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Vienna Salvatori #1
Vienna: The Memory Box
Berkeley Silver, one of the richest men in the Earth empire, lies dead in the Penthouse Suite of the Galileo space-hotel. Law Enforcement Officers Detective Captain McGinnis and Detective Sergeant Mead are called in to investigate – but it seems to have been the perfect crime. Even when subjected to a memory scan, everybody in the space-hotel has an alibi for the murder.
Which means it can only have been the work of one woman. The most accomplished – and the most glamorous – bounty hunter in the galaxy. Her name is Vienna Salvatori. And she has a little rule; nobody gets to hear her name and live...
Which means it can only have been the work of one woman. The most accomplished – and the most glamorous – bounty hunter in the galaxy. Her name is Vienna Salvatori. And she has a little rule; nobody gets to hear her name and live...
Audio CD
First published February 1, 2013
24 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Morris
214 books70 followersJonathan Morris is one of the most prolific and popular writers of Doctor Who books, including the highly-regarded novels 'Festival of Death' and 'Touched by an Angel' and the recent guide to monsters, 'The Monster Vault'. He has also written numerous comic strips, most of which were collected in 'The Child of Time', and audios for BBC Audio and Big Finish, including the highly-regarded comedies 'Max Warp' and 'The Auntie Matter', as well as the adaptation of Russell T Davies’ 'Damaged Goods'.
Recently he has started his own audio production company, Average Romp. Releases include a full-cast adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Chimes', an original play, 'When Michael Met Benny', and three episodes of a SF sitcom, 'Dick Dixon in the 21st Century'.
For details visit www.averageromp.com
He also originated his own series, Vienna and script-edited the Nigel Planer series 'Jeremiah Bourne in Time'. He’s also written documentaries and for TV sketch shows.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Recently he has started his own audio production company, Average Romp. Releases include a full-cast adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Chimes', an original play, 'When Michael Met Benny', and three episodes of a SF sitcom, 'Dick Dixon in the 21st Century'.
For details visit www.averageromp.com
He also originated his own series, Vienna and script-edited the Nigel Planer series 'Jeremiah Bourne in Time'. He’s also written documentaries and for TV sketch shows.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 5, 2017
This is the pilot episode to a series of audio plays about a glamorous interstellar bounty hunter and assassin. The title character first appeared in the
Doctor Who
audio play The Shadow Heart, and despite apparent protestations by the producer that the series isn't set in the
DW
universe, there are plenty of indications to the contrary in this story. Having said which, it is entirely stand-alone and any connections to the wider continuity are no more than Easter eggs for the dedicated fan.
The story begins with police officers from the Earth Empire investigating the murder of a prominent businessman in an expensive space hotel. As it progresses, they pursue their suspect as she takes a hostage and then flees to collect her payment for the hit. For approximately the first 20 minutes of the story, there's really no indication that the title character is anything other than a straight-up villain, with the admittedly rather dull cops as the heroes. At this point, it's a fairly basic action story and police procedural, but, fortunately, things quickly pick up.
As the title character visits a couple of alien worlds and is menaced by technological zombies, it slowly becomes clear that there's a lot more going on than first appeared to be the case. Much of this is due to the titular memory box, a device that means that not even the characters necessarily know the true story of what's happening, allowing for multiple revelations as the layers of the onion are peeled back. Notably, by the end of the story we have a lot more sympathy for Vienna than we do at the beginning - although, yes, she really is a hired killer, and not your typical hero.
Vienna is played by Chase Masterson, who played Rom's love interest Leeta in Deep Space Nine, and thus marks a rare case of a believable American accent in a Big Finish production. She's probably the best thing in it, although Tom Price also does a good job as the hostage. After the unremarkable beginning, it becomes a fun and fast-paced story, with plenty of aliens and space ships. It's also one that's well suited to audio, and with the usual quality soundscaping.
The story begins with police officers from the Earth Empire investigating the murder of a prominent businessman in an expensive space hotel. As it progresses, they pursue their suspect as she takes a hostage and then flees to collect her payment for the hit. For approximately the first 20 minutes of the story, there's really no indication that the title character is anything other than a straight-up villain, with the admittedly rather dull cops as the heroes. At this point, it's a fairly basic action story and police procedural, but, fortunately, things quickly pick up.
As the title character visits a couple of alien worlds and is menaced by technological zombies, it slowly becomes clear that there's a lot more going on than first appeared to be the case. Much of this is due to the titular memory box, a device that means that not even the characters necessarily know the true story of what's happening, allowing for multiple revelations as the layers of the onion are peeled back. Notably, by the end of the story we have a lot more sympathy for Vienna than we do at the beginning - although, yes, she really is a hired killer, and not your typical hero.
Vienna is played by Chase Masterson, who played Rom's love interest Leeta in Deep Space Nine, and thus marks a rare case of a believable American accent in a Big Finish production. She's probably the best thing in it, although Tom Price also does a good job as the hostage. After the unremarkable beginning, it becomes a fun and fast-paced story, with plenty of aliens and space ships. It's also one that's well suited to audio, and with the usual quality soundscaping.
March 30, 2021
What do you get when you cross a Doctor Who spin-off character from Doctor Who: The Shadow Heart (portrayed by Chase Masterson in and a ... well, certainly secondary (but really more like tertiary) character from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Leeta (the dabo girl with the romantic entanglements with the Ferengi Rom, portrayed by ... well, yes you guessed it, Chase Masterson) with a dash of noir detective sensibility, a pinch of cheesy sci-fi and a nod to space operas? You get, tucked away in a warped, sparkling dark corner of the Whoniverse: bounty hunter extraordinaire Vienna Salvatori, portrayed by (you guessed it) Chase Masterson. It’s all just as crazy and wild as you’d expect. This narrative, the “official” pilot for a new series, is a pure romp. The actors run rampant through the scenes and clearly have fun with their roles without making fun of the characters or the setting itself. Unbridled fun and filled with exciting sequences and high tech sci-if. It’s like a mash-up of The Fifth Element and Blade Runner with some Total Recall throw in for good measure. Just a delightful audio production and I’m eagerly looking forward to diving into more thrilling adventures with Vienna Salvatori.
January 20, 2023
When the wealthy Berkeley Silver is found murdered in a hotel, Detective Captain McGinnis and Detective Sergeant Mead are called in to investigate. However, all of the staff and guests have alibis, and the two quickly realise that they have been tricked into letting a suspect leave. What follows is a story full of twists and turns as they hunt down the killer, recover lost memories locked away in "memory boxes", and work to uncover the truth about not only their own pasts but that of the deceased.
The story itself is okay, but simply not my thing. I found the "memory box" idea to be overused, and
the story became less enjoyable to me as it progressed because of this. However, the characters are interesting and well-constructed, especially when considering how short the audio is. I believe this story would appeal most to those looking for a short but action-heavy science fiction story with twists and turns throughout.
The story itself is okay, but simply not my thing. I found the "memory box" idea to be overused, and
the story became less enjoyable to me as it progressed because of this. However, the characters are interesting and well-constructed, especially when considering how short the audio is. I believe this story would appeal most to those looking for a short but action-heavy science fiction story with twists and turns throughout.
December 3, 2018
I really enjoyed my first foray into the Vienna universe. Chase Masterson is perfect for the role!
April 29, 2020
Vienna is hired to kill a trillionaire.
April 7, 2021
2.5 stars, well written and well done, just not my thing.
September 23, 2021
A fun story - sadly the memory box concept is overused until it’s really obvious what the end result will be - but some of the character work is very good.
February 9, 2022
Fun adventure.
February 26, 2024
It was aight. I do at least like the concept of a memory box.
October 19, 2025
big finish
full cast
found on Spotify
full cast
found on Spotify
April 15, 2021
A fun romp that takes a bit to get into action but has more twists and turns up its sleeve than I expected.
February 10, 2017
The Memory Box is the pilot episode for Chase Masterson's new Big Finish series. The title character, Vienna Salvatori, (played by Chase Masterson) is described as an "impossibly glamorous bounty hunter" (and in the interviews at the end of the story, they keep telling us to imagine her wearing thigh-high leather boots, so there's that).
The plot, in a nutshell: Vienna's been hired to assassinate Berkeley Silver, a wealthy industrialist, escaping detection by placing her memory of the assassination into a "Memory Box" . . . a device by which certain memories can be locked away, released only by key commands.
The story starts as a bit of a farce, with Vienna dodging some law enforcement officers with an atrocious Russian accent, and making her escape with a hostage, Norvelle Spraggott, in tow, played by Tom Price, who I understand was on Torchwood, but I haven't seen much of that. He's very good, too. Probably the standout in this cast playing a sort of befuddled character drawn in by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
When Vienna opens her Memory Box, what's revealed causes her to question who really hired her -- and why. With law enforcement on their tail, Vienna and Spraggott set off on a quest to track down her employers and who might really have killed Berkeley Silver.
The story moves from farce to great sci-fi bang bang action, and then into Philip K. Dick "Total Recall" territory. In fact, the writer admits in the interviews at the end that writing a Philip K. Dick-style story was one of the things he wanted to achieve.
The sound design is fantastic and immersive. You really feel like this is a good movie playing in your head. (If you've never listened to one of Big Finish's audio dramas before, you're in for a treat. This isn't just some people standing around reading their scripts while a foley guy bangs a tin sheet. Production here is top-notch.)
Chase is great. When she's being snarky and angry and shouty (or faking Russian) she's quite good. But there are a few times when I think she's supposed to be coming off as arrogant and superior, and at these points she sounds more like someone reading a script than acting. It's not a deal-breaker though, because it only happens a few times, the story is great, and Vienna is enough of an enigma at this point that's it's hard to know exactly what the character is supposed to be like. She's an assassin, and therefore not a nice person, but by the end of the story it's clear she has strong convictions about right and wrong.
The "Memory Box" itself is a very cool gimmick, as is its use here to keep the listener guessing as to what really happened and whether everyone is who he claims to be. It also means that this is a great story to listen to again (as I did immediately after I finished it the first time) after knowing where all the pieces fit. Several throwaway lines turn out not to be as throwaway as first thought.
The Memory Box came out last Feburary a couple months after Vienna Salvatori first appeared alongside Sylvester McCoy's Doctor in The Shadow Heart (Yep. Vienna is a Doctor Who spin-off.) I haven't heard The Shadow Heart yet (itself being the third part of a trilogy) but it's not necessary to have heard that one first. Although there are a couple quick references to The Shadow Heart The Memory Box stands alone as a great introduction to this new series. The first 3-episode Series 1 box set was just released last week, and I liked The Memory Box enough to immediately purchase the new set.
The plot, in a nutshell: Vienna's been hired to assassinate Berkeley Silver, a wealthy industrialist, escaping detection by placing her memory of the assassination into a "Memory Box" . . . a device by which certain memories can be locked away, released only by key commands.
The story starts as a bit of a farce, with Vienna dodging some law enforcement officers with an atrocious Russian accent, and making her escape with a hostage, Norvelle Spraggott, in tow, played by Tom Price, who I understand was on Torchwood, but I haven't seen much of that. He's very good, too. Probably the standout in this cast playing a sort of befuddled character drawn in by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
When Vienna opens her Memory Box, what's revealed causes her to question who really hired her -- and why. With law enforcement on their tail, Vienna and Spraggott set off on a quest to track down her employers and who might really have killed Berkeley Silver.
The story moves from farce to great sci-fi bang bang action, and then into Philip K. Dick "Total Recall" territory. In fact, the writer admits in the interviews at the end that writing a Philip K. Dick-style story was one of the things he wanted to achieve.
The sound design is fantastic and immersive. You really feel like this is a good movie playing in your head. (If you've never listened to one of Big Finish's audio dramas before, you're in for a treat. This isn't just some people standing around reading their scripts while a foley guy bangs a tin sheet. Production here is top-notch.)
Chase is great. When she's being snarky and angry and shouty (or faking Russian) she's quite good. But there are a few times when I think she's supposed to be coming off as arrogant and superior, and at these points she sounds more like someone reading a script than acting. It's not a deal-breaker though, because it only happens a few times, the story is great, and Vienna is enough of an enigma at this point that's it's hard to know exactly what the character is supposed to be like. She's an assassin, and therefore not a nice person, but by the end of the story it's clear she has strong convictions about right and wrong.
The "Memory Box" itself is a very cool gimmick, as is its use here to keep the listener guessing as to what really happened and whether everyone is who he claims to be. It also means that this is a great story to listen to again (as I did immediately after I finished it the first time) after knowing where all the pieces fit. Several throwaway lines turn out not to be as throwaway as first thought.
The Memory Box came out last Feburary a couple months after Vienna Salvatori first appeared alongside Sylvester McCoy's Doctor in The Shadow Heart (Yep. Vienna is a Doctor Who spin-off.) I haven't heard The Shadow Heart yet (itself being the third part of a trilogy) but it's not necessary to have heard that one first. Although there are a couple quick references to The Shadow Heart The Memory Box stands alone as a great introduction to this new series. The first 3-episode Series 1 box set was just released last week, and I liked The Memory Box enough to immediately purchase the new set.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews