Sting of the Sasquatch

"So you're looking for Bigfoot?"

Writer: Darren Jones

Format: Audio

Released: November 2024

Series: NSA Audio 33

Featuring: Fifteenth Doctor, Ruby

Synopsis

In a National Park in North-West America, the Doctor and Ruby are pursued by large, ape-like creatures who seem to literally disappear into the trees. When Ruby falls ill after apparently being stung, the Doctor believes the infection is extra-terrestrial in origin.

They meet Dixie and Greg, two Bigfoot hunters determined to track down the mythical Sasquatch. Standing in their way is Ranger Peone, who's adamant that the forest is too dangerous to explore. Dozens of people have vanished, or reappeared with no memory, in the last month alone.

Then the ape creatures kidnap Ruby, and the Doctor is determined to both save her life and solve the mystery of the Sasquatch.

Verdict

Sting of the Sasquatch was a great audio adventure to continue my way through the New Series Adventures from the current series! Following quickly on from On Ghost Beach, this had a very different feel and I like that. It’s good to get variation and it was just lovely to take the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby somewhere unique on Earth. The television series hasn’t had a huge amount of chance to do that just yet so I’m all down for audios like this one providing opportunity for some more depth in their TARDIS travels. I’m thankful to my lovely (and very pregnant!) partner for gifting me one of her Audible credits to be able to listen to this story today right after the first as I really am trying to ensure I keep up with everything from the current era. Especially with a little girl on the way this Christmas! Doctor Who dealing with the mythical legend that is Bigfoot seems like a no brainer and I’m honestly baffled that it hasn’t been done before. This is not meant as a slight on the range or format, but that coming in the BBC Audio range feels a tad strange. Of course, I don’t think this is going to get in the way of anything should the television series choose to go down this route, but it’s fun that we got here first with this one. The Doctor mention the Yeti was a nice touch when it came to previous legends he had encountered but there was nothing better than his Terror of the Zygons reference in name dropping the Loch Ness Monster. Even Ruby reacted with surprise! That was a fun moment. I thought Dixie and Greg were quite good characters and the initial meeting they had with the Doctor and Ruby was strong. They weren’t too thrilled to be meeting rivals when it came to the hunt for Bigfoot. I wasn’t sure I bought the simple explanation of what the TARDIS was but it was fun to hear the Doctor scramble for an answer. The emergence of the Sasquatch was good and of course it makes sense that Bigfoot is an alien. The apparent explanation of his varied and inconsistent sightings being because of the Sasquatch literally vanishing without a trace temporarily was a nice touch, although focusing more on why the legend has been in place so long would have been welcomed. I thought the narration from Genesys Lynea was fine but she didn’t try much at all in presenting an impression of the Doctor or Ruby which was a shame. There’s only so much the author can do! I do like that we have someone from the series that aired this year though in that narrator role. I thought the national park setting was brilliant and things definitely felt vast and open which is a big compliment. I liked the tension that arises from Ruby being stung and the gradual build to the effects was expected but still good! The Sasquatch having a connection with the Sleekers was intriguing stuff and the explanation of them essentially conjoining into worms just felt gross and uneasy which was terrific. That was exactly as it should be. I did think the way the psychic link was broken came slightly early but it was good to hear just how happy Ruby was that all those missing people would be freed and okay. Onto further travels now! Overall, another really good audio adventure! Hopefully we get more next year. 

Rating: 8/10