All three of The Worlds of Blake’s 7 tie-in novels are getting physical releases.
Since the sad passing of core members of the Blake’s 7 cast, Big Finish have been busy exploring the show’s wider universe. The Worlds of Blake’s 7 range has picked up on various threads from the original series, with villains, worlds and cultures revisited in a series of audio dramas.
Three of the boxsets in the range have also enjoyed tie-in novels; initially released as audiobooks, narrated by original cast members, these stories are now coming out as premium hardback books too.
The Clone Masters: The Rule of Death by Trevor Baxendale
When Orac picks up information about a Clone Master living in secret on an outlying planet, Blake is intrigued.
Then, a message from the freed bond-slave, Rashel, makes visiting the outpost a priority: the Blake Clone is dying. But things are never as straightforward as they seem, and with psychostrategist Carnell lurking in the shadows, this visit soon becomes a life or death battle for all the Liberator crew…
Tied in to Tim Foley’s terrific The Clone Masters box set, the tale picks up on the fate of Blake’s clone from ‘Weapon’, The Rule of Death is a cracking tale full of twists and reveals.
Bayban the Butcher: Bayban Ascending by Nigel Fairs
My mother… Oh yes, I had a mother. Wonderful woman. Truly evil person. She had a saying. “Babe,” she used to say – she called me Babe. “Babe,” she used to say. “Treat every hour as though it’s your last.”
Son is a diligent menial worker on the planet Calross. He has no idea who his father is. He lives with his mother by the Federation Factory where he works. He has two friends: a computer geek called Vann and a manual worker called Olag Gan. Son is having a secret relationship with Vel, Gan’s woman. She tells him that she is able to channel her psychic gift through a broken piece of necklace that she stole from an ancient burial site on one of the outer worlds.
Holding the broken necklace, Son has a vision that he will achieve greatness. When it comes true, he decides to find its missing parts hiring a grizzled old pilot called Bayban the Butcher to help him.
NB: This novel contains adult material and may not be suitable for younger readers.
Released to tie in to Bayban the Butcher audio dramas, Bayban Ascending charts the wild rise of Bayban from a menial worker to the Federation’s most wanted list. It’s an idiosyncratic tale with the embellishments of an unreliable narrator.
The Terra Nostra: Zero Point by Mark B Oliver
During a skirmish with a small patrol of Federation pursuit ships, Orac is badly damaged. There is only one person who can repair the super-computer: Federation Doctor Brynn Pellas. Avon and Tarrant take Orac to her base, unaware that the planet she lives on is now under the control of the Terra Nostra – and Pellas is in the crime syndicate’s back pocket.
Pellas can repair Orac – but first, the Liberator crew must steal a secret Federation weapon for the Terra Nostra. Codename: Zero Point.
Accompanying January’s audio drama boxset The Terra Nostra, Zero Point is released as an audiobook this month. Its narrator is Stephen Greif, who played the first Travis onscreen.
The Rule of Death is out in October, Babyan Ascending in November and Zero Point in December.
The hardback editions are priced at £16.99 each (or in a bundle for £45). Additionally, the stories are also available as eBooks, priced £12.99 each (or as a £36 bundle). Pre orders are now open at Big Finish.