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nwhyte's review
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2283276.html[return][return]A mild romp round Elizabethan times with the Sixth Doctor, Peri, John Dee and the Master. It's light in some ways, but actually drills down linguistically to explain Peri's name (I don't think I'd ever seen that before) and is respectful enough of the historical setting.
beckylej's review
4.0
In "A Handful of Stardust" Doctor number six and his companion Peri find their way to sixteenth century England and come face to face with the notorious John Dee! Dee has discovered something truly magnificent but his thirst for knowledge is literally out of this world. Strangely it isn't Dee or his actions that have drawn the Doctor to earth, but someone (or something) else entirely.
I won't say this one was my favorite of the series, but it definitely comes close to the top simply because of what the Doctor turns out to be up against. This is Colin Baker's Doctor, another one I'd not actually had the privilege of watching while I was growing up, so my introduction to him here was definitely a welcome one.
I won't say this one was my favorite of the series, but it definitely comes close to the top simply because of what the Doctor turns out to be up against. This is Colin Baker's Doctor, another one I'd not actually had the privilege of watching while I was growing up, so my introduction to him here was definitely a welcome one.
karlou's review
2.0
2.5 stars
Yet another Doctor Who Time Trips novella, a series of short stories written by different authors featuring our favourite Time Lord. A Handful of Stardust features many people's least favourite, the Sixth Doctor with Peri, a companion who divided opinion. As a child I loved her but I know many people rank her among the worst companions. It's not then a story that starts from a place of overwhelming nostalgic warmth!
Mostly set in England in 1572, the Doctor and Peri meet John Dee, "Doctor of divinity and of mathematics. Alchemist, astrologist, navigator, I am, sir, Her Majesty’s most noble intelligencer. And the greatest mind of our time." Dee is rather like the Doctor, a robust character with a thirst for knowledge. He is aided by Thomas Digges who develops quite the crush on Peri. The characters are the strongest part of the story for me, Arnott doesn't quite capture the Sixth Doctor, he has his ebullience but not his crotchetiness but it's a decent enough characterisation of such a polarising figure, Peri doesn't do much of note but the relationship between her as a Twentieth Century Botany student and the Sixteenth Century scientist Digges is a nice little subplot. Happily and without giving too much away there's a properly bad enemy this time. However, the story itself is just a bit dull and forgettable. I didn't really care what happened and it was also sorted out far too easily. Of the Time Trips I've read so far this has been my least favourite, it's worth a read if you're a Who fan but I don't know if I'd read it again.
Thanks to the publishers for my free copy received through NetGalley in return for my unbiased review.
Yet another Doctor Who Time Trips novella, a series of short stories written by different authors featuring our favourite Time Lord. A Handful of Stardust features many people's least favourite, the Sixth Doctor with Peri, a companion who divided opinion. As a child I loved her but I know many people rank her among the worst companions. It's not then a story that starts from a place of overwhelming nostalgic warmth!
Mostly set in England in 1572, the Doctor and Peri meet John Dee, "Doctor of divinity and of mathematics. Alchemist, astrologist, navigator, I am, sir, Her Majesty’s most noble intelligencer. And the greatest mind of our time." Dee is rather like the Doctor, a robust character with a thirst for knowledge. He is aided by Thomas Digges who develops quite the crush on Peri. The characters are the strongest part of the story for me, Arnott doesn't quite capture the Sixth Doctor, he has his ebullience but not his crotchetiness but it's a decent enough characterisation of such a polarising figure, Peri doesn't do much of note but the relationship between her as a Twentieth Century Botany student and the Sixteenth Century scientist Digges is a nice little subplot. Happily and without giving too much away there's a properly bad enemy this time. However, the story itself is just a bit dull and forgettable. I didn't really care what happened and it was also sorted out far too easily. Of the Time Trips I've read so far this has been my least favourite, it's worth a read if you're a Who fan but I don't know if I'd read it again.
Thanks to the publishers for my free copy received through NetGalley in return for my unbiased review.
kribu's review
3.0
I keep vacillating between two and three stars for this one. Can't really decide. :-/
This started off really well - with plenty of detail, a well established setting, and with a bit of intrigue. I rather loved the first part, to be honest, and had high hopes for it - good set-up, my second favourite classic Doctor, space and time travel both, what else could one want?
Unfortunately once the main plot kicked in, the story kind of lost its feet, at least for me. The pacing felt off, everything happened fast and especially the parts near Cassiopeia lacked any kind of depth at all; suddenly we were just there, with no fleshing out of the characters, no real sense of impending disaster, or, well, anything. Meh.
I did like this version of John Dee - in all recent books I've read that feature him that I can think of, he's presented as a villain. He was the most fleshed out character here, with a back story and some depth to him (as much as one can do in a short story anyway), a man of genuine curiosity and a desire for knowledge, and I'm tempted to add a third star just for him, but on the other hand, apart from the description of the Doctor's clothes, I didn't get a sense of Six at all - some feeble attempt, maybe, but it's not enough to be told he has flair when it's not really even visible. I tried to "hear" Six in this Doctor and just couldn't.
It's not at all a bad short story - especially the first half is really pretty good. Unfortunately the rest meant that for me, it ended up as merely "it was okay". Could be that I expected more, I guess.
This started off really well - with plenty of detail, a well established setting, and with a bit of intrigue. I rather loved the first part, to be honest, and had high hopes for it - good set-up, my second favourite classic Doctor, space and time travel both, what else could one want?
Unfortunately once the main plot kicked in, the story kind of lost its feet, at least for me. The pacing felt off, everything happened fast and especially the parts near Cassiopeia lacked any kind of depth at all; suddenly we were just there, with no fleshing out of the characters, no real sense of impending disaster, or, well, anything. Meh.
I did like this version of John Dee - in all recent books I've read that feature him that I can think of, he's presented as a villain. He was the most fleshed out character here, with a back story and some depth to him (as much as one can do in a short story anyway), a man of genuine curiosity and a desire for knowledge, and I'm tempted to add a third star just for him, but on the other hand, apart from the description of the Doctor's clothes, I didn't get a sense of Six at all - some feeble attempt, maybe, but it's not enough to be told he has flair when it's not really even visible. I tried to "hear" Six in this Doctor and just couldn't.
It's not at all a bad short story - especially the first half is really pretty good. Unfortunately the rest meant that for me, it ended up as merely "it was okay". Could be that I expected more, I guess.
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