Years after they last met, the Doctor and Ace’s paths cross once more…

It’s interesting that this has been scheduled for release in January, with Sophie Aldred’s own book about Ace’s future – riffing off the same line from the Sarah Jane Adventures regarding A Charitable Earth – comes out early February. Review copies of that are now circulating, and, without spoiling anyone’s enjoyment of the BBC Book, it charts a very different version of events. Which will come as zero surprise to anyone who’s noted the many, many, many versions of Ace’s timeline that have been chronicled in the New Adventures, BBC Books, DWM and the Big Finish tales.

Guy Adams’ script is suitably ambitious, with a number of requirements to fulfil – he has to get The Eleven captured, as well as set out the Doctor/Ace relationship – and he does it by painting on an incredibly broad canvas. This isn’t a story where the fate of a few people is at stake – the Doctor is dealing with the fate of the universe itself (and perhaps even more).

Mark Bonnar and Sylvester McCoy make a great pairing, as do Bonnar and Aldred, with the latter even selling the idea that Ace might have turned against the Doctor. I wondered about the early reveal of the truth of that situation before the format of the story became apparent – it changes gear dramatically for the second half and really is a Doctor Who equivalent of Avengers: Infinity War / Endgame. And it’s clear that the story’s not over yet.

Ken Bentley’s direction and Benji Clifford’s sound design allows the story’s scope to expand as appropriate, and there’s a different use of flashbacks to normal. The word cinematic is often used to describe the audio ranges, and on this occasion it’s well deserved.

Verdict: Many different sides of the Seventh Doctor converge towards the end of his life in this epic tale. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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