The third such endeavour, ‘Summer Falls’, is a meta-Who tale which presents as a children’s fantasy story written by Amelia Williams (née Pond). It was depicted on screen in ‘The Bells of Saint John’ and is apparently a favourite of Amy’s successor Clara Oswald, so much so that the Great Intelligence drew on her memory of the cover image to disguise one of its Spoonhead robotic Wi-Fi base stations.
Actually written by Doctor Who and Torchwood author James Goss, the story follows a young girl called Kate Webster, who has recently moved to the seaside village of Watchcombe. With a frail mother in need of frequent naps, a frustrated Kate initiates her own adventure in order to fill the week before school starts.
A stranger to the locale, she soon encounters a grey cat who leads her to a mysterious neighbour – the temporary curator of the local museum. This oddly familiar character, who claims to be between names, allows Kate to christen him Barnabas. He has a mysterious tent in his garden, which he claims is in fact his shed and is currently undergoing repairs and exhibits some dubious taste in food combinations.
Events in the village surround the ownership of a mysterious painting and the quest for the objects depicted in it. When brought together, Kate wakes to find a frozen world and, along with two other children, has to make a choice regarding the fate of the village as an entity called The Lord of Winter is coming
The narrator is Clare Corbett, who has a number of Doctor Who credits to her name with AudioGO, as well as a fistful of audio books. An accomplished reader, she alternates convincingly between the characters voices and gives the whole affair a suitably period air.
‘Summer Falls’ is a quirky tale suffused with references to Amy’s travels with the Doctor, from things being cool to the restorative power of memory. While its fun to pick these out, the tale is a satisfying children’s fable in its own right, short and sweet with Kate making for amusing central character who is headstrong and full of spirit.
But what of Clara’s chapter recommendation from the episode we hear you ask? “Eleven is the best. You’ll cry your eyes out” Well, that would be telling!
Released on Thursday 1 August 2013 by AudioGO.
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