Doctor Who Archives - The Y Logs

Yzabel / October 30, 2016

Review: Doctor Who: The American Adventures

Doctor Who: The American Adventures by Justin Richards

My rating: [rating=1]

Blurb::

Travel through time and space with the Twelfth Doctor in these six brand new adventures, set in a host of locations across the US and eras from throughout US history.

An invisible spacecraft turns up at the Battle of New Orleans, an alien presence is detected at the 1944 D-Day landings, and ghosts take over New York’s subway tunnels as they’re being dug in the early 1900s…

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley.]

This was advertised in the Comics category, so I thought it’d be a comics, but it’s actually a collection of short stories. Ah, well.

Not sure what to think about it, really. I found it… just bland, to be honest. On the bright side, none of the stories come with glaring plot holes or annoying sidekicks, but on the other hand, none left me with a lasting impression either.

The main problems here for me are:
– The characterisation of the Doctor. The stories are supposed to feature Capaldi’s Doctor; it could be just any generic Doctor, though, the way he acts and is described. I could find no defining feature (even the eyebrows seemed weak!).
– Most of the stories’s endings are disappointing: too abrupt, or close to nonexistant. The fifth story, for instance, leaves a lot of things unsaid. The least I expect in a story about an assassin trying to off their target is the assassin’s motives, or who’s hired them. Here, nothing. It just ends.

“All That Glitters”: Forgettable. The plot is OK, but there’s are no surprised here, it’s all lvery classic, quickly solved, and a bit boring.

“Off the Trail”: This one had more of a creepy feeling, the “something’s wrong but we don’t know yet what” feeling. Still, the “enemy” was done with too quickly.

“Ghosts of New York”: Interesting theme, boring execution.

“Taking the Plunge”: A bit better. Not complicated, a simple enough plot to follow, but with more oompfh than the previous stories.

“Spectator Sport”: I seriously didn’t see the point. Tourism on battlefields in different eras is ethically bad. OK. I was more interested anyway in the crime story wrapped in it; however, the latter fizzled and petered out. (See above about this.)

“Base of Operations”: Considering its theme, it would have deserved a more complex resolution: I thought of all the stories, this was the most promising, the one with the strongest premise. At the end the Doctor was more like himself, with his determined stance of defending Earth and making sure the enemy’s aware of it.

Conclusion: 1.5 stars. I don’t recommend it, it is of little interest.

Yzabel / August 18, 2016

Review: The Drosten’s Curse

Doctor Who: The Drosten’s Curse by A.L. Kennedy

My rating: [rating=1]

Blurb:

“I shall make you the jewel at the heart of the universe.”

Something distinctly odd is going on in Arbroath. It could be to do with golfers being dragged down into the bunkers at the Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa Hotel, never to be seen again. It might be related to the strange twin grandchildren of the equally strange Mrs Fetch–owner of the hotel and fascinated with octopuses. It could be the fact that people in the surrounding area suddenly know what others are thinking, without anyone saying a word.

Whatever it is, the Doctor is most at home when faced with the distinctly odd. With the help of Fetch Brothers’ Junior Receptionist Bryony, he’ll get to the bottom of things. Just so long as he does so in time to save Bryony from quite literally losing her mind, and the entire world from destruction.

Because something huge, ancient and alien lies hidden beneath the ground and it’s starting to wake up…

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.]

I was supposed to read this one for a RL book club, and it wasn’t available at any of the local libraries, but then I saw it on Edelweiss, and got approved. So here we go.

Unfortunately for this poor book, I didn’t like it: while it did deal with interesting and challenging themes, the plot was much too muddled, regularly losing itself in ramblings that didn’t really contribute to developing the characters, and made it rather difficult to keep on reading. In terms of style, this definitely reminded me of most of the (few) fanfiction stories I read, in that it felt “unedited”, with everything left in there because the author didn’t know what to cut out of the narrative, or didn’t want to do it. I think that was mostly the problem. Clipping here and there would’ve done this novel a lot of good, by allowing it to focus on what really mattered.

I won’t comment on whether it’s faithful to the character of the Fourth Doctor as played by Tom Baker: I don’t know the “old” series except through a couple of the very first episodes, and I wouldn’t be able to judge on anything else here than the physical appearance of the Doctor (which seemed to be conform to the photos I’ve seen). I wasn’t convinced by the parts told from his point of view, but that’s because, to me, we’re not supposed to know exactly what he thinks—he seemed to close to a human character, when he should feel a little more “alien” in some ways, at least.

The other characters weren’t particularly well-developed, which is all the more troubling considering the length of the novel. Putta had a fun underdog strike going for him, but I felt his personality was more brushed-over than exploited like it could’ve been, with the more serious sides it started to show. Bryony… to be honest, I didn’t really care: so the Doctor finds her brilliant and plucky and all, but she seemed more a plot device, a token character, especially with the little we know about her (being a History major and so on—barely relevant since it wasn’t used except for one scene when she imagines she’s that renowned professor going to conferences). Strangely enough, the twins were more tangible, being always here in the background, always watching.

As for the story itself, as said: good themes, with a definite creepy factor, yet unfortunately poorly executed. 1 star.

Enregistrer

Yzabel / November 30, 2015

Review: Deep Time

Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale
My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

‘I do hope you’re all ready to be terrified!’
The Phaeron disappeared from the universe over a million years ago. They travelled among the stars using roads made from time and space, but left only relics behind. But what actually happened to the Phaeron? Some believe they were they eradicated by a superior force… Others claim they destroyed themselves.
Or were they in fact the victims of an even more hideous fate?
In the far future, humans discover the location of the last Phaeron road – and the Doctor and Clara join the mission to see where the road leads. Each member of the research team knows exactly what they’re looking for – but only the Doctor knows exactly what they’ll find.
Because only the Doctor knows the true secret of the Phaeron: a monstrous secret so terrible and powerful that it must be buried in the deepest grave imaginable…

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.]

3 to 3.5 stars

This is the last book in the “Glamour Chronicles” series. I’m glad I seemingly read them in the “right” order, because while they were supposed to be readable in just any order, I don’t think they really are. At least, “Deep Time” should come last, as it brings a conclusion to this whole Glamour thing. A good or a bad thing, depending on how you see it: I felt that this story may have fared better on its own, because the way it tied in with the elusive Glamour was a bit vague. It still worked in the end, though, so that wasn’t too much of an issue, at least.

In any case, it was way, way better than “Big Bang Generation”. Not over the place, and one of those darker Doctor Who stories, where danger feels more real, where people die in gruesome ways.

This time, Twelve and Clara embark on board the Alexandria, a brand new spaceship, in an expedition financed by a rich guy. Pretty much every member of the expedition has their reasons to try and find the mysterious Phaeron Roads, an ancient network of now-collapsed wormholes. At the end of the journey, they hope to find what their heart most desires: a long-lost parent, the money to at last find a place where they can live in peace, the kind of adventure money can’t buy… And within the Glamour Chronicles, doesn’t that ring a bell? After all, from the beginning of this trilogy, it’s been about “wanting”…

The plot was classical, should I say: not very original (expedition gets stranded, time and space go wonky, some people die, the answer comes through what remains of a mysterious ancient race…), but it was enjoyable, with well-timed dark moments. It would’ve deserved more development, more fleshing out. Like the other novels in the trilogy, it was short, and didn’t leave much room for additional details.

I found the Doctor more active than in previous books, more “Doctor-like”, with more important screen time, too, and as a result, “Deep Time” felt like an actual TV episode, in spite of the large cast of characters (the large cast had kind of killed Twelve’s presence in “Big Bang Generation”, in my opinion). And speaking of these secondary characters, they were interesting enough; their backgrounds were kept to minimum information, yet it still allowed me to draw a fairly good picture of them (well, alright, Flexx and Cranmer less than the others). I wasn’t too convinced about Clara, though, as she was a bit too… passive to my liking. There were several instances of characters fainting after a time shift, for instance, and she was just a little too often part of the “weak” ones who didn’t wake up fast. I’m not really fond of such devices.

Conclusion: Not an exceptional novel, but one that does well enough as an enjoyable Doctor Who story.

Yzabel / November 9, 2015

Review: Big Bang Generation

Doctor Who: Big Bang Generation by Gary Russell

My rating: [rating=1]

Blurb:

“I’m an archaeologist, but probably not the one you were expecting.”

Christmas 2015, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Imagine everyone’s surprise when a time portal opens up in Sydney Cove. Imagine their shock as a massive pyramid now sits beside the Harbour Bridge, inconveniently blocking Port Jackson and glowing with energy. Imagine their fear as Cyrrus “the mobster” Globb, Professor Horace Jaanson and an alien assassin called Kik arrive to claim the glowing pyramid. Finally imagine everyone’s dismay when they are followed by a bunch of con artists out to spring their greatest grift yet.

This gang consists of Legs (the sexy comedian), Dog Boy (providing protection and firepower), Shortie (handling logistics), Da Trowel (in charge of excavation and history) and their leader, Doc (busy making sure the universe isn’t destroyed in an explosion that makes the Big Bang look like a damp squib).

And when someone accidentally reawakens The Ancients of the Universe – which, Doc reckons, wasn’t the wisest or best-judged of actions – things get a whole lot more complicated…

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.]

1.5 stars

I don’t know where to start, because this one was all over the place. Ambitious, with a plotline that could be awesome and tie a lot of things together, yet… didn’t in the end, not really. I mean, the plot got its ending, but I still have no idea where it all fits within the Glamour series, except for the name being thrown in, and the Ancients bit just made me wonder what/who exactly they were, and what was their purpose? (Not much, considering how they were presented.)

I liked the sense of a con, or several cons going on, at the same time, or at different times. I liked the postcards bit, because in general I’m fond of such devices (cliché as they are) to “gather the posse together and prepare for the big heist”. Only it stayed at that level, and I didn’t get later the feeling I got from the book’s blurb, which hinted at something more exciting.

A lot of things made no sense, to be honest, in how the characters behaved, in their plans, in how they interacted with each other. There was banter (good Capaldi-like lines, for sure) but they felt disjointed from the plot. The characters weren’t as far as witty as they were meant to be. Incoherences thrown in now and then didn’t help (I think they have some time of veiling/cloaking technology, yet Peter has to hide his face under a hoodie?).

The random interest Kik showed for Peter was a big WTF series of moments for me. It just came out of nowhere, and made as little sense as the rest. Their interactions were somewhat fun at first (dog fart in her face to make her throw him away—it’s 100% dumb, but hey, whatever works, also I’m positive it’s the kind of stunt I’d pull in a pen & paper RPG session)… but they didn’t tie at all into “prospective love interest territory”. The badass assassin never projected that aura of badassery I expected from her, Jaansen was just a bumbling idiot, Globb never lived up to his reputation as a conman, Ruth… I don’t even know what she was supposed to do here, apart from being that other guy’s fiancée. I probably missed a few things here. I’m fine with lots of characters… only please develop them more, make them look and smell and feel “real”, otherwise I won’t care much.

And that’s another of the issues I have with this novel. I didn’t get a lot of the references (although I enjoyed the ones I got), my knowledge of the series being mostly the 2005+ seasons and a handful of novels. However, I kept wondering if there wasn’t too much information about Bernice and what she shared with the Doctor, in that now I feel I know a lot without never reading anything about her (or listening to anything—if I’m not mistaken, that was all about audio episodes?). It’s as if the novel hints at too many things for someone who doesn’t know much to the Whoverse, while at the same time recapping too many things as well for those who know a lot and don’t care about, well, many recaps. As a result, there was paradoxically a lot of padding in a novel still too short for its (potentially) complex plot.

Definitely a weird and soon-to-be-forgotten read, unfortunately.

Yzabel / October 27, 2015

Review: Royal Blood

Royal Blood by Una McCormack

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

The city-state of Varuz is failing. Duke Aurelian is the last of his line, his capital is crumbling, and the armies of his enemy, Duke Conrad, are poised beyond the mountains to invade. Aurelian is preparing to gamble everything on one last battle. So when a holy man, the Doctor, comes to Varuz from beyond the mountains, Aurelian asks for his blessing in the war.

But all is not what it seems in Varuz. The city-guard have lasers for swords, and the halls are lit by electric candlelight. Aurelian’s beloved wife, Guena, and his most trusted knight, Bernhardt, seem to be plotting to overthrow their Duke, and Clara finds herself drawn into their intrigue…

Will the Doctor stop Aurelian from going to war? Will Clara’s involvement in the plot against the Duke be discovered? Why is Conrad’s ambassador so nervous? And who are the ancient and weary knights who arrive in Varuz claiming to be on a quest for the Holy Grail…?

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.]

An entertaining, if a little fast and simplistic read.

Although the plot wasn’t extremely complex (in that it was fairly straightforward, without many twists and turns), this novel nonetheless had its own depths. I liked the somber ambiance permeating it, the feeling of longing tinged with regret for days long gone, the despair reigning in Varuz more than the land’s own rulers could ever do. The strange narration (sometimes 3rd person, sometimes 1st person) was, well, strange, indeed; on the other hand, in some way, it fitted the mood. As if the narrator had patched up afterwards the events in which other people were involved, then put everything together to try and tell a story he needed to tell, out of nostalgic feelings in a crumbling world.

I liked the echoes, too, clearly linked to the Arthurian mythos: not only through the Grail’s quest, yet also etched within the relationships uniting some of the characters. Aurelian, the misguided ruler. Guena, his clever wife. Bernhardt, ever Guenas’ faithful servant, who would like to be more. Mikhail, rightful heir but shunned. I’d keep thinking “Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Mordred” here. However, these echoes unfurled a little differently, which was a good thing, as a complete retelling of the legend wouldn’t have been so interesting if it had been done just for that sake.

Where I was less satisfied was in some aspects of the world: I wish there had been more information about the technology in Varuz: its inhabitants used it without understanding it, and there was more to it, only nothing was really explained, and in the end it was left to vague warnings. In some cases, it wouldn’t be a problem, but here, the whole “medieval society” clashed a little with electricity and light sabers, and I think a better integration of these two extremes would have been welcome—at least for me.

Also, the Doctor wasn’t very present, and while Clara’s characterisation was okayish, it wasn’t much more than that. The “secondary characters” felt more present.

It paves the way for more, in any case. This is a trilogy, and more revelations are to come, I hope, about the mysterious, dangerous and elusive Glamour. I definitely want to see more of the beautiful ravage it can inflict on many worlds and people.

3 stars, but barely.

Yzabel / November 21, 2014

Review: The Blood Cell

Doctor Who: The Blood Cell by James Goss

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

“Release the Doctor – or the killing will start.”

An asteroid in the furthest reaches of space – the most secure prison for the most dangerous of criminals. The Governor is responsible for the worst fraudsters and the cruellest murderers. So he’s certainly not impressed by the arrival of the man they’re calling the most dangerous criminal in the quadrant. Or, as he prefers to be known, the Doctor.

What does impress the Governor is the way the new prisoner immediately sets about trying to escape. And keeps trying. Finally, he sends for the Doctor and asks him why? But the answer surprises even the Governor. And then there’s the threat – unless the Governor listens to the Doctor, a lot of people will die.

Who is the Doctor and what’s he really doing here? Why does he want to help the Governor? And who is the young woman who comes every day to visit him, only to be turned away by the guards?

When the killing finally starts, the Governor begins to get his answers…

Review:

(I got a copy courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

Third 12th Doctor novel I read, and this one was quite surprising, in a way I hadn’t expected.

It’s narrated from the point of view of a secondary character, and not in the usual third person POV I’ve seen used in the other DW novels I read (granted, they don’t amount to a lot, as previously mentioned). It was a bit disconcerting, and for some time I questioned that choice; however, after a while, I decided it wasn’t so bad. On the one hand, the Doctor and Clara aren’t so much the focus which can be seen as a problem. On the other hand, it allowed for a Doctor as seen by other people around him: how they perceived him, how he might come off to those who had no idea who he was, what kind of lasting impression he may leave on them. Because no matter what, the Doctor comes and go, and once he’s gone, well, what’s left behind? How is he going to be remembered?

Somehow, this novel provided the beginning of an insight into that, in a different way from what the new series has made me used to. It’s not distinctly Whovian, which isn’t exactly great, but somehow, it still kept me interested. I also liked Clara better here than I usually do, with her happy petitioning and picketing and her own antics (the cake, her pupils…).

The plot itself was OK: not the best I’ve seen, but not the worst either. It had more of a political bend, something I don’t see that often in DW, so here, too, the change can be seen as refreshing, or as annoying. It’ll all depend on the reader.

Conclusion: a novel I quite liked, though I could reproach it not to be “Whovian” enough.

Yzabel / October 9, 2014

Review: Doctor Who: The Crawling Terror

Doctor Who: The Crawling Terror by Mike Tucker

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

“Well, I doubt you’ll ever see a bigger insect.”

Gabby Nichols is putting her son to bed when she hears her daughter cry out. ‘Mummy there’s a daddy longlegs in my room!’ Then the screaming starts. Kevin Alperton is on his way to school when he is attacked by a mosquito. A big one. Then things get dangerous.

But it isn’t the dead man cocooned inside a huge mass of web that worries the Doctor. It isn’t the swarming, mutated insects that make him nervous.

With the village cut off from the outside world, and the insects becoming more and more dangerous, the Doctor knows that unless he can decode the strange symbols engraved on an ancient stone circle, and unravel a mystery dating back to the Second World War, no one is safe.

Review:

(I got a copy courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

Second Twelfth Doctor novel I read, and one I liked better than Silhouette. I’d say it’s typical-enough Doctor Who, perhaps closer to some of the older adventures than to the most recent ones, in its theme and some of its elements? Namely giant insects and technology snagged from the Nazis—there’s always something both eyeroll-worthy yet deliciously “old-fashioned” to find in such aspects, as far as I’m concerned. (“Old-fashioned”, in that it always reminds of older stories I was reading back when I was a kid and WWII/the Cold War were still present in our minds. Nowadays, these themes feel like they’re going further and further away from us.)

The Doctor and Clara investigate mysterious cobwebs and mutant insects in a small village known for its ring of ancient stones, as well as a few other curious things (either in the present or in the past). At first, they don’t seem to be really linked together, but the author makes all those lines converge together in a timely fashion.

Not having seen many episodes with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, I’m not completely sure if the character in this book is really close to the one portrayed in the series. He felt close enough, at least, and clearly different from Eleven, at any rate. Clara isn’t always present, and depending on whether you like her character or not, this will be a good or a bad thing. I wasn’t too convinced, but that may be because I thought she didn’t have too much of an important role (and she should have—this is the novel where we learn Jenny taught her to pick locks, after all).

A few editing mistakes/typos, that I hope aren’t in the final printed version. The writing style’s alright: not too complicated, not too simple (with a couple of redundancies now and then, but nothing too bad from what I could see). Dialogues sound similar to the ones in the show. Overall, it indeed reads like a DW episode, and I liked that.

3.5/5 stars.

Yzabel / September 25, 2014

Review: Silhouette

Doctor Who: Silhouette by Justin Richards

My rating: [rating=1]

Summary:

“Vastra and Strax and Jenny? Oh no, we don’t need to bother them. Trust me.”

Marlowe Hapworth is found dead in his locked study, killed by an unknown assailant. This is a case for the Great Detective, Madame Vastra.

Rick Bellamy, bare-knuckle boxer, has the life drawn out of him by a figure dressed as an undertaker. This angers Strax the Sontaran.

The Carnival of Curiosities, a collection of bizarre and fascinating sideshows and performers. This is where Jenny Flint looks for answers.

How are these things connected? And what does Orestes Milton, rich industrialist, have to do with it all? This is where the Doctor and Clara come in. The Doctor and his friends find themselves thrust into a world where nothing and no one are what they seem. Can they unravel the truth before the most dangerous weapon ever developed is unleashed on London?

Review:

(I got an ARC courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

This is only the second Doctor Who novel I read. In the meantime, I managed to catch up on a lot of episodes I hadn’t seen (including the ones with the Twelfth Doctor); it was a good idea, since otherwise I would have had less clues about who the characters were, especially when the Paternoster gang was concerned. Unfortunately, it was therefore also very easy to realise that they weren’t that well-portrayed, at least not in my opinion. Hadn’t I watched the most recent seasons, I would’ve likely been confused; having watched them, I don’t recognise many people in here. I guess Strax felt the closest to how he behaves in the series, but then, he may have been the easiest one to grasp as well.

I’m particularly miffed about the way Vastra and Jenny were handled. Vastra’s supposed to be the Great Detective, the one who inspired Doyle to write Sherlock Holmes’s adventures, and yet her role was completely stripped off meaning; she didn’t get to do much, looked like she was here mostly to get into trouble and then saved, and this doesn’t sit with me as far as she’s concerned. Not a word about her relationship with Jenny either, which I found odd. This applied to several characters, in that I couldn’t get a strong grasp of how they factored in the mystery, except to get into trouble (and only the women in this story happened to get into trouble and need saving; I don’t recall Strax or the Doctor doing the same). As for the Doctor, he didn’t feel and act much like the one I got to see in the most recent episodes. Clara was just insipid. At best they all were bland, at worst not true to their selves, cast in damsel in distress roles, and not allowed to unleash their full potential.

The plot was somewhat interesting. I liked the first half, for the atmosphere woven through the Carnival, and the way the mystery started to unfold. I liked it much less towards the end: nice twist, though predictable, but muddled. (Also, two characters get together without any serious apparent reason; while somewhat cute, it was useless, especially with the other relationships in the story not mentioned or developed.)

Conclusion: 1.5 stars. Mildly enjoyable as a quick read while travelling, yet totally forgettable in the long run, with characters that have little to do with who they are on TV. (And the point of reading a novel based on a TV series, to me, is to find the themes and people I liked in the show, after all…)

Yzabel / August 19, 2014

Review: Engines of War

Doctor Who: Engines of War by George Mann

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

“The death of billions is as nothing to us Doctor, if it helps defeat the Daleks.”

The Great Time War has raged for centuries, ravaging the universe. Scores of human colony planets are now overrun by Dalek occupation forces. A weary, angry Doctor leads a flotilla of Battle TARDISes against the Dalek stronghold but in the midst of the carnage, the Doctor’s TARDIS crashes to a planet below: Moldox.

As the Doctor is trapped in an apocalyptic landscape, Dalek patrols roam amongst the wreckage, rounding up the remaining civilians. But why haven’t the Daleks simply killed the humans?

Searching for answers the Doctor meets ‘Cinder’, a young Dalek hunter. Their struggles to discover the Dalek plan take them from the ruins of Moldox to the halls of Gallifrey, and set in motion a chain of events that will change everything. And everyone.

An epic novel of the Great Time War featuring the War Doctor as played by John Hurt.

Review:

(I got an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

I very seldom read “fan” books—i.e. featuring characters from TV shows/movies. I think the last one I read was an X-Files novel, some 20 years ago, and not even its original edition/language. So keep in mind I may not be the best person to judge such stories, and try to consider them from my point of view as a reader in general.

Also, it doesn’t help that I’ve only seen one season of Doctor Who. I love the series, but never managed to go further, because of reasons. Shame on me. Whatever. I was spoiled about a few things, and not spoiled about many others. However, I can at least give an opinion about that, and I’m happy to report that the present novel isn’t of the crumbling-under-spoilers kind. If, like me, you’ve only seen the first season, or not many more episodes, then you already know that there was a Time War; that the Doctor is a Time Lord, and that they do regenerate upon death; that he had an important role to play during said war; and that the Daleks are, well, the Daleks.

You don’t need to know more to read and enjoy Engines of War, and it won’t spoil the whole series for you either. Which you may consider either a good thing (like I did), or a bad thing (if you’re a seasoned Whovian who wants a lot more). Although I admit I didn’t catch a few references to events that happened in episodes I didn’t see, I don’t think it’s really a problem. This lack of background is specific to me anyway, and the story functions well even if you don’t know anything about those events.

Here, the Doctor meets a new companion, Cinder (or, rather, Cinder does meet the Doctor), a young woman from Moldox. Her planet and surrounding solar system was attacked and ravaged by the Daleks, and she’s been part of a doomed-to-fail resistance movement since childhood. When their paths cross, she jumps on the opportunity to leave this dying world, but soon comes to realise that it’s not so easy as to just go away and find another place, because the latest Dalek-made weapon is one that would totally change the fate of universe, both in space and time, if it were to be deployed.

This book reads fairly easily, and much like an episode from the series. I wasn’t always completely happy with the writing, which was sometimes a bit too “tell-not-show” to my liking, but such occurrences were actually quite sparse. There are plot hooks and cool concepts (the possibility engine, the time-wiping weapon), there are twists, we meet with a Doctor who’s more jaded and hardened than the one I got to know (the Ninth one), yet still displays a lot of the “Doctor-isms” I liked on TV. The author managed to make scenes very easy to visualise, including the TARDIS’s and other sounds—not so easy to do without falling into the realm of ridicule. The Time Lords are shown as just as fearsome as the Daleks, in their own ways. And Cinder is a resourceful companion for the Doctor, not just some girl tagging along. She has a reason to leave, a reason to fight, has picked useful fights along the way, and her humanity is an important anchor for the Doctor, one that deeply contrasts with Rassilon’s cold, distanciated views.

This wasn’t the best novel ever, but it sure was worth the few hours it took for me to read it.
3.5 stars.