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 | Reviews for Venusian Lullaby |
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There are 5 reviews so far. To add a review of your own for this item, visit the voting page.
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| A (fairly) remarkable book |
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| By: | Alan Thomas, Aylesbury |
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| Date: | Wednesday 13 March 2002 |
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| Rating: |   8 |
Initially a little difficult to feel 'drawn' into the contiuum of the novel, ultimately I was entranced by the descriptions of the alien races described here.
It is clearly not easy to describe what amounts to an utterly alien culture - with a variety of sub-cultures - as well as a phtsical appearnace that takes some getting used to.
The author , however, succeeds not the once, with the age old Venusians, but twice, with the Sou(ou)shi - ultimately revealed as more preying mantix than humanoid.
As the story of a decaying, though ancient, civilisation - some billions of years before life begins on Earth - unfolds, a genuine sense of both sadness and belonging emerges.
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara - all in their separate ways - once again find themselves drawn into the fears and hopes of their hosts. A surprsing amount of true 'horror' also exhibits itself, as the Sou(ou)shi are properly revealed.
All in all a (fairly) reamrkable book. I thorughly recommend it.
| By: | Tom Lingwood, Broseley, Shropshire |
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| Date: | Friday 6 December 2002 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Venusian Lullaby was the first Doctor Who Missing Adventure I read. It is an interesting book and it got me hooked on the books. Everyone should read it.
| By: | Darrg, Wessex |
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| Date: | Tuesday 1 March 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Very ambitious in its attempts to create an entirely alien society and people - in so many novels the aliens still seem like men in rubber suits! Unfortunately trying to get the complexities of this across slows down the reading experience - I had to keep going back over things to refresh my picture of the Venusians (uh? since when did they have a mouth there !?) Trying to illustrate them on the cover made life more difficult rather than helping.
Beneath the density of the scene-setting, however, lies a nicely pitched Galaxy 4 type "just because they look nice, doesn't mean they are nice" kind of tale and, if it's not too much of a cliche to say so, it's something of an emotional rollercoaster to boot.
| By: | Francis, reno, nv |
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| Date: | Sunday 1 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
Of the hundreds of Doctor Who books I own, this is the first and only (to date) one I have put down without finishing. Creating a totally alien civilization is a daunting task in which the author fails miserably. It's one thing to have characters that need a good deal of describing to be able to imagine their physical appearance, but when you have a multitude of key characters with names so alien as to be nearly unpronouncable, it makes for a very difficult read. Continually asking if this character is involved or that other one. And then, to top it of, the author goes on to give equally unpronouncable names to the various extraneous flora and fauna in the environment. Why do we need to know what the Venusian name for pine tree is?!?! There is not a paragraph that goes by where some name or another has to be decrypted
If you're a linguist or enjoy deciphering almost indecipherable puzzles, then this book is for you. If you're like the majority of us, don't even bother
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 12 March 2010 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Paul Leonard's first Doctor novel is both exciting and infuriating. Fast-paced, action-packed, and several other hyphenated adjectives, the plot moves at a great clip. There are no clunker lines, and Leonard steers well clear of fan stroking. The greatest strength of the book is Leonard's realization of the Venusian people. He gives them a decidedly alien identity and social structure that makes sense for them. One of the drawbacks is that most of the characters have weird names not conforming to common naming systems, making it very difficult to keep track of characters. The main drawback, and this is probably a matter of personal taste on my part, is how violent and gory this novel is. Leonard devotes almost half the pages, or so it seems, to vivid descriptions murder and death. Barbara and Ian get lacerated, beaten up, punched, kicked, dropped, blown up, and thrown about so badly that their survival feels like the most improbable happenstance in the entire book. And all of it in just one day. In sum: top marks for concept, a few demerits for execution.
