An Autist Reviews: The Heavenly Paradigm (The War Master: Only The Good 4)

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

Number 24 Marigold Lane holds a terrifying secret, protected by levels of security humans could never dream of. But the Master and his companion Cole are determined to get in and to gain access to what the Timelords have hidden within it. Cole says he is willing to sacrifice if it means stopping the Time War but is he ready for what that will mean?

Let’s start with the humor because it is fabulous. The Master is so funny and so deliciously evil. He and Cole have such a great relationship, I mean, it’s the Master and it isn’t exactly a ‘good relationship,’ but they go together really well and it’s their chemistry that makes the jokes land so well and the sad moments and betrayals just that much sadder. There are not any real twists in this, but two things that happen I suppose could be seen as twists, despite how obvious they are, which by no means makes them bad, they’re very enjoyable, but they don’t really surprise you, so that’s why I’m not rating them. This story is filled with interesting philosophical discussions, appeals to the Master’s better nature, and utterly terrifying and shocking moments. Cole’s grief and self-hatred are handled very well, and the final scene and beginning are utter perfection, with the final scene being the single scariest thing I've ever heard from big finish. The narration is very good, aside from during the resolution of the story, during which it doesn’t mix well with what is going on and where it doesn’t sound quite mature enough to be the Master. The final resolution is very good, all things considered, but the effects are pretty much what make it anything other than a 10 for me, and that goes for the story as a whole, but we’ll get to that. The last thing that’s a little off is in the pacing near the end where things feel a little rushed and the feel of time is just a little weird.

The acting, oh boy, it’s weird. The Master is godly, his mental breakdown near the end is superb, and his creepy moments are just plain brutally eerie, but even he has some issues, such as when it sounds like he is shouting over a loud effect, but there is no loud effect going on at the time. Cole jumps from superb to rather lackluster, especially in very tense scenes within the house, but he is usually very good. The old woman also has great moments and bad moments. Her time being kindly is brilliant, but when it comes down to her begging the Master to stop what he is doing and she just sounds so… fake. The computer steals the show in every scene he’s in! It takes a lot of skill to imply condescendingness while acting as a computer voice interface, really. The results of Cole’s failure in the previous story also show up, but I really don’t like their acting, as they sound way too goofy in my opinion. As for the narration… It. Is. Perfect. Aside from when it mixes in with the master’s regular acting near the end, and then it becomes extremely difficult to tell the Master’s narration from his past self.

The music shall be the first in this category I talk about, and it is SO good. It is so creepy, so sad, and intensifies every scene it’s in, and every time it fades away or cuts out, it is perfectly timed and it makes everything creepier than anything else ever could. Now the voice effects leave a lot to be desired. At the end of the day, many are competent, but the computer’s voice is so weird, it just sounds goofy, and the Iso Suit Folks also sound rather goofy. Also, when Cole wakes up from being unconscious, which happens twice, the effects are a little iffy. The action effects are where everything really falters. Many times when footsteps should be necessary they aren’t there, when a certain device goes off, the sound is so muted and you can tell that Derek Jacobi thought there would be louder effects. Cole doesn’t have loud enough effects as he struggles, and too few effects then as well. When a certain woman dies, her death rattle is… well it’s just plain dumb, and you never even hear her body fall to the ground. Those would be my biggest complaints, but at the end of the day, the effects still sounded good enough to get a 6 at times, but just barely. The background effects are also often lacking, such as an entire hanger sounding so dull and quiet, but other times, such as when you hear every detail of suburbia, the background effects are just brilliant! It’s weird, man. The transitions are the last thing for me to touch on, and they are generally very good. Usually, they are done with music, which is always nice, but sometimes they hide a lack of effects or make a short scene shorter than it needs to be, making the perception of time in the story awkward at times.

As for the replay value, I’d say that my memory of this story, as with the previous one, glorifies the story a little too much for my liking. It’s a great story, but the effects and even the acting just sour it. Still, at the end of the day, it’s an amazing ending, it’s just, as I’ve stated before, easier to bring up the bad things than the good things. When it comes to finding new details, you won’t, nothing should surprise you much the first time, and nothing will at all the second time, and if anything one moment of the story is actually lessened a fair bit on a second listen.

All in all, I’m harsh because I love this story. The humor and emotion are stellar, with the Master being so cruel, Cole being so hurt and naive, and that computer just being so hilarious. The implications of this story are staggering, even if the effects accompanying the story are rather lackluster, which is the best way to describe them. Lackluster. The acting is generally phenomenal, but important scenes get worse acting than they deserve, and you won’t get much out of a second listen. Still, it’s a good story, trust me, I just have a lot of bad things to say about it.

“Things die. It’s just what they do. Every minute of every day on every world, every galaxy, something dies. Crying over it is spitting into the wind. Death is natural, yes. But there comes a time in the history of all civilizations, worlds great and small, when something, some event, some disease, some war, tips the balance of things when even nature must look at the numbers and nervously catch its breath. And on those occasions, well, it’s time to make plans.”

Total - 9

Original Guesstimate - 10

Plot - 10
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Story - 10
Pacing - 9
Dialogue - 10
Narration - 9
Exposition - 10
Enjoyment - 10
Twist/s - NR
Resolution/s - 8
Ending - 10

Acting - 9
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MC/s - 9
SC/s - 10
BG/s - 7
Narrator/s - 9

Effects - 8
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Music - 10
Voices - 7
Actions - 6
Background - 7
Transitions - 8

Replay - 7
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Re-Enjoyment - 9
New Details - 5

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