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Lucifer Rising is one of the chunkier NAs but seems to justify it's unusual length. It never drags or drops into clunky prose, and the writing really lifts off the page. The opening sequence is wonderfully written, and achieves a level of emotional potency that is sustained through the entire novel. Recommended.
Your response to Verdigris will depend upon what your expectations are, and whether you enjoy camp nonsense or not. If you are expecting a faithful re-tread of a Pertwee tv story, you won't get it. What you will get is a marvellously silly camp-fest that parades it's love of all things Seventies. Luckily, this kind of thing is very much my bag, and so I love it.
A good barometer of the usefulness of a book is how well-thumbed it is. Certain pages of my copy of The Discontinuity Guide now resemble the Dead Sea Scrolls, such is my regular usage of this marvellous paperback. Ok, so it gets some of its facts wrong, but to dwell on this is to be churlish. The Discontinuity Guide is very, very funny, fresh, informative and a marvellous companion when watching a particular Doctor Who story on DVD or video. I believe it is about to be reissued in a revised form - you would do well to get a copy.
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 | Impressed and impressionable |
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| What: | Terror Firma (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Outside your house ... waiting ... |
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| Date: | Monday 22 August 2005 |
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| Rating: |   3 |
SPOILERS
The broadly efficient but over-rated 'Master', sketches a background to the Doctor about which he'd forgotten and which we'd previously known nothing. In 'Terror Firma' - good title, shame about the play - 'Tiny' Joe Lidster repeats his revisionist trick. It's hard to understand why Joe bothered because the 8th Doctor's previously unknown travelling companions are abysmally-written, facelessly-dreary 'young persons' so common to Bog Flush productions.
Additionally, 'Tiny' is evidently (and justififably) impressed by Robert Shearman's 'Jubilee', taking that story's trailers and comedy leader to liberate a Dalek-infested Earth.
Repetition replaces creation, allusion replaces narrative. There really isn't a plot, 'Terror Firma' is the closest BF have yet got to the empty, stupid, amateurish, overblown bollocks which poor inept Eric Saward threw up in 'Ressurection of the Daleks' and 'Attack of the Cybermen'; umpteen references to umpteen stories, even quoting directly from the 'Genesis of the Daleks' capsule speech - " ... enough to break the glass etc" - and achieving nothing more than sullying their memories whilst highlighting its own lack of invention.
The wonderful Julia Deakin does what the guest stars often do, she does her best and turns in a performance as Harriet Griffin which ... well, it can't be, can it!? It seems to be modelled on Beryl Reid's turn as Briggs in 'Earthshock' but a version from a (slightly) altered reality where Briggs got the keys to the grog during part 2 and spent the rest of the story slurring drunk.
Some notable details are Lidster's original idiom "clutched onto" - Track 7, around 3' 00" in.
Davros whimpering like Homer Simpson forced to choose between free slices of a favourite cake and springing Bart from gaol.
The opening rant from the Daleks causes one to visualise them as a pack of stupid, tethered dogs.
The outstanding moment, however, is Davros' becoming the Emperor Dalek in the denouement though Christ alone knows why this happens and at no stage is any explanation proposed. Lidster flatters us by declining to insult our intelligenc on that point and his play is, it has to be admitted, commendably free of technobabble. It's also though largely and sadly free of sense. When Davros becomes the Emperor, the first thing that the blindly-obedient Daleks do ... is ignore his order to destroy the Doctor.
After Erimem's sanctimonious turn as Adric in last month's 'Council of Nicaea', C'rizz is finally discovered to function as Turlough - a viper in the Doctor's skinny bosom.
Maybe, Joseph, you could have said, "No."
Maybe ...?
| What: | Series 1 Volume 3: (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Your Arse |
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| Date: | Sunday 21 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
Once upon a time, there were 3 Doctor Who fans. They loved Doctor Who soooooooooooooooooooooooo much that they decided to write their own episodes. Unfortunately, their love is of the blissed out, uncritical kind.
Moffat writes a pair of the most anodyne, sluggish, simpering episodes yet committed to screen; Davies does the usual and writes half a good episode before ejaculating the premature climax required by the 40-minute format; The Cornball however exceeds his seniors with a short tear-jerking sketch (played with some power) surrounded by the shortest-winded, most witless writing of which he is capable (and after Screech of the Shelduck it was reasonable to suppose he'd touched bottom).
Of maximum offence is the opening, pre-titles scene in which an aged-looking Camille Coduri tells her 6 year old daughter that her (Rose's) father died alone. A mother with a feeling bone in her body would say this?
This series' reputation for characterisation is so much horseshit but in keeping with the series' tiny and unconvincing scope.
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| For real fans of the actor! |
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| What: | Who is Tom Baker? (Miscellaneous video interviews / documentaries) |
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| By: | Jim, Indiana, USA |
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| Date: | Friday 19 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
If you are really a Tom Baker fan, and not just a "Whovian", then this is a pretty good vid. Mr Baker is pretty direct in his answers, but does try to fend off a few questions that, apparently, are still a little too touchy for him. You see a very polite, well-educated, and honest Tom Baker. You also see a few interviews with his cohorts, and some con footage. Hopefully you'll enjoy it for the man who gave so many of us 7 wonderful years as a fantastic Doctor, and several well-acted and memorable roles in other films/series.
| What: | Parallel 59 (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Steve, Bangor |
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| Date: | Thursday 18 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
The title says it all. People dont seem to like this book because its "not traditional doctor who". I fail to see how this is the case, as allot of the normal elements are there - split tardis crews, politics, mystery, a darkness in the background etc. Maybe i have a soft spot for this book as i have a growing fondness for the character of Compassion, but i still think its worth a read. 7.5/10
| What: | Last Man Running (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Ted, Texas |
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| Date: | Wednesday 17 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
This is the first of the BBC Past Doctors books I've read, and I was disappointed. Chris Boucher may be a good writer, but he missed the mark here. The doctor's dialogue is often out of character -- just doesn't have the right tone. And the plot, what there is of it, alternates between boring and confusing. Leela's character rang true, but it wasn't enough.
| What: | I Scream (BBV Audio Adventures in Time and Space) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Rab Nesbitt's sweatband |
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| Date: | Tuesday 16 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Excellent and actually frightening.
Lance Parkin's absorbing story is performed and produced with force and imagination. Lisa Bowerman - who I usually want to slap when I hear her glibly performing the tiresome Bernice Summerfield - is given the opportunity to demonstrate her range and to my great surprise it's wide and without a false note.
The denouement is reminiscent of the more sinister episodes of The Twilight Zone and the sound effects contribute profoundly to the atmosphere. Unexpectedly wonderful.
| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Georgina, London |
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| Date: | Monday 15 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Clockwise Man is a Fantastic read ! It was exciting, puzzling and brilliantly written. The storyline was dark yet mysterious. I just couldn't put the bok down . I would give this book 10/10 !!
| What: | The Monsters Inside (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Georgina, London |
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| Date: | Monday 15 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I thought The Monsters Inside was brilliant!!
I found once I had started reading this book I couldn't put it down.
If you have been watching the Doctor Who series you will especially enjoy this book. The whole way through the story I had an picture of The Doctor and Rose doing all they could to find each other again.
The story line was great and I loved the idea of the Slitheen/Blathereen returning and trying to take over lots of planets instead of planet Earth. All together I would definitely give this book 10/10!
| What: | EarthWorld (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Podmix, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Monday 15 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
I didn't mind the story, quite cute. I didn't mind the setting, some nice twists. What I did mind was the complete disregard for characterisation (compare the Anji here with her more sophisticated verion in Escape Velocity!). It's a challenge for any reader trying desperately to become familiar with characters in books (I still haven't completely pegged Fitz...), but it becomes near impossible when their basic language\thought patterns become garbled this early in their in-book life. Instead of consolidating the strength of the character, we instead get a completely bimbo-ised version - shame! I've since managed to warm to the character, no thanks to this book. Maybe I should've skipped it and gone straight onto Vanishing Point.
| What: | Escape Velocity (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Podmix, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Monday 15 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I thoroughly enjoyed this conclusion to the story arc beginning with The Burning: it manages to reunite the central characters in a satisfying way, and also introduce Anji and making her identifiable. The shock of going from one narrative style to another (from this one's intelligence to the portrayal in a patronisingly simplistic Anji of "Earthworld") made this book so much the better in comparison. True, it's probably a year since I read it, but if it's made that strong a positive impression that I still remember it...
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| At least there wasn't a deus ex maxhina |
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| What: | The Council of Nicaea (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Trudy Styler's tantric colostomy |
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| Date: | Saturday 13 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
The Council of Nicaea - hmm. I hated it. I really didn't want to but I did. It struck me as formless - who was the intended focus, what was the plot? The Doctor and Peri entirely marginal and Erimem worse than ever. Not thick this time but for all her protestations of disloyalty, she was the disloyal one and I'd have been quite happy to have her stabbed. She came across to me as repulsively priggish, abusive and treacherous to her friends and, fundamentally, an ignorant hypocrite; espousing a cause she had no understanding of or connection to.
We've wound the clock backward to Adric. But - with the crutial exception of Saward's shit-headed writing whose aspirtation is banality - even Watertrouser's seasons were largely better written than this.
The idea that Constantine - Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire -, a man who murders his own wife in a nasty way would have the trust, the patience and crutially the time to allow strangers and plotters to dash into and out of his palace and go running around the streets of the city was absurd. It was farce without the gags and more dependent on the ancient Hartnell story, The Romans, than one might have cause to expect.
Full of trite lines, what happened? A few streets were run up, a few houses run into, a few repeated conversations - "Don't betray me", "You betrayed me!", "Give me one more chance" -
By the time of the part 3 cliffhanger - "Ooh, she's got a bruise!" - I was just bored, just restless, inattentive. Just tired.
The one hope for poor staggering Bog Flush is that someone like Nigel Fairs - who did such a great job at bbv with the Faction audios - may yet give The Flushings a lift. Isn't he doing some 8th Doctor stories soon? Christ almighty, roll 'em on.
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| Stolen ideas and lazy ending |
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| What: | Winner Takes All (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Monday 8 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Whilst this is a well written and enjoyable novel, its plot is lifted from The Last Starfighter and given a slight twist. The Last Starfighter was far from a great movie, but it did have an interesting idea for a plot - aliens who need someone to fight their wars for them put a video game in earth arcades and wait to find a player who can be their hero. Jacqueline Rayner has simply stolen this idea for her book. Sure it's a bit more complex, but essentially this is The Last Starfighter with the Doctor and Rose. And even if you think that Last Starfighter didn't engage some of the issues about the morality of killing things as a game, you'd be better looking at Terry Pratchett's Only You Can Save Mankind than here.
Rayner's aliens are porcupines - a rather thinly veiled reference to Sonic the Hedgehog of video game fame (which she spells out later anyway). Rose's old school bully is cliched and the ending is a simple and lazy recapitulation of the end of World War Three on television. Original this book is not!
All this is a shame since there is some great characterisation here - particularly the Doctor and Rose's relationship. And some of the ideas about how the game is played are good, leading to a genuinely funny sequence of the Doctor speaking to Mickey using Rose as a sort of ventrilloquist's dummy. But more of this is needed to redeem this novel.
There are many elements to admire in this novel: a love affair spanning millennia; the depiction of Nineteenth Century Russia; the fleshing out of the backstory alluded to in 'The Talons Of Weng-Chiang'; the character of Aphrodite; and the nature of Dusha's and Razum's existence and their punishment.
But in equal measure there are many things that annoy about this book. Again the TARDIS crew are split apart and continually flit between time zones, each of which are far too overpopulated for you to care about most of the characters. It seems that each era had about 3 villians, which resulted in me being confused about their motivations and caring even less. The best realised time zone was 1812, as the 'soap opera' element of the Vishenkov story made me want to find out what happened. The later two time zones weren't very interesting however, and even telling them apart was a challenge at times!
Also, this book contains FOUR different methods of time travel (the TARDIS, the time-belts, the Misl Vremya and Aphrodite's lake travel), which has to be a record for one novel! This sums up a problem with this book - too many great ideas crammed into one story.
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| Dark and sinister. A superb read |
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| What: | The Monsters Inside (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This is a dark and well written book. Rose's first step onto an alien planet is well recorded - complete with the Doctor's cavalier attitude. When the two are separated the driving instinct of each to find the other fits the relationship established in the television series. The Slitheen are made to feel a lot more sinister than previously, but even they pale in comparison to the human-run prison system. This is excellent - the best Doctor Who book for ages. It just shows how far we've come since the Target novelisations!
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| Captures the spirit of the new series |
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| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
This captures the spirit of the new series well. The Doctor and Rose have some great banter, the strength of Rose comes through and there's even a Bad Wolf moment. The plot has the same paciness as we've come to expect from the Ninth Doctor, although hasn't Big Ben already had a central role in the action in Aliens of London? A small grip about a really good fun book.
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| A good romp that grates after a while |
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| What: | Byzantium! (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Much to enjoy here - a historical romp that has power politics, death and plenty of sex. But the very bits that are so enjoyable are also irritating. The Monty Python references begin to grate after a while, especially when they're as unsubtle as setting up a virtually identical 'what did the Romans ever do for us?' scene. Ian starts spouting some very poor cockneyisms that don't suit him and Vicky is redundant. The characterisation of the different factions within Byzantium is too black and white, with occasional glaring anachronisms. But none the less, there is fun to be had with Byzantium!
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| Doctor Who by numbers - but great fun! |
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| What: | The Eight Doctors (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
I found this surprisingly good fun to read. Terrance Dicks has never been Booker material, but he does the job well, setting the 8th Doctor in the context of his seven previous lives. There's nostalgia aplenty as the 8th Doctor appears at moments remembered from the TV series. The size of the book and the number of previous incarnations that have to be met mean that this was never going to be a intricately plotted work, but it is great fun and nicely sets up the character of the 8th Doctor by distinguishing him from his previous selves. At times it becomes Doctor Who by numbers. But it is at least good fun Doctor Who by numbers!
