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cecesloth's review
2.0
A string of good ideas that never really drew me in. It gets points for being the first EDA not to rely on continuity, but loses points for making the Doctor an idiot and killing off every character as soon as they aren't needed anymore.
decembera's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nenya_kanadka's review
4.0
One of the few werewolf books I have enjoyed. Lots of dashing about and Sam/Eight adventuring.
hidekisohma's review
3.0
So at this point i've read a good 8 8th doctor novels and i can say without really any reservation that this book falls smack dab in the middle. it wasn't great, it wasn't bad.
The previous book "Alien bodies" left me confused as i really didn't have any idea what was going on for about half the time. This book, while i drifted here and there, it was at least pretty straight forward and understandable.
If you like werewolves, you'll probably like this one. if you couldn't guess from the cover, that's basically what's going on. werewolves on a planet where they're trying to build a space disneyworld.
The doctor was in a lot of this book, which was nice, but there was also a LOT of time spent with this other character who was meant to be an antagonist policeman. and pretty much every scene that featured him, i fell into my zoned out "i really don't care" mode.
This story was definitely on the violent side. if you don't want to read a violent doctor who book, i'd steer clear of this one as it gets kinda graphic in a few places.
Sam is kind of annoying in this one, which is almost par for the course, but it's a bit moreso as you have to deal with her hanging out with a greenpeace-like organization and she gets a little preachy at times. There's also a time jump towards the middle which i don't feel was very necessary.
All in all, the story was FINE. that's how i'd describe it. FINE. it's a smack dab in the middle 3 out of 5. If someone told me i had to read it again, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but i wouldn't be clamoring to give it another shot.
This is pretty much a self contained adventure as it doesn't really have any effect in an overarching story and is meant to be enjoyed by itself, so realistically if you wanted to read a random 8th doctor book without having to worry about story continuity, you could do worse than this one.
flat out 3 out of 5.
The previous book "Alien bodies" left me confused as i really didn't have any idea what was going on for about half the time. This book, while i drifted here and there, it was at least pretty straight forward and understandable.
If you like werewolves, you'll probably like this one. if you couldn't guess from the cover, that's basically what's going on. werewolves on a planet where they're trying to build a space disneyworld.
The doctor was in a lot of this book, which was nice, but there was also a LOT of time spent with this other character who was meant to be an antagonist policeman. and pretty much every scene that featured him, i fell into my zoned out "i really don't care" mode.
This story was definitely on the violent side. if you don't want to read a violent doctor who book, i'd steer clear of this one as it gets kinda graphic in a few places.
Sam is kind of annoying in this one, which is almost par for the course, but it's a bit moreso as you have to deal with her hanging out with a greenpeace-like organization and she gets a little preachy at times. There's also a time jump towards the middle which i don't feel was very necessary.
All in all, the story was FINE. that's how i'd describe it. FINE. it's a smack dab in the middle 3 out of 5. If someone told me i had to read it again, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but i wouldn't be clamoring to give it another shot.
This is pretty much a self contained adventure as it doesn't really have any effect in an overarching story and is meant to be enjoyed by itself, so realistically if you wanted to read a random 8th doctor book without having to worry about story continuity, you could do worse than this one.
flat out 3 out of 5.
rebelbelle13's review
3.0
I really wanted to rate this higher than a 3, since I am such a fan of the 8th Doctor. However, paranormal elements have fallen out of favor with me as of late, and the whole Jax-virus-causing-the-dead-to-turn-into-werewolves thing fell a little flat for me. The Doctor was not at his best here. The police commander figured out that Sam was infected before The Doctor did, not to mention him bumbling around and making other silly mistakes, including getting knocked unconscious and not being able to put two and two together in certain instances. Sam was also more than a little snarky and disrespectful to The Doctor, moreso than in the other two novels in this series that I have read. Granted, she IS a teenager, but I really didn't care for her attitude in the first half of the novel. The plot felt a little bit jumbled, with a lot of back and forth and splitting up and then time jumps without warning. The bulk of the novel took place before Kursaal was even built, and I was really looking forward to the author fully exploring what a future pleasure world would look like.
Now, the good bits. The sonic screwdriver was featured heavily, which I always appreciate. The Doctor was able to translate the old Jax language and get the gist of the history of the planet (with the help of the TARDIS, maybe? it's unclear). The idea of a pleasure planet- of someplace like Kursaal was pretty neat, and I really liked what we saw of it. I also appreciated the Doctor's persistence in saving Sam. He really cares about her and he never considered leaving her behind, even for a moment.
I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a Doctor Who/paranormal/werewolf type crossover novel. It was fun, but not anything I can get really excited about. Final verdict, 3.5 stars.
Now, the good bits. The sonic screwdriver was featured heavily, which I always appreciate. The Doctor was able to translate the old Jax language and get the gist of the history of the planet (with the help of the TARDIS, maybe? it's unclear). The idea of a pleasure planet- of someplace like Kursaal was pretty neat, and I really liked what we saw of it. I also appreciated the Doctor's persistence in saving Sam. He really cares about her and he never considered leaving her behind, even for a moment.
I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a Doctor Who/paranormal/werewolf type crossover novel. It was fun, but not anything I can get really excited about. Final verdict, 3.5 stars.
jennasvape's review
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
1outside's review
2.0
Stream of consciousness review:
Well, reading this book was a bit of a battle.
Some passages were tedious and never-ending, some were a quick read.
The author over-used the word "undulate" & its variations around the middle of the book.
I'm not sure if I'm down with this series describing the Eight as tall. Why. Not all Doctors are tall, certainly not the first 2 ones, definitely not Seven. Eight is on par with First, a bit sub-average. No shame in that. But why would you call him tall - now, this is something that started probably already in the first book, but I liked that one a lot, so this niggle only comes up now.
Why did I find Sam more annoying in this book than previously? Her characterisation hasn't changed much, I don't think, but towards the end I found myself hoping she wouldn't make it out of this alive.
This novel was trying to perhaps be too many things at once: a neo-noir thriller, a sci-fi, a Who book - and a werewolf book. And for me it didn't gel very well.
Hoping for the quality to pick up further down the line of this series. I love Eight, so I'll keep on going.
Well, reading this book was a bit of a battle.
Some passages were tedious and never-ending, some were a quick read.
The author over-used the word "undulate" & its variations around the middle of the book.
I'm not sure if I'm down with this series describing the Eight as tall. Why. Not all Doctors are tall, certainly not the first 2 ones, definitely not Seven. Eight is on par with First, a bit sub-average. No shame in that. But why would you call him tall - now, this is something that started probably already in the first book, but I liked that one a lot, so this niggle only comes up now.
Why did I find Sam more annoying in this book than previously? Her characterisation hasn't changed much, I don't think, but towards the end I found myself hoping she wouldn't make it out of this alive.
This novel was trying to perhaps be too many things at once: a neo-noir thriller, a sci-fi, a Who book - and a werewolf book. And for me it didn't gel very well.
Hoping for the quality to pick up further down the line of this series. I love Eight, so I'll keep on going.
eightfitz's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
wynnifer's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
scottishvix's review
3.0
An interesting little romp for the first 3/4s but the last chunk was less interesting, fun and unnecessary. It seemed like it was only added to bring the book up to length and the story could have lived without it. Sam is getting more annoying too.