What do you think?
Rate this book
Big Finish: Monthly Range #220
Doctor Who: Quicksilver
It's the telegram Constance never wanted to read:
DEEPLY REGRET TO INFORM YOU LT-CMDR H CLARKE LOST IN ACTION. CLASSIFIED OPERATIONS.
Those classified operations concerned a top-secret military project code-named "Quicksilver". A project based in Vienna. A project with alien connections.
But bombed-out Vienna is not what it was before the war – with its Strauss music, its glamour and easy charm. It's not the time nor the place for a happy reunion. As Constance Clarke is about to discover...
And as the Doctor is about to discover, too!
DEEPLY REGRET TO INFORM YOU LT-CMDR H CLARKE LOST IN ACTION. CLASSIFIED OPERATIONS.
Those classified operations concerned a top-secret military project code-named "Quicksilver". A project based in Vienna. A project with alien connections.
But bombed-out Vienna is not what it was before the war – with its Strauss music, its glamour and easy charm. It's not the time nor the place for a happy reunion. As Constance Clarke is about to discover...
And as the Doctor is about to discover, too!
Audio CD
First published January 31, 2017
2 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 7, 2020
There are really two stories going on this particular release. The main one provides the science-fiction element, with the Doctor being drawn into protecting a fugitive being pursued by alien warriors. This, however, leads him to occupied Vienna in the early days of the Cold War... and, more importantly, into the middle of something with considerable personal relevance to his current companion, Constance.
The alien plotline is not, perhaps, terribly interesting. It's good enough, and some parallels are drawn with historical events of the time, but there's nothing really special about it either. The human side of things, however, raises this distinctly above the average. A lot of this is, of course, due to Constance - among other things, it becomes clearer why she was willing to travel with the Doctor when, unlike most of his other companions, she's married. She gets some good characterisation here, her '40s-era morality struggling with the personal situation she's placed in.
Just as welcome, however. is the return of Flip, last seen plunging to near-certain doom in Scavenger. Unfortunately, we're not told how she survived that cliffhanger ending - we're presumably just supposed to assume she was lucky and not worry about it. But, that aside, she's great here, not least because of her strong contrast with Constance; the scenes with them together are some of the highlights of the story, and she gets some great one-liners.
In amongst this, there's plenty of Cold War espionage, with a number of the themes and locations being borrowed from the classic film The Third Man - although I confess to not having seen that film, so I can't comment on how well it works as an homage. However, if other writers can do as well as Fitton has with this particular TARDIS team, I'll be looking forward to their future appearances.
The alien plotline is not, perhaps, terribly interesting. It's good enough, and some parallels are drawn with historical events of the time, but there's nothing really special about it either. The human side of things, however, raises this distinctly above the average. A lot of this is, of course, due to Constance - among other things, it becomes clearer why she was willing to travel with the Doctor when, unlike most of his other companions, she's married. She gets some good characterisation here, her '40s-era morality struggling with the personal situation she's placed in.
Just as welcome, however. is the return of Flip, last seen plunging to near-certain doom in Scavenger. Unfortunately, we're not told how she survived that cliffhanger ending - we're presumably just supposed to assume she was lucky and not worry about it. But, that aside, she's great here, not least because of her strong contrast with Constance; the scenes with them together are some of the highlights of the story, and she gets some great one-liners.
In amongst this, there's plenty of Cold War espionage, with a number of the themes and locations being borrowed from the classic film The Third Man - although I confess to not having seen that film, so I can't comment on how well it works as an homage. However, if other writers can do as well as Fitton has with this particular TARDIS team, I'll be looking forward to their future appearances.
September 8, 2018
Wow, an excellent story that is engaging, involving and utterly absorbing for its duration. Possibly one of the best Big Finish productions in my opinion, they really knock it out of the park for the Sixth Doctor stories.
I don’t want to say too much about the story, but key plots involving the arrival of Constance, her husband and the outcome of all this are explored. It’s hardly a spoiler to say Flip also returns here, she’s on the cover after all, though it might have been better to have kept it a surprise. By the end of the story the TARDIS team has undergone a change and will be interesting to see where it goes with this next. I found the emotional depth and challenging morality to be surprisingly complex and I’m still thinking about the resolution and the choices made, and what I would have done in the same circumstances. Well done Matt Fitton for a fantastic story.
I don’t want to say too much about the story, but key plots involving the arrival of Constance, her husband and the outcome of all this are explored. It’s hardly a spoiler to say Flip also returns here, she’s on the cover after all, though it might have been better to have kept it a surprise. By the end of the story the TARDIS team has undergone a change and will be interesting to see where it goes with this next. I found the emotional depth and challenging morality to be surprisingly complex and I’m still thinking about the resolution and the choices made, and what I would have done in the same circumstances. Well done Matt Fitton for a fantastic story.
February 13, 2025
Honestly this is a fairly generic story that is only elevated by the first time Constance and Flip meet. Those two characters carry this overall forgettable and bland story.
The Doctor is good as always too but it's 6 so of course they're good.
The Doctor is good as always too but it's 6 so of course they're good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2020
Flip and Constance 💕💕💕
May 21, 2024
Constance and Flip’s interactions were quite fun.
March 16, 2017
Constance and Flip play off each other nicely - interested to see how this TARDIS team pans out.
April 18, 2017
The Doctor takes Constance home but of course its the wrong date. He husband is supposed to be dead but turns out alive and Flip gets transported into the past. Can the doctor stop the threat and get them home.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews