Erimem 3Iain McLaughlin, Claire Bartlett, Jim Mortimore and others

Thebes Press, Out now

An interlinked collection of stories featuring former Pharaoh Erimem and her 21st century friends…

A couple of series of Doctor Who spin-offs were launched last year, focusing on those who spent time with the Time Lord, but not featuring him in their stories – the Lethbridge Stewart tales, and the adventures of Erimem, who travelled in Big Finish audios with the Fifth Doctor and Peri for a time between Planet of Fire and The Caves of Androzani. The latter series didn’t have the fanfare afforded the former, but has produced a solid selection of stories over the last eight months (as well as a subscriber Christmas special and novella), clearly moving the main character away from her TARDIS travels.

This set of short stories – some merely interludes – are set across time and space, with Erimem’s creator Iain McLaughlin taking the opportunity to seed in some interesting potential future plotlines building around the characters. The adventures themselves are well-told, and are the right length for the format – you don’t get that feeling that has occasionally affected the Short Trips of something too long or too short being rejigged to fit the word count – with a new traveller added to the mix, and (putting it mildly) some intriguing revelations about one of the more-established ones. There’s a mix of styles: some are first-person from Erimem’s point of view, while in others we see her and her friends objectively.

Verdict: An enjoyable collection. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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