An Autist Reviews: Barrister To The Stars (The Diary Of River Song 7.3)

*This is an older review, it is not as detailed as my more modern reviews*

*All Reviews Are Spoiler-Free Aside From Any Spoiler Sections*

Accused of murdering a sexist alien warrior, River Song requests her trial be conducted in the fashion of English law! Alongside her charming barrister Hodgkiss, who is staving off a dive into insanity by focusing on helping River and proving her innocence, she sets out to find the true murderer! The two will interrogate a woman whose entire race has poor self-esteem from being accidentally psychically manipulative, a bowl of protein-hungry acid, and someone who exists thirty minutes in the past!

This is truly special. James Kettle has never written for Big Finish before, but I cannot wait for him to return! This story overflows with ideas, but they all work so well together. The characters are all hilarious, there is some poignant social commentary, and when next we receive a blessing from Mr. Kettle, I expect to learn more about some of these fun races he has created. The story is a courtroom romp and investigative procedural and all of the characters are written impossibly well. The only negative to this story is that I think it could have been a little longer to really make certain plot points stick together. Some plot points just feel a little out of place, but it’s so easy to ignore you probably won’t even realize it!

The acting is on point! Also, because you won’t notice, most of the ambassadors are played by a single person. River and Hodgkiss are solid gold, the Integers are fun and a little stale, but still solidly acted and I see why they are acted as she was.

The effects are all solid, you can always tell where you are, and all the action is perfectly encapsulated! The voices are all gold, or slime depending on which character we’re talking about. The only thing I can’t comment on is the music because I was so into the story I never noticed it…

The replay value of this story is also very good. I don’t think you MUST listen to it again, but you will want to. Also, there are some little behaviors that you don’t notice until a certain twist is revealed near the end, so coming back through you notice those behaviors a lot more.

All in all, this is a hilarious romp that I never want to stop listening to. James Kettle is a god of writing, and all of his characters are lovely. The bowl of soup is perfectly greasy, the Integers is perfectly written and the skill of the actress acting they is insane. The acting is wonderful, the story is engrossing and hilarious, and you won’t want this experience to end. Buy the box for this. Seriously. I would recommend buying this box set solely for this experience.

Total - 10

Plot - 10
---
Story - 9
Writing - 10
Enjoyment - 10
Twists - 10

Acting - 10
---
MCs - 10
SCs - 9
BGs - 9

Effects - 10
---
Music - NR
Voices - 10
Actions - 10

Replay - 9
---
Re-Enjoyment - 10
New Details - 8

-=- If you want to see more of my reviews, some of my craziness, my thoughts on stories I've experienced but not reviewed, and the important libtard things I share around because I'm a filthy liberal snowflake, check out my Instagram page @deadmainmanmax -=-