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Lyon's dark, sombre take on the Hartnel historical adventure is top of the polls, and now I see why. I loved everything about this book - the trick was keeping the TARDIS regulars consistent with the series, but making everything else more 'mature'. If I had a slight quibble, it is that the First Doctor (one of my favourites) does not get much page space, but this is outweighed by his role in the spine-tingling epilogue. Highly recommended.
This is an okay Fifth Doctor story. The guy on the series would have picked up a dead soldier's gun and shot the nearest monster, blown the smoking tip of the barrel and said, 'I never miss'. Or at least told the troops to 'concentrate your fire/aim for the eye piece, etc' so they could win. Here he just gets bitten and passes out for a few chapters.
The weak portrayal on the dashing young heroic Doctor in the books always bothers me. Has no one watched Earthshock, I ask? But despite this, the book is quite well written and easy to read. It's tone is less derisive than Gary Russell (Adric's pathetic need to explore got them into trouble! Huh? Dr.Who is about a hero who's need to explore gets everyone around him and himself into trouble, isn't it?).
The setting of a seaside town is pleasant, reminds me of Planet Of Fire. The plot of people turning into huge monsters is good. But the story has no twists or surprises and becomes very repetitive after it gets going. The sheer gore of dismembered bodies and blood all over walls and floors seems a bit much though, like a splatter movie and it clashes with the feel of the book and Who in general. The series had suspense and death, but never a blood bath. The plot is the real let down. On TV the aliens spoke, that was the cool thing and the unique thing about Dr. Who. Weird alien monsters spoke intelligently instead of eating people on Dr.Who. In Trek it was only the humanoids who spoke. But the Doc in the books rarely has a conversation with the baddies. Here he confronts the alien force behind it all only in the last few pages and the resolution is rather simple, more like a short story plot. So, its not horrible to suffer through like Zeta Major or as crass as Divided Loyalties, but it comes off as just a bit average. Pity, as it had potential for more than that. But as a Dr. Who horror story with monsters and soldiers, its okay.
| What: | Goth Opera (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Tom Lingwood, Broseley, Shropshire |
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| Date: | Thursday 20 June 2002 |
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| Rating: |   8 |
Goth Opera is the first book of the 33 Missing Adventures and it’s a good book to kick off the series.
The plot sees the vampires of Great Britain receiving a message about the arrival of their evil messiah is imminent. Whilst on holiday in Tasmania, Nyssa is attacked by a demon child and is slowly becoming a vampire. The Doctor and Tegan must find a cure to save her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, the descendants of the Great Vampire want the blood of a Time Lord. This book has cameos from Romana, Glitz and the Drashigs.
It’s advisable to read the New Adventure Blood Harvest before this (though I haven’t). Goth Opera is a juicy, gritty tale, which I enjoyed. Every Doctor Who fan should have this book. Recommended.
| What: | Millennial Rites (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Tom Lingwood, Broseley, Shropshire |
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| Date: | Thursday 20 June 2002 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Following Reading System Shock, I decided to give Millennial Rites a try and it’s a brilliant book. This and System Shock are probably two of the greatest Missing Adventures.
Millennial Rites mentions Ashley Chapel, I2 and OffNet, all of which appeared in System Shock.
Millennial Rites’ plot sees the TARDIS landing in England in 1999 for the last New Year’s Eve party of the twentieth century. The Doctor meets up with Anne Travers (The Web of Fear, daughter of Professor Travers from Web and The Abominable Snowmen), now been knighted a dame and awarded an OBE. Anne is worried of another invasion by the Great Intelligence (the previous third invasion mentioned is a preview to Downtime) and millionaire philanthropist Ashley Chapel’s dark research. Meanwhile, Mel has caught up with some college friends. When the millennium arrives, the Doctor begins to feel an old foe is trying to take over his body…
This book sets the date for the UNIT stories and suggests why the sixth Doctor ‘really’ regenerated. I read this book in two days and was thrilled. This book should be in every Doctor Who fan’s collection.
Well, several months ago I picked up Adventuress (since I like reading the novels in order of release) only to find that it didn't appeal to me and I put it down before finishing the first chapter and went on to Mad Dogs. About 2 weeks ago, I decided to give Adventuress another try because I wanted to see the introduction of Sabbath and what he does to the Doctor.
Well, let me say that reading it through the second time, I was right to put it down the first time. This book is a total bore. The textbook style is not good for a book of fiction. You need the dialogue between the Doctor and the characters (atleast the companions) to make it exciting. The Doctor's characterization is lost in just the description since a man is more than how he looks.
I hope that this style of book does not become the norm for the Doctor Who books of the future. I agree that they need to explore new formats and possibilites, but the textbook style has got to go. It makes the stories drag on and puts one to sleep very fast.
| What: | System Shock (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Tom Lingwood, Broseley, Shropshire |
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| Date: | Thursday 13 June 2002 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This is a brilliant MA. It’s one of my favourites and it’s probably one of the best in the series. It should be in every fan’s collection.
The Doctor and Sarah arrive in England in 1998 where a dead man slips a CD into the Doctor’s pocket. OffNet controls everything from cars to sliding doors. The Doctor and Sarah meet their old friend Harry, who is now working for MI5 (this book sets the UNIT stories being in the 1970’s). MI5 are investigating I2, a software compare. They discover the CD is a key part to an invasion by the Voractylls.
I read this over two days and couldn’t put it down. There is a sequel to this book called Millennium Shock, also written by Justin Richards and that’s a BBC book. I’ll now try reading Millennial Rites, which deals on similar themes…
I liked this book a lot.In fact, I am glad I found a copy because before I read it, I thought the books that were being written about the Who series were all bloody awfull.This book changed my mind. I think Pertwee and Davison are the best Doctors, along with the rather over rated Tom Baker, the 15 years between Spearhead from Space and Caves of Androzani were the series greatest popular success and the highest quality. This book recaptures the feel of Pertwee's 70s Earth stories very well indeed, the flavor is just right, if a bit too retro flower power hippy in places. The plot on the whole is a washout. The first hundred pages is a huge preamble with the Russians trying and failing to kidnap the Doc. The next hundred is a huge red herring, a wild goose chase to Siberia to discover nothing much. Finally, we get the last 80 pages and its a dud rewrite of Independance Day, not a good idea! But who the Hell cares? The good old dandy Doctor, intelligent liberated Liz, sex crazed loser Mike Yates,dopey but lovable Benton and the hilariously unflappable Brigadier "they're aliens, by the way" are all perfectly presented. The UNIT setting seems to make for better books than other eras of the show, its a strong foundation for a book. Its a triumph of characters and atmposphere over thin plot. Hardly a masterpiece, it remains one of the most entertaining books so far. And best of all,it hasn't got that bloody awful Sylvester McCoy tosser in it!
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 | Brilliant, intricate science fiction! |
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This is the most astonishing book ever written. Hands down winner. The technical details of the TARDIS have never been finer. The visual details are the richest I have ever seen.
Marc Platt is a genius. There is no other word for it. Reading this book is like watching an astonishingly well-made movie, instead of struggling to fit words together on paper.
The sentences are definitely the shortest I have ever come across, and certainly the strangest. The sweeping perfection of the story and the incredible inventions of the author (ie. the Watch Tower, the Process, the grey city formed by the sundered TARDIS) stand out in my mind with haunting technical clarity.
In short, the book is an absolute triumph, even on the symbolic level. Every paragraph has a symbolic meaning, even every sentence. The story is stunningly detailed in the direct visual sense, but works on so many differnet levels of symbolism that I still haven't figured them all out, even after ten years of study.
My favorite parts are the TARDIS bits near the beginning, particularly the part where the scrolled plans of the timeship pop out of the console at Ace. I am a TARDIS fan, and I resent the fact that so few Doctor Who stories give such vivid descriptions of the interior workings of the craft.
An absolute stunner of a story. An absolute stunner.
This book has everything. The TARDIS trio are fantastic (I dread the day when one of them has to leave!), with a strong supporting cast (especially Karl). The strange world of Hitchemus is bought vividly to life and there are some cool action scenes (Fitz's armour). The opening is chilled, then the book picks up a cracking pace, with a great ending. My only criticism is that during the middle of the book some of the scenes seem rushed and surreal, but this is overshadowed by the high drama and general quality of writing. Kate Orman deserves a round of applause.
Let me make this clear. Season 19 is my all time favorite. I loved the Fifth Doctor, loved the characters, loved the era, loved the whole feel of it, much better than that boring Tom Baker/Gothic horror thing. I even liked Adric, after a fashion and felt great pity for him when he died. But this book, set in season 19, feels like it was written by someone who hated the season and the characters of that era and wanted to spend 280 odd pages insulting and belittling them. Reading this book was like watching a season 19 episode scripted by Gary Russell with Gary sitting on the sofa next to you yelling out derisive comments everytime a character did or said something stupid (and all the time you know it's his fault coz he wrote the script) You can hear him saying "oops, that egotistical Adric jerk's just realised he's stopped being the centre of attention" and "this Doctor's not as good as the old one, Tom was the REAL Doctor!" I wanted to throw this book out the window or set fire to it and hunt down Garry Russell and torture him for what he'd done to my beloved Dr. Who! Now he'd producing for Big Finish. Well, he tells us writing for radio/audio takes special skill. I listened to Mutant Phase and saw no special skill in that either. In fact, it had visuals like "just a blur" and a guy in a pitch black room who can't see a thing saying "you look like a Thal, same blonde hair". And the Doctor gets caught in a time paradox that was never caused in the first place to need resolving. It's just careless writing, bad, sloppy writing coupled with too much damn cynicism. Garry Russell is in a very powerful position and I hope he will treat my beloved Fifth Doctor with more care and less cynicism in the future.
I loved this book! This is the fifth Doctor I remember, the charming but utterly ruthless young man who shot the Cyberleader dead, shoved a Dalek out a second storey window, blasted Omega into the anti-verse and told Davros "I'm not here as your prisoner but your executioner." After seeing him wasted in boring books like Deep Blue and irritating books like Divided Loyalties, this one is a page-turner and an galaxy spanning adventure on a star wars movie scale. Terrance Dicks is the best DR. Who novelist there is and I loved every page of this book. I was never tempted to skip a single word or skim read a paragraph and it made me want to go back and watch Brain of Morbius again, even though I never really liked that story very much. All in all, Warmonger is exciting, gripping, enjoyable stuff with much humor and suspense and I recommend it to anyone who loves the Fifth Doctor or just likes a damn fine Who space adventure!
| What: | Anachrophobia (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | John Ellison, Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
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| Date: | Saturday 1 June 2002 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
A very solid story although I found it tedious at times. The ending managed to take it from the 5 I had been contemplating to the 7 I ended up giving it! The real gems of this time piece however are in the moments where the Doctor is still clearly coming to grips with his "human-ness". Morris is on the mark. I walked away convinced something BIG is happening. Well worth the time I put into it.
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| Thrilling adventure. Pertwee at his best |
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Ambassadors had virtually everything in it to make a perfect adventure. Intrigue, battles, short skirts, treachery, plots within plots and a fine supporting cast. This is a well scripted yarn with action from car chases to gun battles. The only quibbles I have are why do the UNIT forces suffer such high casualties for a so called elite outfit and the rather poor spacecraft shots. However, these should in no way detract from a well acted (some times over much), fast paced Dr Who.
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| Routine Dr Who saved only by Baker |
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| What: | Underworld (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Ian, Leeds |
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| Date: | Friday 31 May 2002 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Underworld to me suffers from the blight of virtually all Dr Who’s and that is lack of money. The sets interior of the P7E do look fine, a good decayed functional look, but once out into the caves! It must have been difficult for the actors when they spent more time acting in front of sheet than on a set, which probably explains the level of ability that some of them reach. Tom Baker is good and anything with Leela in is worth a point at least. That aside it’s quite disappointing and could have been so much better.
This novel is possibly one of the first new adventures which truly breaks the mould. Very descriptive in an almost poetic way, the story creeps and jumps at regular intervals ,yet tries to create a mythology all its own. More please. Wierd , long , powerfull yet magnificent.
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| The Doctor and Ace make a great team |
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The 7th Doctor & Ace vs The two Dalek factions
and (Ratcliffe, Man from Special Branch)Which also sees the return of Mad Scientest Davros.
Best bit is when the Doctor tricks Davros into using the hand of Omega Turning Skaro into Supernova.
| What: | Endgame (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Anthony V., Queens, NY, USA |
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| Date: | Tuesday 28 May 2002 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I thought "Endgame" could have easily been a 5th Doctor novel, as well as an 7th Doctor, but having it in the normal timeline (8th Doctor) makes it work much better.
| What: | Time and Relative (Telos novellas) |
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| By: | LS Jansen, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 26 May 2002 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
Surprisingly juvenile and unimaginative. Though I give Kim Newman points for trying to write from the pov of an alien 'teenage' girl, he lacks warmth and the touch that made the early stories quite good. He should stick to vampires.
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| Entertaining for the period |
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The votes in this case acuratly reflect to me the level of this story. Good location shots and the interisting story, fight against some poor acting and even poorer "special effects". High point to me is the action in the power station and the good use made of the UNIT charicters. Low points have to be the involvement of the master which could have been axed for a much more real plot, and the shots of inside the Axons spacecraft.
A splendid story, with the Doctor and Ace recognisably the televisual version and an intriguing plot which plays with time - unusual for a series which deals with time travel.
