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arthurbdd's review
5.0
Shockingly good, offering a deeper exploration of a truly alien culture than the TV series ever managed. Tie-in fiction isn't meant to be this great, according to conventional wisdom. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2024/10/21/the-virgin-missing-adventures-from-opera-to-lullabies/
faiazalam's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.75
I thought this was an incredible take on Doctor Who, almost as if The Web Planet had any depth to it. The exploration of Venusian culture is fascinating and the novel reaches far beyond what could ever have been possible in the 60s.
The characterisation of The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are pretty decent, though a few bits had left me rather cold. The Doctor seemed to care far less about his companions than he would be expected to by this point, and Ian and Barbara were really put through the ringer in a way that seems far too much. Understandably, this novel is not referenced in the television show (given that it was published a few decades later), but the trauma of their experiences, along with the idea that Ian ends up spending 3 weeks on Venus, seems not to be picked up on at all, and simply dropped as if their torture was an everyday happenstance.
It's a thicker read than the first two novels, relying heavily on the reader being able to grasp Venusian society with very little in terms of reference points, but this treatment of the reader as intelligent isn't handled poorly, and is very welcome after the easy reading of the first two novels.
The plot itself is pretty mudnane, aliens come to a world, promising to help them, only for everyone to realise that they have ulterior motives, but at the end of the day, what makes this novel a masterpiece is the sheer imagination needed to create the world of Venus, and that is impressive in of itself.
The characterisation of The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are pretty decent, though a few bits had left me rather cold. The Doctor seemed to care far less about his companions than he would be expected to by this point, and Ian and Barbara were really put through the ringer in a way that seems far too much. Understandably, this novel is not referenced in the television show (given that it was published a few decades later), but the trauma of their experiences, along with the idea that Ian ends up spending 3 weeks on Venus, seems not to be picked up on at all, and simply dropped as if their torture was an everyday happenstance.
It's a thicker read than the first two novels, relying heavily on the reader being able to grasp Venusian society with very little in terms of reference points, but this treatment of the reader as intelligent isn't handled poorly, and is very welcome after the easy reading of the first two novels.
The plot itself is pretty mudnane, aliens come to a world, promising to help them, only for everyone to realise that they have ulterior motives, but at the end of the day, what makes this novel a masterpiece is the sheer imagination needed to create the world of Venus, and that is impressive in of itself.
billibion's review
adventurous
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
saoki's review against another edition
4.0
Venusian Lullaby is very much a science fiction book, with a strong feel of new wave science fiction and its interest in other worlds and cultures (and some fun potshots at golden age style conflict resolutions). It starts with an unusual funeral practice and gets weirder from there. The Venusians are carefully described so to be more alien than any species usually is in the show, which in turn makes the Tardis team's humanity shine through.
I'd specially like to point out that the author seemingly refused to let Ian punch his problems away, going so far as to burning both his hands so he couldn't. I agree with this choice, Ian is better when he is thinking than when he is getting into gladiatorial fights in ancient Rome. But I digress.
This book spotlights very well the significant difference in feel and tone to the novels written when the show wasn't actually airing. There is so much tenderness towards the characters, a care for their feelings about each other (and Susan!) that could only come from being a few decades separate from the original stories and missing them, wondering about the private moments between one adventure and another. In short, it is written with a fan's heart. And then there is the daring alien setting, with its detailed culture and society, the different sects, the predator species. It is all wonderfully done and makes for a great book.
I'd specially like to point out that the author seemingly refused to let Ian punch his problems away, going so far as to burning both his hands so he couldn't. I agree with this choice, Ian is better when he is thinking than when he is getting into gladiatorial fights in ancient Rome. But I digress.
This book spotlights very well the significant difference in feel and tone to the novels written when the show wasn't actually airing. There is so much tenderness towards the characters, a care for their feelings about each other (and Susan!) that could only come from being a few decades separate from the original stories and missing them, wondering about the private moments between one adventure and another. In short, it is written with a fan's heart. And then there is the daring alien setting, with its detailed culture and society, the different sects, the predator species. It is all wonderfully done and makes for a great book.
philosopher_kj's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Cannibalism
khourianya's review against another edition
4.0
This is the third book in the Doctor Who Missing Adventures books, published by Virgin Publishing
From GoodReads:
'You want me to help you eat your children?' Ian said.
Jellenhut's eye-stalks twitched. 'How else would we remember them?'
Venus is dying. When the Doctor, Barbara and Ian arrive they find an ancient and utterly alien civilization on the verge of oblivion. War is brewing between those who are determined to accept death, and those desperate for salvation whatever the cost.
Then a spacefaring race arrives, offering to rescue the Venusians by moving them all to Earth - three billion years before mankind is due to evolve. Are the newcomers’ motives as pure as they appear? And will the Doctor allow them to save his oldest friends by sacrificing the future of humanity?
This is the longest book so far and BY FAR the hardest to get into, while still being a very engaging story. I attribute this to the fact that the author actually did not try to humanize the aliens beyond a very rudimentary humanizing in the description of the anatomical features. Names and things are in the Venusian language and can be hard to wrap my english brain around. BUT eventually it begins to flow into a story about a planet becoming inhabitable and how other civilizations move in to gain/help as a result.
This story features the First Doctor, Barbara and Ian. Aside from the episode (available on Netflix) "The Three Doctors", this was my first experience with the Fist Doctor and I feel like I can't judge the book and how good of a fit it is without tracking down more episodes with William Hartnell and see. I may need to come back and edit this review later.
If you are needing a Doctor Who fix...this should do it just fine :)
From GoodReads:
'You want me to help you eat your children?' Ian said.
Jellenhut's eye-stalks twitched. 'How else would we remember them?'
Venus is dying. When the Doctor, Barbara and Ian arrive they find an ancient and utterly alien civilization on the verge of oblivion. War is brewing between those who are determined to accept death, and those desperate for salvation whatever the cost.
Then a spacefaring race arrives, offering to rescue the Venusians by moving them all to Earth - three billion years before mankind is due to evolve. Are the newcomers’ motives as pure as they appear? And will the Doctor allow them to save his oldest friends by sacrificing the future of humanity?
This is the longest book so far and BY FAR the hardest to get into, while still being a very engaging story. I attribute this to the fact that the author actually did not try to humanize the aliens beyond a very rudimentary humanizing in the description of the anatomical features. Names and things are in the Venusian language and can be hard to wrap my english brain around. BUT eventually it begins to flow into a story about a planet becoming inhabitable and how other civilizations move in to gain/help as a result.
This story features the First Doctor, Barbara and Ian. Aside from the episode (available on Netflix) "The Three Doctors", this was my first experience with the Fist Doctor and I feel like I can't judge the book and how good of a fit it is without tracking down more episodes with William Hartnell and see. I may need to come back and edit this review later.
If you are needing a Doctor Who fix...this should do it just fine :)
andystehr's review against another edition
3.0
The first Doctor has never been my favorite. This book had a bit going against at the onset, but I enjoyed it. I especially like the Venusians and I'm looking forward to the next first Doctor book.
frakalot's review
4.0
A delightfully absurd plot. The aliens are spectacularly alien and I enjoyed hanging with the first Doctor, Barbara and Ian on this adventure.
nwhyte's review
3.0
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1020322.html[return:][return:]I wasn't overwhelmed with the only other Paul Leonard DW book I'd read (Genocide), but I must say this one really grabbed me. Jon Pertwee's Doctor used to tell us that "Klokleda partha menin klatch" meant "Close your eyes, my darling - well, three of them at least". Here Paul Leonard has taken that throwaway line and constructed one of the best alien cultures I've ever read around it; reminiscent a little of both the pentagonal creatures of At the Mountains of Madness (though a lot less evil) and David Brin's Alvin the Hoon, but faced with an imminent world-destroying tragedy - this is Venus of several billion years ago, still habitable though steadily deteriorating. It's set immediately after The Dalek Invasion of Earth and before The Rescue, so the Doctor is here with Ian and Barbara but no younger female companion. Leonard, like most writers, cannot write Hartnell's Doctor especially well, but the story and the setting more than compensate. An unexpected pleasure.
nukirisame's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75