An Autist Reviews: Tartarus (Doctor Who - The Monthly Adventures 256)

*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*

The Doctor takes Nyssa and Tegan to meet Cicero, but things take a quick turn when, during an earthquake, the TARDIS crew, Cicero, and an adorkable slave by the name of Marc get carried away to a magical world where myths are real. The mission is clear, escape after finding 3 mysterious keys… or die. But why has this happened? What are these odd tasks? And why does everything feel… off somehow?

I. LOVE. THIS. STORY! Let me be clear, the first half is leagues better written than the second half, but both are brilliant in their own ways… so let’s talk about this awesome story! Cicero narrates the story, but only really pops in occasionally, thrice if I’m counting right and his moments are always showing and brilliantly done. We start with some simple local politics filled with humor and luckily avoiding the trapping of local politics being a big plot point. Instead, we quickly get sucked into the new mysterious world that we’re in for the rest of the story. The story is heavily set up in the first half, with lots of odd moments and small villains just to set up the second half and to show off a key theme that only becomes more apparent as you listen. The humor in the first and second halves is amazing. Also, Tegan and Cicero make an amazing combination, the Doctor can be so adorable, and Marc is a pure boy who I will forever protect! Now, the second half begins from a less than perfect ending and quickly moves onto getting Cicero and the Doctor to connect and show off their darker sides and internal sadness. The Doctor and Cicero prove to be great foils for each other as Marc gets them to work together, which goes on throughout this entire thing. Throughout the second half, Chekhov would be happier than can be! This entire story acts very like a videogame, and that’s an important theme! This part of the story moves very quickly, ending in a labyrinth and an interesting conclusion. Cicero, at the end, gets to show off just how good he is at arguing and, I must admit, I’m very happy he used ethos, pathos, and logos during his argument at the end. It ends very well, even working deus-ex machinas into the story, even if it does end quickly, it ends poetically… and then a second ending occurs. The Doctor talks to Cicero and it broke my heart the first time I heard it, and now, knowing how this trilogy ends, it breaks my heart even more. Look, the last half of this story is not written nearly as well as the first half, but it makes up for it at every corner and still winds up being a fun listen!

The acting is amazing throughout the story! Though Marc’s acting tips up and down at certain points. I took notes of when it happened and it really does happen randomly, but it’s certainly forgivable. The oracle gets on my nerves, but the wolf people more than make up for the side characters. The big bad guy is awesome, it’s grating, but it works so well for what they are! Also, the raw emotion in some of these scenes is amazing!

The effects here are a mixed bag… The music is amazing. It goes from whimsical to serious, from techno to classical, it bounces around so often but it works so well. It can be unsettling, fun, subdued and subtle, and loud and eerie! Sadly, sometimes it takes the backseat to the other effects and sometimes disappears. The background effects are always 10/10, aside from a few small moments when they just aren't there. The action effects have a few solid examples, including two of the single best audio moments in BF history! They both include machines picking people up. One is early on in the first half, and another is very late into the second half, and both are literally perfect. You know exactly what is happening. Sadly, so many effects are missing or are muted. The Minotaur on the cover doesn’t appear until halfway through the second half and is dealt with absurdly quickly, and it barely has any effects. The ones it has are gold, but it has so few that actually matter. Whenever monsters show up, they have a handful of good effects, but the majority are far too quiet and/or are just missing. This is the most annoying part of this other than the writing quality dip in the second half. Still, the effects are great when they are there, and even when they’re quiet they’re still good.

As for replay value, this is one of the best BF stories ever! I would listen to it over and over again, even if the latter half can get on my nerves a little bit. There are also so many themes and hidden things that you only notice once you know what’s happening. That’s without mentioning how knowing what happened in Conversion… dear god the end is sad as hell without knowing, and with knowing it hurts even more!

All in all, this is an amazing story. Good quality all the way through… but the acting does dip a lot. The effects do change in quality a lot, and the writing quality fluctuates a lot in the latter half. So many things go up and down and go from bad to good, yet this story always redeems itself. It’s endlessly fun, it’s endlessly intriguing, and Marc is endlessly best boi. I love this story. It has many flaws, but every single one is made up for. The characters are superb, the music is astounding, and the acting is brilliant. Get this story, and don't worry about needing prerequisites! The only prerequisite for this story is knowing that ADRIC DIES. WHO KNEW??? The second part of the trilogy is a disappointment on all levels including physical, but the third of the trilogy certainly makes up for it. This is awesome, I love this trilogy so much. I can see Marc being a continuing companion like Hex in the future if things go well in the upcoming new trilogy with 5. I love this story, I won’t buff it up to a 10/10, but it certainly deserves to be a 9/10. Ignore the haters of this story, embrace how amazing it is!

           P1 P2 Both

Total - 9 / 9 / 9

Plot - 9 / 9 / 9
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Story - 10 / 9 / 10
Writing - 9 / 7 / 8
Enjoyment - 10 / 9 / 10
Twists - NR / NR / NR
Ending - 7 / 10 / 9

Acting - 9 / 10 / 10
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MCs - 9 / 10 / 10
SCs - 8 / 9 / 9
BGs - NR / 10 / 10

Effects - 8 / 8 / 8
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Music - 10 / 8 / 9
Voices - 6 / 9 / 8
Actions - 8 / 6/ 7

Replay - 10 / 8 / 9
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Re-Enjoyment - 10 / 8 / 9
New Details - 10 / 7 / 9

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