There are 4,155 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
 |  |  |
 | Two, Two, Two Plots For The Price Of One |
|
| | |
| What: | Bad Therapy (New Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: |   8 |
Jones has written a thoughtful novel about gay experience and made it fully Doctor Who. That is a tough job well done. On top of that, he keeps two plots going that seem to have no direct connection until they collide about 2/3 into the book. This one makes me wish there were more Doctor Who novels from Matthew Jones.
| What: | The Death of Art (New Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
The strengths of the book is a truly different sort of alien from what we normally encounter in Doctor Who, and good use of the Doctor 7 character. The bad points are an attempt to be "stylish" when writing from the aliens' point of view, and making Roz into the damsel in distress for most of the book, stripped naked for 1/2 of it, to boot.
| | |
| Twice As Long As It Needs To Be |
|
| | |
| What: | Shakedown (New Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 4 |
The origin of the novel is the independent video of the same name. And like that video, the first 1/2 of the novel which retells it is compelling knock 'em off one by one murder mystery, like "Horror Of Fang Rock." The second 1/2 of the book is clearly added to make it novel-length, and as such is pure padding.
| What: | St Anthony's Fire (New Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
Gatiss writes of aliens with sensitivity and a belief that they are, in their own way, people too. The villain in the book, such as it is, is the cult of St. Anthony. And here is where we see what Gatiss's concerns are. Cults, the military, nationalism, all are forms of bigotry because they rely on unthinking us vs. them mentality. When Ace is brainwashed by the cult of St. Anthony, that is an apt metaphor for how Gatiss sees these things - literally one gives up one's mind to the cause. The result is always tragic.
| What: | First Frontier (New Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
Doctor Who and the flying saucers, with McIntee's personal addition to the Who bestiary, the Chinese-styled Tzun, and the Master up to his old tricks. The plot is full of action, but not of thought. There is nothing fancy, surrealistic, or philosophical here, just go go go action.
| What: | Blood Harvest (New Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
Terrance Dicks is a much-beloved figure in Whoviana, and deservedly so. His opinions about all things Who are always worth hearing. His own original contributions,however, have been up and down affairs. "State of Decay" had clever dialogue, but too many vampire clichés and a preposterous denouement. This sequel is far superior in every way to the original. The vampires are scarier, the action more believable, and the dialogue equally crisp. This novel shows what is possible with Doctor Who in its new forms.
| What: | Legacy (New Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
The maturation of the Ice Warriors, from stock baddies to honorable soldiers, has been very good to see. Treatment of aliens as intelligent and reasonable is one of the reasons that Doctor Who is so far superior to most American TV science fiction. Russell has kept Brian Hayles' creations intact, from the Ice Warriors to Alpha Centauri to the Peladonians. His own additions, the rat-like Pakha, and a complicated plot involving galactic politics and a lost icon, make the story eminently enjoyable. I am not sure that Benny's snogging an Ice Warrior was wholly necessary.
| What: | Superior Beings (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
Of the many companions of the series, Peri suffered from some of the worst characterization. The novels and audios have gone a long way to fix that error, and in this novel we get a Peri whose appeal is more than just sexual. The Doctor 5/Peri combination had only two stories to develop, so it is nice to see and hear it go further. They would have been an excellent combination had things worked out. About the novel itself, Walters writes an exciting story about the consequences of cult worship. The gods are not what they seem. His vulpine aliens are nasty, but nasty by nature, and certainly have redeemable traits. This is one definitely worth reading.
| What: | The Shadow in the Glass (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
So, it had to happen at some point. We had to get the Doctor to meet Hitler. The virtues of the book are that, as with most books and audios about Doctor 6, it is better than most the stories Colin Baker got to act in during the regular run of Doctor Who. The authors use the freedom that novel-writing offers to go back and forth in time convincingly. The plot is perhaps more complicated than it needs to be. There is a nasty twist at the end of the book. Overall, it is quite entertaining.
| What: | The Quantum Archangel (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 2 |
Craig Hinton is perhaps my least favorite of the Doctor Who novelists. And this is my least favorite of his books. The main problem is that Hinton tries to write big, really big. We are talking all the universe all of space and time big. But, his rather pedestrian approach to cosmic plots creates a huge dischord. I am always leary when mere mortals try to write about and in the point of view of gods or godlike beings. The earthly metaphors rarely match the immense powers that these beings are supposed to have. Furthermore, Hinton seems to be of the school of writers who presume that everyone whom the Doctor meets for any extended amount of time is made miserable by it. So our characters who return from "The Time Monster" all have had horrible lives. And Mel is furious at the Doctor for something that was not his fault. I thought the Doctor was supposed to be a hero. Flawed, yes, but heroic nevertheless.
| What: | Imperial Moon (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
This is a really fun book. The idea is to set Doctor Who into a typical 1890s "scientific romance" as they used to be called. I have read several of these, most, except for Wells and Verne, unintentionally hilarious. Bulis does a good job of catching the spirit of these things (intrepid adventurers, honor of England, quirky scientist, stallwart scientist's daughter, amazonian maidens, giant bug-like creatures) while writing in a modern style. "Imperial Moon" is not a deep book, but it is a jolly good read.
| What: | Corpse Marker (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
Most the novel sequels to well-liked Who stories have been sad disappointments. I was not disappointed with this one. As usual with Boucher stories, the background is well-worked out so that characters move and act in believable ways. Also, Boucher chooses wisely not to write "Robots of Death" again, but to give a substantially new and different sort of story years after the events of the first. Overall, I am perplexed by the dissatisfied reaction of the fans to Boucher's books. In my opinion, Boucher's refusal to turn Doctor Who into comic-book silliness is refreshing and the right way to take the series.
| What: | The Final Sanction (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
Since the Virgin novels days, Lyons has been working on the history of his pet monsters, the Selachians, the sharks of outer space. This is the final? book about them. In one sense it is, because it movingly and compassionately tells of the demise of their race. As with "Warriors of the Deep," the overall mood is not outrage at war, but sadness at the destruction, personal and social, that it causes. Lives are ruined in all sorts of ways. My one complaint is that this story may have been better not being Doctor Who, that is that the premise means that the Doctor is really not a major player in the events. Still, the book makes mighty good reading.
| What: | The Infinity Doctors (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
I guess this book helped creat the idea for Doctor Who Unbound audios. The basic premise is that the Doctor stayed on Gallifrey. This allows Parkin to use the basic idea of Logopolis, the universe coming to an early entropic demise, to good effect. One complaint: The Doctor and The Master are in this, as in many recent Who works, established roles in Gallifreyan society. I am not fond at all of this trend. The original idea of the name Doctor was his preservation of anonymity. The Doctor and Master are rogues, not roles.
| | |
| Great Concept, Good Adventure |
|
| | |
| What: | Last Man Running (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
Chris Boucher is one of my favorite of the Dr. Who series writers. I also admire his scripts for the significantly underrated "Star Cops" series. In this novel he brings along what he does best - concept and action. There is very little deja-vu in the plot. The characters are believable, especially in their motivations. Boucher has taken time to work out the cultural backgrounds to his characters so that their actions make sense.
| | |
| Great Concept, Good Adventure |
|
| | |
| What: | Last Man Running (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
Chris Boucher is one of my favorite of the Dr. Who series writers. I also admire his scripts for the significantly unerrated "Star Cops" series. In this novel he brings along what he does best - concept and action. There is very little deja-vu in the plot. The characters are believable, especially in their motivations. Boucher has taken time to work out the cultural backgrounds to his characters so that their actions make sense.
| What: | Mission: Impractical (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 3 |
I grant that McIntee intended to write a light, inconsequential book. That he has done. But much of the humor forces a strain on the reader's credulity. Also, McIntee has chosen to rely on the awful Baker duo portrayal of Glitz as a nincompoop rather than Robert Holmes' superior characterization of Glitz as a smart professional who enjoys being a thief.
| What: | The Hollow Men (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
This is a genuinely scary book about a village possessed by "something" for generations. There is not much new here, as the plot is a "Midwich Cuckoos" variation with some "Wicker Man" thrown in. But it is good fun. The authors have decided to go with the usual 7th Doctor characterization of a Time Lord on a mission that only he knows about.
| What: | The Roundheads (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 4 |
The book attempts a novelistic version of the Doctor Who historicals. Given the freedom that a novel has, Gatiss goes all out, including spies, voyages at sea, a female pirate captain, and the Doctor playing soothsayer to Oliver Cromwell. Much of it is silly in the way that "The Romans" was silly. The adventures of Ben and the Pirate Captain are just too much for me to take, too many cliches and not much contribution to the story. Gatiss has written better books than this.
| What: | Illegal Alien (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2003 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
Set during the Blitz, the novel involves as many icons of the 1940s as one can think of. There's an American detective, stallwart Londoners, orphans, and of course Cybermen. The plot is very complicated, involving attempts by British and German agents to get ahold of and use Cyber technology. Meanwhile the Cybermen themselves are trying to re-write their own history. The writers do a good job of keeping multiple narrative strands going at once.
