Written by Ethan Milsea, read by Carolyn Seymour

A young soldier, racked by guilt, watches over a family he can’t quite trust himself with. A group of feral young men run riot across the country and against each. Greg Preston loses hope and won’t look that in the eyes. When he does, all he sees is the man he’s just killed.

Ethan Milsea’s novel pulls absolutely no punches. There’s a brutal fight to the death between former friends, a group murder, implied assault and a closing fight that’s as up close and terrifying as it is clumsy and untidy. Survivors is both the title and the driving force here, everyone desperate to be the last ones standing.

It’s a tragedy, a horror story, a thriller and one grounded very firmly in the original series. The murder Greg has no choice but to commit falls at the end of the episode ‘Something of Value’ and the fuel tanker at the centre of it is also at the centre of Greg’s story here. Milsea cleverly evokes the 70s male mindset and gives Greg some bravely unlikable things to do, even as his trauma threatens to fold him in half. Even as the story ends, as he realizes he’s a good man in an impossible situation, the shot still rings out. As it should.

James, arguably the second protagonist, is Greg but less lucky. His actions before the Death ran its course have helped him to a sense of self he’s more comfortable with than Greg, and an isolation Greg clearly wants at times but knows he doesn’t need. The two men orbit each other, one young, one older. One guilt-ridden, one painfully aware he’s not. Soldiers fighting different wars for different reasons, aligned, in the end, for a common goal. Survival, once again.

Tommy and his gang are their opponents and they’re memorably awful and pleasingly nuanced. Again there’s a sense of self-awareness here, some of the lads clearly aware of what they are but unable to face it. In fact the two that can are horrifically punished as Tommy, the gang leader takes out his class based rage on them, on Greg and Abby and Jenny, on anyone in range. This is why, in the end, the novel is a tragedy. Three broken men, two trying to hold it together, one still angry at the system that failed him even as it falls apart around him.

Verdict: This is full blooded, grim, intelligent post-apocalyptic fiction. It’s also just a little gleeful when it wants to be and there’s an action beat with Jenny, Abby and a very surprising four legged guest that’s absolutely inspired. Clever, nasty but never exploitational it’s yet another strong entry in one of Big Finish’s strongest lines. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart

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