Prey

"What's your worth?"

Writer: Robert Whitelock

Format: Audio

Released: March 2021

Series: Master! 1.02

Featuring: Master, Vienna

Synopsis

Impossibly glamorous assassin Vienna Salvatori has a new target. Crossing time and space, Vienna takes one final job to free her from this life.

But when the Master is hunted through the slums and ganglands of London, the line is blurred between predator and prey...

Verdict

Prey was a great story to continue my way through the first series of Master! This followed up from Faustian very nicely and it seems that the Master is very much in place in the role of Magnus Drake and heading up Drake Interplanetary. Lila is also installed as a partner for the Master and they make a tremendous little pairing! I’m all for them having a Doctor and companion vibe but in saying that I also kind of hope we get that moment where the Master reveals he’s just using her and kills her. That sounds harsh and I absolutely love her character, but I think I like the Master just that little bit more and it feels right that this will happen. Hell, it might not even happen this series! Hearing the Master negotiate in business terms for prometheum was intriguing and he was taking no prisoners. He wanted 150% more of the product for the exact same price! His tactics were bullish and that was fun to hear. Lila certainly approved and she seemed quite happy to be on the journey for getting the Master installed as Emperor. The country in 2223 having no monarchy sounds magnificent and hopefully there will also be Welsh independence by then, but enough of my personal politics. I really liked exploring the world of London in a time still reeling from the Dalek invasion. Lawlessness seemed rife and the idea of ganglands at Notting Hill and the ruins of Canary Wharf sounded fascinating. It was honestly great world building and would certainly be rife for a spinoff series depending on how things will move from here in this particular range. The likes of King Muggy and Sassparilla as the apparent authority of Notting Hill were fun but the Master oozed power over them. His offering to Muggy of becoming a director at Drake Interplanetary and gaining actual power was nicely done. I didn’t ever think he was serious though! One of the major appeals of the series for me was the continuation of Vienna Salvatori’s adventures. Never say never, but it does appear that Retribution is the final contribution to the Vienna range so to get a Jexie mention was lovely. I thought it was fun that she wouldn’t have approved of Vienna taking the mission and that led to intrigue because the price on the head of ‘Drake’ was enough that the renowned assassin would be able to retire. I like how the Master knows from Vienna’s information on him and what he stood for that it couldn’t be Li Zhao to have issued the kill order. Vienna standing up to the Master was excellent and I’m loving how much she knows about him. Vienna having a mission robot in the form of Artie was fun and they had a terrific little dynamic! Vienna believing the mission was done in leaving the Master to the fate of the Trogs, but he’s notoriously difficult to kill and escaped in the dead man’s pit. That was decent stuff and I loved how he shot Vienna intending to kill her, if only for her blast proof vest. The cliffhanger finish was less impactful here but the prospect of an unidentified vessel heading to Earth is decent and Lila feels in peril being mid-air. I suspect from the cover art whose ship it will be, but it’s still going to be an exciting listen! Overall, a great story to continue the series!

Rating: 8/10