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Post by 20fridge on Aug 25, 2024 4:49:31 GMT
So, near well as I can tell the whole "The Death and Life of River Song" rebrand really is just an aesthetic thing. It has the same theme song. River reads from and writes in her diary. The Diary series has done a post-library story and a whole box set with a single story. I suppose the later sets could do something to distinguish this series from The Diary of River Song. That said, they seemed to have learned the best lessons from The Diary of River Song. I loved the Friend of the Family style big four episode story. They also found the sweet spot between referencing a classic series episode and doing a decent amount of original world-building. I loved the way that the ending mirrored the end of Forrest of the Dead. Overall, this is one of the best River Song stories out there!
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Post by shallacatop on Aug 25, 2024 8:04:54 GMT
Yeah, it is a strange rebrand, isn’t it? This set seems like it was intended to be under The Diary of River Song banner and was conceived as the last set of that range. Which would make sense, given the post-Library stuff, and it would round off at 12 sets, essentially three runs of four, rather than 11.
Am curious what they’ll do next because, well, they’ve done the Death aspect of the title already. And it ends with River very much going back, so will this end up being a regular thing? Not so sure about that, as I think the post-Library stuff in Last Words could’ve easily been something else, and I’d rather avoid spending time with reasons why River can get out every set. It’s a bit like the recurring mind wipes from the earlier sets; if they’d have thought on they should’ve just had the one mindwipe with McGann’s Doctor and let everything stand as-is.
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Post by jagrafess on Aug 25, 2024 9:58:53 GMT
If the rebrand is just to change direction to more writer-led sets like this I’ll be happy. Nothing else was broken so I hope they don’t try to fix it.
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Post by tuigirl on Aug 25, 2024 10:27:11 GMT
I finished this.
I agree that the story appears to be a "normal" Diary of River song release, that was slightly re-written to fit into the new setting of "reanimated post library".
If you take out the few exposition scenes of River being brought back to life, then this works perfectly well as a Diary of River Song release.
As for the story and writing-
It is VERY well done.
This is a great story, an action thriller, chasing the bad guy, uncovering a conspiracy, that kind of thing.
There are a few mentions of the Doctor and Nerva beacon is featured, but otherwise, returning elements are kept to an absolute minimum.
And it works perfectly!
My previous favorite River release was "Friend of the Family", and that also is a self contained story without returning elements.
Sadly, "Last Words" does not quite reach the quality and emotional rollercoaster of "Friend of the Family", I also think the characters are not developed as well.
But as an action thriller, this is also a completely different type of story, with much higher stakes (here, the world is indeed ending, "Friend of the Family" was a tragic family story).
The pacing is good, and like in "Friend of the Family", there is also some clever layering of the plot, to create a kind of puzzle structure for the listener. Especially the second episode features this strongly and you have to concentrate to unravel the different layers of the plot, to be able to follow the story. I LOVE this kind of stuff.
So yes, this is a very good River release, even if it is not quite as good as "Friend of the Family".
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Post by Who Review on Aug 28, 2024 12:29:42 GMT
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Post by Ian McArdell on Sept 12, 2024 14:41:12 GMT
Another cracking 4-part tale for River, who clearly suits this longer format. Not quite sure where she goes from here though... My take is up at CultBox. |
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Post by nottenst on Sept 25, 2024 18:39:56 GMT
I just finished the last part of the set. I was not thinking Arc in Space (I had not read any articles or publicity about it), but something was nagging my mind while listening and then of course they revealed all in the final interviews. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The attempt to "save them all" at the end was a nice touch.
I am not sure I want to see River brought back out of the library again. Or at least not in the next volume. What I would be interested in seeing is the impact of introducing all those "saved" people there. I'd think there may be a possibility of some interesting stories.
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