Scan barcode
imchoosingfiction's review against another edition
4.0
Starts out slow but picks up really well in the middle and has you hooked. The tone for each character was accurate (enough) and it definitely has the heart and moral ambiguity that you come to expect from a good Dr. Who story. I do recommend this one. I enjoyed it and even teared up a bit near the end.
sydneypearl94's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
pixieprose's review against another edition
4.0
A little bit confusing and kinda makes you HATE the Doctor for a bit. More than a bit. At least if you like Rory.
punchofwishes's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating 3.5 stars
This was an alright story, but who was real and who was fake was very confusing, plus the ending was a bit meh. Didn’t need the extra plot twist really.
This was an alright story, but who was real and who was fake was very confusing, plus the ending was a bit meh. Didn’t need the extra plot twist really.
desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Gestrandet in der Vergangenheit, am Strand einer Tuberkulose-Klinik. Kein Ausweg, irgendetwas Unheimliches geht vor sich und dein Gehirn erinnert sich einfach nicht daran, was passiert ist und wer du bist. Keine besonders angenehme Vorstellung.
Eine ganz gute Handlung, wobei ich die Art der Erzählung mit einem Wechsel von Briefen, Tagebucheinträgen und Gedanken zu Teilen fragwürdig finde. Leichte Plotholes dabei also. Die Darstellung der Charaktere ist definitiv besser, hier fokussiert auf die Imperfektion der Personen im Gegensatz dazu wie sie wahrgenommen werden, schon spannend, aber sehr negativ. Möglicherweise bin ich einfach nicht so ein Fan der geschriebenen DW stories? 🤔
Eine ganz gute Handlung, wobei ich die Art der Erzählung mit einem Wechsel von Briefen, Tagebucheinträgen und Gedanken zu Teilen fragwürdig finde. Leichte Plotholes dabei also. Die Darstellung der Charaktere ist definitiv besser, hier fokussiert auf die Imperfektion der Personen im Gegensatz dazu wie sie wahrgenommen werden, schon spannend, aber sehr negativ. Möglicherweise bin ich einfach nicht so ein Fan der geschriebenen DW stories? 🤔
thegeekproblem's review against another edition
1.0
First Person writing is a turn off for me.
Now, don’t get me wrong, that is not the only reason why I didn’t enjoy this novel; there were a lot of things that annoyed the hell out of me and other things which I thought were incredibly interesting and then just weren’t touched upon. So, yeah.
The plot was interesting enough, and was treated in a way that the mystery was complicated enough as to not solve it easily. The Doctor, Amy and Rory, arrive at a clinic treating TB at the end of the 18th century, but for a reason we don’t know yet, they’re unable to remember who they are and what they’re doing in the place. They discover that the patients are treated with staying at the beach even though it’s the middle of winter, and when a mysterious mist arrives, the sick are seen dancing with ghosts. Since the TARDIS trio don’t remember who they are the mystery takes second place to getting their heads in order.
In the novel we have three main POVs, Amy’s, a little girl who’s a patient, and the doctor of the clinic. It is mainly written in diary entries or letters.
The things I liked, I really liked. The Doctor and Rory swap memories, so they believe to be the other person. You can see how Rory just doesn’t like the Doctor that much at that point. He’s dangerous and he’s unpredictable and he’s going to get them killed, and I really loved that. And the plot was really interesting, the other characters were really cool, and the fact that there’s no true villain and no true monster makes it more compelling.
But the things I didn’t like kind of ruined the whole book for me. When Rory gets his memories we get this weird self loathing and this is after he waited 2000 years for Amy, so it feels weird. We also get this awful reasoning behind why Amy chose to date and marry Rory, because he reminded her of the Doctor. You could sometimes feel in the series how Amy loved the Doctor more than Rory, and to read it so bluntly in one of the novels just felt awful, especially because of how much I love Amy and Rory together. Sometimes I think Rory deserved better. And then Rory gets into trouble and the Doctor refuses to save him until Amy begs him, and he says he’s only doing it for her and not because Rory is also his friend. Like, why?
I would recommend the novel only for the plot, because the rest was unpleasant to say the least.
Now, don’t get me wrong, that is not the only reason why I didn’t enjoy this novel; there were a lot of things that annoyed the hell out of me and other things which I thought were incredibly interesting and then just weren’t touched upon. So, yeah.
The plot was interesting enough, and was treated in a way that the mystery was complicated enough as to not solve it easily. The Doctor, Amy and Rory, arrive at a clinic treating TB at the end of the 18th century, but for a reason we don’t know yet, they’re unable to remember who they are and what they’re doing in the place. They discover that the patients are treated with staying at the beach even though it’s the middle of winter, and when a mysterious mist arrives, the sick are seen dancing with ghosts. Since the TARDIS trio don’t remember who they are the mystery takes second place to getting their heads in order.
In the novel we have three main POVs, Amy’s, a little girl who’s a patient, and the doctor of the clinic. It is mainly written in diary entries or letters.
The things I liked, I really liked. The Doctor and Rory swap memories, so they believe to be the other person. You can see how Rory just doesn’t like the Doctor that much at that point. He’s dangerous and he’s unpredictable and he’s going to get them killed, and I really loved that. And the plot was really interesting, the other characters were really cool, and the fact that there’s no true villain and no true monster makes it more compelling.
But the things I didn’t like kind of ruined the whole book for me. When Rory gets his memories we get this weird self loathing and this is after he waited 2000 years for Amy, so it feels weird. We also get this awful reasoning behind why Amy chose to date and marry Rory, because he reminded her of the Doctor. You could sometimes feel in the series how Amy loved the Doctor more than Rory, and to read it so bluntly in one of the novels just felt awful, especially because of how much I love Amy and Rory together. Sometimes I think Rory deserved better. And then Rory gets into trouble and the Doctor refuses to save him until Amy begs him, and he says he’s only doing it for her and not because Rory is also his friend. Like, why?
I would recommend the novel only for the plot, because the rest was unpleasant to say the least.
wayward's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1786238.html
A splendidly creepy story of the Doctor, Amy and Rory (set between the wedding and the opening of Season 6) at a Swiss sanatorium in the late 18th century where almost nothing is as it seems. James Goss varies from entertaining to excellent as a Who writer, and this is a particularly inventive novel, told from the points of view of various narrators, including the Doctor, Amy and Rory, all of whom turn out to be unreliable in one way or the other. As with any Who-related work by Goss, this is strongly recommended.
I started it by listening to the audio version read by Clare Corbett and then realised I had the paper copy of the book, so read the last two thirds in dead tree format, really because I am a quick reader and wanted to find out what happened; Corbett's reading, and in particular her characterisation of the different first-person narrators with their varying accents, is excellent.
A splendidly creepy story of the Doctor, Amy and Rory (set between the wedding and the opening of Season 6) at a Swiss sanatorium in the late 18th century where almost nothing is as it seems. James Goss varies from entertaining to excellent as a Who writer, and this is a particularly inventive novel, told from the points of view of various narrators, including the Doctor, Amy and Rory, all of whom turn out to be unreliable in one way or the other. As with any Who-related work by Goss, this is strongly recommended.
I started it by listening to the audio version read by Clare Corbett and then realised I had the paper copy of the book, so read the last two thirds in dead tree format, really because I am a quick reader and wanted to find out what happened; Corbett's reading, and in particular her characterisation of the different first-person narrators with their varying accents, is excellent.
mj_isasimp's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
meganmargoking's review against another edition
4.0
Another surprisingly good one from James Goss.
Let's start with the cover. It's very blue. Probably trying to go with the beachy/water theme this book entails. The people in the background rising from the sea who look like zombies to me aren't dressed in period clothing. You are probably thinking, Megan, how can you even tell? One man is wearing a top hat. I have a feeling top hats weren't around before the French Revolution. The girl on the cover is most likely either the character Maria, an 11 year old girl or Perdita, Doctor Bloom's wife. Either way I find it funny that either one of them would be holding the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver (and may I say that it's a horrible photoshop job?). This never occurred in the novel.Amy's very bold lipstick bothers me a lot. Perhaps because she never wore that bold of lipstick in the show. And Rory seems a bit unshaven. The Doctor looks good however; no complaints about him.
Goss writes in 1st person for this novel. But each chapter is from a different person's perspective: Amy, Rory, Maria, Dr. Bloom or Mr. Nevil. So when you read you have to pay attention to whose chapter is coming up.
I was impressed with how Goss wrote Rory. He goes into Rory's character and background quite thoroughly and I loved it. Everyone else is written in character as well but I thought Rory was the best.
There's quite a few twists in this novel. The majority I didn't see coming. I don't want to spoil so that's probably why this is going to be a short review.
I'd recommend this to Doctor Who fans.
Let's start with the cover. It's very blue. Probably trying to go with the beachy/water theme this book entails. The people in the background rising from the sea who look like zombies to me aren't dressed in period clothing. You are probably thinking, Megan, how can you even tell? One man is wearing a top hat. I have a feeling top hats weren't around before the French Revolution. The girl on the cover is most likely either the character Maria, an 11 year old girl or Perdita, Doctor Bloom's wife. Either way I find it funny that either one of them would be holding the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver (and may I say that it's a horrible photoshop job?). This never occurred in the novel.Amy's very bold lipstick bothers me a lot. Perhaps because she never wore that bold of lipstick in the show. And Rory seems a bit unshaven. The Doctor looks good however; no complaints about him.
Goss writes in 1st person for this novel. But each chapter is from a different person's perspective: Amy, Rory, Maria, Dr. Bloom or Mr. Nevil. So when you read you have to pay attention to whose chapter is coming up.
I was impressed with how Goss wrote Rory. He goes into Rory's character and background quite thoroughly and I loved it. Everyone else is written in character as well but I thought Rory was the best.
There's quite a few twists in this novel. The majority I didn't see coming. I don't want to spoil so that's probably why this is going to be a short review.
I'd recommend this to Doctor Who fans.