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| 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.
| What: | So You Think You Know Dr Who? (Miscellaneous factual books) |
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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: | 2 |
An ok read,needs pictures.
| What: | Longleat '83 (Miscellaneous video interviews / documentaries) |
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| By: | Kolchak, Somewhere |
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| Date: | Wednesday 2 February 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I got this tape & was bowled over by the memories..buy this one 10/10!!!
Dave Stone is definatly not one of my favorite DW writers. His stories have potential but never live up to there fullness and get dragged down by unneed extra story bagage.
By the title of the book I was hopping for more detail on the workings of the TARDIS. It is almost like he took two stories that were to short and combined them to make one larger story.
Not a story I would read again, but definatly read at least once. After all it is DW.
Storm of Angels by Joe Ford
“When you’re ankle deep in tears and blood you can’t let people suffer because it’s history!” Susan to Susan.
Breathtaking…this is what Doctor Who on audio is all about. Forget overblown tripe like The Next Life this is the level of quality every Big Finish release should be! And no hint of the name Gary Russell on any of it, I don’t know about you but I am starting to see a disturbing pattern emerging (cough, cough this is the best release since …the Pirates).
I want to start by discussing the postproduction work, which is absolutely stunning and makes this one of the most distinctive Big Finish releases yet. I have absolutely no idea who or what ERS is (they are credited for the music and post production) but this is a superb achievement, one that takes you from the humdrum of everyday life (I spent a week listening to this on the interminable walk to work and back) to a magical, dazzling world of magic, drama and wonder.
The sound effects were far more dramatic than usual from the powerful shots echoing from the canons of The Hind, the instant transportation of the time rings and the sharp, tingling force of the sentient crystals. The ideas give the story its heart but John Ainsworth’s unique interpretation of the story is what kept me listening so avidly, hanging on every scene. The music was a delight too and did a marvellous job of capturing the poetic, supernatural atmosphere of the story. Early episodes are awash with an epic score to accompany the timeless travel through space and as events move onto Earth the music takes on a more cultural style, a pleasing mix of Chinese and Indian fashions.
Marc Platt has now won me over completely and I would now suggest he is far more suited to writing for audio than novels and television. His ideas always feel a bit heavy for television and novels afford him too much chance to explore and take ideas too far beyond their potential and exhausting their power. Audio traps Platt in a comfortable middle zone, where he has to keep the plot moving to keep his audience interested but also affords the opportunity to capture his ideas raw without the disappointment of visuals to drag them down. His dialogue is absolutely beautiful; you cannot listen to one track on this CD without being blown away by the strength of his language.
Platt had already won over the audience with his touching re-interpretation of the first Doctor in Auld Mortality, one who was trapped on Gallifrey and lost in his fictional adventures. That play ended with the glorious re-establishment of the Doctor out in the universe with his granddaughter by his side. Storm of Angels continues their adventures some time later with the Time Lords on their tail and Susan growing sicker by the minute. To make it matters worse it would appear that the Doctor is starting to have a profound impact on timelines. Things aren’t quite as he remembers…surely humans weren’t exploring the stars in the 1500’s?
What a fabulous idea to hook a story on especially considering Hartnell’s Doctors reaction to Barbara attempting to change history in The Aztecs. Storm of Angels cheekily name checks that story (and the Doctor still can’t get the High Priests name right!) but in this reality the forgetful Doctor warns the Aztecs of their impending fate. He also takes Leonardo Da Vinci for a trip to the stars to reward his imagination. But what influence can one harmless old man really have on the timelines…Storm of Angels takes the brave outlook of having the Doctor being one of the greatest threats to Earth’s (and the rest of the universes) history. A prod here, a poke there and suddenly Leonardo is inventing spacecraft and Elisabeth is ruling England in a giant floating palace above the Earth.
These ideas have all been flirted with before (Inferno for example) but Storm of Angels takes the braver route by having this as the REAL timeline, buggered beyond recognition and the playing field of the story. I loved how little we are reminded that this is all wrong and that a secondary story is allowed to play out so we can except this reality with no fuss. Francis Drake flying around the galaxy in his ship The Hind collecting tribute for Gloriana, the Queen of England who is in desperate need of funds thanks to the space programme. There are some absurd details scattered about the story, genuine historical details that are given a little tweaking.
What surprises even more is just how traditional this story really is when you take away the trappings of the Unbound Doctor and Susan and the screwed up timelines. This is actually a very simple tale of alien conquest, jewel like creatures inhabiting human bodies to get their mother stone to Earth and thereby attracting their home ground (an asteroid belt) to attack and conquer. What makes this superior to a depressing yawnathon invasion like The Apocalypse Element (the Daleks attempting to invade Gallifrey!) is the confidence of the writing and the commitment of the actors involved. There is grace and beauty to the writing that makes this far more memorable than your standard invasion.
Some of the ‘visuals’ could only have come from Platt’s mind…a storm of angels flocking past the ship and pushing it back to Earth, crystals growing through the eyes and skin of people, Gloriana descending on his subjects in a floating throne, the asteroids chasing the ship as it departs from the Earth…the story shoots from one distinctive image to another (which is doubly impressive considering there are no images to see!).
Had Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke turned up earlier this could have been how the Hartnell era turned out with the Doctor and Susan constantly running from the Time Lords, threats through the audio systems forcing them to make one shock materialisation after another. The gorgeous Ian Hallad makes an impressive lead as their devious pursuer Zeuro; one who will stop at nothing to halt the old mans pollution of the timeline. There are several exception scenes between the two Time Lords, discussing the implications of the Doctor’s interference where the Doctor’s hatred of the Time Lord’s impotence and their frustration at his meddling shines through. In a cruel twist of fate Zeuro takes a far bigger role in the action than he desired and is stripped of his identity and life as the alien jewels infect his body and use him as their envoy. This faltering, snarling amalgamation of Time Lord and alien intelligence is truly frightening and provides the story with a fantastic cliff-hanger to episode two. His relationship with the Queen is sweet and disturbing and their scenes together dancing sent chills down my spine.
Geoffrey Bayldon makes a much stronger impact here, his throaty voice threatening to undermine the Doctor’s authority but Bayldon delivers his lines with a forcefulness that would have knocked Hartnell for six. It is wonderful how he gleefully defends his travels and interference and the script takes the time to sum up his morals and feelings on a very profound level. Bayldon’s chemistry with Carole Ann Ford is extraordinary and they make a very believable team both as family and fellow explorers. His quiet pleading at her bedside when she falls exhausted with another bout of sickness captures his love for his granddaughter with genuine sentiment and I found this tears on the cheeks stuff.
The final twist that Susan is not in fact real but a fake the Doctor knocked up in the possibility generator comes right out of the blue and makes perfect sense of the Sliding Doors-esque scene at the end of Auld Mortality where Susan both accepts and declines the Doctor’s invitation of a jaunt around the universe. This leads to further introspection, this time of Susan who has the obligatory conversation with her other self and comes to realise that resting on her laurels and accepting the ideals of the Time Lords is not so easy when people are dying all around you. Sometimes you have to get involved in one of the best scenes of the play the real Susan makes a choice that sees her exiled from Gallifrey, forcing Gloriana to take action. In a twist that is bound to leave a lump in your throat the two Susan’s give the Doctor a gift that he can never admit to knowing about.
I have lavished plenty of praise on Storm of Angels but it deserves it. A beautiful, triumphant story that knocks pretty much every one of the regular Doctor Who releases into the second league. Awesome stuff and not just recommended but essential listening.
The book itself has some silly stories and made up stuff by and for the book about the DALEKs, but I used the Dalek pattern to create Daleks for years!
Re-creates the feel of the Pertwee era exactly.
