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This story is a boring, stupid movie starring Colin Baker in: The Trial of a Timelord the worst Doctor and actor. He didn't put much drama or interesting things in it he is not my favorite Doctor. The assistant is Peri she was good with the Doctor but not by herself like the the Doctor. It was good in some parts. Overall 3/10
This was the only Doctor Who annual I ever got when I was a kid, and I loved the cover. I couldn't wait to read all about the TARDIS and find out about the Doctor's adventures.
I remember sitting at the kitchen table late at night, drinking hot chocolate, reading this book. It has fond memories for me, and the stories are nice and short. Not world-shattering, but clever and fun.
This novel has the feel of a Torchwood episode. It is well written, sharp and sexy.
Dan Abnett crams in so many adventures into one novel which ultimately pushes the narrative into one story and he characterises the main torchwood team well as he does by a new central Torchwood character James (character on the book cover) although it is a mystery who he is and what his ultimate goals are at first you soon warm to him and see him as a central figure.
without giving to much of the plot away a heavy theme is lies.
A fantastic novel and highly recommended :-)
As you can see - there are a lot of differing opinions about this book.
Lawrence Miles submitted a piece of work that stands out starkly from the other instillations in this series - and for me, it was a welcome addition.
The best comparison that comes to mind is Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Its not soft fiction - and it is indirect in the extreme - but this book has so many important plot points in it that it became cause of endless debate among those of us who care to spend our time doing such things.
Its raw - and yet sublime - incredibly important things come to pass, and its a wonderful puzzle.
One previous reviewer mentioned that it is an endurance challenge - yes it is - it is also one of the very few EDAs that I read from start to finish in one sitting, I stayed up all night with it.
I loved it.
Don't be afraid of it because its not about charging about in corridors and getting put in a prison cell every 20 pages!
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 | Fine Premise, Some Good Stories. |
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The idea of the TARDIS bringing the Doctor into isolated, closed-off places hidden from the rest of the Universe is superb. What deeply buried secrets lurk within the black bolt-holes of the cosmos? The concept is claustrophobic and threatening, and the cover is great (the TARDIS light illuminating a dark metal cavern.)
Some of the stories are halfway decent - "Dust," by Paul Leonard, is a murder mystery on Mars, and "House," by Jeremy Daw, has the TARDIS arrive in a living house inhabited by some unusual persons.
Some of the stories are quite poor - "Doing Time," by Lance Parking, involves a group of thieves of Galifreyan technology put into a time loop as punishment. I, for one, got tired of reading the exact same sequence of events unfolding itself over and over again. (Parkin actually uses the same WORDS again and again, with little variation, save for the Doctor's intervention.) Not one of my better reading experiences.
Overall, most of the stories waver between being somewhat good and poor. The one notable exception is "The Ruins of Heaven," by Marc Platt.
"The Ruins of Heaven" is without a doubt the crowning jewel of the collection. It is visually stunning (Platt's descriptions are incredible) and the imagination behind it is awesome.
The story deals with a real angel from Heaven who is found trapped within the remains of where Heaven used to be.
Platt's invention of the awesome "Heaven World" with its stacking palaces built on cloud - and of the angel himself, who can hear all prayers of everyone everywhere - are staggering.
Marc Platt has the most incredible mind of any writer I have ever encountered, anywhere. This awkward story concept becomes powerful and dignified under his guidance. Nowhere else have I seen such huge concepts grappled with and made believable and compelling, made REAL.
The story mounts to a powerful conclusion, and I say it is worth the price of the book for this tale by itself. A towering achievement.
In Conversion, Part 3 of the Cyberman series, we get a general improvement of the already good standards of the previous two episodes. The production continues to be well-scripted and well-acted, and now the sound effects and overall realization have really improved. Even the retro elements are really growing on me. The Cybermen are well-voiced, giving the impression of truly mechanistic and emotionless beings (rather than the more cartoonish, emotional characters we had by the end of the original television series).
At this point, the plot has gathered a great deal of momentum and importance, and what comes to mind is that this is the way The Invasion (the televised story with Patrick Troughton) *should have* been done...
| What: | Red (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Tim, Cremorne, Sydney |
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| Date: | Thursday 11 January 2007 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
the doctor who ever created
| What: | Red Dawn (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Tuesday 9 January 2007 |
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| Rating: |  6 |
What I found interesting about Red Dawn is that in its use of the Ice Warriors, what it gives us is an alien force rather than an enemy or a monster. By this I mean that rather than being simply evil, aggressive or militant, the Ice Warriors here are truly alien. Rather than simply rampaging around destroying things, which they have the power to do, the Ice Warriors are shown to have their own kind of intelligence and culture. They are shown to have the capacity for civil dialogue, but their motivations and values are unpredictably alien, and this, combined with the power they wield, makes them edgy and dangerous.
Not a fantastic story, but somewhat fresh and different in its approach, and thus, a worthwhile listen.
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| Superb Classic Storry Remastered |
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This is a must have for Doctor Who fans everywhere. The animated episodes are excellent and the restored soundtrack is an added bonus. I await further missing episodes to be animated and released on dvd by the BBC
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| Near perfect, missing something, though. |
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| What: | The Algebra of Ice (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Brian Smith, University Place, WA |
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| Date: | Monday 8 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
An excellent missing New Adventure.
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| A quiet little story done well. |
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| What: | Heritage (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Brian Smith, University Place, WA |
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| Date: | Monday 8 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Not much happening in this one, but it's a spot on portrayal of the 7th Doctor and Ace. Lovely character piece.
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| Something really special. |
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| What: | Relative Dementias (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Brian Smith, University Place, WA |
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| Date: | Monday 8 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Brilliant story, superbly executed. Wow!
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| A good story, horribly written |
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| What: | Independence Day (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Brian Smith, University Place, WA |
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| Date: | Monday 8 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
I suppose one excellent use of this book would be as a solo drinking game. If you took a drink every time one of the male characters felt tears streaming down your face, you'd be dead of alcohol poisoning in no time flat. The story itself is interesting. The writing is atrocious.
| What: | The Hollow Men (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Brian Smith, University Place, WA |
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| Date: | Monday 8 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Excellent use of the Doctor and Ace. Nice continuity reference and good horror build-up.
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| Drab, Unconvincing Historical |
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| What: | The Settling (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Maybe the Big Finish writers are just running out of ideas. It seems that there have not been any really good ones in a while. The Settling is certainly not one of them. Again, as in Night Thoughts, the companions are just stupid. The Doctor and Hex know there is going to be a slaughter at Drogheda, know that they cannot prevent it, know that they are in terrible danger being anywhere near it. And yet, what do they do? Stick around and get involved in the fight. At least we do not get longish lectures about the "web of time." There are some decent attempts to humanize Oliver Cromwell, as well.
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| Psychologically Unconvincing |
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| What: | Night Thoughts (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
Bernard Kay, yes, always liked him. The rest? Best forgotten, I think. Phil Ince's review states in a more extreme manner much of what I think about this. I liked the opening operation scence, and thought, with Hex's dreaming the same thing, and the cover, that this might be a "Celestial Toymaker" kind of alternative reality story. Instead, it is 1/2 teen slasher execept the slasher is after the olduns this time, and 1/2 1950s scientist discovers terrible breakthrough in the basement story. The worst part of it all is that again, where Big Finish scripts attempt to go "psychological," they just miss the mark completely. The motivations are all wrong, the behaviors cliched and unconvincing, and everyone, Ace and Hex especially, is just plain stupid. After all, the Doctor leaves Ace with the Bursar because, as he says, he "trusts" her, and then she goes running off to the attic, leaving the Bursar all alone to face the killer. Stupid, or what? And what a way to justify someone's trust. And sure, go out in the pitch black of a Scottish forest in the Winter where there are open bear traps, just to prove how intelligent you are.
| What: | Live 34 (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
The previous reviewer stated that Live 34 was not really Doctor Who. I agree completely. This is one of the few stories where its being Doctor Who actually worked against it. If it were a straight radio drama without the Doctor and companions, it would be (with the exception of a rather convenient ending) brilliant. Relaying the story of a corrupt (and yes, very American) society through a series of radio news broadcasts is brilliant. The first 3 episodes are just fabulous in this regard and I was drawn into the whole thing both emotionally and intellectually. However, the idea that the Doctor would run for president of a foreign culture, or that, yet again, Doctor 7 and companions inveigle their way into a society without anybody's noticing distracts from the plot and detracts from the emotional intensity of the situation. Without the Doctor, I would have given this a 9.
| What: | Shada (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Shada is the legendary "lost" Douglas Adams story. There was a video made from the footage actually shot, with Tom Baker providing linking narrative. In its way, that is better than this version. The problem is that Paul McGann is a little too "serious" to play the Baker lines correctly. It might have been better to cast Sylvester McCoy for this. Additionally, Andrew Sachs' version of Skagra is too stock badguy, not nearly as good as Chrsitopher Neame's Skagra. The story itself is very Douglas Adams - reality being somewat plastic.
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| No More Personified Abstractions, Please |
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| What: | Master (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
This another in the trilogy attempting psychoanalysis on the three singular baddies of the series - Davros, Omega, and the Master. All suffer from a superficial understanding of psyhcology. The concept is interesting enough. The Doctor has given the Master ten years to live a normal life. Now, he has come to end his bargain. If it stuck with that, we could have had an excellent story. Instead, Joseph Lidster has uselessly piled on top of it that the whole thing is some deal the "Death" and that the relationship between the Doctor and the Master began as the reverse (oh, please surprise me, go ahead) of what it is in their adulthood. This supernatural stuff thrown on top stifles whatever psychological insights there could have been. Instead, we get sidetracked into meandering discussions of evil and motivation. I am, however, quite impressed by Geoffrey Beevers, whose performance is subtle and varied and very convincing.
| What: | Project: Lazarus (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 January 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
The sequel to Project:Twighlight is really two sequels, with parts 1 & 2 picking up with the 6th Doctor and parts 3 & 4 jumping ahead to the 7th Doctor and having the typical loose connection to the previous story. I was disappointed in the ending, which is a standard self-destruct code ending. Do these things really exist? Why? Also, we get a built-in excuse for yet another sequel at the end.
