Six tales in the lives of The Doctor's oldest and most dangerous friend; The Master. Six very different tales ranging in tone from the absurdist Douglas Adams science frippery to the Stokeresque Gothic (Actually featuring Bram Stoker as the central not-quite main character.This story having a peculiar frission of familiarity for me having just finished the prequal to the Dracula; Dracul by Dacre Stoker as well as Powers Of Darkness, the Icelandic translation of the original Dracula text.) Thats a whole lot of Stoker.
The stories lean towards the darkly comedic which works for some of The Master's incarnations better than others. Levity acting as a literary safety net for a very wicked character who cannot be seen to win the day as this would inevitably involve the "good guys" losing. A notion which hobbles the stories before they get the chance to take off. However one of the stories absolutely strikes the perfect balance between the macabre, the malign and the mischief and that is ; The Master and Margareta by Matthew Sweet. The story proves to be the most wonderful gift to The Master fanbase, assuming he has one, and the overall sprawling Doctor Who Universe.It really is that good and stands among one of the best Doctor Who related spin off stories this fan has read in some time. Darkly amusing, wittily paced and lovingly laced with some acidic continuity references that never felt forced or exploitative.
Oh Matthew Sweet, with this savoury and swarthy concoction you are spoiling us. I will not say too much more and allow the reader to discover for themselves what a Doctorless treat this particular story is. Or perhaps I am just teasing, disguising the presence of The Master's oldest and most dangerous friend. If you ever wondered what an Alan Bleasdale script for Doctor Who would have read like then this should prove to be a taste of honey for you.
In total there are half a dozen good reasons for picking up this anthology, that is half a dozen possible winners for you, the reader. given the characters history of failure when standing against The Doctor that is much better odds than he normally enjoys.
