Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #958218 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

This is how it should be done!!
Bernice Summerfield finds herself invited by a man named Dominic, who she finds intoxicatingly handsome, to help him find the remains of a mythical being known as the Crystal Sorceress, who had the power to transfer her mind into the bodies of others using crystals with magical powers, and caused terror wherever she went. Her final defeat was a cause for celebration, but this Dominic believes that he now has located the resting place of the Crystal Sorceress on the Braxiatel Collection itself and Benny finds herself willing to help him. Unfortunately Dominic has ulterior motives for obtaining Bernice's help, and very soon Benny finds herself in a position where she literally needs a new body...

The first thing that struck me about 'The Squire's Crystal' was it's length. Finding the book to be only 186 pages long was very disappointing considering the fact that they are more expensive than their Virgin Bernice books and their contemporaries in the Doctor Who range, and both of those ranges regularly provide books of at least 240 pages. The extreme brevity of the novel aside, 'The Squire's Crystal' is by far the best novel that Big Finish have published in this range.

After two generally disappointing full length novels following the Dead Men Diaries short story collection, this is the first one to get the formula right. Despite the fact that Benny spends most of the novel as someone else, this is the best characterisation that Big Finish has given to her and cements Jac Rayner's position as a writer of very enjoyable, comedic fiction. The plot here is relatively straight forward, and so although 'The Squire's Crystal' isn't the most taxing book, it's redeeming quality is that it is such fun to read.

'The Squire's Crystal' is overall a fun book. The plot could be seen as simplistic, but I prefer to view it as uncomplicated. This results in an easy going, ultimately rewarding novel. Rayner captures Bernice's character better than in the previous novels and manages to raise the story to a level above average which neither of those previously published did. 'The Squire's Crystal' is very light-hearted, and at the same time is very entertaining. Big Finish still have a lot to do if they are to ensure that their Bernice range is as long running as Virgin's, but this is a big step in the right direction. They need to ensure that their books maintain the quality of 'The Squire's Crystal' and build on this in future novels. Just make them a bit longer, and I've given up with the covers in this range.