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Bernice Summerfield Audio Dramas #6.2
Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Kingdom of the Blind
Jason Kane thought things had been going so well with ex-wife Bernice Summerfield, until she went sleepwalking, stole Brax's shuttle (causing Jason grievous bodily harm in the process), and then abandoned her on-off lover to the mercy of a horde of mute and unfriendly aliens.
Although Benny — waking to find herself marooned on a strange planet dressed only in her nightie, with strange voices in her head and a bunch of one-eyed monsters threatening to cut out her tongue — would probably argue that her day was even worse, thank you very much.
But Benny does seem to have stumbled across the last resting place of a legendary civilisation, so it's not all bad. Well, assuming she and Jason can survive — intact — long enough to tell anyone about it...
Plot
Although Benny — waking to find herself marooned on a strange planet dressed only in her nightie, with strange voices in her head and a bunch of one-eyed monsters threatening to cut out her tongue — would probably argue that her day was even worse, thank you very much.
But Benny does seem to have stumbled across the last resting place of a legendary civilisation, so it's not all bad. Well, assuming she and Jason can survive — intact — long enough to tell anyone about it...
Plot
- GenresDoctor WhoAudiobook
Audio CD
First published July 30, 2005
About the author
Jacqueline Rayner
131 books169 followersJacqueline Rayner is a best selling British author, best known for her work with the licensed fiction based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Her first professional writing credit came when she adapted Paul Cornell's Virgin New Adventure novel Oh No It Isn't! for the audio format, the first release by Big Finish. (The novel featured the character of Bernice Summerfield and was part of a spin-off series from Doctor Who.) She went on to do five of the six Bernice Summerfield audio adaptations and further work for Big Finish before going to work for BBC Books on their Doctor Who lines.
Her first novels came in 2001, with the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel EarthWorld for BBC Books and the Bernice Summerfield novel The Squire's Crystal for Big Finish. Rayner has written several other Doctor Who spin-offs and was also for a period the executive producer for the BBC on the Big Finish range of Doctor Who audio dramas. She has also contributed to the audio range as a writer. In all, her Doctor Who and related work (Bernice Summerfield stories), consists of five novels, a number of short stories and four original audio plays.
Rayner has edited several anthologies of Doctor Who short stories, mainly for Big Finish, and done work for Doctor Who Magazine. Beyond Doctor Who, her work includes the children's television tie-in book Horses Like Blaze.
With the start of the new television series of Doctor Who in 2005 and a shift in the BBC's Doctor Who related book output, Rayner has become, along with Justin Richards and Stephen Cole, one of the regular authors of the BBC's New Series Adventures. She has also abridged several of the books to be made into audiobooks.
She was also a member of Doctor Who Magazine's original Time Team.
Her first professional writing credit came when she adapted Paul Cornell's Virgin New Adventure novel Oh No It Isn't! for the audio format, the first release by Big Finish. (The novel featured the character of Bernice Summerfield and was part of a spin-off series from Doctor Who.) She went on to do five of the six Bernice Summerfield audio adaptations and further work for Big Finish before going to work for BBC Books on their Doctor Who lines.
Her first novels came in 2001, with the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel EarthWorld for BBC Books and the Bernice Summerfield novel The Squire's Crystal for Big Finish. Rayner has written several other Doctor Who spin-offs and was also for a period the executive producer for the BBC on the Big Finish range of Doctor Who audio dramas. She has also contributed to the audio range as a writer. In all, her Doctor Who and related work (Bernice Summerfield stories), consists of five novels, a number of short stories and four original audio plays.
Rayner has edited several anthologies of Doctor Who short stories, mainly for Big Finish, and done work for Doctor Who Magazine. Beyond Doctor Who, her work includes the children's television tie-in book Horses Like Blaze.
With the start of the new television series of Doctor Who in 2005 and a shift in the BBC's Doctor Who related book output, Rayner has become, along with Justin Richards and Stephen Cole, one of the regular authors of the BBC's New Series Adventures. She has also abridged several of the books to be made into audiobooks.
She was also a member of Doctor Who Magazine's original Time Team.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 1, 2021
Di solito sono una grande fan di Jac Rayner, ma questa non è una delle sue sceneggiature migliori. È una storia nella media, senza infamia e senza lode.
Jason sta mettendo a letto Peter (è sempre molto bello avere qualche scorcio della loro vita familiare), quando una Benny sonnambula prende e se ne va, sentendo nella mente la voce di una ragazza che chiede aiuto. Ovviamente lui la segue e i due si ritrovano in un mondo in cui i Monoidi hanno schiavizzato un'altra specie. Dato che questi ultimi hanno due occhi, i Monoidi (avendone uno solo) si sentono in inferiorità, quindi per mantenere il potere mutilano gli schiavi. Questi non possono avere vista, udito e voce contemporaneamente: devono rinunciare ad uno dei sensi, facendosi tagliare via la lingua, le orecchie o gli occhi.
Questa cruenta premessa è alleggerita dalle gag di Benny la quale, dopo essere stata scoperta a parlare, deve fingersi sorda.
Quello che ne consegue ovviamente è la missione di Benny e Jason di liberare gli schiavi dai loro oppressori, ma con un finale oscuro che vede i ruoli ribaltarsi.
Tutto sommato la storia è solida, e i battibecchi tra Benny e Jason sono carini, ma mi aspettavo di più dalla Rayner.
Jason sta mettendo a letto Peter (è sempre molto bello avere qualche scorcio della loro vita familiare), quando una Benny sonnambula prende e se ne va, sentendo nella mente la voce di una ragazza che chiede aiuto. Ovviamente lui la segue e i due si ritrovano in un mondo in cui i Monoidi hanno schiavizzato un'altra specie. Dato che questi ultimi hanno due occhi, i Monoidi (avendone uno solo) si sentono in inferiorità, quindi per mantenere il potere mutilano gli schiavi. Questi non possono avere vista, udito e voce contemporaneamente: devono rinunciare ad uno dei sensi, facendosi tagliare via la lingua, le orecchie o gli occhi.
Questa cruenta premessa è alleggerita dalle gag di Benny la quale, dopo essere stata scoperta a parlare, deve fingersi sorda.
Quello che ne consegue ovviamente è la missione di Benny e Jason di liberare gli schiavi dai loro oppressori, ma con un finale oscuro che vede i ruoli ribaltarsi.
Tutto sommato la storia è solida, e i battibecchi tra Benny e Jason sono carini, ma mi aspettavo di più dalla Rayner.
November 28, 2018
Relisten continues...
A good one to relisten to.
A good one to relisten to.
September 24, 2013
I really liked the ending of this one . As usual, loved the banter between Benny and Jason. They play off each other really well.
February 2, 2014
Great adventure. Benny gets guided by an artifact to a planet where the Monoids hold another race as slaves. Benny helps free the slaves but with disastrous results. You'll want to listen to this story. Though the Monoids reminds me of William Hartnell's adventure THE ARK.
February 7, 2011
I felt rather meh about this one, which is unusual for a Jac Rayner play. The setup just seemed a bit absurd, and the ending a bit predictable.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews