The next lot of Dr Who books read this year - Part 4

And here we go again.  Part 4 of a series of posts.  Wonder how many more I’ll get through on this series, this year?  You’ll see, below, that this was a very mixed bunch indeed, this latest lot.  Some I loved (Paul Leonard’s Venusian Lullaby); and some I’m amazed I got through (Eric Saward’s The Twin Dilemma). Strangely, the strength of the plot has nothing to do with whether I am enjoying these – some of them have very slight plots but are written and characterised so appealingly I am happy and sail through.  Others…I really enjoyed The Twin Dilemma as an intro to the 6^th Dr on TV (unlike lots of other people!)…but the book.  I think it may be the most unhappy (though hopefully not unkind) review I’ve ever given to a book I didn’t actually rip up.  (Yes:  I once ripped up a book.  It was so full of hate and nastiness I felt that no one else should be subjected to my copy, at least; so I tore it up to rid myself of the bad feelings it had provoked…It was a very nasty thriller I read some years ago – nowadays we’d call it torture-porn, but we didn’t have that term back in the late 80s!  So.  Not a habitual destroyer of books: each to their own in reading, I say.)

As always: SPOILERS ON ALL BOOKS VERY LIKELY!!!!

And a note on order.  Target Originals are not read in order of publication, but in order of each Doctor.  And I jump about in terms of which Doctor I read at any given time.  But each Doctor’s individual stories will be read in order of broadcasting on TV.  The Virgin New Adventures for Sylvester will be read in order; as will the BBC 8^th Doctor series (as though they had been on TV, see?  I’m trying to get an arc flavour).  The BBC Past Doctors series and the Virgin Missing Adventures are simply read in terms of which one I fancy next, as they are stand alone adventures slotting in-between the TV ones.

1. Doctor Who: Earthshock, by Ian Marter (Target Original)
   (5^th Dr.  I just didn’t get into this one.  It felt very bitty, and unconnected and none of the characters felt particularly real, even the Doctor.  The Beryl Reid character swaggered and behaved like a stereotypical boar through the book.  Nyssa felt unnecessarily excluded from the main action, Tegan behaved like a stereotype of herself [‘a mouth on legs’], and Adric dying seemed like something of an afterthought – though it was the most affecting moment in the whole story on TV. Hmmm…Not sure what went wrong here?  Maybe its me, and I just wasn’t in the right mood for this one – though I am finding the 5^th Dr adventures way more readable than they ever were watchable – but here’s an exception. ACTUAL BOOK.)
2. Doctor Who: Edge of Destruction, by Nigel Robinson (Target Original)
   (1^st Dr.  This one watched very well but didn’t read so well.  I wasn’t absorbed.  The jarring nature of the hysteria and paranoia seems to have been more visual in this story than I realised.  I also found the denouement rather contrived: all because of a stuck button, The TARDIS spent the entire book trying to tell them what was wrong with the ship by means of poltergeist phenomena and electric shocks [eh?]; possession – for example some silly episodes with scissors that did the plot no good and were red herrings of the most irritating kind[really truly ehh??!!].  All a bit silly.  There could have been a much better reason, and the way the TARDIS chose to communicate – and how on earth it managed it could have been way better explained.  More believably.  Liking Barbara’s role in this one though: like the idea that she saw a narrative and followed that, where pure science, being emotionless, was unable to see the links.  That was a nice touch, thought provoking.)
3. Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma, by Eric Saward (Target Original)
   (6^th Dr.  Good God, this one almost derailed my marathon entirely.  TURGID is not the word.  At first I thought the writing was quirky, but then…in too many places it is perfectly serviceable before slipping into some truly strange narratorial choices.  He found it impossible to stick to the point, whatever it was at the time.  Not in the adorable manner of Lawrence Sterne either.  Just as if he wanted to focalise every random character that was mentioned in passing.  And some that weren’t random characters really.  At one point, by example, a cat watched some other characters leave a scene.  We then get treated to a description of what the cat knew.  We focalise a cat that is never seen in the story again, for 3 pages, for absolutely no reason.  I am amazed this story got told at all, what little there was of it, because the author’s inability to keep himself interested in it long enough to tell us, was obvious.  Painful reading; except the bits that were good – which is why I’m so irritated with the rest of it!  ACTUAL BOOK.)
4. Doctor Who: Blue Box, by Kate Orman (BBC Past Doctors Series)
   (6^th Dr.  This one was a problem.  It started very well, then made a fatal error – an error I am noticing in several of these after show independent tie-in books.  Whilst the presentation of the Dr and whichever companion are usually finely and perfectly played, the surrounding story often feels like a crowbar.  Either something to do with its setting – there really is too much America in the modern books, the joy of the Dr in many ways is that he is a galaxy wide traveller, but that like any ‘homegrown’ hero, he keeps mysteriously popping up most in his country of authorial ‘origin’.  He’s more parochial than we like to think.  Even the faraway planets bear odd resemblances to England in their bureaucracies etc.  Anyway, the point here, is that the story was a good one (about the birth of the internet age and hacking), but Kate Orman was determined it be partially a ‘road movie’.  There was so much driving about and crashing in motels and popping outside for a smoke for some exposition that I got very very very bored and wandered off.  I think I read maybe 13 other books before I summoned the sudden interest to come back to this one. 
   
   Thing is, I like Kate Orman’s style, I think she’s a really good writer.  I like the way she painted Peri and Colin Baker.  I liked, for the most part, the subsidiary characters, especially Luis and Mondy; though Swan was so psychotic as to be something of a mystery.  But though the plot was grand, all that driving about and going from one place to another reminded me of something Stanley is always saying about the older Dr TV stories – the 8 parters.  That the middle episodes are usually lots of pointless and irritating running about.  This was the problem here.  Like in The West Wing when they parade about having urgent conversations while walking purposefully, because it’s more dramatic than people endlessly having conversations in little rooms, sitting still.  The story was great, but I felt like I could have edited it to a smaller novella and it would have been tighter and much easier to read, a feckload snappier.)
5. Doctor Who: Venusian Lullaby, by Paul Leonard (Virgin Missing Adventures Series)
   (1^st Dr.  Eat, Remember.  This is a bit of an unforgettable read.  Rarely have I read a world so well constructed, so fully alien.  I had trouble visualizing and following the characters in places because the names, customs and action, to a degree, were all so completely different to here.  It wasn’t the fault of the author that I got lost here and there, as I was following the gist and was very tired.  I think I must really like this author: this is the 2^nd Who of his I have read and it had similar themes to the last [though a happier conclusion]: a very civilized race at the end of their expectancy; their planet is dying.  What to do?  Accept? Fight and try to leave?  And if someone comes miraculously offering rescue, are they to be trusted?  There was plenty of heroism in this, and plenty of intrigue, suspense and action.  Much thoughtfulness.  Ian and Barbara prove their mettle.  William Hartnell is urbane and effective.  I enjoyed it immensely and would read it again. 10/10. ACTUAL BOOK. )
6.  Doctor Who: Tip of the Tongue, by Patrick Ness (Dr Who 50^th Anniversary e-short story series, BBC)
   (5^th Dr.  For a tiny thing, this wasn’t bad at all.  Took me about 45 mins to read with interruptions, and I enjoyed it, though it was a bit childlike, and Nyssa was slightly not herself in places.  Characterisation of Peter Davison was strong, though.  I liked the US setting [for once!] and its strong evocation of a small town during WW2. The poverty and racial tensions were quickly painted but well done.  The Truth Tellers were a strangely memorable idea and my image of them in my head is sinister, where the story was not.  The points about slavery and freedom were nicely done: not in your face and preachy, just told in the story itself, subtle.  The best way to get people to think on something.  ON KINDLE.)
7.  Doctor Who: The Doomsday Weapon, by Malcolm Hulke (Target Original)
   (3^rd Dr.  I thought I might find this one boring, a mining planet, Jo and Pertwee start arguing with colonists – its all about mining: again!  And yet I didn’t.  I got right into the ins and outs of the colony’s viability, their conflict with IMC, the large mining company.  The lovely portrait of Dent as amoral and utterly loyal to his paypacket and his little house and his IMC chosen wife.  I loved the line he came out with about how you could always trust people who were unscrupulous and ambitious; as of course, you can’t – but he meant they would be predictable, so you know where you are with them, and know to have eyes in the back of your head.  The moral repurcussions of the mining company trying to clear out the colonists from the planet by means of deception and violence were well explored. 
   
   I liked Jo’s proactiveness here; she disappeared for almost the first third of the story, but reappeared later, escaping, being recaptured, but generally not being fatalistic and trying to help.  Bit inspirational, in a funny way.  The Master felt crowbarred into this story, not entirely sure why he was there, what his real input to the story was, though his search for the Doomsday Weapon of the title was in character enough. This aired as Colony in Space – Stanley tells me that stories ending in ‘In Space’ are often regarded as the crappest, by officionados; I disagree, I liked this one. ACTUAL BOOK.)
8.  Doctor Who: Timewyrm Revelation, by Paul Cornell (Virgin New Adventures Series)
   (7^th Dr. Have to say I am pleased to see the back of the Timewyrm.  I didn’t like her as a character right from the first book; and I STILL say it was both courageous and bloody stupid to start the New Adventures Series with a set of 4 books all based around the same character…when there’s such a risk this character be found flat and boring as feck.  Saying that, this book was a good send off for her, and a strange book altogether.  I liked it a lot; and I also found it very self indulgent and rambling.  The beginning and end were very tight, and the middle rollocked all over the place in a very irritating and gambolling kind of way.  It was a fever dream of a book.  Rich in imagination and vivid imagery, it suffered though from two main flaws, in my reading. 
   
   First, the characterisation of Pertwee [who pops up at first in an artist’s smock, really?!]  is not believable – apart from saying ‘old chap’ a lot, a simple verbal tic, he  didn’t sound like himself, the sorts of things he would say.  And the cameo by Tom Baker – if I hadn’t have been told it was him, I would never have guessed – as one of the most recognisable Doctors…this is a problem.  And second, the book had a failing that is very current indeed, very timely: it was far too epic in tone.  I see why it was, what with being set in the Doctor’s head, a massive landscape.  But it felt like an ambitious action fantasy film with an addiction to that irritating one size fits all operatic theme music we get treated to so much these days in cinema.  There was too much angst, too much shouting, too much near death – the stakes were too high, too often!  A failing of pace, or tone??  Not sure. 
   
   I really did enjoy this book, I hasten to add – I finished it in 2 days flat, and I flowed along with the stream of consciousness changes of scenes, the dead-not-dead-oh-dead-again-ness of Ace and then Sylvester…and it ended very nicely indeed.  There were some marvellous subsidiary characters: I really liked Emily and Peter Hutchings, and Emily’s link with Saul [the vibe between Emily and Saul was a sort of non-sexualized hark back to The Witching Hour and Lasher, by Anne Rice: the disembodied spirit; except this one was friendly and had a stronger link to the vicar than anyone else, but the echo of Anne Rice was there, and it’s a nice concept, I liked it].  I enjoyed the little loose ends all being tidied away at the end; this gave me satisfaction.  Not sure how to conclude – loved it; and found it irritating – almost in equal measure.  ACTUAL BOOK.)

And there you go, for this instalment.  Who knows which ones I’ll read next?  There’s likely to be more 1^st Dr coming, as I am enjoying William Hartnell a lot.  I’m wondering how the New Adventures and BBC 8^th Doctor series can carry on as long as they did…because you can’t truly, subject your main characters – especially the companions – to such anguish and torture and betrayal (etc etc etc) as these 2 series do, every book, without it all becoming rather desensitizing.  I’m interested to see how they go on.  For the first time, I find myself wondering about these 2 series in particular…whether I’ll actually be able to get through them all.  As the BBC Past Doctor series and the Virgin Missing Adventures, being more stand alone adventures, and jumping about more…they feel more self contained and any massive trauma inflicted in them: for instance, in Mark Morris’s Deep Blue, when the 5^th Dr and most of the UK turn into horrible creatures; and despite the rather magic wand ending, you got the impression that a bit of amnesia and time passing would make the next adventure possible.  Whereas the 7^th Dr series and the 8^th Dr series – they flow on and on with not that much of a time gap between each one.  You start to feel like each of these 2 Doctors should perpetually suffer a thousand yard stare.  They should be traumatised.  As should Sam and Ace (and I’m told much worse awaits her in particular in the next few books). 

I’m not entirely convinced this level of emotional and physical trauma and  angst is the best or only way to go with these stories.  You don’t really want to finish every book you read wrung out and a bit sad, do you??  I don’t mean all the stories should tip into farce or slapstick either…just that the idea of more adult books for the Dr Who character doesn’t ONLY have to mean violence and war and betrayal for the characters – and on an epic galactic scale.  Smaller stories can pack just as much of a punch.  And I’m starting to want to see some of these too, in these ranges.

Let’s see what’s next, and where the authors take me…let’s see more science fiction and a slightly less heavy handed (over dramatic? sentimental? over emphasized?) tone when it comes to emotional matters, hard choices and the like. 

Just thinking aloud…