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 | Not Your Ordinary Everyday Adventure |
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I really enjoyed this story. Even though more of the story did not include the Doctor or his companions then did. It still was above par. For most of the story I was wondering how are they going to turn this into a true Doctor Who story?
How are they going to explain him being involved at a psychatric rehab facility in England? But I was impressed with the way it was done. The characters were well thought out and well developed. I will really miss the true main character of the story, Laska. She would make a great companion. Truely better then some the Doctor has had in the past.
The story had an almost Sherloc Holmes feeling to it. It has been one of the few so far that I kept wanting to read one more page to see what would happen next. It is also the first Doctor Who story I have read that the full potenial of the story was achieved. I was left with wanting nothing more then the story to continue. Definatly a story I will read agian and again.
| What: | The Deadstone Memorial (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | John Ellison, Atlanta, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 6 March 2005 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
Although I think this title would have benefited by being distanced in sequence from the Lovecraftian "Sleep of Reason" it is very different and holds it's own superbly. The pacing is lightning quick with solid three dimensional character interaction driving the plot!
Fitz and Trix both play interesting roles in the story and Fitz's loyalty to the Doctor has never been better portrayed. Likewise, Trix has finally started to seem as if she wants to belong as well. And the Doctor has never seemed more himself (caring, eccentric, charming, and such).
All in all, a roaring good romp that satisfies on all levels!
| What: | Colditz (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | George M. Atkinson, Culcheth |
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| Date: | Saturday 5 March 2005 |
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| Rating: |  8 |
Colditz shows well rather lets you listen to the doctor and ace at coldits i think it's very well done and there is a map shown at the back of colditz
| What: | The Blue Angel (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Huddersfield, England |
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| Date: | Friday 4 March 2005 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
What can I say about this book? Nothing good, I'm afraid. Basically, I wouldn't want to be one of Paul Magrs' students - if his writing is anything to go by. Imagine various story elements which end up going nowhere, imagine that those story elements simply fail to engage the imagination. Somehow I get the impression that Magrs is a fan of the worst of Doctor Who and The Tomorrow People. I come away with the uneasy feeling that here is someone who really likes A Man for Emily - which springs to mind when I struggle through this book, its such a mire of ideas and words. Take my advice, don't even bother with this dross.
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| One of the best Big Finish stories yet |
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| What: | Davros (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | The Admiral, Perth, Australia |
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| Date: | Friday 4 March 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A good Dr. Who story tends to follow the usual rehashed storyline with a few surprises. A great Dr. Who story is usually experimental with somethings you absolutely never expected. This story starts out as a good Dr. Who story that turns into a great Dr. Who story.
Bringing back an old villian (Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, etc.) usually means a story very similar to what happened in the previous stories. Of course, Davros falls into that category and you expect a rehash of the old storylines.
Instead, you get Davros without the Daleks, half of the story showing unexpected things about his past on Skaro, and a perfect foil to the 6th Doctor. Colin Baker and Terry Malloy both shine in their performances. I expected the 6th Doctor to be the hero to Davros's villian but was shocked to see him as humorous to Davros's darkness.
This story is character driven. Even the secondary characters are fascinating. The story flows from the characters and the events build to an exciting and satisfying finish.
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| Read it with the light on |
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I read this one on a flight back from Japan and can say that it was a very enjoyable way to while away 12 hours! I dont normally go for the 6th Doctor stories but the Colin Baker / Peri double act were well suited to this adventure, if fact I can think of only Pertwee of the other Doctors who could have fitted into this one.
Highly recomended.
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| Too Many Balls In The Air |
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| What: | Zeta Major (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 2 March 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
This novel, for the first 3/4 of it, reads like a political thriller. I happen to like political thrillers, so I enjoyed that part of the book immensely. One of the previous viewers remarked on the strenghts of the villains, and I agree with that statement. Even the most evil of them, Krystian Fall the Zero Man, is not made out to be a raving nut bent on universal conquest. I also agree that the companions get very strong parts in this story. I would have liked to have seen this Tegan in the TV series. She is much smarter in this book.
Here are my knocks against the book. First, its premise is another of the "it's all the Doctor's fault" ideas. That idea was done well in "The Face of Evil," but it is now time to move on, and I am getting quite sick of its showing up again and again in the BBC novels and Big Finish CDs. In this case, it turns out that the Doctor's proposal to Sorenson in "Planet of Evil" to harness the kinetic energy of planetary motion was a blind alley. As a result, the Morestrans have wasted 2000 years (interesting number there and more about it later) building a gigantic "Energy Tower" to make that possible. In the process, Morestran society has split into an Imperial faction and a Church faction. This society is apparently based upon Renaissance Italy, principally, and Messingham does an interesting job of converting the historical society into a future society. This offers Messingham the opportunity to take some swipes at organized religion, particularly those based on prophecy, hence the 2000 year number. As I said, this part of the book works well for me. What happens, though, is that now that the deadline for the Energy Tower to be switched on has come up, the entire society falls apart into civil war. At this point, Messingham loses control of the story, mainly because he has too many things going on for a novel of this length, too many characters, too many motives. If the novel were twice as long, and much more detailed, these complications could have been worked out. As it is, the novel ends in a great bloody mess of bodies, and so many names thrown out that it becomes impossible to keep track of them in a single reading. Tighter control of the story would have made the last 1/4 as good as the first 3/4.
On a subjective basis I didn't enjoy this at all as I loathe sword and sorcery type fantasy, but to be fair it is a well-written knockabout adventure, you always know who are the good guys and the bad guys (except of course for the Surprise Revelation)and the pseudo-science conceit that explains away the wizards and dragons makes it almost forgiveable!
| What: | Venusian Lullaby (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Darrg, Wessex |
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| Date: | Tuesday 1 March 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Very ambitious in its attempts to create an entirely alien society and people - in so many novels the aliens still seem like men in rubber suits! Unfortunately trying to get the complexities of this across slows down the reading experience - I had to keep going back over things to refresh my picture of the Venusians (uh? since when did they have a mouth there !?) Trying to illustrate them on the cover made life more difficult rather than helping.
Beneath the density of the scene-setting, however, lies a nicely pitched Galaxy 4 type "just because they look nice, doesn't mean they are nice" kind of tale and, if it's not too much of a cliche to say so, it's something of an emotional rollercoaster to boot.
| What: | City At World's End (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Darrg, Wessex |
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| Date: | Tuesday 1 March 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
It felt like a first Doctor story but writ large, and if I have any complaint it would be that it is rather plot-heavy! An enormous number of mysterious things happen many of which are only resolved in the last few pages, so it becomes difficult to keep track of what's going on, who's on which side, who's who and who's what - which turns out to be a futile pursuit anyway, as inevitably no-one turns out to be what they seem!
There is much to enterain, though. Without giving too much away, Susan has a storyline which turns out to be particularly touching.
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| Everybody was Kung Fu fighting ... |
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| What: | The Eleventh Tiger (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Darrg, Wessex |
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| Date: | Tuesday 1 March 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
An entertaining read which uses the ever-enjoyable conceit of combining myth with pseudo-science, and does it quite well; I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that it draws heavily on one of Nigel Kneale's memorable concepts... It is true to the first Doctor's remit to educate as well : I'd certainly never heard of the legendary figures from martial arts mythology who are the major supporting characters in the book, but it encouraged me to look them up.
The Doctor quoting (coincidentally of course!) from the record of 'Kung Fu Fighting' raised a smile even if at heart I wished he hadn't ... Otherwise the only weak point is the writing for Vicki - though in that sense it is also true to the original series!
| What: | Byzantium! (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Darrg, Wessex |
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| Date: | Tuesday 1 March 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
The first Doctor formula of 'split everybody up and let them have their own little adventures' is pushed to its limits here, with none of the four travellers' stories impacting much on each other. As a historical romp this is fine and readable fare, but the Bob Dylan quotes, and knowing references to early 80s bands like the Teardrop Explodes and New Order are more jarringly anachronistic than a blue police box - especially when they come out of the mouth of Chesterton (unless he's used time travel as a means of getting au fait with pop music from after his time ... ?). In fact both Ian and Vicki's dialogue is a bit laboured and unconvincing in its attempts to be realistically colloquial. But if you can ignore all that - quite a jolly read! The author obviously had a great time writing it.
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| Thoroughly Enjoyable Adventure |
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I really enjoyed this adventure with the Doctor. I enjoyed the trip to WW II and the backround of the Philidelphia experiment. It got me to do a web search and try and find out more about The real "Project Rainbow".
I also like the fact that the story mainly focused on the Doctor more and left Fitz and Sam and other supporting characters as just that, supporting characters.
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| Another entertaining read from Mr Lyons |
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| What: | The Murder Game (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | PJ Johnson, Hoddesdon, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 24 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Having read Steve Lyons' First Doctor masterpiece The Witch Hunters immediately before reading The Murder Game, my expectations for this book were naturally sky-high, and while it fails to match The Witch Hunters for sheer power and emotional involvement, it is nevertheless a highly entertaining book.
One pattern that emerges throughout all of Steve Lyons' PDAs and Missing Adventures, is his incredible ability to recreate flawlessly the characteristics of each Doctor, and this is evident in The Murder Game. In fact, all three of the main characters, the Second Doctor, Ben and Polly are superbly written, and Lyons explores the relationship between the two companions in far more depth than was ever reached on the show.
The other human characters are also very well written, especially the cold, emotionless Allison Hayes, the cowardly thespian Lord Henry Mace, and Ben's new love interest, the beautiful and courageous Terri Willis. The interaction between the contestants in the murder mystery weekend is genuine and believable, as are their obvious suspicions regarding the Doctor and his party.
The first half of the book is riveting - as events begin to unfold in the claustrophobic environment of the space station, the tension and suspense become unbearable. Then, when the first victim is discovered, and the contestants realise that there may be a real murderer in their midst, relationships begin to disintegrate and suspicion is rife - everyone is potentially a suspect, and the reader is left guessing for much of the book who the murderer is, which makes for a very enjoyable and thrilling read.
Unfortunately, this book suffers from the same problem as Lyons' first Missing Adventure, Time of Your Life (although thankfully not to the same extent) - the final part of the book, beginning with the introduction of Lyons' pet monsters, the Selachians, feels rather confused and messy after the gripping build-up provided in the first half of the book. Seemingly pointless and irrelevant plot strands start appearing, and when the action moves to the Selachian ship the story loses one of it’s best features - the claustrophobic setting of the space station, which is superbly realised throughout the first part of the story.
These gripes aside, however, the story remains highly entertaining throughout, and the ending provides a satisfying conclusion - my only complaint being that the explanation for the destruction of the Selachian ship seems rather rushed, as if Lyons just wanted to finish the story as quickly as possible and stuck with the simplest explanation he could think of.
This is another highly entertaining title from the superb Steve Lyons, and I recommend it to any Who fan, particularly fans of Troughton's Doctor, and anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery.
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| Circles within Circles - A tangled web |
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A very enjoyable book but very confusind. The writer weaves a very tangled web in the begining of circles within circles like a pebbles tossed into the surface of a lake. If you try and figure the story out right away it will only leave you with a headache. But if you sit back and let the story lead you the conclusion is very satisfying. I would have like to have K-9 more involved and had repulsion's character better developed. Repulsion would have made for an exceltent recuring enemy.
| What: | The Colony of Lies (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | The Admiral, Perth, Australia |
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| Date: | Wednesday 23 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
To answer the main question: yes, it is a very good book and not a waste of your time.
Now to expand and give away some spoilers. The book is suppose a Dr. Who western but since the story doesn't take place in the wild west of the 1800's, rather a colony in the future that restricted technology, it doesn't succeed as a western. To me, that was a good thing because the science fiction aspects are thought provoking and delightful.
You might also put the book down as false advertising since the back of the book claims to have the 7th Doctor but you only meet him in the introduction. Give it time. He is in the book and does have a larger role than you realise. I particularly recommend the scene where he does meet the 2nd Doctor. Quite unexpected and enjoyable.
The book does feel rushed as you get to the last quarter. It's as if Colin Brake wanted to get all his ideas in and forced them. He could've used one more draft to pace the book better.
Overall, a very good book with some surprises and little items that add to the enjoyment (such as King William 10 Euro notes and
I really enjoyed this one. It had some good humor and a unpredictable endding. It was interesting seeing the bluring of the Doctors charactor and Fitz's charactor. Of experencing there discovering more about each other, sharing their fears and seeing how others preceive them. The character development was greater in this one book then in the last several Doctor who combined.
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| Better, but still not great... |
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| What: | Legacy of the Daleks (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | PJ Johnson, Hoddesdon, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 18 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Legacy of the Daleks is certainly a marked improvement after War of the Daleks, but still suffers from John Peel's obsession with linking aspects of his stories with past Dalek stories, and trying to fill in any continuity gaps (Dalek related or otherwise) along the way. Thankfully, however, this book adds to established Who mythology, rather than shattering it. Another considerable point in favour of Legacy of the Daleks (in my opinion anyway) is that is the first Dalek story since Death to the Daleks way back in 1974 not to feature Davros!
The concept of a direct sequel to The Dalek Invasion of Earth is not inherently a bad one, and some aspects of it are very well-conceived. For example, it is fascinating to see how human civilisation developed following the Dalek invasion, and Peel's depiction of a pseudo-feudal society on the brink of civil war is highly engaging.
As in War of the Daleks, Peel's characterisation in this book is very inconsistent in quality. Again, the Doctor is fairly well written, and his growing concern both for his granddaughter Susan and his missing companion Sam is very believable. Susan herself however, is poorly written. While the problems faced by a Time Lord woman and her ageing human husband are addressed early on in the story, Susan's character seems almost unchanged from her days of travelling with the Doctor, and she shows very little of the maturity one would expect her to have found after living for thirty years in a shattered society amongst humans.
On a more positive note, Sam's 'replacement' in this story, Donna, is a fascinating character, and easily fills the role of temporary companion. There is some wonderful dialogue between her and the Doctor, and it seems a shame that she only features in this story. Donna also reminds me somewhat of Ayaka in War of the Daleks - the strong female character, constantly torn between morality and loyalty - in Ayaka's case, loyalty to the Thal war effort, in Donna's, loyalty to her father.
The inclusion of the Master provides an interesting twist to the proceedings, although even this is not an original idea, harking back to the 1973 TV story Frontier in Space. Peel portrays Roger Delgado's gentleman villain pretty well, although his use of a false identity is annoying to say the least - as in several TV stories from the 80s, the Master assumes a false identity when there is absolutely no need to so! And it seems even more pointless in the case of Legacy of the Daleks, considering that any reader with the slightest knowledge of 70s Doctor Who will guess the true identity of the mysterious Estro long before the 'shock' revelation halfway through the book.
The story’s ending provides a tidy, if rather uninspired account of the Master's degeneration from Delgado's final appearance in Frontier in Space to the mutilated husk we saw in The Deadly Assassin some four years later.
All in all, Legacy of the Daleks is another entertaining novel from John Peel, which unfortunately still relies too heavily on building on established mythology and past stories, which may alienate the casual reader. It is certainly worth reading though, as it provides a satisfying second chapter to the events of The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
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| Too clever for its own good? |
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| What: | War of the Daleks (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | PJ Johnson, Hoddesdon, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 18 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
John Peel's War of the Daleks is undeniably a fascinating and entertaining read, but it is far from easy going, and the finer complexities of the plot will no doubt be lost on those not totally familiar with established Dalek history.
Peel's characterisation is, I feel, somewhat hit and miss - Ayaka is by far the strongest character, and remains engaging throughout, constantly torn between her strong morality and her unwavering sense of duty to the Thal cause. The other Thals are also fairly well written, as is Chayn. Perhaps the most interesting characterisation however is that of the Doctor, as we discover just how little he understands what has been happening in the Dalek empire over the last several centuries, and how he has been manipulated by the Dalek Prime. Also, his guilt concerning the actions of Delani and the Thals - it was, after all the Doctor who first convinced the Thals to abandon their pacifist ways and fight against the Daleks - is well-realised and believable. The character of Sam is also fairly well developed, as she realises just how much she cares for the Doctor, and how out of her depth she is when faced with the menace of the Daleks.
The Daleks themselves, however, while presented fairly well as a civilisation (perhaps not the appropriate term for the Daleks!), are often poorly written, and I found it difficult to imagine a Dalek saying much of the dialogue in the later chapters. Davros too, who seems to have been modelled on Terry Molloy's somewhat misguided portrayal of the character, is disappointing. While he is occasionally given some splendid dialogue, he is on the whole presented as a ranting, irritable old man, and a long way from the cold, understated, calculating genius of Michael Wisher's original (and definitive) performance in Genesis of the Daleks.
The actual plot is, as I mentioned, incredibly complex, and shatters everything that you thought you knew about the Daleks, casting new light on the events of every Dalek story from Destiny of the Daleks onwards. This may be too much for the casual reader to digest, but provided you grasp the details of the Dalek Prime's master plan and the events leading up to the war prophesised in the title, the rest of the book is entertaining, if lacking in pace at times.
By far the most disappointing aspect of the book for me was the ending, which after the epic events of the final few chapters, seemed like rather an anticlimax, as the Doctor realises that the Dalek Prime has manipulated him once again and the Thals (and indeed the entire galaxy) are in grave danger - all well and good, but following this realisation, the Doctor devises and executes an effective solution far too easily, and the whole final chapter seems rushed and unsatisfying.
Gripes aside, War of the Daleks is a highly entertaining read, and continues the process begun in Remembrance of the Daleks of re-establishing the Daleks as a dangerous, intelligent enemy in their own right, as opposed to simply being Davros's 'heavies', as they were often portrayed in the later TV stories. While casual readers would do better to investigate Peel's subsequent Dalek story Legacy of the Daleks, War of the Daleks is, on the whole, a satisfying read for any die-hard (and open-minded) Doctor Who fan.
| What: | The Witch Hunters (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | PJ Johnson, Hoddesdon, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 18 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Witch Hunters is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best piece of Dr Who fiction I have ever read. I have been a fan of Steve Lyons' work ever since Killing Ground, his second contribution to the Virgin 'Missing Adventures' series, and in The Witch Hunters, he achieved something quite incredible - he produced something even better.
Lyons does a superb job of recreating the setting, attitudes, characters and events of the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692. Each and every character is convincing and thoroughly engaging, as are their relationships with the Doctor and his companions, particularly the troubled friendship between Susan and Mary Warren. Susan's character is developed wonderfully throughout the book, as her concrete sense of right and wrong forces her to disobey her grandfather and put herself and her friends in great danger. The idea of Susan possessing telepathic powers, as introduced in the TV story The Sensorites, is also developed and plays a major part as the story unfolds.
In fact, while the character of the First Doctor is excellently portrayed and plays a vital role in the story's sledgehammer ending, the main characters in the story are undoubtedly Susan and Ian, both of whom are superbly written and developed throughout the book.
The Witch Hunters is a gripping read, and incredibly powerful through it's depiction of real historical events. I finished the book in three days, having found it impossible to put down, and after reading the incredibly powerful and emotional ending, I found myself tempted to turn back to page one and begin again. I resisted the temptation, however, and moved on to Lyons' earlier PDA, The Murder Game, which so far has not disappointed.
Quite simply, any Who fan must read this book, especially those who feel, as I do, that the historical stories of the Hartnell era were classics in their own right, and should never have been abandoned. Had The Witch Hunters been amongst those original television stories, I have no doubt that it would now be considered one of the greatest stories of them all.
