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Big Finish: Monthly Range #64
Doctor Who: The Next Life
"All things must die."
Washed up on the sandy shores of a paradise island, a wild-eyed shipwreck survivor is rescued by the wife of Daqar Keep, the richest man in the galaxy.
Her name's Perfection. He's the Doctor. Together, they face a journey into the dark heart of this mysterious island, to discover the deepest secrets of this timeless cosmos. That's if the giant crabs, killer crocodiles and murderous natives don't get them first.
Meanwhile, fellow travellers Charley and C'rizz have their own ordeal to endure, in the grip of the Doctor's most dangerous rival. And in a universe that's facing extinction, even the best of friends may soon become enemies...
This life is almost over. And not everyone will make it to the next...
Washed up on the sandy shores of a paradise island, a wild-eyed shipwreck survivor is rescued by the wife of Daqar Keep, the richest man in the galaxy.
Her name's Perfection. He's the Doctor. Together, they face a journey into the dark heart of this mysterious island, to discover the deepest secrets of this timeless cosmos. That's if the giant crabs, killer crocodiles and murderous natives don't get them first.
Meanwhile, fellow travellers Charley and C'rizz have their own ordeal to endure, in the grip of the Doctor's most dangerous rival. And in a universe that's facing extinction, even the best of friends may soon become enemies...
This life is almost over. And not everyone will make it to the next...
Audio CD
First published December 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Alan Barnes
100 books15 followersAlan Barnes is a British writer and editor, particularly noted for work in the field of cult film and television. Barnes served as the editor of Judge Dredd Megazine from 2001 until December 2005, during which time the title saw a considerable increase in the number of new strip pages. Among other strips, Barnes originally commissioned The Simping Detective. He also wrote a handful of Judge Dredd stories involving alternate universes or featuring a young Dredd.
He worked for five years at Doctor Who Magazine and progressed from writing strips to becoming joint editor in 1998 and sole editor from 2000 until 2002. He subsequently contributed the ongoing Fact of Fiction series of articles to the magazine. Barnes has also written or co-written a number of Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish Productions.
He has written a number of books on cult films (including James Bond, Quentin Tarantino and Sherlock Holmes) and his book The Hammer Story, co-written with Marcus Hearn, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction in 1997.
He worked for five years at Doctor Who Magazine and progressed from writing strips to becoming joint editor in 1998 and sole editor from 2000 until 2002. He subsequently contributed the ongoing Fact of Fiction series of articles to the magazine. Barnes has also written or co-written a number of Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish Productions.
He has written a number of books on cult films (including James Bond, Quentin Tarantino and Sherlock Holmes) and his book The Hammer Story, co-written with Marcus Hearn, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction in 1997.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
March 12, 2025
2024 52 Book Challenge - Summer Olympics Mini Challenge - Athletics - 3) Steeplechase: Character Is A Spiritual Leader
Thank goodness, the Divergent Universe story arc is over. I couldn't stand it. In regards to this book in particular, it feels way longer than the rest of the books in the series, and feels like probably the only one which would have benefitted from the shorter time frame of the other books.
For the most part, the plot was okay, a pretty normal Doctor Who story. It was just the pacing that made it drag.
Also, character wise, it honestly just cemented how much I don't like C'rizz.
Thank goodness, the Divergent Universe story arc is over. I couldn't stand it. In regards to this book in particular, it feels way longer than the rest of the books in the series, and feels like probably the only one which would have benefitted from the shorter time frame of the other books.
For the most part, the plot was okay, a pretty normal Doctor Who story. It was just the pacing that made it drag.
Also, character wise, it honestly just cemented how much I don't like C'rizz.
February 12, 2021
2.5 ⭐️
The casual misogyny in this made me give it a half star less than I initially intended. Yes, it is too long and the other problems people pointed out exist as well. But Charley and Perfection fighting over who gets the Doctor and the Doctor saying “ Ladies, good to see you getting on so well, swapping recipes and makeup tips?” was so cringe that I just had to.
The casual misogyny in this made me give it a half star less than I initially intended. Yes, it is too long and the other problems people pointed out exist as well. But Charley and Perfection fighting over who gets the Doctor and the Doctor saying “ Ladies, good to see you getting on so well, swapping recipes and makeup tips?” was so cringe that I just had to.
June 12, 2020
This one was longer than it needed to be, but this conflict with Rassilon was pretty thrilling and tied back to Zagreus and Scherzo. This story has a particular revelation that involves C'Rizz. The stuff with Charley and her mother was also nice to hear. The talk between C'Rizz, Charley, and The Doctor at the end is also nice and leads into a cliffhanger that I did not expect, but it's also not a very imaginative cliffhanger. It's just a return to the "normal" world of Doctor Who. I do think that this is the best of the Divergent Universe arc, so it's nice that it ended on a pretty good final note.
October 23, 2023
Interesting, a little confusing but ultimately a good end to the mixed bag that is the Divergent Universe arc. The bickering at the end is quite annoying and I could do without C'rizz coming on board for more adventures I'm not sure what he brings to the table... Hey ho :D
Read
January 18, 2024Look I made a meme:
And it wasn't even worth it. It's a shame nothing truly interesting came out of the concept of the Divergent universe. There are some good/great stories in the arc, (Sherzo, Caerdroia, Faith Stealer) but most of them are mediocre at best, and could've taken place in the main universe. I hope it goes up from here. And it wouldn't hurt writing C'rizz as an actual character now that he had the important revelation stuff happen.
Getting Daphne Ashbrook was neat but I hate they wrote her character and Charley hating each other and being very stereotypically jealous. It's plain sexist, there was just no need.
And it wasn't even worth it. It's a shame nothing truly interesting came out of the concept of the Divergent universe. There are some good/great stories in the arc, (Sherzo, Caerdroia, Faith Stealer) but most of them are mediocre at best, and could've taken place in the main universe. I hope it goes up from here. And it wouldn't hurt writing C'rizz as an actual character now that he had the important revelation stuff happen.
Getting Daphne Ashbrook was neat but I hate they wrote her character and Charley hating each other and being very stereotypically jealous. It's plain sexist, there was just no need.
July 9, 2022
I enjoy a good Dalek story.
May 22, 2022
Well damn, this was wild. I'm glad we're finally out of the divergent universe though.
Read
April 8, 2009I'm afraid I felt that The Next Life was the first miss I've heard from the normally excellent Alan Barnes. Not that it was actually all that bad, just really far too long, six episodes of over thirty minutes each. I would have trimmed a lot of the first two episodes, where we have Charley and C'rizz yet again experiencing a dream environment (though with a welcome return from Anneke Wills as Charley's mother); it seemed to take an awfully long time to get to the point.[return]I did like Daphne Ashbrook (= Grace in the TV movie) in her role as Perfection, and the instant chemistry between her and McGann brought back memories of the early Eight/Charley days; almost a foreshadowing of School Reunion, with Charley playing the jealous newer companion. And C'rizz's back-story is filled out adequately, though unfortunately I haven't come to care enough about the character for this to make a lot of difference (and Paul Darrow didn't seem to be up to par either). Plus at the very end I liked the fate of Rassilon and the Kro'ka. But really it could have been done much better in half the time.
February 1, 2017
DNF
Not enjoying this series.
Not enjoying this series.
June 20, 2023
Ultimately this finale does a good enough job of wrapping up the Divergent Universe arc, but it doesn’t do a fantastic job of it, you get me?
It’s fine. I was entertained, but a lot of it felt like scenes and situations were being written to justify a lengthy finalize as opposed to what length it could have/should have been.
I want to open this review by advising anyone sensitive to racial stereotyping that there’s a rather unfortunate ‘tribal island people have a ritualistic human hunt’ plot line that becomes very important midway though the story. The Most Dangerous Game is name dropped, and the idea that a person is being hunted down is clearly in reference to it.
That said, The Most Dangerous Game works because it’s not an accepted social norm, it’s a rich guy hunting people for sport because he has nothing better to do. Referencing a story like that and making a tribe of islanders the instigators misses the point.
Back to the review:
The idea of the cyclical universe was really good. The conceptual non-existence of time due to the never ending cycle of the universe makes a lot of sense in a ‘this is another universe’ kind of way and I really dug it as a central theme. However, I think that payoff would have been more effective if every story in the Divergent Universe was cyclical. Enough of them were to drive the point home, but if you’re going to make this a big deal for this universe, why would it not be… universally applicable?
I particularly liked Rassilon’s parts because to be honest, I’ve always liked him as a villain. He’s just a pathetic old man who rests on his manufactured laurels of godhood and it’s always compelled me. His ending especially was just perfect.
Perfection as a character fell flat to me. Sometimes it’s very, very obvious that these scripts were written by men and she’s a great example of that. Charley also suffers for this, as her most cliche Woman In LoveTM traits were on display in every conversation with Perfection. I didn’t find it very interesting at all. Quite honestly, no female character particularly stood out as good here, L’da was still cliche Dead Wife despite an extended dialogue in the first third of this story.
All that said, C’rizz had some cool stuff going on here, especially in the middle of the episode. It’s been really nice the last few episodes to actually get into this guy’s head and see what he’s about.
This story is fine. It was engaging enough that I didn’t want to turn it off but certainly nothing really gripped me.
It’s fine. I was entertained, but a lot of it felt like scenes and situations were being written to justify a lengthy finalize as opposed to what length it could have/should have been.
I want to open this review by advising anyone sensitive to racial stereotyping that there’s a rather unfortunate ‘tribal island people have a ritualistic human hunt’ plot line that becomes very important midway though the story. The Most Dangerous Game is name dropped, and the idea that a person is being hunted down is clearly in reference to it.
That said, The Most Dangerous Game works because it’s not an accepted social norm, it’s a rich guy hunting people for sport because he has nothing better to do. Referencing a story like that and making a tribe of islanders the instigators misses the point.
Back to the review:
The idea of the cyclical universe was really good. The conceptual non-existence of time due to the never ending cycle of the universe makes a lot of sense in a ‘this is another universe’ kind of way and I really dug it as a central theme. However, I think that payoff would have been more effective if every story in the Divergent Universe was cyclical. Enough of them were to drive the point home, but if you’re going to make this a big deal for this universe, why would it not be… universally applicable?
I particularly liked Rassilon’s parts because to be honest, I’ve always liked him as a villain. He’s just a pathetic old man who rests on his manufactured laurels of godhood and it’s always compelled me. His ending especially was just perfect.
Perfection as a character fell flat to me. Sometimes it’s very, very obvious that these scripts were written by men and she’s a great example of that. Charley also suffers for this, as her most cliche Woman In LoveTM traits were on display in every conversation with Perfection. I didn’t find it very interesting at all. Quite honestly, no female character particularly stood out as good here, L’da was still cliche Dead Wife despite an extended dialogue in the first third of this story.
All that said, C’rizz had some cool stuff going on here, especially in the middle of the episode. It’s been really nice the last few episodes to actually get into this guy’s head and see what he’s about.
This story is fine. It was engaging enough that I didn’t want to turn it off but certainly nothing really gripped me.
April 14, 2024
An alright end to a series. I don't have much to say about this story alone, I was entertained by it but it did not need to be 3 hours. It could have easily been one and a half hours to two hours. And as a finale to an 8 episode series I don't think it's anything crazy, and I just wish it went further with the overall plot and explained the divergent universe a little easier because I wasn't following outside of the basics. Anyway here's my thoughts of the divergent arc as a whole.
Starting this series with Scherzo was not a good idea. It sets the bar so high that most of the following stories can be a little disappointing. To go from Scherzo to Creed of the Kromon is one of the biggest whiplashes I've ever had. Goes from a 10/10 story to a 2/10 story... Ouch. And I felt so confused after Scherzo, I wanted to know where the hell Charlie and the Doctor actually were but we got no answers until the last story. I think we should have been fed some more answers across each story, as it felt like nothing happened until the last two stories. I don't mind some of the standalone stories, Natural History of Fear was actually really good, but I wish between stories like that we had more plot. Overall all of the stories aren't that bad outside of Kromon, so it's still a decent series, but I just wish the series arc was a little less complicated and a bit more urgent.
Starting this series with Scherzo was not a good idea. It sets the bar so high that most of the following stories can be a little disappointing. To go from Scherzo to Creed of the Kromon is one of the biggest whiplashes I've ever had. Goes from a 10/10 story to a 2/10 story... Ouch. And I felt so confused after Scherzo, I wanted to know where the hell Charlie and the Doctor actually were but we got no answers until the last story. I think we should have been fed some more answers across each story, as it felt like nothing happened until the last two stories. I don't mind some of the standalone stories, Natural History of Fear was actually really good, but I wish between stories like that we had more plot. Overall all of the stories aren't that bad outside of Kromon, so it's still a decent series, but I just wish the series arc was a little less complicated and a bit more urgent.
October 10, 2024
Didn't like it so much, However a highlight of this was Paul Darrow voicing the character 'Guidance.'
I thought it had a pretty good premise and unlike other readers, I was ok with the longer story - more content is always better, but only as long as it is good content.
The concept of a universe without time is good, but has not been put to much use at all. For a place which apparently doesn't experience linear time, things sure seem to happen and you know, with a start, middle and end - so what exactly is it supposed to mean?
The use of subconciously generated characters was a bit samey, especially with Charlotte's mother featuring again. But that would probably have been forgivable if the dialogue hadn't been so terrible. The plot and character conversations were unfortunately, frequently misogynist.
And the ending scene with C'Rizz and Charlotte fighting over The Doctor had a high cringe factor.
I thought it had a pretty good premise and unlike other readers, I was ok with the longer story - more content is always better, but only as long as it is good content.
The concept of a universe without time is good, but has not been put to much use at all. For a place which apparently doesn't experience linear time, things sure seem to happen and you know, with a start, middle and end - so what exactly is it supposed to mean?
The use of subconciously generated characters was a bit samey, especially with Charlotte's mother featuring again. But that would probably have been forgivable if the dialogue hadn't been so terrible. The plot and character conversations were unfortunately, frequently misogynist.
And the ending scene with C'Rizz and Charlotte fighting over The Doctor had a high cringe factor.
January 23, 2021
ターディスで航行中、完全にリラックスしているドクターとチャーリーとケリス。ドクターはターディスに乗ってからとある方向に「時間」を感じるといい、とりあえずそちらに向かう。しかし着地しようとしたところでターディスがコントロールできなくなり墜落してしまう。
ケリスが意識を取り戻すと婚約者のライラが傍にいた。ケリスはダイバージョンの侵略の前日だと気がつき、ドクターやチャーリーとの冒険は予知夢だったと推測し、次に起こる侵略の悲劇をとめる方法があるのではと考え始める。
チャーリーが目をさますと母親がそばにいた。飛行船に乗る前夜のことで、サイモンとすり替わって乗船することができなかったことになっていた。チャーリーはサイモンを心配するが、サイモンは結局飛行船にのることなく生き延びたと知りホッとする。しかし、母親の言動でチャーリーはこの世界がクロッカの罠であることに気がつき、もうその手にはのらないと啖呵をきるが、チャーリーの目の前に現れたのはラシロンだった。
ラシロンが全てをコントロールしているようで、ラシロンも無しかない世界の意識体の中でループさせられているにすぎないというのはなかなかショッキング。ドクターがきたことで���シロンの世界観を繰り返していた世界に変化が起きたという設定も面白かった。
ドクターとチャーリーとケリスがようやく元の世界に戻れたと思ったら、ダーレクが待ち構えているとは。ダーレクに迎えられて元の世界にもどったことを実感できるのってなんか皮肉。
ケリスが意識を取り戻すと婚約者のライラが傍にいた。ケリスはダイバージョンの侵略の前日だと気がつき、ドクターやチャーリーとの冒険は予知夢だったと推測し、次に起こる侵略の悲劇をとめる方法があるのではと考え始める。
チャーリーが目をさますと母親がそばにいた。飛行船に乗る前夜のことで、サイモンとすり替わって乗船することができなかったことになっていた。チャーリーはサイモンを心配するが、サイモンは結局飛行船にのることなく生き延びたと知りホッとする。しかし、母親の言動でチャーリーはこの世界がクロッカの罠であることに気がつき、もうその手にはのらないと啖呵をきるが、チャーリーの目の前に現れたのはラシロンだった。
ラシロンが全てをコントロールしているようで、ラシロンも無しかない世界の意識体の中でループさせられているにすぎないというのはなかなかショッキング。ドクターがきたことで���シロンの世界観を繰り返していた世界に変化が起きたという設定も面白かった。
ドクターとチャーリーとケリスがようやく元の世界に戻れたと思ったら、ダーレクが待ち構えているとは。ダーレクに迎えられて元の世界にもどったことを実感できるのってなんか皮肉。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2018
Much better than it's reputation indicates. First off, if you want to give me Paul Darrow chewing up some scenery for a few hours, I'm pretty happy. There was a nice building sense of doom as the Divergent Universe seemed to be running towards the end of its cycle (tying thematically with "Scherzo" in a nice way) and while the end doesn't exactly explain things, it comes pretty close and works.
Enjoyable. Interesting.
Enjoyable. Interesting.
September 5, 2023
Overly long and incredibly sexist, this audiobook was a real slog at times. I really hated how Charley was depicted here. Why do so many writers in this series insist on reducing her to a two-dimensional sidepiece when her character has so much potential? Hopefully things will start to improve now that we're finally free of this botched storyline.
July 12, 2024
This felt like it was written in the 70s. I suppose they were trying to be funny, but the stereotypical women jokes feel flat for me. I'm also glad to be done with this overarching storyline (hopefully).
December 15, 2025
4.5 Stars - Great way to tie up the end of the Divergent Universe season. Grand, epic and may be a bit much at first but this is my second listen to this one and works once you have a grip on what's going on.
March 21, 2022
The perfect ending to the Antiverse set of stories. Plenty of twists and turns! The ending gave me chills!
March 19, 2023
Too long, obviously. But pretty good. I listen to these while doing jobs around the house. And I got so much done tonight!
September 27, 2024
"why don't you conjure up a seal?" (imitating a seal)
"ooh, give the girl a fish!"
-
so great to have daphne ashbrook in this, and don warrington is fantastic as rassilon.
"ooh, give the girl a fish!"
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so great to have daphne ashbrook in this, and don warrington is fantastic as rassilon.
October 26, 2024
A decent ish end to the Divergent Universe arc. I agree with others that it's an hour too long. Looking forward to getting back to the normal universe next.
2.5/5 stars
2.5/5 stars
September 13, 2013
I was kind of dreading listening to this one, just because the synopsis didn't make it sound very interesting and it's a whole 3 hours long, but about 2 episodes in and I already loved it. Another audio with a lot of character development for C'rizz, and even a bit for Charley, and that itself was really cool to have, but along with it we get to see almost a mixture of The Most Dangerous Game (the book), The Island of Dr. Moreau and Doctor Who and it just works so well, with a whole cast of villains (and special guests: Daphne Ashbrooke and Anneke Wills), just makes it almost as epic as Zagreus. I would definitely recommend, but must be listened to along with the whole Divergent Universe Arc.
September 30, 2013
I did really like the start of this with Charley and her mother. There was some nice character development. It was fun to hear Paul Darrow as a different character, even though he was quite Avon-ish. I also liked to see Daphne reunited with Paul. But I felt that it dragged a little bit too long when everyone was walking in the jungle. It was quite a long and complicated adventure but it was still enjoyable.
December 14, 2009
Audio adventure with the eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz. Last episode in the Divergent arc, but there's enough exposition that a person can just jump in. An excruciating plodding fanfic, eye-rollingly typical and numbingly predictable. I was bored, bored, bored. The next time someone tries to tell me 'rad' is better than 'trad', I think I'll bash them over the head with this.
February 29, 2016
I feel like I did myself a disservice by not listening to the previous stories set in the Divergent Universe, but I caught up pretty quickly. As always, the acting and writing was great. The sound effects were minimal, which was a good thing for this story. I even had a chuckle with the bug-eating scene.
January 21, 2016
Kroka is still trying to get the upper hand of the doctor but he's been manipulated by Rassalon and others. The Doctor, Charley and C'zzizz land in a world that shows old friends and strangers. Will the see the truth. The doctor might still be under Zagreus.
February 23, 2015
Ties up the adventures in the divergent universe with a big bow. I'm sure that it'd be nearly incomprehensible to anyone who hadn't at least listened to "Scherzo" and "Zagreus." No one is their best in this story.
October 22, 2016
Over 3 hours long, but we have closed out the Divergent Universe. It was certainly an interesting and non-traditional arc and I can't wait to see where he goes next. Though it seems the poor fellow has looped right back to where he started with the Daleks.
Those pesky, pesky Daleks...
Those pesky, pesky Daleks...
September 29, 2020
6/10
Verdict: Recommend
This is recommended because this is the finale of the Divergent arc, however this is a very eh story until the last part, and even then I always lose track half an hour from the end. This has some really great moments, however the majority of this pretty iffy.
Verdict: Recommend
This is recommended because this is the finale of the Divergent arc, however this is a very eh story until the last part, and even then I always lose track half an hour from the end. This has some really great moments, however the majority of this pretty iffy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews