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beth_books_123's review
3.0
Ranked #16 (out of 18) of my holiday reads
GANDHI! - 3*
I'm quite disappointed in this particular adventure. I love, love, love the relationship between the 10th Doctor and Donna but this book couldn't seem to execute the ease of their relationship that was so great in the TV series (the DoctorDonna).
There were some funny one liners but the majority of them had already been executed onscreen. Therefore, they lacked the 'punch power' that they were supposed to deliver. This meant the humour throughout the book was quite lacking. The Doctor and Donna were separated for part of the novel and I feel like Donna was more of a stereotype of the companion rather than my favourite girl from Chiswick. Donna was not her own. She could have been amazing but she wasn't...
The plot is not exciting, it lacks luster and I wasn't compelled by the monsters/creatures. I was really disappointed because I've always wanted to visit India and it's such a phenomenal place filled with culture and history, which wasn't fully expressed in this book. India is supposed to be vibrant; it was set in Calcutta (Mumbai) and the descriptions made this place sound dull.
The time it was set was during India's imminent independence (and I know this was a seriously difficult time) but the writing still did not portray what makes India great. There was so much that could have been exploited (with this fabulous location) but instead we are stuck with the stereotypical rich British people with some special guests from the village. It's still nothing what it could have been!
The only reason I gave this book 3* was because of its attention to Gandhi. There had clearly been research by the author into the impact Gandhi had on India. Gandhi's portrayal wasn't fake or unrealistic butactually seemed genuine, which I enjoyed. My favourite parts of the book were the interactions that occurred between Gandhi and The Doctor. The book played on this well and I really enjoyed this relationship.
Overall, a very disappointing story as there was a lot of elements left unexplored. India was not celebrated like it deserved.
Where was the power machine that is the DoctorDonna?
Where was the spark (that was so deeply missed)?
GANDHI! - 3*
I'm quite disappointed in this particular adventure. I love, love, love the relationship between the 10th Doctor and Donna but this book couldn't seem to execute the ease of their relationship that was so great in the TV series (the DoctorDonna).
There were some funny one liners but the majority of them had already been executed onscreen. Therefore, they lacked the 'punch power' that they were supposed to deliver. This meant the humour throughout the book was quite lacking. The Doctor and Donna were separated for part of the novel and I feel like Donna was more of a stereotype of the companion rather than my favourite girl from Chiswick. Donna was not her own. She could have been amazing but she wasn't...
The plot is not exciting, it lacks luster and I wasn't compelled by the monsters/creatures. I was really disappointed because I've always wanted to visit India and it's such a phenomenal place filled with culture and history, which wasn't fully expressed in this book. India is supposed to be vibrant; it was set in Calcutta (Mumbai) and the descriptions made this place sound dull.
The time it was set was during India's imminent independence (and I know this was a seriously difficult time) but the writing still did not portray what makes India great. There was so much that could have been exploited (with this fabulous location) but instead we are stuck with the stereotypical rich British people with some special guests from the village. It's still nothing what it could have been!
The only reason I gave this book 3* was because of its attention to Gandhi. There had clearly been research by the author into the impact Gandhi had on India. Gandhi's portrayal wasn't fake or unrealistic butactually seemed genuine, which I enjoyed. My favourite parts of the book were the interactions that occurred between Gandhi and The Doctor. The book played on this well and I really enjoyed this relationship.
Overall, a very disappointing story as there was a lot of elements left unexplored. India was not celebrated like it deserved.
Where was the power machine that is the DoctorDonna?
Where was the spark (that was so deeply missed)?
happysami's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
nightshade_novels's review
3.0
I picked this book up for a quick read and was not disappointed. I am always a bit wary of books which have been written based on a TV series or film. It can be hard to turn a good book into a film, but I think sometimes it can be even harder to turn a show into a good book. However, I have found that the Doctor Who books are fairly good and I think part of this is due to the fact that some of them are written by the authors that write the TV episodes. You do notice between the books the slight differences in the way the different authors perceive the characters.
This story was laid out in traditional Doctor Who fashion: Doctor and companion arrive in a new location, companion is lost, in searching for each other they come across an alien invasion and become friends with the locals who happily trust these strangers, and finally they solve the alien problem before leaving.
The invading alien in this story was a Jal Karath; “black, sinuous and weed-like... composed of dozens of thin, twining limbs, attached to a thicker central stalk... covered in clusters of blinking, milky-white eyes.” This particular Jal Karath has the typically complicated alien name of Darac-Poul-Caparrel-Jal-7 which is conveniently shortened to Darac-7. Darac-7 is harvesting humans to create gelem warriors; described as “Daleks without the intelligence” they are used to fight wars.
One of the locals that they befriend is the famous Mohandas Gandhi. Now Doctor Who is no stranger to name dropping or actually including famous people in the stories. Generally a good job is done of being historically accurate (albeit with the odd alien thrown in) and successfully bringing them to life. Gandhi was no exception with Morris writing him in just as you would expect and you find yourself loving the gentle little man. His peaceful personality is perfectly highlighted when Gandhi breaks Darac-7’s machine by being too good.
The story was well written with enough intrigue to keep you wanting to read more. It receives 3 stars.
This story was laid out in traditional Doctor Who fashion: Doctor and companion arrive in a new location, companion is lost, in searching for each other they come across an alien invasion and become friends with the locals who happily trust these strangers, and finally they solve the alien problem before leaving.
The invading alien in this story was a Jal Karath; “black, sinuous and weed-like... composed of dozens of thin, twining limbs, attached to a thicker central stalk... covered in clusters of blinking, milky-white eyes.” This particular Jal Karath has the typically complicated alien name of Darac-Poul-Caparrel-Jal-7 which is conveniently shortened to Darac-7. Darac-7 is harvesting humans to create gelem warriors; described as “Daleks without the intelligence” they are used to fight wars.
One of the locals that they befriend is the famous Mohandas Gandhi. Now Doctor Who is no stranger to name dropping or actually including famous people in the stories. Generally a good job is done of being historically accurate (albeit with the odd alien thrown in) and successfully bringing them to life. Gandhi was no exception with Morris writing him in just as you would expect and you find yourself loving the gentle little man. His peaceful personality is perfectly highlighted when Gandhi breaks Darac-7’s machine by being too good.
The story was well written with enough intrigue to keep you wanting to read more. It receives 3 stars.
quigonchuy's review
2.0
This one was not as good as other audio adventures I've read/heard. It just felt forced. Like they wanted to do a story with Ghandi in it, and the doctor constantly sucking up to him was odd too.
scampr's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A fun but heartfelt historical adventure with 10 and Donna at their best. Captures the vibe of series 4 whilst also exposing the reader to new ideas and a lesser known (non-western) historical topic.
mbray341's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
beccas_books's review
4.0
This book was very energetic and fast paced. As usual, I loved Donna but I felt as if she was a bit toned down in this book. The villain, while suitably menacing, seemed to serve only as the vehicle for the Doctor to have some fun times with Gandhi. But that's ok! I wish more of the books were about history, and Gandhi surpasses expectations. Great for people already fans of the show.