Category: 12

Book Review. The Blood Cell by James Goss.

‘I dunno,’ announced Clara. ‘Last time I saw you, you were the valiant saviour of worlds. Now you have a magic spoon and a dodgy toe. Back home, you’d be hanging around outside the supermarket bins.’ The Doctor looked at me for reassurance. ‘This! This is what I have to put up with. Honestly, prison has been, in some ways, a lovely break.’
THE BLOOD CELL BY JAMES GOSS

The first time I read The Blood Cell, there was the novelty of the narrator being neither the Doctor or their companion, Clara. The Governor is the main character. He’s responsible for some very dangerous criminals inside of a secure prison that’s literally at the arse end of space, so the staff are very much prisoners too. The Doctor does feel like a character on the periphery of the story and Clara less so. I liked Clara’s visits to the prison gates, hoping to get in or pass on something to the Doctor, but without success. It was amusing. It’s only really towards the finish of the book that the story picks up, when the prison has broken out, and Clara and the Doctor are reunited, along with the Governor. They are the remaining people left to put things right. I think the book was always gearing up to take this tone, and direction, but the actual Blood Cell of the title was implied to be something gruesome and yet … actually told you very little. ‘A fair amount of each prisoner had been taken away. And placed … placed into piles. I hope you’re squeamish. I know I am. So I shan’t describe it any further than that.’

With the story of the prison, the Governor, a particular prisoner and some of his other relationships with those in the prison, I found myself wondering what do I care? I couldn’t see what this had to do with the Doctor and Clara. It was political. It felt as if it took a while to get to that point of resolution. Different is good and The Blood Cell is different to other stories in this range. I liked some of the small details that were included. But my overall impression of the story was of it being hard going.

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May 24, 2023

blog, doctor who, Sci fi, Television
Book Review. Silhouette by Justin Richards.

Two men have died in the opening chapters of Silhouette. Both had been to visit The Carnival of Curiosities earlier that day. Connection enough for the Paternoster trio to investigate. The Doctor and Clara arrive in Victorian England, investigating a power spike, while enjoying the sights of the carnival and sampling its food. Re-reading this I don’t know why I did not catch on, the character of Oswald, a tutor – mirroring Clara. That should have been the first red flag. I liked the origami birds too and they were another clue. ‘Wood-pulp scum!’ Strax calls them, when he has to fend them off attacking himself and Clara. Milton is the villain, who is wanted by The Shadow Proclamation and he is using people from the carnival to work for him. This is exploitation that would have been a real possibility for the people during this time. I liked that one of Milton’s puppets, Affinity, assumed the previous incarnations of the Doctor. I thought that was an original way of including them in the story. It was amusing how they could not stop the Doctor. He basically thought they were a bunch of people that kept stopping him in the street, trying to distract him.

Vastra walks straight into a trap. This is where Silhouette comes across as a story for younger readers because the characters are required to walk into situations that are daft. Vastra doesn’t come across well here. That said, where is the Paternoster spin off? I want a spin off with these 3 characters.

I must mention too Lee Binding’s cover design. I like the front cover of Silhouette. It’s fitting for the story and it captures the small details in the book.

‘Good grief, man,’ the gentleman announced. ‘Is no one in this entire city capable of walking in a straight line?’ The man drew himself up to his full, rather impressive height and glared at the Doctor. ‘I wouldn’t have thought I was exactly hard to miss.’ He was right – dressed like that in a ruffled shirt, purple velvet smoking jacket, and scarlet-lined cape. He stood with his hands on his hips regarding the Doctor from beneath an impressive bouffant of white hair.
SILHOUETTE BY JUSTIN RICHARDS

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May 19, 2023

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Book Review. The Crawling Terror by Mike Tucker.

‘That’s a good thing, though. Right?’ Clara was getting worried now. ‘I mean it’s got to be better for a giant spider to be here rather than in the middle of some heaving city centre, hasn’t it?’ ‘That rather depends on what we’re going to be able to find here to help us sort it,’ said the Doctor ruefully. ‘I can’t exactly see the village store being equipped to handle a giant spider invasion, can you?’
THE CRAWLING TERROR BY MIKE TUCKER

The Crawling Terror is a domestic Doctor Who story, very reminiscent of the early 70’s stories with the third Doctor, Liz and UNIT. We are introduced to residents of Ringstone, a peaceful countryside village in Wiltshire: a mother, a young lad … and a man who sees something so terrifying that his heart gives out. Yes, this is the very calm of a storm before an infestation. That includes mosquitoes as big as your hand, daddy longlegs 40 centimetres from wing tip to wing tip, monstrous spiders and huge beetles. The Crawling Terror is not the story for those with entomophobia. The newly regenerated Doctor and Clara have arrived at this village, faffing about with energy readings and ley-lines. The army are also called to the scene. Which is something the Doctor does not care for. Residents are told to stay indoors, as Ringstone quickly becomes populated with large insects. What follows are zombies, a church that does not transpire to be a place of safety, body swap horror and a return to the 1940’s, with a face from the present. I wasn’t sure about the zombies. I did like the reason for the insects wasn’t a typical chemical spill or experiments gone wrong. The story moved into unexpected territory. One that I appreciated more on re-reading. I liked all the characters. The Crawling Terror was also one of the first books that I read with this Doctor, and before I had watched an episode too (I think?) He is a gruff character, but it isn’t over the top. Nails down a chalkboard rude.

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May 18, 2023

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Book Review. Twice Upon a Time by Paul Cornell.

I had heard of Twice Upon a Time, and its more criticised aspects, so was in no hurry to read it but it’s a short read, was a Sunday afternoon, and I thought let’s give it a go.

I liked the first few pages, the Doctor meeting his former self, the first Doctor as originally played by William Hartnell, on the snowy landscape of the North Pole, both of them on the verge of regenerating, and in also stumbles Archie, a soldier from the first World War.

First of all, this is a poor way to end Peter Capaldi’s era. I have no idea what Bill was doing here, the Glass Woman, the absolute fluff basically. Stop where you were with The Doctor Falls. That’s how you go out with a bow. Not this.

Second of all, Archie is a Lethbridge-Stewart. It was a nice, initial, reveal. Unexpected. I don’t think I like the idea of the Brigadier, a character so embedded into this show, and his ancestors being wound around the central figure of the Doctor, as if it was meant to be, as if the Doctor meant for these connections to join. That goes against what he says about changing timelines.

Third of all, the biggest problem here is the disrespect towards the actor who played the first Doctor, William Hartnell. I love the 60’s era of Who. And Twice Upon a Time manages to shit all over it more than Chris Chibnall could ever do with his Timeless Child, which some fans seem to take huge umbrage at. Throwing lines that the first Doctor said into the story, out of context, isn’t funny or smart, it ruins the character. I don’t even know what I want scrubbing from my mind more, the smacked bottom line or the ‘he clearly misses you. That ship of his is in dire need of a good spring clean.’

I do have a problem in general with recasting William Hartnell, can’t be helped I understand, but you wouldn’t dream of recasting Patrick Troughton or Jon Pertwee, how could you possibly? and it is the same with William Hartnell.

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June 11, 2022

Book review, Books, doctor who, Sci fi, Target