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| What: | The Highlanders (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Sean Gibbons, Ireland |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 May 2007 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
This is a cracking adventure! Full of fun, humour, playful intrique, this is a swashbuckling, character-filled, action-packed, witty take on material like R L Stevenson's classics, "Treasure Island" and "Kidnapped". Twinned with the equally gung-ho and enjoyable Doctor Who tale, "The Smugglers", these two stories represent the 60's Doctors at their most historically adventuresome best!
A great follow up from a great writer. The Doctor becomes chums with Adolf to put things as they should be. Im convinced now Goring was a good egg & the Warlords are back with real malice. Fantastic.
This was the first of the new adventures featuring the 7th Doctor. I remember looking forward to reading it so much. I was not dissapointed at all. It is a simple story, easy to follow and yet so adult in its approach. John Peel did an excellent job in being the first to start of this much needed novels. I felt it was a tough act to follow and that often prooved to be the case. Dont listen to anyone that knocks this, (as many do) read it for yourself. Like so many of the new adventures it knocks spots of the basic poor quality hard backs that are based on the current Doctor. For a while those that grew up with the programme had the magic of the show but also had an adult flavour which was much needed. In my reviews I wont go into the story to much at all but Qataka, come Ishtar, come Timewyrm is one of the best baddies ever. Gilgamesh is comical and tough at the same time and it would of been nice for Mesopotamia to have another visit from the Doctor.
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 | Squiggly End for the Sixth Doctor |
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| What: | Spiral Scratch (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Friday 4 May 2007 |
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| Rating: |  7 |
Being a Sixth Doctor fan, I just had to read this book when I found out about it. The idea is that this is the final story of the Sixth Doctor that leads directly into the beginning of Time and the Rani, and as such it delivers well.
But getting there was quite a journey, and at times a trial (no pun intended). The book starts out slowly and perplexingly, moving back and forth between rather dull stories (except for the naked green teenagers...) set in a small village in the middle ages (or earlier?), eastern Europe during the time of the Nazis, and the estate of a wealthy Englishman in 1958 (I think). Things start getting more interesting when we finally get to the point where the Doctor and Mel arrive at the library of Carsus to visit the Doctor's friend, Professor Rummas. The library turns out to be the center of some sort of temporal nexus that becomes increasingly bizarrely mangled up as the (at first) ghostly images from parallel universes begin to bleed into it, literally. Rummas, and sometimes the Doctor, are repeatedly seen murdered in these strange, but incorporeal images. And somehow, this all involves pentagon-shaped buildings or forms throughout time and space.
Rummas begins to send the Doctor off to various times and places in an attempt to track down the cause of the disturbance, and an epic story begins to unfold, bringing together the players in the three settings mentioned above, and spanning the multiverse, as alternate-universe Doctors and Mels begin to overlap and run into each other.
After slogging through the slowgoing early parts, Sprial Scratch becomes a fun and interesting read, as the nature and scope of what the Doctor is faced with becomes increasingly apparent: a creature of immense power has become an apocalyptic threat to not just one universe, but all of them. Gary Russell does right by the Sixth Doctor here, basically sending him out with the biggest bang of them all. Mel's character is also expanded, though I found Russell's revisions of her character to be somewhat disagreeable at times. He certainly has a lot of fun here, as he brings in all sorts of brief nods to multiple continuities from the various Doctor Who lines by the end of the story. His knowledge of the Doctor Who universe truly is rather frightening.
Another thing that's a bit frightening, but quite impressive, is how Russell is able to keep track of the multiplicity of timelines and the excursions into and interplays between past, present, and future he's weaved throughout the story.
Spiral Scratch is an enjoyable read with a satisfying ending, but somehow, after finishing it, I just don't feel the need to rate it more highly than a 7. Go figure. Maybe the dizzying cover is part of the problem...
| What: | The Nowhere Place (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Friday 4 May 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
"Time's end. I am always here. Now you will be too."
This is top-notch writing and design from Nick Briggs, who delivered a masterful production here in his roles of writer and director, as well as in the role of Trevor Ridgely in the drama itself. The Nowhere Place features fantastic sound effects, incidental music and overall sound design, and the story, in my estimation, is brilliant, tightly constructed, and very imaginative, even if a major plot point bears some incidental similarity to what we've seen in the Eighth Doctor's "Divergent" storyline. I do not agree that this can be written off as a retread.
How can I summarize the story without major spoilers? One thing I'll say, unlike the other reviewers, is that the resolution is not a let-down. This is another one of those stories that really messes with your mind, involving a wicked time paradox, and placing the Doctor in a role of astounding importance. At the beginning of the story, as the Doctor and Evelyn are about to materialize on Earth a few centuries after Evelyn's time, the Doctor gets scared so badly that he immediately throws the TARDIS backward in time and back out into space. Yet, the reason he became so afraid is vague and uncertain to him. They then begin to hear a mysterious, impossible bell sound. Investigation of it leads them to warship in space, in the future, on which they discover an impossible door, and on which the crew members begin to hear the bell as well. The next step takes the Doctor and Evelyn back to 1952, to the source of the sound. By the end, there is a revelation of just what it was the Doctor had sensed that caused his fearful reaction, and I must say, the concept is brilliant.
The theme of the story is essentially reason vs. fear, rationality vs. primal energies. It is also an excursion into eternity, playing with the idea that all of time is happening in the same moment. The Nowhere Place is essential listening. Highly recommended.
| What: | Something Inside (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Friday 4 May 2007 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
Advice to all: If you come to Something Inside expecting a cool alternative take on the movie, Cube, you will be disappointed. Well, you'll probably be disappointed no matter what, though it didn't seem that the other two reviewers were.
If you've seen the film, Cube, aside from the visual conceptualization of the Cube itself, which itself is enough to attract the viewer's attention, what are the main draws of the movie? The puzzle of figuring out which rooms were booby-trapped and the diabolical variety of the types of booby-traps, yes? Well, take away all of the above characteristics, put basically nothing in their place, and you have Something Inside. Oh, I'm forgetting... yes, the "brain worm," of course. Oh no! It's the brain worm! Not the brain worm! How many times can you hear "brain worm" before becoming really irritated? Listen to Something Inside and you'll find out.
That's pretty much it. Throw in a couple of psychotic characters and a couple of exploded heads and you've just about got the gist of Something Inside. Even McGann's presence could barely save this one.
| What: | The Last Dodo (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | The Next Doctor, Sunderland |
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| Date: | Friday 4 May 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This is a superbly well written book as it combines the great story telling of Jacqueline Raynor in 3rd person, while keeping Martha's dairy a fun and great way to be able to understand the book in the 1st person aspect
I read this on a long flight and the time zipped past. It's very easy to read, especially for those of us who love Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and even though the author's British, I was amazed how much his childhood was like mine. Very funny, very nostalgic. Recommended!
| What: | Survival (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Paige Martin, England Essex Southend |
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| Date: | Sunday 29 April 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I loved it and i was so pleased with it i even got up and 6 o clock just to watch the second half. i think survival is so good that ive been BEGGING my mum to let me have the dvd, book and video!
| What: | Heritage (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Martin Smith, England |
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| Date: | Saturday 28 April 2007 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Heritage has some interesting ideas, but it never really manages to make them into a compelling narrative. Instead the reader becomes as clogged in the prevalent ennui as the characters are in the planet's red dust.
It doesn't help that The Doctor is completely unengaging here, continually wavering between depression and reluctant involvement, which in turn makes Ace continually comment about his mood and how he's not "the proper Doctor".
Smith's prose is competent yet rarely makes you sit back and feel impressed. It spends FAR too long continually describing every character's eyes in greatly detailed imagery.
Ultimately Heritage the novel manages to be as uninteresting and disappointing as the Heritage the planet is meant to be.
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| Will Forever Divide Opinion |
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| What: | Timewyrm: Revelation (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | James, Melbourne |
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| Date: | Friday 27 April 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
As you can see, this book provokes extreme reactions. The book is VERY pretentious and laid the way for all the "high-concept Who" that followed (The Ancestor Cell etc.)
I read it quite recently and what got me most was Cornell's ability to surprise, especially given I knew that tons of Who fiction would follow this. There really are lots of twists and turns to this story, and most of them make sense if you can swallow the basic premise.
So, what is this premise? Well, the Doctor has been pursuing the timewyrm, an entity that messes up time and is supposed to someday destroy Gallifrey. The timewyrm has set a trap for the Doctor involving Ace's paradoxical death and his own... past?
You see, whilst the timewyrm's trap is ostensibly set in a fake village on the Moon, most of this story takes place in the Doctor's head. It's actually rather cleverly described - all of the Doctor's incarnation's (except the 6th - he still sucked at this point) show up, though they are mainly described in terms of archetypes (e.g. "the wise librarian").
If you read past this book, you'd become familiar with the whole "Doctor manipulates Ace for the greater good". But at this point, it was all contraversial and I think there'll be many that dislike it. At one point, the Doctor begs for his life with "Take Ace, not me". Yeah.
So, what you have is a novel that's bursting with ideas. The problem is that it often feels episodic and bitty. Oh, and very pretentious.
And amongst these bits, there's something for everyone. I personally liked the psychic church and the bit where Ace reads "Ace, duck" in a copy of NME, which saves her from being shot. At the end, they go back and put that message in NME.
Special mention goes to the characterisation of the Timewyrm. For once, I felt that the Doctor was up against a scary villain. The Timewyrm is basically a sentient computer virus - very powerful, but not entirely in control of herself. She warps everything she touches but is also changed by the guises she adopts and the things she warps. Paul Cornell's writing is punchy, clever and "televisual" - every paragraph ends on a punchline.
But there is a lot of stupid stuff. The 5th Doctor being tied to a tree, saying "I didn't want to go to war, I just wanted to drink tea and play cricket!" Ace's random deviation into a Perivale dystopia. And the fake people on the moon too.
So, it's very pretentious and there'll be bits you'll love and hate.
But one thing that everyone will agree with; none of this high concept stuff has made it into the new series. For better or worse, Russel T Davis has rejected it in favour of witty, character-driven fun. Timewyrm and all it's timewyrmlets are preserved as a Who that never was.
This book was one of the best doctor who books o have ever read. There are funny bits in it. I think this should be made into an eppisode it would be so good. I think its great the way Terrabce Dicks brought back one of the doctors ach-enemies and they were actually asking the doctor for help. This is a great book i have read more than 10 times and im only 12
It takes a while to get going, but this is a gripping read. The first few chapters, however, are full of too many continuity references which are unnecessary and distracting. However, once these are out of their system the true power of the novel is felt.
The Doctor entering his own future, not wanting to know, but not being able to avoid interfering is a genuinely new idea (the poor excuse for a story that is the Trial of a Timelord is simply not coherent enough to merit the title of 'idea'). Future timelords are frightening entities, and the Doctor has become a legend. It is brilliantly done. A terrific novel, but only once it gets going.
| What: | UNIT: Snake Head (UNIT audios) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 22 April 2007 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Though Snake Head is a very different story than Time Heals, and thus leaves the listener wondering what is to become of the loose ends left dangling there, what we have here is a solid, focused story, in contrast to the somewhat hyperactive, disjointed style of Time Heals. After a disturbingly disfigured dead body is found in the area, Dalton and Chaudrey eventually find themselves investigating the possibility that there is an Albanian vampire on the loose in Southend. It's a simple story, but it is well-written, well-acted, and really works for audio, whereas much of Time Heals did not. The writing and production makes for really good visualization, and there are some truly creepy moments near the end, as we experience the creature and its very foreign, blood-curdling strangeness.
In some ways, I wanted to give Snake Head a higher rating - it is a well-designed, well-executed audio production. What limits it is the story as a whole. Though the story is good, solid and easy to follow, with some good chemistry between the regulars, it's just not a particularly fantastic story. Oh, and by the way, the Brig is completely absent from this one.
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| with a exception a great introduction |
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| What: | No Future (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | John Reid, Upminster Essex |
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| Date: | Sunday 22 April 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Finishing The third arc of New adventures and the first that coulnd't have been used if the t.v show had continued, Cornells quest at that time for a Epic ultimate story is written from the point of view of The two assistants on one Hand Ace as Maniplative and prepared to be seen as devious as her mentor and on Benny's side camp ad Portentous, This was the first New Adventure I had read I knew there was a new companion I didnt know Ace had seen her partner die in Cornells previous Love and War(making this hard to follow), I didnt know There were Gallifrey invadors called Vardons. Celeverly acting on cold war paranoia put about by the Press in the 70's the idea of even the most serious yet anti establisment Doctor not getting the help of his old chums U.N.I.T and featuring his oldest Arch enemy The Monk plus an interesting setting of The Punk scene with references this is a neglected classic as new to Who in 1994 the fanzinie dated cyberpunk scene with tardis reality game and cybermen plus the rowing on the tardis were a great intro to me, Cornell admits the ending was rushed Hes Just rewrote Human nature for T.V perhaps this could make a great radio play
| What: | UNIT: Time Heals (UNIT audios) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 22 April 2007 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Though Time Heals features fine acting by the cast and some very nice sound production, at times I was not sure what I was supposed to be listening to, and for some long periods during the drama I felt that the plot had lost me. By the end, I understood what had just been going on, but this seemed like a story that needed visuals. The limitations of the audio format were quite apparent here. Lots of sirens, lots of running around, lots of quick and somewhat confusing scene changes. The effects of the time experiments are interesting and serve to entice the listener to return for more, to see how this will all develop, but if the next installments of this series don't get it together better, I think it would be easy to quickly lose interest.
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| Military Intelligence - not here. |
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| What: | The Eye of the Giant (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 22 April 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
This is a well written and well plotted novel. The King Kong-esque pastiche is fun (although its humorous potential is never quite developed to the full). I'm particularly fond of the series of endings. Just as you think the end has arrived, a new twist (normally of 'the future's changed, but now into what we wanted' variety). All this adds to the fun, and reminded me a bit of the various ways of ending 'Wayne's World'. It would have been fun to change 'now' more by interference in the past. This would, of course, bring the added joy that the Doctor was exiled to earth precisely because of such interference.
But The Eye of the Giant never reaches the heights it promises (or that Bulis attains elsewhere) because it never feels comfortable with the humour of the situations it sets up. A great shame, as there are some wonderful possibilities.
And the idea that Mike Yates worked his way up from the rank of Sargeant is so ludicrous as to be laughable. The army, even an international force like UNIT, simply doesn't work that way. Do some basic research, or just ask a soldier. A shame really, that such a seemingly little thing can grate all the way through the book and seriously undermine the whole.
Television scores don't get much better than this! This collection of Murray Gold's first work for Doctor Who puts most cinema scores to shame. It features both the Tennant opening theme and and a ( highly compressed ) full length CD version.
A near-faultless re-creation of Dudley Simpson's original scores. Convincing and faithful to the broadcast versions but with the benefit of stereo. Used on the Pyramids of Mars DVD special features.
This one was very tounge in check and for the most part held together as a fun story.
Well paced with some good quips without becoming too silly.
Although the aliens were a little too far fetched over all not too bad
