Audacity: The Great Cyber-War Part 1

"The planet of gold, and I've arrived at the worst possible time."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio 

Released: November 2023

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures 11.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Audacity 

Synopsis

The Great Cyber-War. Humanity and her allies versus the horror of the Cybermen. This is no place for the Doctor to take his new best friend. But on the Aurum, the war seems far away. There are parties and cupcakes and all the gold of Volga – and not a Cyberman to be seen...

Verdict

The Great Cyber-War started in excellent fashion with this really strong opening part of the story to continue my listening through the Audacity series of Eighth Doctor Adventures! I love the idea of the Eighth Doctor encountering the Cybermen once again and the proximity the story had at this point to Revenge of the Cybermen was very exciting! It's clearly the main selling point of the release from the cover art and just the prospect of returning to Volga is very exciting. I think that aforementioned Fourth Doctor serial is underrated when it comes to the Cybermen and there really is a whole lot of potential attached to the planet and the ensuing war surrounding it. That is clearly where this story gets its name from and just getting a glimpse into it even just a little is very exciting. I do think it's a shame that the Cybermen barely feature, but they make a huge impact when they do! I am really impressed with how well their voices honour their appearance in Revenge and the cover art itself depicts a rather marvellous design. It really is one of the best ones and I've actually managed to pick up the B&M figure set so that's equally exciting! I think Audacity deals well on her first TARDIS trip and it's quite the way to start. Encountering the Cybermen on Volga has a lot attached to it but more of that will come in the second part I believe. I do enjoy her dynamic with the Doctor and his fear when they were separated was palpable. She was brand new and he didn't want her to come to harm. One thing for certain though is that despite when she comes from and her very limited travel experience, she knows how to handle herself! I thought the Volgan attitude towards the Cybermen was fun and I liked that they thought they were safe from them on the planet of gold. Little did they know! I thought the character and almost myth behind Oberon Fix was tremendous and he was really strong. He was the man that could end the war once and for all and that instantly gives him an important and rather crucial status in the story. I thought Galta was a brilliant character too and her position as station administrator on the Aurum was really enjoyable. She just felt really positive and I liked her interactions with the Doctor. Vrull was also a good character in basically arresting the Doctor and confiscating the TARDIS. That never ends well! I liked the name of a time tourist though, but the Doctor is much more than that. The role of Dellatine was strong and the predictability of who she was in contact with as her allies was marvellous because the impending arrival of the Cybermen was very much anticipated. They seem to be in a strong position at the time of them bursting onto the scene as not only do they have the shock factor, but their bombardment has begun and Fisk and his crew are hardly in a good position! It was quite a cliffhanger to round out what was a really strong opening part to the story. I'm very excited for what's to come next as I'm all for this version of the Cybermen returning and I'm anticipating Audacity's first proper encounter greatly! Overall, a very strong start to the story and a fine continuation of the series.