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| What: | The Kingmaker (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Paula, Michigan, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 14 February 2007 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
A very funny story, one of my favorites.
| What: | Pyramids of Mars (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Gareth, Chester UK |
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| Date: | Sunday 11 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Brilliant story, I gave it a 10 instead of a 9 though because someone else gave it a 1 just to try and bring it down so Yaa Boo! And as for Robots of Death being better, even a 5 year old could work out who Taren Capel is when he appears barely disguised on a TV screen and then we see his unique footwear. And you complain about this!
| What: | New Beginnings: (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Gareth, Chester UK |
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| Date: | Sunday 11 February 2007 |
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| Rating: |  8 |
Logopolis: Surreal, funereal, stylish, gripping, near perfection.
Castrovalva: unique, warm, thoughtful, fascinating.
Keeper of Traken: Absolute rubbish. The acting is shocking from most of the Trakens we meet, so much so that you may end up rather hoping the Master wins. Thankfully (spoiler coming up) we can cheer during Logopolis when we discover that Nyssa's whole planetary system is destroyed by the entropy field. YAY!!!!
The basic idea of this book, contrasting the UN idealism of UNIT with the harder realities of the Cold War, is superb. However the writing and characterisation are dreadful.
This is an awful pastiche of a book. It's as if Topping and Day once read a general (and inaccurate) article about the Pertwee era in a fanzine and reproduced it in a novel. Consequently, the Doctor is so stilted he topples over on more than one occasion, and Liz has none of the strength of character seen on screen in Inferno (which precedes this book in setting). Mike Yates seems to feature only as a means of shoehorning swearing and sex into the novel (a Torchwood agent, perhaps?). I won't begin to discuss how terrible are the stereotypes of hippies and landed gentry.
All of this is a real shame given the strength of the plot idea, and more so because it's the first of the BBC PDAs. Fortunately, there are better ones later in the series.
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I tried so hard to like this book. It got such good reviews, I thought it just HAD to be good. I've had it for years, and I finally finished it after hearing people rave about the intricate plot.
And I learned the hard way that plot isn't everything.
The prose is some of the driest I've ever seen. There is absolutely no charm, wit, warmth or human feeling in it. It is truly unpleasant to read, as if the author isn't even interested in what he is creating.
I guess a sense of awkwardness best sums up this book. Just the right amount of details were left out of virtually every scene to make me feel really, really uncomfortable.
The ideas are not half-bad, but the EXECUTION of it all is what really drags. If the book was written, dare I say it, in the style of Terrence Dicks, it would probably have turned out superbly. Sadly, it was not to be.
The Cranleigh scene, for example, is done with such a lack of flair and charm that it takes my breath away. How a writer can actually strip the intensely pleasant English warmth from such a charming country scene is beyond me, but it is done here. One wonders if Justin Richards drudged up this episode simply to ruin it.The rest of the book just kind of follows from there.
I think I heard somewhere that Justin Richards is a computer programmer, and he structured the plot of this book like a complex computer program with a flow chart to go with it. Unfortunately, reading it is almost as dull as reading a computer program, and for the same reasons.
I must confess myself to be profoundly disappointed.
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| Classic tale but stiffly written |
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This is one of the landmark series of all Doctor Whos- the first encounter with the Cybermen, and the first time the Doctor changes bodies. The book is entertaining enough but reads as a simple transcript of the TV programmes, written rather stiffly (dare I say, quickly) and lacking in some more description detail.
it was a very good book a bit funny
| What: | Placebo Effect (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Tardisuser, Isle of Wight |
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| Date: | Sunday 4 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This book was a pleasing read. The Doctor is treated like a proper individual. Sam is realising she's growing up, instead of just being able to fall back into the old Doctor/Sam routine. And the Foamasi get a better plot than The Leisure Hive.
Read it!
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| Offensive and Poorly Written |
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I have to admit that I have enjoyed most of the Torchwood TV series. It's not Dr. Who, I can accept that, but it is a relatively intelligent drama series. However the problem with the series is that it is not comfortable in it's role as an adult drama. It has to keep pushing it's own boundaries, swearing when it's totally unnecessary and when a story is a little thin they just add unnecessary gay or straight sex scenes which do little for the plot but prove that they are 'edgy'.
This book, unfortunately, follows the same pattern. With an even more absurd plot than normal this book concerns itself with a number of smaller events that begin to mount into a larger storyline. However that storyline is so thin it's see through. For a start an extra member is added to the Torchwood team as though he's been there all along. You just cannot go messing around with the make-up of a TV show in this way, yet Dan Abnett thinks he can.
The bad language in this book is unnecessary and offensive and even at times blasphemous in its swearing. While I could imagine these lines being said by the characters I think that they wouldn't choose to broadcast them. The one redeeming feature about this book is that the characters (the ones from the TV series) are well profiled. Even though some of them occassionally act out of character there are reasons for this.
I found this book hard to get into, and more difficult to continue reading as the plot wore on. Mainly I think because the plot was so lame and poorly thought out and because there was this extra character appearing out of nowhere didn't help.
As a TV tie-in it is a pretty poor comparison to the series, in a franchise like Torchwood perhaps they should pay a little more attention to the plot because thats really what the books need, even more so than the TV series because at least on TV actors, personalities and special effects can be used to cover plot holes or weak stories, these are not available in books.
This Dvd box set is a must have for doctor who fans. The changeover between Tom Baker and Peter Davdison is superb and the re-introduction of the master adds to the excellence of these 3 stories.
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| Creepy, Sad and Irritating. |
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This book is well written, but it may very well be the most despair-filled novel in many a year. Why do Paul Cornell's books make me so depressed and unhappy? Why does the heavy atmosphere of a funeral hang over practically every one?
I find this book to be a work of genius, but it is not really entertaining to read. The villains, the Hoothi, are brilliantly imagined, but grotesque and sad, and what they do to everyone simply gets weirder and sadder as the novel goes on.
Why does Paul Cornell dwell so much on darkness and gloom? Doesn't he ENJOY writing novels? Why doesn't any of that shine through more clearly?
Overall, this book is utterly without light, life, or, despite the title, Love. There's a little bit of rather distasteful fiddling about between Ace and her new boyfriend (ugh,) but that's not love. That's not even a good excuse for it.
Maybe I'm just an old romantic, but I like a bit of old-fashioned charm between people in love, some honest-to-goodness joy, which we just don't get here. Ugly and unpleasant.
Paul Cornell, I must conclude, is probably a sad, sad man, dwelling with heartbreak and loss, obsessed with loneliness and a world-weary despair. Even his one (so far) penned episode of Christopher Eccleston's Doctor Who T.V. series was the saddest one yet, exploring themes of death and mourning, the emptiness of irreversible tragedy. There was even a Church in it, just like in Revelation! Where does it stop, I ask you?
After reading Love and War (but mostly War,) I felt as if I had been raped emotionally. I find this book irritating because it is monsterously bleak, punky and unhappy. I give it two stars only because it is written with nice short sentences; it is easy to read. But that is all. Avoid it if you value your happiness.
| What: | New Beginnings: (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | jennylousekenchington, home |
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| Date: | Sunday 28 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
new doctorwhodvds,10.out10.good,
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| A Torchwood book well written |
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| What: | Torchwood: Border Princes (Torchwood novels) |
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| By: | Jamie Hardwick, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 26 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Border Princes is the first of the three Torchwood novels I have read. I found the story fast paced and interesting. Dan Abnett really created an atmosphere with this book, involving sub-plots (Serial G, The Amok) as well as introducing a character - James(Analogy Man)-, having him have a relationship with Gwen and then surprising the reader at the end... When reading, I felt like the characters were portrayed as they had been in the fabulous series. This would have made an excellent episode! If you only read one Torchwood book, read Border Princes.
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| A very good Tenth Doctor novel!!! |
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This Doctor who novel combines the adventurious world of pirates and treasure hunting alongside with space travel and robots.
The Resurection Casket is a must read. Its one of my personal favorates alongside the stealer of deams, only human and the price of paradise.
The Character of Jimm echoes Jim Hawkins from the Treasure island but i think it was intentional to add to the enjoyment of the book.
Justin Richards well done!!!!
| What: | Year of the Pig (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Yates, Reading UK |
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| Date: | Friday 26 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
One of the problems I had with this release was the dialogue. The story was perfectly adequate and a nice little sci-fi yarn. It was clear that the writer had done oodles and oodles of research on all the subjects covered in the play, but must he constantly cram it in to every line? Everyone spoke in a kind of knowing cod-Wildeian while dropping cultural references willy nilly. Yes, yes it’s nice to write that sort of dialogue but I feel the writer get more enjoyment out of doing it than we do listening it to. As a result all the characters sounded the same. The Doctor, Peri, the Nurse, The inspector even the Pig (though I concede that may have been the point with a couple of them). With some sharp editing this could have been a great play, instead it’s just average. Shame.
| What: | The Price of Paradise (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | The Next Doc., Sunderland |
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| Date: | Thursday 25 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Don't read it unless you've got summit better to do
Its not that good
| What: | Only Human (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | The Next Docotr, Sunderland |
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| Date: | Thursday 25 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A proper doctor who book. Thats what should be released more often
Absolutely Classical, excactly what you don't expect. Thought it wouldn't be that good, but it turned out fabulous.
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| Better than the Deviant Strain |
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| What: | The Resurrection Casket (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | The Next Doctor, Sunderland |
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| Date: | Monday 22 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
A million times better than the Deviant Strain, but not as good as Clockwise Man
| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | The Next Doctor, Sunderland |
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| Date: | Monday 22 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Absolutley Fantastic!! Didn't put it down for two straight days
