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| What: | Divided Loyalties (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Bangor, Northern Ireland |
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| Date: | Wednesday 28 April 2004 |
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| Rating: |   4 |
Gary Russell seems to have embarked on a mission to fill in gaps in Dr Who. This particular book seeks to fill in the gaps between The Celestial Toymaker and The Nightmare Fair with a little nod towards a Doctor Who magazine story. In line with Russell's obsession with continuity it also connects to the Missing Adventure The Dark Path (albeit in using the Master's name).
As to the book itself - it comes in three sections. The first section details the Doctor's arrival on the space station orbiting the planet of Dymok and subsequent journey to the planet into what he soon realises is a trap. At various points some characters have encounters with the Celestial Toymaker - gamblers who unfortunately end up as his toys and the Doctor's companions who are shown the possibility that the Doctor is not so benign after all. While the storytelling has improved over some of Russell's previous works, there is a simplistic ideaology at work here.
The second section tells the early story of the Doctor and his academy friends (who include The Master, The Rani, the War Chief and The Meddling Monk). It is quite good, especially when the the young Doctor challenges the tenets of Time Lord society suggesting that change is an important value too. I genuinely liked that particular part.
Unfortunately, from this point on the book goes down hill. The Doctor and two friends borrow a TARDIS and end up in the Toymaker's domain. This is poorly executed and the consequent battle that follows in the third and final section is an utter mess. There is not well thought out strategy - one particular battle involves a chess game with people playing the pieces. The game begins and ends within a few paragraphs and seems to serve no purpose. The battle between the Doctor and the Toymaker doesn't end with a whimper...it just whimpers from one step to the next. The whimsical ending, which paves the way for The Nightmare Fair just made me cringe. The manner in which the Doctor's companions are shown visions to break their faith in him work to an extent but the subsequent manner in which they choose to stand by the Doctor lacks the character development hinted at in this book. Its just not thought through well enough. Potentially a good book but ultimately disappointing.
This is one of the four best Dr.Who stories I ever saw on TV growing up, the others were Earthshock, The Five Doctors (the original brisk version, not the rather slow special edition we seem to be stuck with) and Caves of Androzani. Oddly, Eric Saward, who was one of the best things in the much criticised 80s decade has, illogically, been blamed for the all the bad things in 80s Who, by fans.
Criticising this story for it's flaws is like focusing on the orange clams that try and gnaw Harry Sullivan's leg off in Genesis of the Daleks, this story has a ton of action, so there's more that can go wrong in a low budget production, but overall, this is a classy and exciting adventure.
Eric Saward is oft deried for his plots, but Saward's real strength is in his ability to imagine gripping situations. In Earthshock it was dark cave tunnels where futuristic troops clash with faceless androids and a massive space freighter where a tiny crew are beseiged by glittering Cybermen.
Here it's a dark, rain swept London docklands, where police and soldiers are killed and swiftly, silently replaced with cold blooded clone duplicates who serve the Daleks. It's drenched with atmosphere, brutally realistic, and deeply paranoic. We eventually learn that the Daleks are secreting these evil impostors in key postions of society to cause Earth society to collapse, a much more subtle idea that their usual conquer the Universe by sheer force approach. It's bomb disposal squad investigating alien objects mistaken for unexploded bombs is straight out of Quatermass and the Pit, while the clone thing is very Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the type of films Robert Holmes often paid homage to during the Gothic Horror era.
Then there's the delapidated space station where the Daleks blast their way in and kill the crew and try to free their creator Davros. A classic base under seige tale is given a dark twist, because the Doctor fails to get there in time to help, and they all die.
For once, we get to see the senseless violence and shocking horror which the Daleks bring, instead of just hearing about it. And when the Doctor decides enough in enough and confronts Davros to execute him, a stunning thing happens: Davros tries to justify this horror and carnage, by telling the Doctor "history is...littered with atrocities and ambition for empire, it is a universal way of life" and that the Doctor, by not accepting this, is denying "what is real". This only serves to stir the Doctor's moral outrage and ironically, his moral sense seems to prevent him pulling the trigger. Dr.Who in the 1980s was often called "style over substance", but this has more real substance, more themes and issues which relate to the real world, than many 70s Who classics. If Hitler had been captured alive, would it have been ethically and morally more desirable to execute him, or "leave him to slowly rot and die" in prison, as Davros says? The same question arose when Saddam Hussein was captured recently. This story dares to suggest that war is shocking, violent and disturbing, that things get out of hand and become senseless and bloody and that there are no easy answers for someone like the Doctor in a Universe in which there is no black and white, not even where Davros and the Daleks are concerned.
Since Genesis of the Daleks is often praised for suggesting the morality of wiping out the Daleks may not be clear cut, this then is surely a worthy follow up, and probably better than many Dalek stories, particularly the Pertwee era clashes like Planet of the Daleks, or The Chase or Destiny, all of which seem childishly simple and poorly produced next to this.
All in all, it's a fantastic story which has become tragicly underappreciated by the critics. I love it and have watched it over and over.
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 | Better the Devil you watch |
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| What: | Dæmos Rising (Miscellaneous direct-to-video spin-offs) |
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| By: | James , England |
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| Date: | Tuesday 27 April 2004 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I love it, I'm a newbie to these spin-offs and after watching Daemos Rising I'm now a junkie and I'm going to search for more of these spin-offs as they look better than most of the Doctor Who transmitted during the 80's!
This felt very Tom Baker to me, mystery build up but the ending was a little weak, missing something original to keep it up beat.
The Doctor and Charley come across well, with Charley containing her overconfidence.
Overall average-good.
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| Now this is a good annual... |
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| What: | The Dalek Book (Miscellaneous annuals) |
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| By: | YumChan, Doncaster, England |
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| Date: | Wednesday 21 April 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
..Lots aren't! Its basically one long story, but some of it is in comic strip form and some is illustrated text. There's also some 'technical' blurb which actally relates to the story. (unlike most Who annuals!)
Top Book! Available online now at
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheDalekBook
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| Not Your Usual Dr Who Novel |
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| What: | The Dalek Factor (Telos novellas) |
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| By: | Yumchan1114, Doncaster, England |
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| Date: | Wednesday 21 April 2004 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
This book was billed as making the daleks more sinister. Well, I suppose it does because they don't appear very often and don't say anything until the end!
There are some really good ideas in this book and it is a completely new take on a dalek story. Some things to me did seem a bit out of place along the way, but in the end it all comes together.
From the Doctor's dialogue I was trying to decide which Doctor it was. I kept changing my mind along the way, though I won't spoil it for anyone else and say what conclusion I came to!
I would say that this book is more like the stories found in the 60's Dalek Annuals than a usual Dr Who story. I think Mr Nation would have really liked it.
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| Two Doctors...who never meet |
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| What: | Heart of TARDIS (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Bangor, Northern Ireland |
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| Date: | Tuesday 20 April 2004 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
I approached this book with reluctance: Dave Stone has written some of the worst DW books I have ever endured. I dislike his whimsy, his storytelling style and his stories tend to be very poor.
This is not one of the best DW books I have read but nor is it the worst and to be honest I found it much better than Dave Stone's previous output - perhaps he has sobered up a little?
One thing that I enjoyed about the book was that the two Doctors never meet. They are involved in events that are connected - the 2nd Doctor arriving in an American town that seems to be a fusion of the 50s and the 90s, the 4th Doctor arriving in the present day. Quite early on in the book, we are told that Type 1 TARDISes did not always return...so we have an idea as to the nature of the problem.
If, like me, you didn't like Dave Stone's other books and are hesitant about this, you might give it a go. It won't astonish you but it is an improvement.
| What: | Festival of Death (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Bangor, Northern Ireland |
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| Date: | Tuesday 20 April 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
The book begins with a tragedy - a young boy witnesses the death of his parents. Then the story shifts to the 4th Doctor and the 2nd Romana arriving at the G-Lock in the aftermath of an horrendous series of events. People are pleased to see the Doctor and Romana - thanking them for what they have done. Some are surprised to find the Doctor very much alive...and so begins an excellent story as the TARDIS crew travel back to various moments in time to take part in events which will culminate in the Doctor sacrificing his life to save the people of the G-Lock.
This book very quickly gathers momentum and is well written with some wonderful characterisation. Over the past 10 years I have had to wade through some truly dreadful books with the title of Doctor Who appended to them. Thankfully there are a few here and there which make the task all the better - and this is one of them. Here's hoping that Jonathon Morris writes a few more books.
So, if you find a lot of the Virgin and BBC books tedious, give this one a go - you might enjoy it.
| What: | Drift (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Bangor, Northern Ireland |
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| Date: | Monday 5 April 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
The book begins quite slowly, introducing us to an almost dizzynig number of characters and situations. Stick with it though, as slowly but surely the book brings the characters and situations together until suddenly it accelerates. If this had been a broadcast story, episode 1 would have been plodding, episode 2 slightly less plodding, episode 3 would have seen the pace pick up and episode 4 would have been a rollercoaster ride.
The book has a number of plus points, the main one being the interesting foe that the Doctor ultimately has to deal with. As I said, the pace of the final half of the book really picks up and draws the reader in - so stay with it.
On the negative side - Leela is not well utilised, she spends more time admiring the skills of a Native American tracker than actually doing anything herself; the ending seems rushed and confusing; and the range of characters and situations take too long to converge, sometimes they seem to peter out before we get to the convergence.
However, the pluses outweight the minuses and this is one of the best DW novels I have read in a while. I look foward to reading Simon Forward's other novels for the series.
| What: | The Creed of the Kromon (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | tony, balitmore, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 31 March 2004 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
So far what I've heard of the new eight doctor adventures have been pretty good to lame like this. Nothing like McGann's prior season. They are starting to repeat ideas from the books, which started out great and then...well, I had to stop reading them since they were boring. I hope this doesn't happen with the CDs. Here's hoping the TV show will be good.
| What: | Dæmos Rising (Miscellaneous direct-to-video spin-offs) |
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| By: | Gordon Michael Salt, Oldham, England, UK |
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| Date: | Wednesday 31 March 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I bought this as a fan of the Pertwee era. I'd seen the Auton series and the early effort Wartime and seen that the initial credible efforts were improving, so I thought I'd give Daemos Rising a try. I'm glad I did it is a very atmospheric & well acted peice of drama. Obviousley they haven't the budgetfor top notch effects and I'm afraid this does show when the Daemon appears; perhaps a 'man in a suit' might have worked after all if it could have been filmed in the right way, otherwise the rest of the drama has great special effects. Miles Richardson is excellent. I'd recommend this particularly for all fans of the Pertwee era. If only the Daemon effect could have been better it would have been good enough to air on peak time TV. Well done Reeltime.
| What: | The Pit (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Bangor, Northern Ireland |
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| Date: | Monday 29 March 2004 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
There's an art to storytelling. No one wants to sit around a campfire while the narrator hesitates, diverges, ponders, goes for a walk, comes back, scratches his head and tells a story in an increasingly patchy manner.
That's how I felt about The Pit: it seems like a series of sentences strung together with no thought given to telling a story. I can't even begin to describe how awful this book is other than to say that of the 1000+ books I've read in my lifetime this remains at the very bottom. I cannot help but feel that either this book was written at a rate of one sentence a day and never read over to make sure it actually gelled, or the author was a poorly written writing program, or heaven forbid, a five year old with a good knowledge of words (if not their meaning and use).
On the rare occasion when I was able to actually find a coherent paragraph I caught a glimpse of someone trying to emulate Tim Powers.
Basically - AVOID!
| What: | Timeless (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Not Given, NSW, Australia |
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| Date: | Saturday 27 March 2004 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
'Timeless' is one of the best books I've ever read in ages. Even though it is grizzly in parts it was good to see the Time Lords that survived.
I partly bought the book cause I'm, like a couple of others, an Anji fan (revolutionist alert!), and when I saw that she goes I decided to buy it. All of the concepts are great, and about time they tied up the alternative universe arc (when would it stop?...here).
But does anyone know that it ties in greatly with the new book by Justin Richards that ends the Sabbath arc: SOMETIME NEVER... (published Jan 5, 2004)
I won't give it away but it has to do with diamonds, and that nasty old loony Kalicum. I've got Richards'book but I haven't finished it. But TIMELESS is GREAT!
If this busted anyone else's boiler, get Justin Richards' book. Both are perfect Doctor Who books I find...
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| Twisting & Turning -but about C'Rizz? |
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With the introduction of C'Rizz I was hoping for something to build and understand the charater more, I was disappointed.
The story itself was good but with C'Rizz just started should have been left until we knew the creature more.
Like other recent stories this held you, with twists and turns, delving into personal belief and the will to be individual, which is intertaining.
Good but what about C'Rizz
However I don't know C'Rizz any better and still hope he turns out interesting.
A great world is formed in your head, with good creatures and use of sound. However this soon falls a little flat with charley and the doctors constant glib comments.
The story could have been a good solid, traditional feast for Doctor Who, but as normal was left flat with weak charaters and rampling story line.
The introduction of a new charater C'Rizz should have been punchy and thrilling, rather than weak and rambling.
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| Did I hear a different story? |
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| What: | Spare Parts (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jamie Hunn, Chipping Sodbury, UK |
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| Date: | Sunday 21 March 2004 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
To be frank, this one was dire.
Usually, I agree with general fan consensus (Chimes of Midnight, The One Doctor etc)but this was just one long boring trek through the Cybermens' history.
Is suffered, obviously, from the fact that we knew what was going to happen to the people - they would be cybernised. As such, it was totally predictable and lost all shock factor. The remainder of the story plodded along well enough, but I really would have preferred to have spent my £13.00 on something else.
| What: | Bloodtide (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jamie Hunn, Chipping Sodbury, UK |
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| Date: | Saturday 20 March 2004 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
While it could be said that this is a retelling of "Doctor Who and the Silurians" to some extent, this story also features the new explorations of past ideas that you would expect from a Big Finish story.
Certainly, this one bags that credit with the revelation that man was created by a Silurian scientist- we are GM Apes!
The story itself, though simple, is highly enjoyable, and carries very well for what is a very compact and tightly structured story, that, although a retelling of the original story, as I said, still seems very fresh, given the Galapogos setting, the Myrka (hoo......ra.........y............, it's back ), and , of course, the addition of Charles Darwin and the crew of the Beagle.
The Silurians themselves, thankfully, sound very much like their 1970 originals. Even down to the sound effects.
And that is the production's main strength - the sound. I haven't got the name of the sound designer at hand, but all credit to him. From the Galapogan shore to the dripping, dank hybernation chamber, the sound, and the excellent score, create in the mind what words and descriptions alone couldn't.
In short, this story is a must, after all, it's my favourite, and I have got exceptional taste...or have I?
I make no bones about the fact that I am Peter Davison's self-appointed champion, defender and fan as Dr.Who is concerned. I started watching the series with Tom Baker and saw a lot of Pertwee reruns. At the time I thought Pertwee was good and Baker was even better. BUT...as time wore on I found I became tired of Tom Baker's endless stories as he became increasingly self-indulgent and silly in the role. Don't get me wrong, I still love Baker's early stuff and I love the first season especially of Pertwee, but Peter Davison arrived when I was a teenager when seasons 18 and 19 were screened in one long run in 1982 in Australia and by the end of Earthshock I was declaring him MY Doctor and Earthshock the all time greatest story. This story introduced me to the consumate TRADITIONAL Who writer of the 80s, Eric Saward who went on to script Earthshock and the brilliant and HUGELY UNDERRATED Resurrection of the Daleks (the darkest, most intensely paranoid, sinister and atmospheric Dalek story ever...with the possible exception of the classic Genesis, naturally!).
Saward's debut is simple, charming and intelligent, which warmth and wit and shows a very Doctorish turn by the
| What: | Sometime Never... (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | John Ellison, Atlanta, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 17 March 2004 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Hmmm...I find myself puzzled. I think this is possibly one of the best novels in the last year or so that the series has offered. Sure, the ending was not what I wanted and I was saddened by the "resolution" of several loose ends I had grown rather fond of over time. Still, I give the overall tension, effect and pace of the book outstanding marks. Plus it mentions elements of the Doctor's past! Just to see an author acknowledge that Sam once travelled with the Doctor (or Harry or Jo or Sarah Jane for that matter)...what a forgotten treat!
Read it and draw your own conclusions.
Who knows, perhaps someday soon we will be treated to a novel that truly goes outside the norm. It could start with a quote from the Doctor, "I remeber everthing..." Now that would be an interesting read.
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| A brilliant combination of old and new. |
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| What: | Zagreus (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, New York |
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| Date: | Sunday 14 March 2004 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I can't just let the other review here stand without challenge. Zagreus is an exceptionally good story. Sure, there are loads of old characters and famous lines rehashed and scattered throughout, but at the same time there's a fascinating, groundbreaking story that takes things to new heights and in a new direction. It's like the most far out of the New Adventures book titles by Marc Platt or Paul Cornell - think "Time's Crucible," "Timewyrm - Revelation," and "Lungbarrow." Maybe a bit too cerebral for some fans.
