Skaro and try and ensure that the Daleks and Thals could live somewhat harmoniously now the Quatch were eliminated. I thought the method by which the Quatch were defeated was a little easy with their relationship with Davros coming back to bite them as he'd built in a failsafe to their device keeping them in this universe, and my only main criticism of the story was that it was probably a little too long. Regardless though, it was a fascinating take on the Daleks and a welcomed meeting with Davros and a new version of the Doctor. Overall, a great listen!

Rating: 8/10