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| What: | Paradise Towers (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | , Ulm, Germany |
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| Date: | Friday 9 August 2002 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
In my opinion one of the best Doctor Who stories.
On a similar tack to 'The Witchunters', Lyons takes the Troughton space adventure and gives it a dark slant. The end result isn't as good as the witchunters, but still worth reading. After a shakey start ('Genesis of the Daleks', anyone?), this builds into an exciting, fast-paced adventure. The supporting cast are good, if uniformly angst-ridden, and the Selachians are a cool new race. I thought the bits with the Doctor on the 'Triumph' (the Doctor tests just how much Time can be played with) were very gripping, but got a bit bored with Zoe's chapters, which were a predictable cycle of capture/escape/capture. However, the ending is excellent. All in all, a satisfying read.
| What: | The Crooked World (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | John Ellison, Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 7 August 2002 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
After some of the line's more recent offerings, I cringed as I picked up this book. The cover and the cover teaser had me convinced that this was a disaster waiting to happen. (Maybe I am a purest, but I don't find the stories that "do something 'totally' un-who-like" to be my forte--if I wanted un-who-like, then I would read something else).
What I got instead was one of the most wonderful 8th Doctor stories ever told. Lyons managed to pay homage to numerous cartoon characters while still masterfully creating a story about growth and change. Satire, wit, and feeling--it is ALL present and on the mark. I even found myself moved to tears on several occassions.
It really is that good! Were it within my power, this would be a HUGO winner.
If you are in North America and hoping to wait out the current distribution problems, then find a way to get this book NOW!
| What: | The City of the Dead (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Mark, Australia |
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| Date: | Wednesday 7 August 2002 |
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| Rating: |  9 |
After reading this novel, I have to say I really enjoyed it, especially the descriptions of New Orleans, a place I never really knew anything about.
The whole story with Nothing getting into the Tardis seemed to be left largely unexplored, even at the end of the novel, and the reader is left with a rather murky understanding of the whole point of the story.
But you get to read all about the weird beliefs of some people, and there is even a mention of an erection... is that anywhere else in the franchise? I thought this story started out as a kids' series? But let's be honest, how many of us loyal fans are kids?
I feel that in this novel, Fitz was terribly underused. All he got to do was dig up a grave. Compassion fell in love with the enemy, and the Doctor pondered his memory loss whilst flirting with the Occult.
| What: | Nightshade (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Virtual Vikki, Red Bluff, CA, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 7 August 2002 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Back to Earth in 1968 as the Doctor is going into a bit of a depression (which if I recall lasts off and on for the next several books) and perhaps a visit to his favorite planet will cheer him up. In the village of Crook Marsham lives an old actor who once played Nightshade on the telly. His character was sort of a cross between Prof. Quatermass and Doctor Who. Now he is just an old actor. Many murders, what else is new, have been occurring. There is a radio telescope on the moor which is being bombarded by strange signals. Add for good measure some legends of the local civil ware and an ageless power and you have all the elements for a good Who story. Sort of reminiscent of the Image of the Fendall or The Horror of Fang Rock this books makes for good reading. This was voted by fans as one of the best of the first 12 New Adventures novels.
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 | Great humor.. too much sex and violence |
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| What: | Sky Pirates! (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Virtual Vikki, Red Bluff, CA, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 7 August 2002 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
By David Stone (the author of three Judge Dredd novels) he also wrote one of the solo Benny novels and two other NA's.
Avast, ye scurvies! Hoist the mainbrace, splice the anchor and join the Doctor and Benny for the maiden voyage of the good ship Schirron Dream, as it ventures into the fungral dark air spaces occupied by the Sloathes - those villainous slimy evil shape shifting monsters of utter and unmitigated evil that have placed a system under siege!"
There are several interior illustrations and one very unusual map-diagram in the back of the book.
The back of this book was very odd. The standard blurb about the New Adventures was replaced with this...
"Stories deeper, wider, firmer, plumper, perkier, yellower, crisper and with more incredibly bad jokes than you can shake a stick at, theNew Adventures take the TARDIS into previously unexplored realms of taste and stupidity."
A lot of people really hated this book. I thought it was the best book so far of the entire series. Some of the gags are fantastic. The humor is good. On the down side, there is quite a bit of sex near the beginning of the novel when Bennie and the Doctor take up working in a brothel. There is a bit of violence too. Perhaps a bit more than needed to be in the story. The pirate aspects are good. The characters are very very likable. I was glad it was one of the longest Doctor Who books to date. I was a bit sad when it was over. I wish it could have gone on longer.
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| Worth reading. Ending not so good. |
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| What: | Blood Heat (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Virtual Vikki, Red Bluff, CA, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 7 August 2002 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This story is one of the more innovative of the series. It tends to lage a bit about 1/3 of the way into the book for a chapter or so. I don't want to give too much away, but the ending does negate the action and leave the reader a bit unsatisfied. however, the adventure of getting to the end is well worth the time spent.
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| On a quest for treasure... |
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| What: | The Ultimate Treasure (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | C. J.'s Dreamer, USA |
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| Date: | Tuesday 6 August 2002 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
The Ultimate Treasure combines classic Dr. Who with the treasure seeking adventures of old. Christopher Bulis captures the characters of the Fifth Doctor and Peri with grace and accuracy, and you can just see them on this adventure. Also, the other characters may be seen as typecasted, but Bulis adds touches to them that make them unique enough to be true participants in the plot and not just background.
With plenty of twist and turns and a moral at the end, the plot is fun and imaginative with just enough hardship in it to keep it from being just a frilly story. There are many potentially fatal challenges/puzzles in keeping with the spirit of other such tasks found in many Dr. Who episodes. Adding a moral quest along with a physical one, the story is true old BBC televison Dr. Who, but it takes advantage of being a written work and thus delves deeper than could be done by means of a television performance.
For those of you who like the newer gloom-and-doom, moral-twisting, dark style that many of the newer Dr. Who novels have adopted, you many not like this book. For those of you looking for a reprieve and find yourself yearning for a new story but in the old spririt of the Dr. Who television series (where you still like the Doctor and his companions at the end of the story), then the Ultimate Treasure is the book for you.
All around, it is a fun adverture story and fairly light reading. The only thing I have to say bad about the book is that it needed one more proofreading before it hit the presses.
Take Care and Keep Reading!
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| Nice try....could be better |
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It is very hard to find a storyline that fits in with the doctrine and cannon of dr. who, and its even more difficult to set the story before the series stated with an unearthly child. time and relative was a good but really not what i'd consider a good pre-dr. who story. using susan as the point of view was a good idea but the book tried too hard to explain a bit about the doctor's past without giving too much away.
also, the idea of a being that lived on the earth during the ice age was a nice touch but got too silly with the killer snowmen routine.
| What: | Rags (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Simon, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Monday 5 August 2002 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
Didn't like this book much, which is a personal disapointment for me because I love the cover, it's one of my favorites. The Doctor was hardly in this story at all, and when he was, he wasn't doing anything. I don't mind a bit of blood and guts, but a story would be nice...
This book is available for trade at www.sf-books.com
| What: | The Book of the Still (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | John Ellison, Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
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| Date: | Thursday 1 August 2002 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
I found "The Book of the Still" to be quite unimpressive. I am not sure whether Mr. Ebb was going for humor or just the plain absurd. In fairness, though it did involve "mobsters" and I have never really enjoyed that kind of story.
I was however very disappointed with the plot that seemed to jump from place to place while expecting the reader to take it all in stride. Sorry, the "explanations" at the end just seemed too contrived and even then, not everything is really explained (like a weird time event that allows Fitz to put his fingers where they shouldn't be).
I have also begun to despair that the series editor (still Raynor?) has stopped reading the books! Didn't we just see trench coated aliens in the previous story? And this is yet another story where time tech seems to be the focal point.
It's been two years since the destruction of Gallifrey and six months since they neutered the Doctor even further! I have never missed the Doctor's memories or his world more!
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| Great Book. A lot of answers! |
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A great book that answered all my questions about the Timelords. I always reckoned that the Timelords like the Master and Romana were so cool, it was a shame there wasn't much of a background, and so this book came along. Only cross? A bit too expensive at 30 quid!!! On the other hand, the writing, photos and illustrations probably more than make up for it
| What: | Matrix (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | EDL Foster, Invercargill, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Sunday 28 July 2002 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Quite basically, this is McCoy...but not as you know him.
Forget the recent American news documentary on the Ripper unmasking by acclaimed crime novelist, Patricia Cornwell, this book explores and uncovers the true story behind the most notorious (and mysterious) serial killer in known history.
It's also a kind of sequel to a documented scandalous legal trial on Gallifrey, which has the Doctor fighting his most dangerous foe, imaginable...
Himself.
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| Pertwee rules the universe |
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It's been a while since I last saw this story on TV, but it was always good fun to watch. The story is unusual in that itis divided into two sections.The scenes with the Doctor and Jo arriving on a ship in what seems to be Earth's past and finding the crew trapped in a time loop (see Groundhog Day) is very effective and very Twilight Zone-ish. Robert Holmes scripts well as usual and Harry himself, Ian Marter, makes an early appearance.The final moments with the ship's occupants realising that their trip seems to have taken forever and the old boy finally finishing his book and strangely haunting and touching, shades of the Bermuda Triangle mystery and the Marie Celeste. The other half of the story lets the whole thing down. The Pertwee era had spent three years firmly fixed to the ground. Dr.Who became a kind of 70s X-Files or an ongoing Quatermass serial with an unearthly hero, but season ten inspired Barry Letts to go plunging back into time and space with tacky, embarrassing results that lowered the tone of one of the best eras of the entire Dr.Who series. The scenes on the alien planet of Inter Minor are silly, cheap, obviously studio bound and filled with bad CSO work. The scenesin which the Doctor and Jo escape through the workings of the mini scope are similar to the Lost In Space episode Trip Through the Robot and inspire the viewer's imagination. All in all, it's about 50 to 60 percent of an all time classic and rest sucks like a vacuum cleaner. But all in all, the good outweighs the bad and Pertwee is still one of the absolute best Doctors. I'd say this DVD is well worth the price. But please...can we have some of the others now...seasons seven and eight for instance! The WHOLE seasons I mean,not just Spearhead from Space. Why Ambassadors of Death didn't make it to DVD recently is beyond me! What a story. But I digress! Long live Pertwee, long live Dr.Who!
| What: | Verdigris (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Simon, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Monday 22 July 2002 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Very strange book, and you'll probably enjoy it if you like tahe sort of thing. I found it to be a bit too over the top. Started off well, just got freakier and freakier, and the ending was quite unsatisfying. I don't really like the Iris character, she was just plain annoying. However, the Third Doc wa well writen and I do have a soft spot for Jo Grant...
This book is available for trade at
www.sf-books.com
| What: | Trading Futures (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | John Ellison, Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 17 July 2002 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
In my opinion Lance Parkin is probably the best Doctor Who novelist currently writing. He always seems to deliver something different than his previous offering and manages to find the Doctor as well as his companions when writing (sadly not every author does).
I found the plot to be very interesting and truly enjoyed the role Fitz ended up enduring. Just enough camp to offset the overall story! Also, the setting was haunting--one only need look to the headlines to see the growing rift between the USA and European nations.
Ultimately, Parkin delivers! I found it difficult to put this one down until I knew what was going on. How long until your next one Mr. Parkin?
This is the first Doctor Who book that I can honestly say surpassed my expectations. I have only read half a dozen at this point (all of them eighth Doctor) and each has had its ups and downs. This was the first that held me, enthralled, from begining to end! The writing style captures both the delicate and heart-breaking moments and the wonderfully funny and witty ones. The story is broad in scope, reaching farther into both the history or the Doctor and Gallifrey than any book or story I have read or seen. And it does it tastefully and carefully. I highly recomend this book to any Who fan (and even those who are new to the series). Keep an open mind with this. There is nothing to specify with complete accuracy which Doctor this is or even if this is an alternate reality Doctor. In the end, I don't think it matters. The story speaks for itself!
An excellent story, well told. The historical setting was protrayed perfectly. The ending packs quite an emotional punch. Highly recomended. This book is available for trade at www.sf-books.com
| What: | The Sun Makers (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Mark Robinson, Belfast, N.Ireland |
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 July 2002 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I enjoyed this story more than I thought I would.
The humour was just right and the acting overall was quite good. One thing I noticed was the relationship between the Doctor and Leela , did the Doctor have to take so long to rescue Leela from the steamer. I particularly liked the characters of The Gatherer and the collector - both make good villans. It's a mystery why this story took so long to come out on video when so many others far inferior stories have been released already.
Overall an enjoyable 8 out of 10.
| What: | Revenge of the Cybermen (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Mark Robinson, Belfast, N.Ireland |
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 July 2002 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Oh dear, I was very disappointed with this story. I remember it being very exciting and enjoyable but not unfortunately not this time around. The Cybermen were boring as were the Vogans (apart from the leader- their masks were very bad and fake).
The story was weak, although the location work was well done. What should have been a great return for the Cybermen , after a very lenghy absense, was very poor and what's with "Revenge of the Cybermen", surely Return would have been a better title.
On the plus side I enjoyed the Doctor, Sarah and Harry ( one of my favorite teams)and surprisingly the cybermats were quite effective.
Disappointing - 5 out of 10.
