To do list: Clean cabins, polish silverware, watch Groundhog Day...

I had guesses as to what this story would be about. I saw the cover, listen to the trailer and made my own assumptions as to the narrative of February's release.....

My guess didn't even get close to the finished product. And I'm happy for that. As this story needs to be seen with fresh eyes and listened to with open minds. But be wary.... you might need to return to it again.... might.....

DOCTOR WHO MAIN RANGE REVIEW

209: AQUITAINE

BY JACK RYAN

BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS  SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

The Aquitaine. A ship stationed on the edge of a black hole. Every day's the same for Hargreaves, the ship's robotic caretaker. Get up, water plants, clean ship, polish silverware, locate the crew. And then....

The Aquitaine. A ship stationed on the edge of a black hole. Every day's the same for Hargreaves, the ship's robotic caretaker. Get up, water plants, clean ship, polish silverware, locate the crew. And then....

The Aquitaine. A ship stationed on the edge of a black hole. Every day's the same for Hargreaves, the ship's robotic caretaker. Get up, water plants, clean ship, polish silverware, locate the crew. And then... some stowaways turn up with a big blue box.

As I have said before, this is a story where you might need to return to it in order to get everything. Do not let that deter you from it though. Aquitaine is a brilliantly constructed story from the impeccable writing duo of Simon Barnard and Paul Morris and the atmosphere for it is perfectly designed and created in full. You enter into this story thinking it's going to be about ghosts, and then realise you're right and wrong at the same time. The structure might be a bit hard to follow but once you discover the structure and what's really going on. It is oh-so satisfying. 

The cast are a blast to listen to. Davison, Fielding and Sutton return and are joined by a whole host of seemingly unknowns, which I believe is the perfect choice for a story like this. It allows us to form our own ideas and perceptions of the characters. (Don't ask me why but I imagined Dr Akunin as a Russian Leo McKern....) But the show-stealer for the original characters was Matthew Cottle as Hargreaves, who convincingly passes as the quirky AI of the Aquitaine and evolves perfectly as the story progresses.

As I said before the atmosphere of this story was brilliantly conceived and constructed, not least thanks to Andy Hardwick whose musical ques and expertly crafted sound design give the story a whole load of depth. The cues can quickly turn the story from ethereal ghost tale to base under siege dramatic.

In short, another good release from the monthly range. It might take a couple of re-listens for some listeners to grasp everything (which could be a turn off point) , but I found it good and refreshing. It was something that didn't meet the expectations of what I thought it was going to be but still got me hooked and invested, which is always a good thing. Also, slight spoiler....

...but I'm convinced "they" were Varga!!!

VERDICT: 4/5 The twisting plot may deter some but a cracking story nevertheless. ;D