The Diary of River Song, Series 1

The Diary of River Song

by Jenny T. Colgan, Justin Richards, James Goss

1.1 The Boundless Sea by Jenny T Colgan

River Song has had more than enough excitement for a while. Deciding the universe – and her husband – can look after themselves, she has immersed herself in early 20th century academia, absorbed in writing archaeological theses.

But when a mysterious tomb is found in a dry, distant land, excitement comes looking for River.

Can Professor Song stop any more members of the expedition from dying? What deadly secrets lie buried within the crypt? And will British Consul Bertie Potts prove to be a help, or a hindrance?

1.2 I Went to a Marvellous Party by Justin Richards

River Song always enjoys a good party, even when she’s not entirely sure where or when the party is taking place. But the party she ends up at is one where not everything – or indeed everyone – is what it seems…

Being River, it doesn’t take her too long to go exploring, and it doesn’t take her too long to get into trouble. The sort of trouble that involves manipulating other civilisations, exploitation, and of course murder.

River is confident she can find the killer. But can she identify them before anyone else – or quite possibly everyone else – gets killed?

1.3 Signs by James Goss

River Song is on the trail of the mysterious, planet-killing SporeShips.

Nobody knows where they come from. Nobody knows why they are here. All they do know is that wherever the SporeShips appear, whole civilisations are reduced to mulch.

But River has help. Her companion is a handsome time-travelling stranger, someone with specialist knowledge of the oddities and dangers the universe has to offer. For Mr Song has a connection to River’s future, and he would never want his wife to face those perils alone…

1.4 The Rulers of the Universe by Matt Fitton

As shocking secrets are exposed, and a grand plan for the universe is revealed, River decides it’s time she took control of events once and for all.

Out in deep space, a clandestine society faces off with an ancient and powerful alien force – but, for River, there’s an added complication.

The Eighth Doctor has been caught in the middle, and she must make sure her future husband can arrive at his own destiny with all his memories – not to mention his lives - intact…

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

Audio CD

First published December 25, 2015

About the author

Jenny T. Colgan is a pseudonym of author Jenny Colgan.

Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including 'The Little Shop of Happy Ever After' and 'Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery', which are also published by Sphere.' Meet Me at the Cupcake Café' won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was 'Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams', which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013.

Under her Jenny T. Colgan pseudonym, she is a writer of romantic comedy fiction and science-fiction, and has written for the Doctor Who line of stories.

She also uses the pseudonyms Jane Beaton and J.T. Colgan

Reviews

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't get people saying that these disc are 'audio Books' they are not & never have been in print.
These are plays done on audio using Doctor Who universe as their theme written for audio plays with sound effects but not books they not be the same these years ago where mostly for blind people but to day everybody can enjoy them too.
River Song is back she is enjoying sulking in 1920s but she just cannot get away from aliens then it's off to a party that's been going on & on for years.
Hello Sweetie the third is only two people very difficult story to do & is very good complex story that is my favourite.
The final part is with 8th Doctor but of course she cannot meet in person as then The Tenth will know her.
We find out what hell is going on.
We also have an extra disc that is over 68 mins of behide the stories on the discs

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beg, borrow, buy or steal it. You'll love it.

If you're a fan of the Doctor Who TV show you simply have to hear these audio plays!


Note to self:
Relisten

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*REREAD*

Or perhaps relisten? Either way, this is the series that lured me to Big Finish in the first place and I'm pretty sure listening to Alex Kingston and Paul McGann's voices in combination cured my depression and resolved my childhood trauma. The only negative is I can't see Alex Kingston's truly magnificent hair defy gravity through audio.

[Idris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it, loved it, loved it.

[Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was so good. Exactly this River I wanted to get to know better, space parties, ancient tombs, feminism, and cosmic freemasonry. Also the Doctor but not the one you expect and mysterious alien threat. Perfection.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first audio book and it was because of Tansy. I feel there are a lot of people who say things like that.

Did anyone else think that the music was distinctly James Bond-ish? I got a really strong Bond vibe from it.

I have no idea whether this is standard Big Finish format, so for those not in the know: there are four 1-hour long interconnected stories. It begins with River Song having taken a position as an archeology professor (of course) who rather reluctantly gets pulled out of her office and out onto a dig in somewhere fake, Mesopotamia-ish. Bad things happen. In the next story, River is back in space, and slowly the connection to the first story is fleshed out - it's not all fully explained until the last story. Of course the story gets bigger and more complex as the four 'diary entries' unfold.

Having seen the Christmas special about the husbands of River Song, I shouldn't have been surprised by how cold River is in some of the situations presented here, but I was. I still have a somewhat childish, old fashioned view of the Doctor - that he doesn't hurt anyone, and works for the good of everyone except maybe Daleks - and ascribe this to River as well for I-don't-know-why. So some of the callous responses from River were... unexpected. I'm not saying I hated them, because I don't think I did, but I was surprised.

Alex Kingston has a wonderful voice and in general did very well in this format. Most of the other actors were equally good, and I thought the production qualities were also excellent.

This has not turned me into a raving Big Finish fan, but I am glad I listened to it.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my Doctors! I LOVE the theme music!

(1.1) The Boundless Sea: Off to an excellent start. The story grabbed hold of me very quickly and I got involved immediately. Entertaining and enjoyable and River Song was as ornery as every. I’m glad I decided to give this a whirl, it’s going to be a fun ride, if this opening chapter is any indication at all.

(1.2) I Went to a Marvellous Party: What could be more fun than a raucous party on a huge space station? A raucous murder mystery party on a huge space station? Yep! Right the first time. And it’s up to Professor River Song to solve the case before anyone else dies. What fun!

(1.3) Signs: River Song has a complicated relationship with the Doctor. This we know. They never meet in the right order. So there’s always a possibility that one day she’d meet a Doctor from so far in the future that she wouldn’t even recognize him. Well, it’s possible. There is a chance. It’s not inconceivable. Or is it? On one hand this kind of story was inevitable when you think about the relationship between the Doctor and River Song, but I did find it to be perhaps too predictable and so the apparent illusion, with which the story depends upon, does not really work. So this one was a bit disappointing. Still fun, but not as much as the first two in this series.

(1.4) The Rulers of the Universe: I have to admit that I was a little worried how the writer & director were going to get around the potential paradox in having the Eighth Doctor meet River Song before she meets the Tenth Doctor. Sure there are some contrived aspects, but it’s still fun. This was one of the reasons I kind of shyed away from this series for so long. Thematically though the juxtaposition of the humorous atmosphere around River Song and the melodrama and tension of the Time War that permeates many of the Eighth Doctor adventures seem at odds, but it kind of works. They did I nice job with this temporally paradoxical mash-up. And it does nicely tie off the plot threads from the earlier chapters.

This set also comes with an extra disc of bonus special features.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened again this week and still just as good. I think the 2nd time around I preferred the 3rd and 4th stories the most as knowing what was actually going on gave them an added dimension. They are all wonderful though. Can't wait for the next volume.

I was really looking forward to hearing this and it didn't disappoint. River here was finally much more like the early version of herself in the library. I loved the characterisation, Competent, Clever, Funny but less of the cartoon she became in later adventures. The stories were great, early 20th century archaeologist, Science-fiction far future in a party with the Rulers of the Universe, a creepy (but rather convincing) would be Doctor working with her to stop evil planet killers, and the last adventure with the Eighth Doctor, Young and Naive. I'd recommend this to everyone. Definitely one of the best things Big Finish did all year. I thoroughly loved it!

[Richard Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

River has never been my favourite character as she comes across as terribly smug a lot of the time. I prefer when they play up the tragedy of the character and the fact that she spent a good portion of her life as a psychopath.

The first two stories in this collection were rather forgettable and not a great use of River as a character so probably worth 3 out of 5 stars. The second two, however, were excellent and easily worth 6 out of 5 stars. Bonus points for Paul McGann and Alexander Vlahos, points off for the time travel trick River pulls which I feel like should have shown up a lot of times before if it were possible

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so worried about that Mr. Song and about her meeting eight but big finish managed to make things happen the right way! this could just be SO canon!
And Alex Kingston is just the best! :D
Great River Song lines, loved them. Canonical as well!

[David Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big Finish has seemingly thrown most of its effort of 2013 onward into these box sets of 3-4 single-episode adventures connected by story arcs. For these, they really have managed to pull in some acting heavy weights. In addition to Alex Kingston and Paul McGann, listeners to this set will also hear Imogen Stubbs, Alexander Siddig, and John Banks, to name a few. In these sets, Big Finish apparently wants to get as close to the revived TV Doctor Who as possible, with each set feeling like a "season." Such a concept is mostly as strong as the story arc concept. In this case, the concept is a little thin. The four stories are these: 1) The Boundless Sea, which has River Song in The Curse of the Mummy, essentially. It's good enough if one likes those sorts of stories. We get introduced to recurring character and semi-villain Bertie Potts; 2) I Went to a Marvellous Party, an Agatha Christie style closed environment murder mystery on a space station that truly gets the story arc going; 3) Signs, a two-hander that is the River Song version of Capaldi's Heaven Sent; and 4) The Rulers of the Universe, which closes the story arc and leaves River triumphant, sort of. The story arc itself involves a community of the uber-wealthy who reside at a space station turned perpetual cocktail party and from there plot the fates of worlds so as to enhance the bank accounts of the self-styled "rulers." One of these, Bertie Potts, is recruiting River Song as an agent in the delicate negotiations they are having with an ancient super-race that has launched millions of "spore ships," drones that destroy all life on a planet and reseed the planet with a new life template. In story 3, one of these ancients, appearing human, kidnaps River, drugs her, makes her believe she is dying and that he (the alien) is another version of the Doctor. He does this to use her genius to find a way to stop the spore ships. River escapes and in story 4 exacts revenge on the "Rulers," who have decided to recruit Doctor 8 to replace the failed agent River. This creates a dilemma for River, since she must help the Doctor without letting him know who she is so as to preserve his time line. It's all well acted, with good sound design, and plenty of nods and winks to the fans of New Who. No story is really spectacular, but they are all competent enough and entertaining in their own ways.

[TheSmilingDragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audio drama box set is the first series in the River Song spin-off from Big Finish Productions and is comprised of four connected stories and behind the scenes featurette.

Disc 1. The Boundless Sea by Jenny T Colgan ⭐⭐⭐
In the first story River helps to solve a mystery at an archaeological dig in the early 19th century having exiled herself there.

Whilst an interesting concept I felt that the story dragged in places and I wish that it had been made clearer as to when these stories take place in River’s timeline and how that links to her self imposed exile in this story. It’s not too important though and overall I found this to be an enjoyable story that were the characters past is mirrored in places and set the series arc up well.

Disc 2. I Went to a Marvellous Party by Justin Richards ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The following story is about a murder on a party ship owned by the elite and wealthy of the Universe.

I felt that it further demonstrated how whilst she Different to the Doctor in some ways due to her upbringing, she is also inspired by him and is also able to take control in these kinds of situations. And in my opinion this story is more about that than being a traditional murder mystery, although I did find it interesting and that the story was better for it.

Disc 3. Signs by James Goss ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one follows River and a character know as Mr. Song tying on the trial of the mysterious spore ships. Whilst the story may seem a bit disorientating at first it is intentional and things become clear as it goes on, although I think it will take a re-listen or two for me to understand all the fine details of the plot.

This is in my opinion the most unique story of the set and I won’t say anything more so not to spoil it.

Disc 4. The Rulers of the Universe by Matt Fitton ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“The Rulers of the Universe” is the final story of the set and wraps up the series arc.

I like how this one adds more to the mythos of the doctor Who universe as well as featuring the eighth doctor and I didn’t mind that he and River don’t meet face to face. It works well and is to be expected as in the show he meets her during his tenth incarnation. Once again this is an enjoyable story and ends the set well.

I really enjoyed the set and am exited to listen to the rest. It will be fun to see how the series progresses and how the character encounters other versions of her husband and even the master.

[MrColdStream · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** THE CAWPINE OF 'THE DIARY OF RIVER SONG 1'

The Boundless Sea:

River Song makes her Big Finish spin-off debut here as cool and fascinating as ever before; a perfect role model for girls and boys alike. She also proves to take on the role of the typical leading man next to the rather useless but hilarious man of his time, Bertie Potts.
The first story is an atmospheric period-piece, combining science fiction with some Raiders of the Lost Ark type action. The claustrophobic setting of the tomb and the constant danger River and Bertie are in make for some fast-paced and intense storytelling.
Jenny T Colgan has written the story to perfectly capture the aura of Indiana Jones films and old Hammer horror films while keeping the Doctor Who elements forefront. Her dialogue is sharp, the characterizations are perfect and the pacing is impeccable.
The plot is fairly straightforward, focusing on the monster horror aspect, but with some fine character moments in its climactic sequences. It's a plot suitable for a River Song-led story, but nothing too special.
Alex Kingston’s amazing performance, the homage to other works and the sharp characterization keep this story intriguing from beginning to end, even if the plot gets a bit jumbled up by the end.
Plot-wise this isn't particularly new or original, even if it is both fresh and suitable for this spin-off.
Tense, exciting and fast-paced, this story is a promising beginning to River Song's spin-off series.

I Went To A Marvellous Party:

Alex Kingston could be the Miss Marple of the Doctor Who universe, with added charm. She carries the murder mystery plot of this story forward, closely followed by the misunderstood Spritz.
From an Indiana Jones-style adventure, we are thrown into this Agatha Christie-style whodunit murder mystery with a science-fiction edge, and River fits the setting and plot just as well as a historical setting. Despite its fairly slow pace, the central mystery is kept interesting by the small nuggets of information revealed at frequent intervals and the dangerous situations faced by River and company. That being said, the ending is anti-climactic and the whole affair seems to be over as soon as it began
Written as a homage to classic murder mysteries, Justin Richards embraces the trademarks of the genre while seamlessly inserting a healthy dose of Doctor Who into the mix.
The plot is nothing special, neither as a murder mystery nor as a Doctor Who story. The story is perfectly interesting, to begin with, but feels very disappointing by the end. The only thing to remember from the story is the final few seconds, leading directly into the next adventure.
Big Finish has released some truly great whodunit style stories over the years, so River Song faces tough competition. Unfortunately, not even Kingston’s performance, the connections to the overall arc of the set and the sharp dialogue can help make this story feel special.
Doctor Who has cuddled with murder mysteries before, most famously in Robots of Death and The Unicorn and the Wasp and this story is unfortunately nothing new when comparing it to the earlier ones. It's not even a particularly original piece of a murder mystery story.
A story that turns from intriguing and interesting to disappointingly average, it's a pretty forgettable affair.

Signs:

I love Mr Song, his Doctorish personality and giddy manners, making him an energetic counterpart to River's fascinating persona.
Signs is a story with a calm, yet ominous atmosphere, mostly held up thanks to the mysterious stranger from River's future and the threat of River dying.
Written as an intricate character piece, Signs delves deeper into the mind of River Song, trying to make us understand exactly how she knows her husband and how far she is willing to go to keep him safe.
The plot is so simple and mundane it's difficult to see the point of it. It runs dry quite fast as well since the main mystery of Mr Song’s identity isn't enough to keep the story going. The twist at the end is pretty foreseeable but gives the story a new spin.
The mystery surrounding Mr Songs is intriguing, to begin with, but turns tale very quickly. The solution is a bland one, unfortunately, and way too predictable.
We've had people impersonating Doctor for various reasons and River herself isn’t portrayed in new or interesting ways in this story either, so in terms of originality, Signhjs is a hít and miss.
I was let down by the promise made by the previous story and expected this one to feel more emotional and majestic. It fell flat for me unfortunately and I see little point with it.

The Rulers of the Universe:

Alex Kingston and Paul McGann are amazing in this story and it's interesting how the adventure initially opens as more of a Doctor-centred story before slowly creeping toward the Doctor and Rover working together. I wish we’d gotten more of them together though since they have an amazing rapport.
In terms of atmosphere, the last story of the set is the most typical Big Finish Doctor Who story, and it's surprisingly close to a basic Eighth Doctor adventure with River tucked in for good measure. There is excitement, clever moments and some fine jokes.
The writer of this story has expertly taken the typical elements of an Eighth Doctor audio and combined that with the (admittedly) fairly broad range of the first River Song box set to form something of a more feminine and emotionally charged science fiction adventure.
The plot is simple and not particularly interesting. The script handles the meeting between the Doctor and River carefully, without making too much of a fuss about it. The moments between RIver and Eight are pure gold, and I particularly like how River is being extra careful not to reveal too much of herself too early. The dialogue between Kingston and McGann is so good that I wasn’t very interested in the main plot at all.
McGann is always a joy to hear and together with Kingston, he’s even better. It’s the moments the two stars share that keep this story interesting because the plot itself isn’t much to brag about.
The plot is hardly new or exciting and Big Finish has handled the first meeting between fan-favourite character better in other releases. This story doesn’t even feel particularly original sitting in the tail end of the first Rover Song box set.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of gaps in River's backstory that need to be filled in. This collection, to me, is of varying levels of enjoyment. The second two stories were better than the first two.

The first story, The Boundless Sea , is a basic locked tomb/pyramid type of story, with a sci-fi twist. It is only an average story.

The second story, I Went to a Marvellous Party , is a murder mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie. But, not too original.

The third story, Signs , is a very good story. River is very sick and is being attended to by her husband. Is this an unknown , perhaps future incarnation, of the Doctor?

The fourth story, The Rulers of the Universe , features the 8th Doctor. He does not know who River is. Her character has, to date on tv, only interacted with 10, 11, and 12. So, it is interesting how she reacts with a Doctor that has no clue who she is.

The set is fun to listen to.

[Isiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

River’s series is fucking amazing and perfect and everyone needs to go listen to it right now. Just like her theme song, she is basically Indiana Jones mixed with James Bond with so much more style than either. Throughout the adventures we get to see everything that makes River’s character amazing: she is intelligent, badass, loving, beautiful, and complex.

This is the spin off we needed. River’s adventures are constantly exciting and full of amazing characters (including the 8th Doctor). Each adventure is drastically different than the others, but they are all still connected seamlessly to make a really interesting and well developed story. It’s also really fascinating to see what she thinks about the different Doctors and how she interacts with them while keeping them safe by hiding herself from them.

[Nea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, for once, is a really easy one: if you're a Whovian and you enjoyed River and her story arc on the show, or if you're a fan of Alex Kingstons, Alexander Vlahos or Paul McGanns you should definitely pick it up.

River Song has lost non of her charms (or sass or cunning) here, the writing and delivery is spot on all around and while the story itself takes a little time to come into its own, once it does: oh boy, you're in for a ride.

So yeah: Go. Get it. Listen to it.

[Felipe Maistro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I really hate what Moffat did with River Song, and that's why it took me so long to hear this story and I was surprised!
It is so good to see a story that River is well written, it reminds me at the time of the 4th season, after that she was reduced only as the Doctor's wife among other problems.
Now I'm excited to hear the other volumes, thanks Big Finish for doing what the series tried.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all saw the Mr Song “twist” coming, and I don’t think it was the intention to fool us given how everyone knows The Doctor. Regardless, it was great seeing what River Song’s life is like during the times when she is not with The Doctor. And the Eighth Doctor is worked into the story in a way that makes sense and might not necessarily contradict River’s line to Ten about him being the youngest Doctor she’s met.

[Jim Nowhere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of "audio books" which are far more akin to Radio Plays then an audiobook.. that not withstanding, the performances were fantastic, the stories themselves add to the mythos of both Doctor Who as a story (genre perhaps?) and to the specific characters of River and the Doctor over all. Highly recommend for fans of Doctor Who, as well as those in search of something a little different in their Sci-Fi audio dramas.

*note: I purchased this collection when it was on sale, but have no issues paying full bob for the next one.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been a big fan of books on cd because they mostly put me to sleep. However this is an audio drama and it is like listening to a show without watching it. I loved it. Currently I am listening to River Songs Diary series two. I think I'm addicted.

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole is definitely greater than the sum of it's parts here as the individual stories don't always completely hold together, but by the end, it feels of a real piece and that River has been well served.
You can feel Alex Kingston gathering steam as these things go on and she is just delightful.

[Kyle Berk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely series of four adventures in River Songs life. I think each one gets better.

River Song is among my favorite characters from the new series and this has some of her best moments. It is well worth listening to if you like River Song in any capacity plus 8 shows up in one of the adventures.

[Sativa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I wanted it to be.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

[Abhijith R · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely amazing story from the most badass character in whonivers! Love it ❤

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just had eye surgery. This is a lifesaver!

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing!

[jacob saul · Rating 4 out of 5]

just kept getting better with each story!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5: 1 - 4 stars; 2 - 3 stars; 3 - 3 stars; 4 - 4 stars

[Jurgen · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.1 'The Boundless Sea' by Jenny T Colgan: 4*
1.2 'I Went to a Marvellous' Party by Justin Richards: 3*
1.3 'Signs' by James Goss: 4*
1.4 'The Rulers of the Universe' by Matt Fitton:4*