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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: |   6 |
"Evolution" by long-time fan John Peel has the elements that Peel does well, namely recreating the mood and atmosphere of a particular TV season. In this case, we get Doctor 4 and Sarah, perhaps the best Doctor/companion couple in the regular series. The mood exactly imitates the Gothic period Who, from "Pyramids Of Mars" to "Image Of The Fendahl." The Doctor tries to fulfill a promise to Sarah by taking her to visit her favorite writer, Rudyard Kipling (a bit too conservative for Sarah's tastes, perhaps? - just my opinion), but gets it a little wrong and arrives in England while Kipling is still a teenager. There is great fun as "Gigger" (Kipling's nickname because of his famous gig-lens glasses) develops a teen-crush on Sarah. There is plenty of dark mood, as well. Most of the action happens at night. Grave robbing, gruesome deaths, and mysterious man-monsters add that Gothic feel. Among other prominent historically real characters, Arthur Conan Doyle features quite prominently, here a young ship's doctor. Peel cannot resist trying to use events in the novel to suggest the "inspirations" for later stories by these real figures. So, of course, there is a moor haunted by a huge, ravenous hound, just as an example. All in all, the story is servicable. In trying to get the mood and style right, Peel limits himself to some degree. It is the problem of imitation.
| By: | Josh Lee, Fort Wayne, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 20 July 2015 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This was a straight ahead adventure and the kind I like the best. The secondary characters were there just enough to keep it going and then they got out of the way. The Doctor and Sarah felt like they just popped off the TV screen, which is a big plus for me. My favorite stories are historicals that have a science fiction or time travel twist. My next favorite type occurs when the Doctor meets a real figure from history. I don't know much about Kipling but I am a huge fan of Doyle, so that was a big treat. If the science is implausible, I don't care. It's all in fun. This was a tribute to Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes and a big check in the win column for me.
| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Monday 8 May 2023 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This toke me straight back to the Hinchcliff years. Fantaatic book. Is by John peel so you can't go wrong. If you haven't read any of this series then this is a great one to start with.
