The Nuclear Option Review

A member of Gallifrey Base who calls himself Svelte Kroton (he used to be Cuddly) has embarked on a read-a-thon of all the Short Trips volumes.

Here’s his review of The Nuclear Option from 2040.

The Nuclear Option
by Richard Salter

Starring:
The Seventh Doctor, Chris, and Roz.

Versus:
The CIA.

Location:
Canada.

Time Period:
2040

Page Count:
19 and a bit.

The Writing:
Complex, layered plot. Immersive characters.
What’s not to like?

The Doctor:
Prevents Canada from becoming part of the USA.

The Companions:
Roz goes all Roj and leads a gang of terrorists in
attacking a nuclear power station.
Chris is haunted by an alternate timeline.

Favourite Quote:
“We stood in awe, unable to move,
captivated by its beauty and its strangeness
and the shocking unreality of what was happening.”

The Verdict:
An extra New Adventure. Just reencountering these wonderful
characters transports me back to an age of youthful innocence,
far from the creaking bones and creeping health problems of
encroaching middle age. To a time when becoming a terrorist
to fight terrorists seemed like a credible career prospect,
and replacing journalists with flying robots seemed like a
good use of scarce and vanishing resources. To a world already
ruined by pollution and mismanagement before the story even
begins, and where only one man knows what is going on.
And he’s not telling.
9/10

(Note, Kroton awards The Nuclear Option the highest score out-of-ten of any story in 2040, but then gives the “Best of” award to another story! Ah well…)