Unfortunately, a couple of days later, he died again. And again. And again. Eventually, he lost count of how many times it had happened. The period of consciousness that he was afforded each time - perhaps only a minute, perhaps only thirty seconds - didn't allow for a great deal of thought. First there was the anticipation, the fear. He'd felt that the first time, but differently. The first time, it had been a terrible uncertainty. He didn't know whether the knowledge of how it would feel made it better or worse. Then there was the pain. Then there was nothing, until the fear started again.This was the first of the Bernice Summerfield books published by Big Finish. I'm taking them in publication order, which slightly to my surprise means I am already out of sequence - this is an anthology, but apparently the first novel, which I will read next month, is set earlier. I think it would also be a bit confusing for those not familiar with Benny continuity, as the stories are by old hands riffing off established characters and themes. The standout piece is Stephen Moffat's "The Least Important Man" which features a Blake's 7 fan brought forward to Benny's time; I also enjoyed "Steal from the World" by Kate Orman, about a return to the site of a youthful expedition, and "The Door in to Bedlam" by Dave Stone, which features communication with the exiled Jason. Both "The Light that Never Dies" by Eddie Robson and the final story, "Digging up the Past" by Mark Michalowski, feature movies (or equivalent), a medium that Benny has only fleetingly graced.
As already mentioned, this was the first of the Bernice Summerfield books published by Big Finish. Next in that sequence is a novel, The Doomsday Manuscript, by Justin Richards.
