Dust Breeding

 Dust Breeding by Mike Tucker

One has to applaud Dust Breeding for the sheer stupid audacity of making the Scream a real alien painting monster thing, an idea so silly that the Sarah Jane Adventures did pretty much the same thing. One also has to applaud how deadly seriously this is taken, even though it still remains as silly as it sounds. One also applauds that the story manages to salvage this and makes an absolutely awesome story. Duchamp 331 is a planet of dust, with barely any life clinging to it at all, and yet there's a small colony of recluses there, and (against all odds may I add) they encounter their old friend from the Genocide Machine, Bev Tarrant (probably so people would remember her when they added her to the Bernice Summerfield range.) Dust Breeding is also, spoilers, a Master story, and like most Master stories, is barely concealed as such. That is how we look at it nowadays, thanks to the advent of the internet. Going into Dust Breeding blind (as I did not) will surely give you a jolt at the cliffhanger where The Master reveals himself. Another thing of note is how cleverly this pre-hex arc Ace stuff ties together. From Genocide Machine introducing Bev, to this one, as well as this one setting up an incident in Ace's character development that is later brought up again in Colditz, and again in the Rapture, which of course leads to the Harvest, with Hex's introduction. Most of that isn't on Dust Breeding, but it's very cool how it slots in all the same. Ace's character development between all of these releases is gradual, but very satisfying, in that it doesn't punish you for not listening to them in order, but it benefits the listener if you do. As a matter of fact, Dust Breeding is so incredibly proficient in everything it does, it boggles the mind. It packs some killer cliffhangers, a silly plot played to perfection, and a main cast of McCoy, Aldred and Beevers utterly killing it. Entirely worth your time. 9/10