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The Diary of River Song #11
The Diary of River Song: Friend of the Family
River Song decides to investigate a temporal anomaly after a Luna University expedition makes some odd discoveries in an old Earth house - pages of her own diary with an inscrutable riddle written across them.
However, her investigation goes badly wrong when she is transported back into the past of the house and gets trapped within its grounds.
The house is the home of the Mortimers and with a limited ability to travel back and forth in time across eighty years and multiple generations she finds herself witnessing key moments in their family history.
If she wants to escape, the words in her diary are not the only riddle she has to solve. But not everyone in the house will survive what’s coming. And not everyone is on her side.
11.1 The Rules of the House
11.2 The Key to the Door
11.3 The Bird from the Nest
11.4 The Isle on the Shore
However, her investigation goes badly wrong when she is transported back into the past of the house and gets trapped within its grounds.
The house is the home of the Mortimers and with a limited ability to travel back and forth in time across eighty years and multiple generations she finds herself witnessing key moments in their family history.
If she wants to escape, the words in her diary are not the only riddle she has to solve. But not everyone in the house will survive what’s coming. And not everyone is on her side.
11.1 The Rules of the House
11.2 The Key to the Door
11.3 The Bird from the Nest
11.4 The Isle on the Shore
Audio CD
First published January 12, 2023
46 people want to read
About the author
Tim Foley
177 books17 followersTim Foley is an artist and illustrator born in Flint, Michigan, in 1962. Over the past quarter century, his clients have included national and international magazines, book publishers, and advertising agencies such as the Wall Street Journal, Cricket Magazine, New York Newsday, LA Weekly, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. He currently lives and works in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 30, 2023
This boxset deserves all the high praise and ratings.
Tim Foley is easily becoming one of my favourite big finish writers. Every story that is written by him, has been some of my favourites.
This one is no exception.
I already adore River, but this one has made me love her even more.
I know River Song hasn't been people's favourites, but I've always had a soft spot and fascination for River Song. Listening to the Diary of River Song series this year has been a joy, and I've just finished listening to the last River Song boxset: Friend of the Family is just so beautifully written and essentially human.
No scary monsters, just time travel, and tragic humans, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like River Song actually found a family of her own.
Even if it was her own doing and setting a trap for herself.
The way she treats little Tommy with kindness and gentleness after her own horrible, traumatic childhood speaks volumes about her own character and her own personal growth after everything River Song has been through with Madame Kovarian.
I'm generally sad I won't get any more box sets from River Song. Alex Kingston excels every time.
I also love Hugo / The Cook. Their respective actors did a fabulous job.
I love the wibbly-wobbly time travel element, I love the human factor and how there was no big scary villain. But a sense of humanity and tragic human events with a happy ending.
5/5
Tim Foley is easily becoming one of my favourite big finish writers. Every story that is written by him, has been some of my favourites.
This one is no exception.
I already adore River, but this one has made me love her even more.
I know River Song hasn't been people's favourites, but I've always had a soft spot and fascination for River Song. Listening to the Diary of River Song series this year has been a joy, and I've just finished listening to the last River Song boxset: Friend of the Family is just so beautifully written and essentially human.
No scary monsters, just time travel, and tragic humans, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like River Song actually found a family of her own.
Even if it was her own doing and setting a trap for herself.
The way she treats little Tommy with kindness and gentleness after her own horrible, traumatic childhood speaks volumes about her own character and her own personal growth after everything River Song has been through with Madame Kovarian.
I'm generally sad I won't get any more box sets from River Song. Alex Kingston excels every time.
I also love Hugo / The Cook. Their respective actors did a fabulous job.
I love the wibbly-wobbly time travel element, I love the human factor and how there was no big scary villain. But a sense of humanity and tragic human events with a happy ending.
5/5
February 11, 2023
Well, I have to think that if Jane Austen would have listened to this, she would have absolutely loved it. This audio drama sets a whole new high mark for the The Dairy of River Song series. I was in tears through most of the part four. Brilliant and just wonderful.
January 29, 2023
This is an absolutely gorgeous listen. There’s simply no other way to describe it. It’s the kind of story that’s so good it makes you wonder why they haven’t been doing stories like this the whole time. It’s like River was made for this story. A multi-generational mystery exploring the depths of love, loss, familial drama, and hope in the face of all of that. It’s funny, it’s adventurous, it’s touching, and it’s heartbreaking. One of the behind-the-scenes interviews suggests this story’s like “This is Us” with time travel, and that’s an incredibly accurate statement.
Plot-wise, it’s very timey-wimey - but not in a gimmicky way. Instead, this is the kind of time travel story where every weird thing has a purpose, and each twist and turn builds on what’s come before and all comes together in an enormously satisfying way. You’ll definitely need to pay attention as you listen, otherwise you could pretty easily get lost. But I promise it’s worth putting in the extra effort.
It’s also the kind of time travel story that’s very character driven. It’s not time travel for the sake of time travel. Rather, it’s a character journey. River’s at first, naturally. But as the story goes on, and the focus widens, you realize the story is about much more than River just trying to figure out what’s going on. That being said, River goes on such an interesting journey here. I don’t wanna delve into any spoilers, but I’d say this does as much for River’s character as “The Ruby’s Curse” did. And Alex Kingston has simply never been better than she is here - particularly in the set’s final episode.
On the whole, “Friend of the Family” is an absolutely must-listen - even if you’re not a fan of “The Diary of a River Song”. It’s so unlike anything else this series has done, and that’s what makes it so existing. It’s a great River Song story, a great “Doctor Who” story, an immensely impressive sci-fi story, and a genuinely moving piece of fiction in general. This is Big Finish at their very best.
Plot-wise, it’s very timey-wimey - but not in a gimmicky way. Instead, this is the kind of time travel story where every weird thing has a purpose, and each twist and turn builds on what’s come before and all comes together in an enormously satisfying way. You’ll definitely need to pay attention as you listen, otherwise you could pretty easily get lost. But I promise it’s worth putting in the extra effort.
It’s also the kind of time travel story that’s very character driven. It’s not time travel for the sake of time travel. Rather, it’s a character journey. River’s at first, naturally. But as the story goes on, and the focus widens, you realize the story is about much more than River just trying to figure out what’s going on. That being said, River goes on such an interesting journey here. I don’t wanna delve into any spoilers, but I’d say this does as much for River’s character as “The Ruby’s Curse” did. And Alex Kingston has simply never been better than she is here - particularly in the set’s final episode.
On the whole, “Friend of the Family” is an absolutely must-listen - even if you’re not a fan of “The Diary of a River Song”. It’s so unlike anything else this series has done, and that’s what makes it so existing. It’s a great River Song story, a great “Doctor Who” story, an immensely impressive sci-fi story, and a genuinely moving piece of fiction in general. This is Big Finish at their very best.
January 16, 2024
How you feel about this release in the long-running series will likely depend on how you feel about Big Finish's continued obsession with injecting LGBT content into every release. This four-part tale is well-crafted to be sure, but I am weary of BF's "All Gay All the Time" approach to storytelling. What was particularly bothersome was that the "antagonist" of the story -- the one who sets it all in motion -- is a man who was understandably upset to discover his wife cheating on him with another woman. He commits a tragic act when he fears that it's happening a second time. And he gets a good stern lecture from River Song. But while the act deserves a lecture, it seems that she's also lecturing him for objecting to the lesbian affair.
Now hold on. Why is the victim of infidelity the bad guy? You mean he's supposed to just go along with his wife cheating on him because she's a lesbian? That does seem to be the inescapable conclusion. We're supposed to sympathize with the two lesbians while the jilted husband spends the rest of his life in torment. And that's supposed to be okay. And that's pretty messed up.
Now hold on. Why is the victim of infidelity the bad guy? You mean he's supposed to just go along with his wife cheating on him because she's a lesbian? That does seem to be the inescapable conclusion. We're supposed to sympathize with the two lesbians while the jilted husband spends the rest of his life in torment. And that's supposed to be okay. And that's pretty messed up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2025
While divided into episodes, this is a single four-hour story. It sees River and a holographic companion trapped inside a house on the English coast, travelling back and forth between different points in time from 1936 to 2014. The result resembles a family saga, as we see four generations of the owners come and go. Added to this, of course, are the time travel elements, which see River frequently experiencing the results of her actions before she has performed them - we're very much in 'timey-wimey' territory here.
There are mystery elements, too, such as a mysterious locked room and a cryptic set of instructions that hint at what River has to do to escape. On top of that, there is a love story... well, actually more than one, given the multiple generations present. This last element does perhaps drag a little in the closing episode but how it interweaves with the family's past history strengthens the basic idea.
There's a lot going on here. It's complex and emotional, and at times you may agree with River's statement early on that she needs to draw a family tree to get her head around who everyone is. It's cleverly constructed, keeping all the timelines straight, and with the actors having to play their characters at different points in their life. (Although they avoid the challenge of using child actors by having a key character never speak as a child, which ends up coming across as a bit weird).
If you're looking for aliens, action sequences, or, for that matter, villains of any kind, this won't be for you. It's a story about family and love, a domestic drama that happens to involve time travel and a talking hologram, but only as a means to develop the narrative. A few minor weaknesses, mentioned above, cause me to knock it down to 4.5 stars, but it's still a great change of pace and a great piece of writing.
There are mystery elements, too, such as a mysterious locked room and a cryptic set of instructions that hint at what River has to do to escape. On top of that, there is a love story... well, actually more than one, given the multiple generations present. This last element does perhaps drag a little in the closing episode but how it interweaves with the family's past history strengthens the basic idea.
There's a lot going on here. It's complex and emotional, and at times you may agree with River's statement early on that she needs to draw a family tree to get her head around who everyone is. It's cleverly constructed, keeping all the timelines straight, and with the actors having to play their characters at different points in their life. (Although they avoid the challenge of using child actors by having a key character never speak as a child, which ends up coming across as a bit weird).
If you're looking for aliens, action sequences, or, for that matter, villains of any kind, this won't be for you. It's a story about family and love, a domestic drama that happens to involve time travel and a talking hologram, but only as a means to develop the narrative. A few minor weaknesses, mentioned above, cause me to knock it down to 4.5 stars, but it's still a great change of pace and a great piece of writing.
January 13, 2023
Well, well, well.
I am loving this.
It is just soooo different from the other River releases.
I am not going into story details at all, because that would be spoiling it.
This is a puzzle box for the listener to open themselves.
What is to like?
I like the mystery structure, the time-jumps, the banter with the quirky research assistant AI, I also like the domestic family drama backdrop to this.
This just feels fresh and new.
Only thing to say-
It is wonderful that this proves that it is indeed still possible to tell a nice engaging story without flashy bells and whistles, without the universe in peril, without aliens (especially NO Daleks) and invasions and explosions. And still, this will have you in SOOOOOO many tears by the end.
Good tears, though.
It is "just" a beautiful story about love, a family legacy (including some dark secrets) and that yes, it is possible for even the most horrific times and awful people to change.
This is a story about hope.
It just happens to have River and her Vortex Manipulator in it.
Also, do not expect too much action, or hilarious escapades or the usual River over-the-top-ness.
Because this is NOT that.
I am going to use a gaming analogy:
This is more like a adventure point-and-click game with riddles than a shoot-em-up.
It takes it's time, it is about characters and mystery, not about fights and gunplay.
Also, as a first, it is one complete ongoing 4 hour story. With lots of threads woven into one-another.
You know, it actually reminds me of an escape room to figure out!
Just one where you need to keep a ton of tissues handy at the end.
So no, this is NOT for everyone.
But I like it, because it is very different from the other releases, it has a completely different feel and pace to it and it still works very well.
I am loving this.
It is just soooo different from the other River releases.
I am not going into story details at all, because that would be spoiling it.
This is a puzzle box for the listener to open themselves.
What is to like?
I like the mystery structure, the time-jumps, the banter with the quirky research assistant AI, I also like the domestic family drama backdrop to this.
This just feels fresh and new.
Only thing to say-
It is wonderful that this proves that it is indeed still possible to tell a nice engaging story without flashy bells and whistles, without the universe in peril, without aliens (especially NO Daleks) and invasions and explosions. And still, this will have you in SOOOOOO many tears by the end.
Good tears, though.
It is "just" a beautiful story about love, a family legacy (including some dark secrets) and that yes, it is possible for even the most horrific times and awful people to change.
This is a story about hope.
It just happens to have River and her Vortex Manipulator in it.
Also, do not expect too much action, or hilarious escapades or the usual River over-the-top-ness.
Because this is NOT that.
I am going to use a gaming analogy:
This is more like a adventure point-and-click game with riddles than a shoot-em-up.
It takes it's time, it is about characters and mystery, not about fights and gunplay.
Also, as a first, it is one complete ongoing 4 hour story. With lots of threads woven into one-another.
You know, it actually reminds me of an escape room to figure out!
Just one where you need to keep a ton of tissues handy at the end.
So no, this is NOT for everyone.
But I like it, because it is very different from the other releases, it has a completely different feel and pace to it and it still works very well.
January 30, 2023
I was caught up on the River Song series that I was actually able to start this on release day for the first time ever!! What I liked about this box set is that it is the first box set in the River Song series that continue one big long story the whole box set. I loved the time-hops and having to keep up with who is who and when. It asked a lot of the listener to remember things and people and places but if you can follow along I think the story is really good.
They explained in the bonus interviews that the writer had just seen The Last of Us and used that as inspiration for this box set and I think that really shows. Makes me excited to see what's coming up next for the River Song series!
They explained in the bonus interviews that the writer had just seen The Last of Us and used that as inspiration for this box set and I think that really shows. Makes me excited to see what's coming up next for the River Song series!
January 16, 2023
I am a big fan of the series, but this is a unique set for this series. This is one continuous story told over 4 episodes. This story doesn’t have the usual adventuring and daring do, it’s more of a timey wimey family drama that we see from River’s perspective jumping around in time. It’s a wonderful character piece with the Mortimer family at the heart of the story. I really enjoyed this one!
January 25, 2023
Los audiodramas de river song siempre son los mejores, y este es uno de lo mejores la historia de la familia esta super bien llevada y el mensaje final es algo muy lindo, sin duda alguna uno de mis favoritos.
June 3, 2023
A work of art. Plotted tightly as a drum and with a very well fleshed out cast of supporting characters, this story explores the all-too-human drama surrounding a family dynasty and gives River Song a meaty mystery to solve in the process.
January 4, 2024
I really enjoyed the story but I am sure it was better than others because the four episodes were a whole unique story, it made it more complex. I would listen to it again I'm sure, since I enjoyed it so much.
November 20, 2024
This is incredible. Loved the plot and how it was one continuous story. I felt properly invested in all the mysteries and plot lines; quickly going to the next episode/chapter once one had finished. Plus I did not guess any of the plot twist, they were all a surprise, and very good ones too.
March 12, 2023
A wonderful and wholesome listen for Alex Kingston's 60th birthday. It's a real feat when a series of Diary of River Song can be THIS good without relying on nostalgic cameos.
March 23, 2023
3.5 Could have done without the last part
April 30, 2023
I hope Tim foleys getting a pay-rise after this one
July 7, 2024
The Rules of the House - 3.5 stars
The Key to the Door - 4 stars
The Bird From the Nest - 4.5 stars
The Isle on the Shore - 4 stars
The Key to the Door - 4 stars
The Bird From the Nest - 4.5 stars
The Isle on the Shore - 4 stars
April 4, 2025
River Song in a maid outfit -- it's just what the Doctor ordered!
July 7, 2025
Bravo les homosexuels je pensent
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews