‘THE TRUE AND INDISPUTABLE FACTS IN THE MATTER OF THE RAM’S SKULL’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Edgar Allan Poe with the First Doctor, Ian and Barbara
Here I am again with another Short Trips collection of ‘Doctor Who’ stories by Big Finish!
I purchased the ‘Short Trips: Zodiac’ anthology book with the intention of reading and hearing the story ‘The Switching’ by Simon Guerrier, which is now available in the ‘Masterful’ limited edition CD box set. I also hoped to check out the other eleven stories featured in this intriguing book collection.
The book contains short stories by various ‘Doctor Who’ writers and is compiled by Jacqueline Rayner. There’s also an introduction and zodiac links to the stories by Jim Sangster, writing as the astrologer Kasterborus. I’ll be sharing which tales I like and dislike in each review of this collection. 🙂
The twelve stories are ‘The True and Indisputable Facts in the Matter of the Ram’s Skull’, ‘Growing Higher’, ‘Twin Piques’, ‘Still Lives’, ‘Constant Companion’, ‘Virgin Lands’, ‘The Switching’, ‘Jealous, Possessive’, ‘Five Card Draw’, ‘I Was a Monster!!!’, ‘The Invertebrates of Doom’ and ‘The Stabber’. 🙂
The first story of the collection called ‘The True and Indisputable Facts in the Matter of the Ram’s Skull’ is by Mark Michalowski. It features the First Doctor, Ian and Barbara. I’ve come across Mark Michalowski before as he wrote ‘The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe’ in ‘Short Trips: Companions’.
He also wrote ‘Casualties of War’ in ‘Forty-Five’. I enjoyed those stories. I wish I could say I enjoyed ‘The True and Indisputable Facts in the Matter of the Ram’s Skull’ since it had a good premise of author Edgar Allan Poe meeting the First Doctor, Ian and Barbara to attend a séance by a Mr. R here.
Sadly, I felt the story lacked character development and there was a lot of exposition going on. It was a challenge to get into the mindset of Edgar Allan Poe, especially when I didn’t know who this character was to begin with. Maybe if I read the story again, I might be able to appreciate it more. 😐
This is often the case for me when reading the first story of a ‘Short Trips’ collection. The first one is often uninspiring to begin with before I get interested in the rest of the stories. I wish there was more interaction between the First Doctor, Ian and Barbara upon their arrival and during the séance.
Ian and Barbara are also angry with the Doctor with being unable to prevent the death of a girl called Abigail who bursts into flames during the séance. The villain is the Ram’s skull and I feel it wasn’t utilised to a great extent. I also don’t know who this Mr. R is when he invited guests to his séance.
‘The True and Indisputable Facts in the Matter of the Ram’s Skull’ rating – 3/10
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