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An average script to screen novelisation which, apart from a few extra snippets of information adds nothing new.
One of the best Target novelisations which is arguably more effective than the televised version.
A satisfyingly complex tale with a well written Doctor-Romana relationship and many good Douglas Adams-esque comic moments.
A very enjoyable Pertwee story displaying how successful historical "Who" can be. The characters are particularly well drawn and the action sequences are believable. Very good.
An entertaining, mature and exciting page turner which would have worked as a two part television story. One of the best Doctor Who books for a long time.
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 | Now for something completely different.. |
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A very different type of EDA. Although it made a change from the usual books, the text book type narrative is at times incredibly frustrating, with the inclusion of way too many irrelevant facts. Maybe this story would have worked better being told in the usual way, as the actual plot is pretty good, although credit must be given to Lawrence Miles for attempting to do something different.
Nevertheless, Sabbath makes a good impression as the new villain, and the implication that the man in the rosette is the Master is an intriguing idea.
Revenge of the Cybermen is one of those stories, you think you¡¦ll like, even if everyone tells you its rubbish.
The sad truth is, yes its more or less pretty awful ¡V The plot is lazy, the Vogans are flat out pathetic and the Cybermen are¡K well¡K camp lmao.
One of its greatest let downs is the Cyber voices ¡V they have been electronically treated, but its as though its not taken very well, cos it just comes out sounding like some guy in a suit, trying to talk like a robot ¡V and sometimes they just ramble on to each other like normal people.
However it¡¦s not totally doom and gloom ¡V on the upside the Cyber costumers are quite good, certainly the best up to that point in Doctor Who history (although the guns in the helmets was a bit of a mistake) And Michael Wisher turns up as a Vogan wish a nasty cough ¡V his acting seemed a little rushed, and as this was actually filmed before Genesis of the Daleks (even though in chronology it was the following story) you can sort of see why he rushed this smaller part ¡V as it is well known he was exited about the roll of Davros, he was probably raring to get onto it, but its always nice to see him pop up ƒº
That aside though, nothing special about this story.
A fantastic first Doctor compilation. Only Genesis of the Daleks will have a chance at surpassing it for the best release of the year.
An Unearthly Child’s disk features two cuts of the first episode – which believe me, are different enough to bother watching both of. The story does drag on a little towards the end, as the cave men become a little annoying. But the first two episodes (or three, if you count both cuts of the first) are truly amazing, and more than make up for it. The first Doctor is at his strongest here, and it’s a shame he couldn’t keep up this level of presence throughout his three year tenure.
The Daleks, is certainly the best Dalek story of the first Doctors era – later ones saw them becoming a little more cartoonish, before the second Doctor blew new life into them. This story always suffers a certain level of criticism, as its plot was condensed, and glossed in the 60’s movie version. You often hear people saying it was dragged out, but I believe this version to be far superior in story, to the film. The Daleks are cold and calculating, and the thals are just about bearable ;)
The Edge of Destruction, was a bit of a filler story to be honest, and its one of those first Doctor stories which hasn’t really stood up to the test of time. The crew goes a bit mental and try to kill each other very unconvincingly – nuff said.
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| Pretty bad, I have to admit |
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It was a while since I read War of the Daleks, but I do remember it been a rather tedious collection of plot holes and mistruths. The fight at the beginning did seem to take a great deal of inspiration from the battle of Hoth, in Starwars: The Empire Strikes Back – I’m not sure if anyone else noticed this.
Peel seemed intent on involving in the story, to a degree, every piece of Dalek history and everything they have ever been associated with – from things like Spider Daleks which were simply created on the internet, as an experiment. Right down to the Slyther from Dalek Invasion of Earth (which was a stupid idea, even in the TV series). This lead to a feeling of serious over crowding throughout – In order to get everything in, Peel even went so far as to go off on a tangent, right in the middle of the story, to write a couple of chapters about characters which have no affect on the plot in anyway, shape or form. And are never seen again (one such chapter is about a James Bond type Earth spy, infiltrating a Dalek base, the other is about Draconian battle fleet, if my memory serves). This was stupid to say the least, and slowed down the story as a whole.
You also get a feeling, particularly towards the end that Peel has seen the 1960’s Peter Cushion films once two many times – just by the way the Dalek city on Skaro is described.
Lastly the Emperor Dalek’s plans are very predictable – and Darvos is once again made to look a figure of fun, and the way he is captured is also a great anti climax, considering his roll was pivotal to the Emperor Dalek’s plot.
All in all a book which wanders off into the irrelevant and bizarre – it is hard to get a copy these days – my advice is, don’t bother trying to track it down. Not worth it.
| What: | Colditz (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jon, London |
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| Date: | Monday 3 April 2006 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
I thoroughly agree with Mr Skerten.
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| A Well Done Trip in Space |
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| What: | The Monsters Inside (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Manny, Los Angeles, California, America |
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| Date: | Wednesday 29 March 2006 |
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| Rating: |  9 |
The second Doctor Who book I've read. And with that,I have to say that I couldn't put it done. Even getting up to answer the phone was difficult to do when reading this book, the book is just that good.
The nice thing about it is that, if you're new to the show, the book acts like a guide, explaining little details that you may know or not. And with that it adds a better feel to the characters because you gain a better understanding of where they stand.
This book also reads like a missing ep from the show. So, once again this is a must read.
In fact from the Doctor Who books I've read, at this point only 2, these have brought back my love for reading. I hope to enjoy more adventures with the Doctor and Rose.
| What: | The Deviant Strain (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Manny, Los Angeles, California, America |
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| Date: | Wednesday 29 March 2006 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This is the first Doctor Who book that I have read as here in the states we've just gotten the new season of Doctor Who on Sci-Fi. And this was a real treat for a newbie to the show.
I didn't have to know who the characters were as this book fills in those spots. After watching the few eps that have aired here in the states, this books reads like one of the the eps. It's a great read all about and you can't put it down. Smashing!
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| It never failed to bore... |
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I hate to be against a book as much as this, but I am. I should have put it down and contemplated my workbook. Pretty much the same thing. Does Lawrence Miles know how to entertain? You bet he does!
History lesson: who likes reading something that claims to be history, but isn't, yet is written like my incredibly exciting (boring) "Economics of Medieval France" history textbook? How did Lawrence Miles discover that people love reading textbooks in their spare time? How did he figure out how to write like one? It's just skill.
Once again the Doctor is nowhere to be seen, but that's all right, because Doctor Who isn't really about the Doctor, is it? It's about extremely essential extra characters who loiter in the street, people with no point who vaguely resemble a certain Vampire Slayer (ugh), and very slow, slow, slow prose that gives us that warm glow inside which tells us THIS AUTHOR REALLY CARES.
He knows how to tell a story (er, textbook,) to keep the reader rivetted with tons and tons of info. that we really might need, as in Sometime Never, and to give us the motivation to raise chickens, to start a farm, anything but to continue this idiotic book.
Who is this man? Where are the Irish? How did Lord Lucan escape?
The Adventuress of Henrietta Street is, obviously, fantastic. The most excellent thing ever written. It will bore you to death. That is, after all, what we're all after, isn't it?
Terrance Dicks appears to have devoted himself to novelizing the great periods of history using the Doctor Who format. The most interesting historical novel I have yet seen.
The beginning is a little stunted, with Terrance quoting directly from other novels of his, with minor changes. A bit slow here. Knowledge of his other novel "Players" is necessary to make sense of this.
The very first section of the book actually comes verbatim from his Target novel "The Spearhead From Space," but interestingly, the ending is different.
The book really begins to hum when the Doctor confronts a phony official in France. (This is not a spoiler.) Each man produces more and more papers, authority documents, identifications, trying to convince the powers that be that they are who they say they are. All the while they grow angrier and angrier with each other.
I laughed out loud with the momentum of it all. Terrence may be older, but he has not lost his flair for character clashes.
Terrence has achieved something which no other author, to my knowledge, ever has. He has made history fun. He has brought it to life so we can see what Napoleon saw, feel how Wellington felt on the battlefield, experience the tension of famous battles that have long since become dry and stale in history books, their essential life forgotten.
I actually believe that books like Terrence's matter more than traditional historical accounts. "World Game" was obviously well-researched to make it as close as possible to reality, but you learn tons more by seeing great history in action, start to finish, than by reading disjointed academic fact books.
I have read of the Battle of Waterloo for years, but every one of the learned history texts I used completely failed to give me the rich experience that Terrence produced in this novel. I learned things about the actual process of battle that were never even hinted at in other writings, but which Napoleon and others with him really would have experienced.
Someone should recommend Terrence for the "Distinguished Contribution to English Letters" award. Recreation of genuine historical events deserves more recognition, and one must never underestimate the value of being able to tell a good story with flair and charm.
The general stuffiness of real history is one of the big reasons most people have a hard time learning about their culture and its past - historians make it sound so boring. It is hard to approach something which seems boring.
Excellent book, excellent story. Some genuine brainwork went into this. Read it for the fun.
I loved this story. It sets up the scene well for An Unearthly Child while telling a cracking story in the meantime. This Novel is told from Susan’s point of View and combines her thoughts and feelings of Earth and contrasts how Alien and Human she is at the same time.
To me the story acts as an unofficial Pilot episode which shows a more rigid side to The Doctors character before it is touched by humanity and becomes officially "Nanny to Space and Time."
An Excellent Read highly recommended! :-)
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| What if the Doctor was real? |
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| What: | Who Killed Kennedy: (Miscellaneous original novels) |
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| By: | J. D. Means, Spokane, WA |
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| Date: | Tuesday 21 March 2006 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
What would it be like to live in the world of the Doctor? How would the average person cope with Daleks, Autons or the Master?
This book is a different kind of Doctor Who novel, in which the Doctor is more of a supporting character. The main character, David Bishop, is a New Zealand native reporter working for the London Times, until his controvertial report on UNIT leads to his losing his job and reputation. Unperterbed, Bishop continues his investigations as a freelance journalist, hoping to uncover the truth about this military unit and the so-called "Doctor".
Taking its cue from the Kurt Busiek/Alex Ross graphic novel Marvels, this book takes key moments from the series(notably the Jon Pertwee years) and shows them from a different point of view. The end result, with its conspiracy theory twists and turns, its numerous guest stars from various points of Dr. Who history, and its ratcheting suspence, is one wild and entertaining ride, leading(as the title suggests) to the book depository in Dallas in 1964.
Quite good plot.Special effects could of been way better,but I suppose it was the best they could do at that time.
| What: | Scaredy Cat (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Steve Broemer, Folkestone |
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| Date: | Saturday 18 March 2006 |
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| Rating: | 2 |
Nuff said
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| This play is so drably complicated ... |
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| What: | Night Thoughts (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Standing over your imminent grave |
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| Date: | Thursday 16 March 2006 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
... because it is truthless.
This lousy production is populated by beings nominally human yet without a trace of plausible human behaviour. There is no drama because there are no characters.
Psychologically scarred children discover their secret father and are immediately healed. Sociopaths bluster and rant. Suicides jibber and screech. Favoured Doctor / companion combos read huge swathes of stilted, incompetent fanwank in the direst, most leaden prose.
Meritless, laborious and entirely unentertaining. Avoid.
Bernard Kay manages to salvage something but his fellow performers are almost beyond awful; a regrettable inevitability given their talents and this script.
This play is so drably complicated because it is truthless.
| What: | The Invasion (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Matthew houliston, Edinburgh |
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| Date: | Monday 13 March 2006 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The ultimate adventure with the cybermen the u.n.i.t idea worked perfectly.It is annoying that it is a missing episode it would of been great to see it.
