Big Finish Audio Plays: The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
Big Finish's audio adaptation of Bryan Talbot's comic book series stars David Tennant as the eponymous hero, together with Paul Darrow (of "Blake's 7" fame) as Cromwell, Siri O'Neal (known to BF fans as Colonel Chaudhry in the "UNIT" mini-series) as Rose, India Fisher (best known as the Doctor's companion Charley Pollard) as Princess Anne and Mark Donovan (Sarah Jane Smith audios, Bernice Summerfield audios and a host of other BF non-Whoniverse productions!) as Whitelaw amongst others.
At first sight, the idea of converting a comic book, which is primarily a visual medium, into an audio drama, which is primarily about words, might seem a bit barking mad. (Or even a LOT barking mad) But it works. In fact it works extremely well - the story is gripping enough to keep the listener's attention through roughly three and a quarter hours of dimension hopping, with flashbacks, flashforwards and a hell of a lot of action.
Luther Arkwright has to battle against the Disruptors in a parallel world where many things are familiar, but nothing is entirely the same. For a start, the alternative England didn't see the monarchy restored after the English Civil War - which means it's been under the rule of the Puritan Parliamentarians for centuries. Lead by a direct descendant of Oliver Cromwell, England is ripe for the taking by European superpowers which are preparing to invade.
Many in England dream of past glories and an empire ruled by the long exiled Kings and Queens of England. A second Civil War is brewing and its aim is to bring Prince Charles to the throne. Luther must help to ensure that the right side wins - not just for the sake of this world, but for all worlds everywhere...
Luther has the unique ability to be able to move between parallel worlds purely by the force of his will. He's aided by Rose Wylde, a telepath whose many incarnations across the parallels are able to communicate with one another. Luther and Rose are agents in the parallel known as "zero-zero", whose stable position in the multiverse has allowed the development of a world at peace with itself and sufficiently high technology to monitor the parallels for signs of the malign influence of the Disruptors.
The English Civil War has continued indefinitely because the Disruptors have been prolonging it for their own ends. They are also responsible for unleashing "Firefrost", a legendary artefact which is destabilising the multiverse. Luther has to intervene on the Royalist side in order to draw out the Disruptors, and then locate and destroy Firefrost. Along the way he is captured, dies in custody and returns to life with his powers enhanced.
Because both Luther and the listener knows that he will die from an early stage in the story, the narrative is gripping as we and he are left wondering where, when and how Luther will die, and what he will do afterwards.
I've not read the Luther Arkwright comics - being incredibly word-oriented I find it hard to get much from comics and graphic novels - but I confess to being desperate to get hold of these comics to see how they compare to the audio adaptation.
I also have a strong urge to write a Luther Arkwright/Doctor Who cross-over fic since the audio has gripped my imagination by the plot bunnies!
I can't recommend this story strongly enough as I found it compelling, fascinating and intriguing. Mark Wright is to be praised for creating such a compelling audio drama from such an unusual source.