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cactusrae's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nwhyte's review
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1833444.html
Two short (200-page, large print) Doctor Who novels packaged together as a double. Colin Brake's The Good, the Bad and the Alien is written rather more for the younger end of the market, and is the same aliens in the Wild West type story that has been done several times over in recent years (including in the Eleventh Doctor audio The Runaway Train). I wondered if Amy would have been old enough to catch Deputy Dawg on TV - was it still being shown in the 1990s? And the "comparing the meerkats" joke passed me by (though I caught the quote from Blade Runner). But decent enough for what it is.
I have not been hugely impressed by Oli Smith's previous work for Who (which includes The Runaway Train, mentioned above, and Blackout, an audio set in 1960s New York). But System Wipe worked rather better for me; also set in America, with the Doctor trying to save the population of the virtual world Parallife before its entire system is wiped and Amy and Rory solving another part of the mystery in meatspace. Some similarities with the recent Seventh Doctor Big Finish audios The Doomsday Quatrain and House of Blue Fire.
Recommended for younger fans, and completists like me.
Two short (200-page, large print) Doctor Who novels packaged together as a double. Colin Brake's The Good, the Bad and the Alien is written rather more for the younger end of the market, and is the same aliens in the Wild West type story that has been done several times over in recent years (including in the Eleventh Doctor audio The Runaway Train). I wondered if Amy would have been old enough to catch Deputy Dawg on TV - was it still being shown in the 1990s? And the "comparing the meerkats" joke passed me by (though I caught the quote from Blade Runner). But decent enough for what it is.
I have not been hugely impressed by Oli Smith's previous work for Who (which includes The Runaway Train, mentioned above, and Blackout, an audio set in 1960s New York). But System Wipe worked rather better for me; also set in America, with the Doctor trying to save the population of the virtual world Parallife before its entire system is wiped and Amy and Rory solving another part of the mystery in meatspace. Some similarities with the recent Seventh Doctor Big Finish audios The Doomsday Quatrain and House of Blue Fire.
Recommended for younger fans, and completists like me.
kribu's review
3.0
Two fairly fun if not particularly amazing two ... well, novella-length stories, I suppose, since I doubt either of them was long enough to be a novel.
I'm not sure really I can say much more. Characterisation seemed largely okay, the pace fine, both stories had plots and just a pinch of danger; The Good, The Bad and the Alien in particular felt like the sort of story that would have worked just fine on screen, too (although as westerns with the Eleven, Amy and Rory TARDIS team go, A Town Called Mercy is probably the stronger one).
I'm not sure really I can say much more. Characterisation seemed largely okay, the pace fine, both stories had plots and just a pinch of danger; The Good, The Bad and the Alien in particular felt like the sort of story that would have worked just fine on screen, too (although as westerns with the Eleven, Amy and Rory TARDIS team go, A Town Called Mercy is probably the stronger one).
dabnor's review
2.0
Well, I read The Good, The Bad and the Alien first, so let's start there.
The story is pretty standard wild west fare in a lot of ways. Robbery, double crossing outlaws, all with a few added sci fi twists.
The good. The story trots along at a decent pace. Characterisation is decent.
The bad. There's no subtlety to the plot. Yes, I appreciate it's written for kids, but things written for kids can definitely be written better.
The... you didn't really think I was going to have The Alien here, did you? That division between The Good and Bad was not a conscious reference. Shame on you.
System Wipe, for me, was the better written of the two stories. However, I just wasn't as interested in the story. So, that's a bit odd.
The story is pretty standard wild west fare in a lot of ways. Robbery, double crossing outlaws, all with a few added sci fi twists.
The good. The story trots along at a decent pace. Characterisation is decent.
The bad. There's no subtlety to the plot. Yes, I appreciate it's written for kids, but things written for kids can definitely be written better.
The... you didn't really think I was going to have The Alien here, did you? That division between The Good and Bad was not a conscious reference. Shame on you.
System Wipe, for me, was the better written of the two stories. However, I just wasn't as interested in the story. So, that's a bit odd.
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