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| What: | The Dark Path (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: |   8 |
By this time, I believe, the editors at Virgin knew that their contract had not been renewed, so decided to end their run of Who books on a definitive basis. Though the people at BBC stated that the Virgin line would not be treated as "canon," the Virgin people knew that the fans had already decided the opposite. "The Dark Path," therefore, tells the story of how the Master becomes the Master. The motivation for the change from Koschei into the Master does not quite work for me; the death of one close friend does not seem like enough push to get someone to go over totally to the dark path (like the dark side? hmmmm...). However, McIntee's characterization of Koschei's modus operandi in a presumably good cause shows the same pattern as the Master would later use - a grand plan, meticulously detailed. In plot, the novel is a kind of James Bond story set in the far future, complete with various "spies" and their technical gadgets, an impending all-out war, and a superweapon meant to trigger it. It has the same sort of appeal, though sadly without any Bond-girls (Victoria would never qualify), as a typical Bond film. As long as one does not question the details, it works.
| What: | The Shadow of Weng-Chiang (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Like other McIntee novels, "The Shadow Of Weng-Chiang" is strong on adventure and weak in characterization. It is better than the TV serial it follows in one respect - a more accurate portrayal of Chinese culture. As with "Lords Of The Storm," McIntee has done his homework to try to create a realistic culture based on some Non-European model. There it was India; here it is China. Set just prior to the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s, the novel effectively interweaves the historical background into the science fictional plot. McIntee has wisely not used old characters from "The Talons Of Weng-Chiang." The "Shadow" of the title is exactly that. As I said earlier, the weakness of the novel is mostly in the characterization, which is rather flat. Additionally, the plot is too conventionally whovian. Still, this is an entertaining read.
| What: | The Sands of Time (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
"The Sands Of Time" is a sequel of sorts to "The Pyramids Of Mars," though the only repeat character from the TV series is Marcus Scarman as a walk-on. Two characters from "Black Orchid" make longer, though not long, appearances in this novel. The novel involves the bizarre kidnapping of Nyssa and the attempts to recover her. As such, Nyssa's role is greatly reduced, only slightly larger than in "Kinda." As in that serial, Nyssa spends most of the story "asleep." The novel's plot is rather typical of Davison-era stories, in which a long buildup ends in a threat that turns out to be not much. Think of "Snakedance" and "The Awakening" as templates. Strangely, this formula actually seems to work quite well. "The Sands Of Time" is one of the most atmospheric and mood dominated of the Who novels. Full of shadowy figures and mysterious motivations, punctuated by brief scenes of violence, it is one suspenseful read. The strength is in the plotting. Richards has managed a complex interweaving of different times and neatly tied together all the ends.
| What: | The Scales of Injustice (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
"The Silurians" is one of the better Who stories, though it has many notable flaws, especially in the science. Gary Russell has attempted to fix some of these flaws while not going too far away from the original story. The novel is designed to explain Liz Shaw's reasons for leaving UNIT; therefore, she gets a very central role in the story. Russell has striven to keep the mood and style of Pertwee's first season, and succeeds in that. At the same time, since the novel form is unrestrained by budget, Russell takes the opportunity to write in many complexities and scenes that never would have made the TV series. This novel also provides the basis and backstory for Russell's later novel "Business Unusual." The weakness of the book (apart from that explained below) is that the Doctor's role is greatly reduced. For much of the novel, he is mostly a bystander, ineffecively outraged while he watches a society self-destruct. Remove the Doctor, and pretty much everything that happens here would have happened the way it happened anyway, a bit like "Warriors Of The Deep."
Apparently, the editors at Virgin thought that it would be a good idea to have all the UNIT officers advance from the ranks, contravening all standards and protocols in the British Military. Thus, we improbably get a "Sergeant" Mike Yates and hints of a "Private" Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. Of course, this turn of events is utterly preposterous. Both Yates and Lethbridge-Stewart are clearly among the educated officer class, and always were. Lethbridge-Stewart, in particular, would have been officer corps from his school days, perhaps even having a military family history. Yates strikes me as recruited from university. I got over the problem of "Sergeant" Yates simply by rereading it as "Captain."
| What: | The Eye of the Giant (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Using the magic of time travel, Christopher Bulis has managed to reconfigure "King Kong" in Whovian terms. The Doctor, Mike Yates, and Liz get transported to the 1930s, where a private ship (movie star on board) has found an island of gigantic creatures (note the threatening crab on the cover) ruled over by one in particular, this time an alien and not a gorilla. There is more about UNIT in this book than in the TV series (more about which see below) and the UNIT squad seems less ineffective than in the TV series. Bulis is, like McIntee, a dependable thought not original writer. The story moves a good pace, has the right amount of action, but is highly predicatable.
Apparently, the editors at Virgin thought that it would be a good idea to have all the UNIT officers advance from the ranks, contravening all standards and protocols in the British Military. Thus, we improbably get a "Sergeant" Mike Yates and hints of a "Private" Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. Of course, this turn of events is utterly preposterous. Both Yates and Lethbridge-Stewart are clearly among the educated officer class, and always were. Lethbridge-Stewart, in particular, would have been officer corps from his school days, perhaps even having a military family history. Yates strikes me as recruited from university. I got over the problem of "Sergeant" Yates simply by rereading it as "Captain."
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 | Conventional, But Entertaining |
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| What: | Lords of the Storm (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Conventional, but entertaining. That summarizes most of McIntee's Who novels. McIntee, I think, has written more Who novels than anyone else. The reason for this may be that his books are always safe. One knows what one will get - plenty of action, not too excessive violence, a believalbe plot (the one exception is "Mission:Impractical"). The Sontarans are returned to status as credible menaces after their deplorable characterization in "Invasion Of Time," and weak characterization in "The Two Doctors." McIntee has been working through the history of his own alien race, the Chinese-inspired Tzun, whose fate as a race gets explained here.
| What: | The Empire of Glass (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I have not read all the Missing Adventure books, but of the ones I have read, this is the best. Steven is among my favorite Who companions. He was rarely written well in the series, though the possibilities for him were always there. Lane handles Steven especially well, highlighting his qualities - broad mindedness, loyalty, bravery. More so than most Who companions, Steven could take care of himself and stand up to the Doctor's powerful personality. Vicki gets equally good treatment. She was often too "wet," to use an English expression, in the series. Lane characterizes her as sensitive and intelligent. The main weakness of the novel is an overly complex plot, not all of which gets effectively concluded by the end of the book. Read it for the characters.
| What: | Managra (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Stephen Marley's only Who novel makes me want more. I've read other Marley work, and all of them have the same characteristic quirkiness. Marley has a rare ability to create entirely other kinds of worlds, wholly improbable, yet somehow running on bizarre systems of internal logic that make them work. In this case, Europe of the future becomes a kind of grand over the top melodramatic theatre, in which facsimile historical figures plot and scheme against each other and against themselves. For instance, we get all three Lord Byrons - mad, bad, and dangerous to know. The main fault of the novel is somewhat weak and stereotypical characterization. However, the strange world and the eerie, dreamlike plot make up for this deficiency.
| What: | Invasion of the Cat-People (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
Even Gary Russell sheepishly admits that this novel is not particularly good. Dreadful is the most apt adjective. The plot makes little sense. The worst part is the Cat-People themselves. These come off as 1950's C movie alien baddies, like the Lobster Man. Every cat cliché imaginable gets used, down to the kitty-litter. The book might have made a half-decent pardody, had it been written that way.
| What: | The Menagerie (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
In this novel, Martin Day manages to keep several mysteries going and reveals them at just the right times, though the main mystery, the identity of Zaitabor, becomes clear too soon. The Doctor and his companions are well managed. In particular, it is entertaining to see Zoe handle matters on her own, without always relying on the Doctor or Jamie to get her out of a "situation." The novel might win the award for the funny names in a SF book award: try Mecrim, Defrabax, Zaitabor, and Rexulon, for instance. Not quite as outlandish as Zaphod Beeblebrox, but close, and thus too humorous for an otherwise serious novel. Another problem is the mixed medieval/high tech culture of the main setting. Though there is some justification for the high tech part, feudalism is not the obvious form into which a society would degenerate, and this one is just too close to movie medievalism to be convincing.
| What: | Time of Your Life (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
This is Steve Lyons' second Who novel, and he has not found his strength, yet, though his later novels will be among the best of the Who novels. This one just gets out of control. The early parts, the setup, are quite intriguing. There is a nice, slow build as forces align themselves to clash on the huge space station Network, broadcaster to the worlds. Lyons has much fun with parodies of various styles of TV programmes and takes several pot shots at the BBC. The main problem involves the second half of the book. Once the forces start clashing, a violent, bloody mess occurs. It is as if Lyons is trying to outdo '80s action films in terms of body counts and gruesome deaths. This violent strain takes over, and the plot disintegrates under its weight. Still, the first half is very interesting and indicates the strongest aspects of Lyons' writing.
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| Good Use Of The Novel Medium |
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| What: | The Romance of Crime (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Too often in the "Missing Adventures" series, the authors write as if they were novelizing screenplays, with the obvious restrictions in place. Not so in "The Romance Of Crime." This is clearly a novel, written as a novel to be read like a novel. Thus, there is much more focus on character, many of whom are more than just the cardboard types found in some of these books. The dialogue reads realistically, and one can hear the voices as one reads. The one drawback is the plot, which follows the usual megalomaniac creating destruction scenario. Granted, the megalomaniacs are well motivated, but the freedom offered in the novel form to create a new kind of menace makes these menaces rather mundane.
| What: | The Crystal Bucephalus (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
As I have said elsewhere in these pages, Craig Hinton is my least favorite of the Who novelists, and that this is probably his best novel indicates just how bad the others are. Hinton's problem is trying to write too big. In this, he is the opposite of John Peel, whose limitation is trying to hard to write like others. Hinton is an everything and the kitchen sink writer. The title refers to a restaurant at the end of the universe (almost, but the inspiration is obvious) in which patrons pay huge sums to be able to dine in specified historical settings. Such a place is just too tempting to those who see the possibility of using it to dominate the universe (surprisingly, the Master is not in this story, though the setting would be right for him). So, the reader gets whiplash from the multiple changes in scene. All the various factions and groups vying for control are pretty much comic-book quality creations, poorly characterized and simplistically motivated. The Doctor's companions are mostly relegated to the sidelines. In sum, the book may be good for thirteen-year-old boys, but older readers will perhaps be irritated by it, feeling that another thorough go through the draft could have brought it some missing focus.
| What: | Evolution (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
"Evolution" by long-time fan John Peel has the elements that Peel does well, namely recreating the mood and atmosphere of a particular TV season. In this case, we get Doctor 4 and Sarah, perhaps the best Doctor/companion couple in the regular series. The mood exactly imitates the Gothic period Who, from "Pyramids Of Mars" to "Image Of The Fendahl." The Doctor tries to fulfill a promise to Sarah by taking her to visit her favorite writer, Rudyard Kipling (a bit too conservative for Sarah's tastes, perhaps? - just my opinion), but gets it a little wrong and arrives in England while Kipling is still a teenager. There is great fun as "Gigger" (Kipling's nickname because of his famous gig-lens glasses) develops a teen-crush on Sarah. There is plenty of dark mood, as well. Most of the action happens at night. Grave robbing, gruesome deaths, and mysterious man-monsters add that Gothic feel. Among other prominent historically real characters, Arthur Conan Doyle features quite prominently, here a young ship's doctor. Peel cannot resist trying to use events in the novel to suggest the "inspirations" for later stories by these real figures. So, of course, there is a moor haunted by a huge, ravenous hound, just as an example. All in all, the story is servicable. In trying to get the mood and style right, Peel limits himself to some degree. It is the problem of imitation.
| What: | Goth Opera (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
As the first book of the "Missing Adventures" line, "Goth Opera" is not a bad start. It has plenty of adventure, atmosphere, suspense, and last minute surprises, all typically Whovian. Cornell tends to be a fan-wank kind of writer, and there are a few such moments in the book, but not too many. As the cover indicates, Nyssa gets a fairly large role in the story. Except for "Snakedance" and "Terminus," she was a sorely underused character in the regular series, and one gets real pleasure from her prominence in this novel. The main problems with the book, however, are typical for Cornell's imagination. The baddies have far too much unexplained power, and are able pretty much to do whatever they want to us poor, weak humans. Only the Doctor has any power of resistance, and this tends to limit the function of other characters. The total mind control creatures from the dark side (anyone remember "Image of the Fendahl"?) just gets overdone in his stories, and though less prominent in this novel than in other works of Cornell's, it still limits the possibilities too much.
| What: | Divided Loyalties (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Paul, Wakefield |
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| Date: | Tuesday 8 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 2 |
I thought this was one of worst Who books I've read - just couldn't get into it at all. The problem I think was that the companions seemed out of caracter from the TV versions and I think this is an important element of writing good PDA's.
I really, really, enjoyed this book. While I don't believe that it is a perfect 10 I voted that why to increase the overall score. It deserves more then a 4.5. I would easily give it a 9 or at least an 8.
I thought it was a good finalle to the series of books that comprised this storyline. I will miss Sabbath. I hope they can find a way to bring him back to work with the Doctor as an allie and equal.
| What: | The Plotters (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Paul Speake, Wakefield, England |
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| Date: | Sunday 6 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I'd never previously cared much for the Hartnell era, but this book has changed my entire persepective. It has to be one of the best novels I've ever read - just couldn't put it down. The use of the Gunpowder Plot is a master stroke and passing Vicky off as boy in front of King James was inspired. Recommend to anyone!
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| Quality, traditional Who... |
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| What: | To The Slaughter (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Joe Ford, Eastbourne |
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| Date: | Friday 4 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
The penultimate eighth Doctor adventure is an entertaining mixture of the very cool and the bloody weird. It is one of those books that is hard to pin down because it switches genre with alarming frequency…is it a comedy, science fiction, a political thriller, a horror…at times To The Slaughter is all of these and the shift in mood is one of things that will keep you on your toes. Which other Doctor Who book could present you with a Changing Rooms style spring clean for the solar system and evolve into a 28 Days later massacre?
What impressed me most (besides the number of gosh wow moments) was the amount of intimacy between the regulars. When either of the eighth Doctor editors dips into the range their books seem to capture the Doctor and his companions better than any other writer and To The Slaughter offers some real development for the regulars. It was especially noticeable because of the heavy tension between the three of them in recent tales but to see Trix cuddle up to Fitz, the Doctor kiss his hand and the three of them snuggle up together at the end is far from being as unbearably sugary as it sounds. It is a natural progression of their relationship that strikes a chord because we all want the Doctor and his companions to get on in the end, don’t we?
When the Doctor comments that Trix is coming on nicely he mirrored my thoughts precisely. Admittedly we still don’t know what her dark and disturbing past is (although the blurb from The Gallifrey Chronicles suggests we soon will) but I have really warmed to her devious, manipulative and somewhat heartless approach to their adventures because (and it is made abundantly clear here) that underneath that cold exterior she is a warm, caring person who really wants to help. What I will say though is that this book should have come far sooner in her short run and people might have warmed to her a lot quicker.
Trix actually gets to do most of the best stuff in To The Slaughter, dealing with all the exciting action (she seems to spend the whole book almost being killed…Finn Clark will be in his element…except she survives!) whilst the Doctor confronts the main players in the conspiracy. It’s hard to know which set piece to praise more; almost being burnt alive by rocket fuel, almost having a roof crush her to death, almost being slaughtered by rampaging animals or almost being roasted alive in a centifuge…its that she manages to survive the damn book that is so impressive!
It is at this point that I should mention that Stephen Cole is never better than when he is writing scenes from Trix or Fitz’s point of view. This is where he can plant himself in the book and make some hilarious observations using some ingenious pop culture references. He seems totally relaxed with these two characters, swearing, laughing at the action and using the most jarring remarks during stressful moments (I’m talking about big knickers, Cathy Gale, the Incredible Hulk and Stars in their Eyes here!).
The first thirty pages of the book are hugely misleading, coming across as a comedy silent movie from the days of black and white. The Doctor, Fitz and Trix spend ages running about chasing each others tails and I was wondering when all the Doctor Who stereotypes would end and the plot would begin but don’t be taken in by Cole’s deception…the plot hinges on information in those first thirty pages. He’s just a sneaky bugger, that’s all.
The plot is much more complicated than it might appear at first but stick with it, despite some confusing moments (around the middle of the book when everybody seems to have an agenda at odds with everyone else) the book polishes up very nicely, exploding with some nice twists, good motivations for everyone involved and a climax that will impress those who like a good spectacle. The web of intruige that this book spins is worthy of the great Robert Holmes with so many characters who aren’t quite what they appear to be but their plans all meet about 200 pages in with horrific consequences.
What does confuse is why Cole chooses to deliberately include elements that are quite humorous to construct his very serious tale, almost as if he really wants the audience to feel uncomfortable. The chiggocks (headless, genetically engineered creatures that walk into the oven for you), sentient paint and indestructible slugs are all fairly absurd but Cole marches on with their functions as if to say screw you, this is my book and I’ll have indestructible slugs if I want to! At least he points out how silly they are in some of the funniest scenes in the book (“It’s a Trojan Slug!”).
I agree whole-heartedly with Rob Matthews in his excellent Timeless review that Steve Cole has an excellent grasp on dialogue and one of the reasons To The Slaughter breezes past so smoothly is because he get this near perfect. The book is packed full of terrific one liners (“You think we came in here defenceless? We have much more than a chair, a woman and a shoe in our arsenal!”, “Tell me or I’ll blow you left leg off. And then your arm. And your right leg!” “Why don’t you start with my fingers?” said Trix, waving two of them in her direction) and remains laced with a thread of icy humour right into the murderous climax.
The secondary characters probably aren’t as well defined as those from Timeless but they all have clear reasons for what they are doing and for such a cast heavy book I never once lost track of who was who and what they were up to. Falsh pales when compared to that slime ball Basalt but I did like they way this book plays about with its villains, pushing a new one into the limelight every now and again. What was made abundantly clear was how far Falsh was willing to go in order to make sure the demolition of the solar system takes place and why it was so important to him. For my money the egotist Klimt was the better baddie, his motives as selfish as we Doctor Who fans have come to expect from our villains. And at least we know it wont all be Sabbath’s fault in the end! The eco-terrorists were pretty forgettable but I really liked egomaniac (oh yeah, everyone if this book suffers from a bloated image) Aristotle Halcyon and his assistant Sook who enter the book as if they are going to be minor characters but end up being rather important and command our sympathies, especially Sook. Tinya was a super bitch from the first page to her last and her brainwashed period was hilariously apt.
The last eighty pages could have come from a different book altogether being rather more violent and dangerous than the preceeding pages. I love a bit of senseless violence as much as the next guy (I cannot be the only person who watches Resurrection of the Daleks for the body count?) and Cole captures the violent animal instincts we have inside rather too well, almost uncomfortably so in places. Scenes of crowds tearing each other to pieces, guards shooting in a murderous frenzy and Fitz getting to grips with quite a few necks belong on in horror Who. The books sudden descent into darkness as disturbing at first after the lightness of the first half but the pace continues to accelerate to a wonderful climax. Who would have thought the Doctor could cause such destruction?
I very much enjoyed the views of the planets in the solar system, it was a relief from all the politics to have a character stare out of a window and take in the stunning vistas of the Earth’s solar system. I’ll never look at Jupiter in the same light again.
For myself this the sixth very good EDA in a row and whilst I would place To The Slaughter underneath The Tomorrow Windows, The Sleep of Reason and Sometime Never… it tops Halflife and the Deadstone Memorial. Were the EDAs to continue this sort of entertaining mix of horror and comedy could have been a good template for further adventures. I find myself looking forward to Stephen Cole’s upcoming NDA because he sure has improved in leaps and bounds since Parallel 59, his plotting and characterisation are damn good and his dialogue kicks ass.
But no indestructible slugs next time! Enjoy this whacky and different novel, you wont be seeing anymore for a few months.
| What: | Doctor Who Annual 1986 (World Annuals) |
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| By: | Devon dalek, Between Kitten Natatvidads boobs |
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| Date: | Wednesday 2 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
I was hunting this one down,it was the last of the annuals & proved one of THE most difficult to find..if you see it..BUY IT!!! trust me.
