Doctor Who: The Book of Kells
by Barnaby Edwards (Big Finish, 2010)
A solid historical adventure, commendably underplayed (albeit mostly a veiled character set-up). Paul McGann is excellent as ever, his delivery a sublime and mercurial mix of conceit, solemnity, flippancy and suppressed wrath. Goodies fans will appreciate a well-pitched appearance by Graeme Garden.
The Beast and the Bethany
by Jack Meggitt-Phillips (Egmont, 2020); audiobook read by Barnaby Edwards (Bolinda, 2020)
A macabre mid- middle-grade romp very much of the Roald Dahl school. The humour is dark, the protagonists are anti-heroes and the Beast itself is suitably vile. The eccentricity, however, feels more mapped-out than off-the-cuff. Barnaby Edwards puts in a good performance.
Doctor Who: The Bride of Peladon
by Barnaby Edwards (Big Finish, 2008)
Edwards has successfully paired Peter Davison’s Doctor (in all its earnestness) with Pertwee-era Peladon and many of the elements associated with that original brace of stories. The production features intrigue and misdirection (without overdoing it), decent voice acting and a surprise villain.