"The thing about power is, its ever so abuser friendly."

When C'rizz suffers a disturbing vision of the death of his beloved L'da, the Doctor and Charley take him to the Multihaven, a complex city with 47 different religions co-existing in perfect harmony and peace.

But it seems every Eden has its serpent. With Laan Carder's 23rd Church of Lucidity gaining converts at an alarming rate, it seems the Multihaven could quickly become a single faith city.

What is the secret of Miraculite? Does Carder's power really come from the dreams of his converts? What will happen during the Final Harvest? And can the Doctor get to the bottom of the mystery of Lucidity before everyone in the Multihaven turns into a true believer?

Faith Stealer kicks off the 4th season of Paul McGann audio stories in some style. Given the mixed reception for the third season and having the Doctor and his companions still trapped in the Divergent Universe, this could have been a poison chalice for new Who writer Graham Duff, but he rises to the challenge and overcomes it.

While Duff is new to writing for Big Finish, he is experienced in the fields of TV and audio comedy, being a contributor to Steve Coogan's Baby Cow Productions. This experience shines through in many segments of the play, where witty comments are dropped like hot potatoes by the cast. These do not detract from the drama however, which is the mark of good writing.

During the first set of Divergent Universe stories, it was the traditional tales that came off worst in my opinion. Faith Stealer has a very traditional feel to it, in that the Doctor and his friends arrive at a strange location, discover all is not right and set about sorting out the problem. But making religion a central theme gives it that radical twist and the mix works out well for all concerned.

The regulars are all on fine form. Paul McGann breezes through the script with an easy confidence that just goes to highlight how much we missed when his Doctor didn't get more than one TV story. Meanwhile India Fisher is the loyal and determined companion we have come to expect, sharing such a bond with the lead actor it would be hard to imagine her not by his side. However, this is the story where C'rizz really comes to the fore, more so even than in his debut story. Conrad Westmaas was a fine choice to play this alien companion and turns in his best performance yet.

The story has a fine guest cast to back up our three heroes. Foremost among them is the excellent Christian Rodska as cult leader Laan Carder. His is a very assured portrayal and he gives us a charismatic and almost likeable villain. Also worthy of note is Tessa Shaw as the spiritual leader of the Multihaven, the Bordinan. She makes a fine ally for the Doctor and his friends.

The plot rattles along at a fair pace, with a number of unexpected turns along the way. The dialogue, as mentioned above, is witty in all the right places and serious when it should be. And it could have provided so many memorable quotes for the top of this review. My second favourite was "Renaissance is Futile!" Quality stuff.

In conclusion, this is an excellent start to the new (and final) regular 8th Doctor season. Buy it!