Reviews

Doctor Who: The Fires of Pompeii by James Moran

nateyboyo's review

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

miriamgpo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

saroz162's review

3.0

This novelization is based on a middling episode of the revived Doctor Who, one which has an excellent setting and moral dilemma but crowds it out with secondary ideas and characters who sort of pile on each other with limited logical connection or time to explore each one. At first, I was prepared to write the book off as a mere carbon copy of the episode with a little additional dialogue, but as it gains steam, it actually improves on that version significantly.

Although there are some little moments of characters' perspective throughout the novel, the second half, in particular, seems to benefit. Events don't seem as rushed, and while there still seems to be a slight overload of elements, they're given more time to breathe. This is especially true in the third act, where there isn't significantly more action, but we experience a far more detailed and graphic destruction of Pompeii. This allows the climax to land much more effectively. I suspect more destruction simply wasn't possible on the original episode's budget, but some of the dialogue material and character beats may have been sacrificed to a tight TV edit.

From an adult perspective, I would not call this one of the more memorable or even notable Target novelizations (at least until the ending), but I think it would greatly entertain a slightly precocious mid-grade reader.

katiewaits's review

adventurous dark hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

isjamiethere's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

davidinthetv's review

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lordroose's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

joebardsley's review

adventurous emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

stephen_on_a_jet_plane's review

This great work of literature is a blast (lolz). It’s great getting a look into Donna Noble’s thought processes, they’re very funny and plausible. I enjoyed the novelisation much more than the episode which, I found a bit shallow, because of all of the details and asides. Give James Moran an opportunity and he’ll pull out all the stops.

tinyy's review

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0