Christmas with the Plasmavores

"I'm a blood-drinking alien from the depths of space."

Writer: Dave Sudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2020

Printed in: The Wintertime Paradox 07

Featuring: Fourth Doctor

Synopsis 

Did you Davros and the Doctor met for three Christmases, on different planets, across time and space? Have you heard the one about the time the Plasmavores came to pay a festive visit? Or when Madame Vastra fought a cyborg?

The perfect collection of the bleakest – and sometimes brightest – time of the year, these are the tales to get you halfway out of the dark...

Verdict

Christmas with the Plasmavores was a tremendous little story to continue my way through The Wintertime Paradox collection! Whilst the Doctor didn’t appear until the very last page and didn’t really offer anything other than a humorous line, he was far from missed as this was just a really fun and emotional tale. The title itself is just ludicrous but to actually have a little family known as the Plasmivores was hilarious. They were referred to as such throughout the story which was terrific, but I don’t believe they actually introduced themselves as such. Although Catherine did seem to think they were French but I am assuming that would be more to do with Amelie’s forename than her surname. Regardless, it was really fun stuff. The dynamic between Catherine and her dad Maurice was intriguing as they weee both dealing with the grief of losing their mum/wife in different ways. Maurice wasn’t being much of a dad in the six months that had passed and it was a little sad to read how Catherine felt like she was the one parenting him! At nine years old, that was hardly the right thing to be occurring. She was certainly mature and despite her trepidations at inviting the Plasmavores in amidst their apparent engine troubles, Catherine was the one offering coffees and producing a spread including some very deadly salt and vinegar crisps. The importance of that would prove pivotal to the conclusion which is barmy, but Plasmavores had to be very careful about their salt intake. Very careful indeed. That’s why human blood was so perfect for them because it got the balance just right. That was an intriguing note. I thought the reaction of the Plasmavores to finding out about the death in the family was rather horrific as they didn’t seem to offer condolences of any kind. They seemed a little hurt by what they considered to be a complete waste. The Plasmavores viewing humanity as nothing more than a supply stock was pretty eery. When the Plasmavores said that their mechanic wouldn’t be out until the morning and that they could find a hotel, it was obvious that Catherine didn’t want them to sleep over but that would be exactly what her dad would offer. Maurice tried to sell the excitement of a sleepover and to her credit Catherine did try and get in with the social norms. She preferred her own company which I admire and can relate to, but offered to take Amelie to her room where she could sleep. The descriptions of the Plasmavores moving around in silence was excellent and added to the chilly atmosphere that came from the late at night Christmas setting. That worked very well. The moment I’ve taken as my quote stunned me a little as it was just so emphatic! Amelie was the Plasmavore all along and she really emphasised that her species drank blood which was fun. I didn’t expect her parents to actually be Slabs though imprinted with her psychic pattern to present them as her parents. Something like this worked on lesser species such as humanity of course. I enjoyed the continuity with Smith and Jones there. The little chase around the compact house was presented well and I loved the horror image of Amelie being spider-like on the ceiling after she recovered from Catherine’s attack with one of her numerous books about war. I liked how we slowly built to the conclusion with Amelie wanting a photo of Catherine’s mother as the basis for a Slab, because she was literally going to become the Sullivan family with her leather slaves! That was an audacious plan, but at last Maurice stepped up to the plate with a devious ploy to ensure that Catherine’s salt packets she stole from restaurants, something she lovingly didn’t see as stealing because they were there to take anyway, were thrown all over. Of course the photos wouldn’t be at the back of the top cupboard! It was brilliantly executed. I’m not actually sure the cameo at the end from the Doctor at the door to explain that sugar was detrimental to Plasmavores was completely necessary, but it was nice to know he’s keeping an eye out on just about anyone and everyone! Overall, a really nice story! A great read. 

Rating: 9/10