A mysterious creepy house where the rooms make no sense. Four people only identifiable by their room numbers. All of whom are waiting for the Master to appear…

Okay, yes as a synopsis goes, that’s not particularly illuminating, but this is very definitely one of those stories where you don’t want too much spoiled before you go into it. The first episode has one of the most unusual structures that Big Finish has used in some time, while I’m glad I was listening to the second one in the daytime… it’s that creepy in places.

The production notes give a little bit too much away in terms of the fusion of types of tale that this story encompasses, so again, if you want to be completely spoiler-free and experience this at its best, avoid them. You might wonder why Timothy West is being wasted in such a small role… but have patience, and all is revealed, even if the ending does play into something that the New Adventures did rather too frequently at one point during their run.

My only real quibble with this is the end of episode two, which is likely to have long-term fans groaning at its overfamiliarity. That aside, Mark Morris’s script keeps the listener engaged and features some very intriguing ideas that I hope are revisited at some point soon.

Verdict: Less straightforward than the other two stories in this trilogy, this is an enjoyable four parter.  7/10

Paul Simpson

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