Master! Nemesis Express

Master! #2

by Robert Whitelock, Lizbeth Myles, Robert

Step aboard the Kairos, a recreational cruiser which traverses the Time Vortex itself. Vienna Salvatori is on a mission, and must make her way up the serpentine vehicle, from the crime-ridden rear segments, through the enclosed compartments of the mega-rich, all the way to front of the ship to face the man who controls it all... the Master!!

2.1 Nemesis Express by Robert Whitelock
Vienna Salvatori boards the Kairos in search of a stolen gem, and young thief Passion is hiding out and feels like the ship itself is watching her. Both women are about to be thrown together – and it's no accident. For the ship's Vortex drive has brought the Master back from oblivion, and he has plans for them both.

2.2 Capture the Chronovore! by Lizbeth Myles
Vienna and Passion pursue the Master, but to find out what he’s up to they must find a way through the ship's classier compartments. With their weapons confiscated and champagne on ice, they’re invited to join an exclusive shooting party, hunting the Vortex's great game - Chronovores! – and the Master is most definitely dressed for the occasion.

2.3 Passion by Robert Valentine
Finally reaching the head of the ship, Vienna and Passion find themselves exactly where the Master wants them. The Time Lord has more than revenge on his mind, however, and if they can't stop him, nothing in the universe will.

Genres: Doctor Who

Audiobook

First published October 11, 2022

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.1 Nemesis Express - Without the presence of The Doctor it becomes all to clear that The Master is almost an unstoppable force, but Vienna Salvatori is going to do her damnedest to prove that he can be stopped. And as neither of these two fight fairly, well … the fur is gonna fly. This is a solidly entertaining and fun story that is wonderfully executed (3/5).

2.2 Capture the Chronovore! - There was a period of time when trains would stop in the middle of the American West for no other reason than for passengers to shoot buffaloes from the train windows. Then the train would just continue, leaving the corpses were they died. It makes perfect sense that The Master would be wholeheartedly do something similar in the time vortex. And this isn’t even the point of this story! Good stuff (4/5).

2.3 Passion - A satisfying conclusion. Nicely done. Things get wrapped up in entertain and enjoyable manner. But there wasn’t anything that really surprise me or took the narrative in a particularly surprising direction (3/5).

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm being generous with this rating because I love Vienna and as far as I'm concerned this is not "Master! Series 2," but "Vienna, Series 6." (Please, another Vienna series would be great. Get on it, BF.) Although I admit there's something missing a bit here. Perhaps because my listening, done during commutes, was broken up awkwardly, I found myself struggling a bit to understand what the Master's actual plan was. Part 1 was basically establishing the setting -- a "segment" ship (think space-train) traveling through the Vortex. Part 2 involved the wealthy hunting Vortex-dwelling creatures, and the Master's plan seems to have involved one of them given the weapon he creates. But that plot point seemed to disappear for Part 3, which was basically "track down the Master and kill him." Did I miss something? A re-listen without interruptions would probably help.

After a handful of appearances now in BF releases, Eric Roberts seems to be (re)settling into the role nicely. There was a nice callback to Series 1, but I'm not sure they can keep doing Vienna vs. the Master and I suspect that if there's a Series 3, they'll mix up the formula a bit.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure I’d say this Master isn’t for me, but the stories haven’t been as entertaining. This was a reminder though that Bruce is still somewhere within The Master, which is quite mad to think about.

[Gaz Galey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roberts Master still isn't one of my favourites. But the story was good over all (but to be honest, most big finish stories are very good)

[Sara Habein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the strongest of all the various Master offerings, but still a good one. Eric Roberts being the one American version of this character continues to amuse, and Vienna is growing on me.

[Debra Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

the master comes back to life and Vienna has to stop him.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

3/10
Verdict: Should Skip

I don't want to be mean... But...

I did not pay for the Vienna Salvatori Boxset. I would not have done that. She is passable as a supporting character but intensely irritating as a lead. The other characters littering this story are also either entirely forgettable or very hard to listen to. The Master barely shows up during the first two stories and even in the third he is a horrible generic villain. The plot is extremely uninteresting and getting through this was painful. The acting and writing was seriously terrible at times too, some of this dialogue would be corny to be coming from five year olds, let alone fully grown adults who kill people for a living. Overall this is a cringeworthy, lengthy drag of a story with hardly any focus on the main selling point of the boxset. I won't be following this series further.