Solo: Blood of the Time Lords

"Just call me God."

Writer: Timothy X Atack

Format: Audio

Released: March 2022

Series: Fourth Doctor Adventures 11.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor

Synopsis

The book known as The Dischord Grimoire is an incredibly powerful tome, believed capable of altering the true passage of time itself. And the Doctor has it in the TARDIS.

Wanting to look into this mysterious opus further, he decides to take it to an old friend in The Recusary – a monastery-like retreat on a moon of Gallifrey. 

But he's chosen an inauspicious time to arrive. Something else is visiting the Recusary. And this something hasn't brought a book with it... but death.

Verdict

Blood of the Time Lords was a great start to the Solo eleventh series of Fourth Doctor Adventures! I think the umbrella title for this first half of the series is perhaps the blandest there has ever been from Big Finish since they stopped simply naming the series by number, but it's a fun point to explore in the chronology of the Fourth Doctor. It's also a whole new world for Big Finish to explore which is always fun and I get the sense they will fill this gap. Placing a story right after the events of The Deadly Assassin is very exciting and it's pretty bold to go with another Master adventure. Of course, this is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to the renegade Time Lord as the Doctor encounters him here at a very early point in his life. It's a far cry from the emaciated and decaying version he would have just defeated. It's a massive shame what the situation has become with James Drayfus as this first incarnation for the Master is so interesting to explore. He really does feel young and just getting started which is testament to both the writing and the performance, but I guess having a little bit of mystery for this Master is exciting. It leaves things up for interpretation. The Master's comments about the Fourth Doctor were intriguing and I loved how he referred to him as old. He also wasn't a fan of that grin on his face or the way he had dressed. This Master would be familiar with the First Doctor so I can appreciate the reaction to an altogether different incarnation. I thought the story was really intriguing in further exploring parts of Gallifreyan history, and placing things on a moon of the Time Lord's planet was fascinating. I must admit, I thought this took a while to get going with the first part being incredibly slow, but thankfully it did come into its own as things moved forward. Sedanya was a really good character to feature as the former schoolteacher of the Doctor and the Master and that allowed some very playful comments. The simplicity of the Doctor just calling her miss was glorious. It was frustrating her greatly! She wasn't all that keen on the pair still bickering here long after their school days which is fun to ponder on. Ansillon was another strong character with him being the famed hermit from the Doctor's younger days on Gallifrey. There was subtly a lot of history being told and referenced in the story with it feeling like a loose way to explore more Time Lord or Doctor lore. I'm all for that and would love it to continue. Elanora was a really lovely character and the relationship and trust she had built with the Doctor was an excellent element of the story. I was quite surprised that she turned down his offer at the end of coming with him! The concept behind the Parenthesis Clock was incredible exciting and the prospect of changing creation around you whilst your own time stream went undisturbed was fantastic. The Master was taking things to a different level altogether though with his desires. He wanted to completely eradicate Time Lord history so that he was the only one left. The only time traveller in the universe, a universe where he would become a God. Who needed a Lord? It was really intriguing and quite the scheme for the early incarnation! I thought the Mandelbraut that the title seemingly refers to was actually a bit of a hindrance in the story but I did enjoy their mythical status becoming real. That sparked some fun reactions. The way the Doctor solved things by using the Dischord Grimoire was impressive even if it seems a tad far fetched for him to have programmed things so specifically in an unheard moment. Where did he have the time? I did like that he brought Elanora back with the temporary power he had, and the fate of the Master was typically ambiguous. Overall, a fine start to the series! 

Rating: 8/10