Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
Nothing about this novel blew me away, but it managed to consistently and satisfyingly deliver everything I wanted from a time war story.
It's difficult to live up to the mysterious, high concept, cataclysmic, and eldritch impression we have of the time war, and there are a lot of pitfalls that come with depicting it in more detail. Some time war stories are disappointingly too straightforward, not living up to the large scale or mindbending weirdness and horror the conflict should be, while others can get too complicated and bogged down in technobabble that any stakes or engagement are lost - but this story manages to find a good balance.
It's a grand but believable space opera of an adventure, with a swift pace that maintains the sense of threat and urgency. This story encompasses all the major locations associated with time war imagery, from war torn innocent planets, dalek camps and ships, the citadel of gallifrey and the depths of space or the vortex.
A good selection of timey-wimey and high concept sci-fi ideas are played around with, elevating the action and exploration of the story to time war worthiness.
On top of some neat references to the Doctor's past adventures and a few cool surprises, there are many great nuggets of lore and worldbuilding that expand our knowledge of the time war, the Daleks and the Time Lords.
The details we're given and the direction the plot goes in really paints a picture of how drastic the stakes are, correlating perfectly with the last days of the war mentioned in The End of Time, and likely one the War Doctor's final stories before his plan to use the Moment and the events of The Day of the Doctor.
One of the more important aspects this story accomplishes is the heavy focus on morality, which should be an intrinsic part of the time war narrative and the War Doctor's character. The different ideals, ethics, morals and feelings of everyone engaged in the time war are a constant presence and influence on the plot, making for an impactful story emotionally.
What ties everything together is the strong character work, particularly with the Doctor himself and new ally Cinder. Alongside his appearance in the 50th anniversary (and its novelisation) this might be the best characterisation of John Hurt's incarnation.
On the other hand, the newly introduced Cinder has some great development across the story and endears herself to the reader as our secondary protagonist. She has a great dynamic with the Doctor, and is the key to unlocking the deeper exploration of his feelings/actions/morals/opinions.
Like I mentioned, there's no individual elements that really stood out as brilliant, this story is just good because of how well rounded it is!
A good selection of timey-wimey and high concept sci-fi ideas are played around with, elevating the action and exploration of the story to time war worthiness.
On top of some neat references to the Doctor's past adventures and a few cool surprises, there are many great nuggets of lore and worldbuilding that expand our knowledge of the time war, the Daleks and the Time Lords.
The details we're given and the direction the plot goes in really paints a picture of how drastic the stakes are, correlating perfectly with the last days of the war mentioned in The End of Time, and likely one the War Doctor's final stories before his plan to use the Moment and the events of The Day of the Doctor.
One of the more important aspects this story accomplishes is the heavy focus on morality, which should be an intrinsic part of the time war narrative and the War Doctor's character. The different ideals, ethics, morals and feelings of everyone engaged in the time war are a constant presence and influence on the plot, making for an impactful story emotionally.
What ties everything together is the strong character work, particularly with the Doctor himself and new ally Cinder. Alongside his appearance in the 50th anniversary (and its novelisation) this might be the best characterisation of John Hurt's incarnation.
On the other hand, the newly introduced Cinder has some great development across the story and endears herself to the reader as our secondary protagonist. She has a great dynamic with the Doctor, and is the key to unlocking the deeper exploration of his feelings/actions/morals/opinions.
Like I mentioned, there's no individual elements that really stood out as brilliant, this story is just good because of how well rounded it is!
Initial thoughts:
-lacking in detail in regards to the Time War and the War Doctor. The author assumes that readers already know everything or have sufficient knowledge in regards to both but I want to know more.
-there's nothing special about the War Doctor. There really isn't anything that separates the War Doctor from all his other versions. I assumed that he would be more serious and edgier but apart from being a little less upbeat than, say, the Eleventh Doctor, there really isn't anything particularly distinctive about this Doctor.
-the companionship between the Doctor and Cinder seemed forced
-loved the concept of an all-knowing mutant Time Lord, a Dalek weapon capable of wiping a being from existence (literally) and the Doctor's conflict with his own people
-lacking in detail in regards to the Time War and the War Doctor. The author assumes that readers already know everything or have sufficient knowledge in regards to both but I want to know more.
-there's nothing special about the War Doctor. There really isn't anything that separates the War Doctor from all his other versions. I assumed that he would be more serious and edgier but apart from being a little less upbeat than, say, the Eleventh Doctor, there really isn't anything particularly distinctive about this Doctor.
-the companionship between the Doctor and Cinder seemed forced
-loved the concept of an all-knowing mutant Time Lord, a Dalek weapon capable of wiping a being from existence (literally) and the Doctor's conflict with his own people
A tale of the Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords featuring the War Doctor/John Hurt? What Whovian could resist?! A fair plot with high stakes, the adventures reads like a special-length modern episode, easily enjoyable. While I hope there's more to come, the publisher Broadway Books needs to edit a little closer as there were many unnecessary errors in the text.
A fun but flawed story from the Time War! More thoughts here
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-death-of-billions-is-as-nothing-to.html
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-death-of-billions-is-as-nothing-to.html
A Doctor Who novel of epic proportions if ever there was one. Whovians will love.
The Great Time War raged ferociously for centuries, Dalek forces occupying human planets.
We experience the story through the eyes of a weary War Doctor, and Cinder *cue the tears* , a Dalek hunter who's lost her family and all she knows. Together, they look to uncover the Dalek plan, which, by no means will be an easy feat. (I shan't say any more about the plot, read the book). :)
As a Whovian, I loved reading about Gallifrey, and even the TARDIS burial grounds, as devastating as that is. It was also enlightening to read about The Time War itself. I love The War Doctor too, and Cinders is just heroic.
George Mann's storytelling is great, he builds up the book from early on and the finale is so sad and epic that I'm still reeling. I felt like I was there along with Cinder and The War Doctor, his writing is that great.
The Great Time War raged ferociously for centuries, Dalek forces occupying human planets.
We experience the story through the eyes of a weary War Doctor, and Cinder *cue the tears* , a Dalek hunter who's lost her family and all she knows. Together, they look to uncover the Dalek plan, which, by no means will be an easy feat. (I shan't say any more about the plot, read the book). :)
As a Whovian, I loved reading about Gallifrey, and even the TARDIS burial grounds, as devastating as that is. It was also enlightening to read about The Time War itself. I love The War Doctor too, and Cinders is just heroic.
George Mann's storytelling is great, he builds up the book from early on and the finale is so sad and epic that I'm still reeling. I felt like I was there along with Cinder and The War Doctor, his writing is that great.
New Doctor Who is coming in August and I am so excited. To tide me over until then I have been reading Engines Of War. This is a novel about the war Doctor, seen on screen played by John Hurt.
The book opens in the midst of the Time War. The Daleks are waging war on the universe and creating various abominable human mutations in Dalek form. Cinder and her fellow humans are struggling to survive but doing their best to fight back against the Daleks. They encounter one of the new Daleks that apparently has the ability to delete people from time so it feels like they never existed. Cinder finds herself facing certain death when a mysterious blue box crashes onto the scene and the adventure begins!
I really liked the book. It had a good balance of the quirkiness I have come to expect from the Doctor and the intensity of his struggle against both the Daleks and the other Timelords. I did have a bit of trouble distinguishing this Doctor from number 11 at the beginning. I don't know whether that is due to the fact that I might have binge watched previous series on Netflix or whether the character hadn't been developed enough at that point. This changed later in the book when the Doctor is faced with difficult decisions to make about whether to allow the Timelords to destroy the Daleks and possibly wipe out billions of humans in the process or to stop them and risk the destruction of his home planet. The dialogue felt much grittier and serious and helped the character of the War Doctor become much more prominent and believable. As usual, the Doctor has a cunning plan and manages to make the right decision and save the day.
In my opinion, the author did a good job of creating a convincing, gripping story out of the few details we know of this period in the TV series. It is action packed sci-fi with a healthy dose of humour thrown in. Well worth a read if you like Doctor Who or even if you have never watched/read any before but like a bit of sci-fi, spacey stuff.
Engines of War will be available to buy from July 31st. Thank you Random House UK for providing the book for review on Netgalley.
The book opens in the midst of the Time War. The Daleks are waging war on the universe and creating various abominable human mutations in Dalek form. Cinder and her fellow humans are struggling to survive but doing their best to fight back against the Daleks. They encounter one of the new Daleks that apparently has the ability to delete people from time so it feels like they never existed. Cinder finds herself facing certain death when a mysterious blue box crashes onto the scene and the adventure begins!
I really liked the book. It had a good balance of the quirkiness I have come to expect from the Doctor and the intensity of his struggle against both the Daleks and the other Timelords. I did have a bit of trouble distinguishing this Doctor from number 11 at the beginning. I don't know whether that is due to the fact that I might have binge watched previous series on Netflix or whether the character hadn't been developed enough at that point. This changed later in the book when the Doctor is faced with difficult decisions to make about whether to allow the Timelords to destroy the Daleks and possibly wipe out billions of humans in the process or to stop them and risk the destruction of his home planet. The dialogue felt much grittier and serious and helped the character of the War Doctor become much more prominent and believable. As usual, the Doctor has a cunning plan and manages to make the right decision and save the day.
In my opinion, the author did a good job of creating a convincing, gripping story out of the few details we know of this period in the TV series. It is action packed sci-fi with a healthy dose of humour thrown in. Well worth a read if you like Doctor Who or even if you have never watched/read any before but like a bit of sci-fi, spacey stuff.
Engines of War will be available to buy from July 31st. Thank you Random House UK for providing the book for review on Netgalley.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death, Torture, Kidnapping
Minor: Blood, Death of parent
READ IN ENGLISH
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
In anticipation of the coming new series of Doctor Who, I'll be reading/reviewing some of the new Doctor Who books. I'm not overly experienced with them yet, as I've only read and discussed Touched by an Angel (my other favourite Doctor Who monsters!)
Because The Engines of War is about the most iconic of the Doctor Who adversaries: The Daleks. The dashboard of my laptop is a Dalek in a gondola, cruising through Venezia (made by my sister). It might not come as a surprise then to find out I was looking forward to meet the Daleks again in this book.
In the middle of the Great Time War the Doctor (The War Doctor) is forced to crash/land on the planet of Moldox (once inhabited by humans, who are now enslaved by the Daleks). He meets Cinder, a girl from Moldox who 'exterminates' Daleks for a living. When they find evidence of some new, powerful Dalek weapon, they hurry back to Gallifrey, but that might not be the wisest of decisions...
I liked it! I'm even looking forward more to the new series, because it read like an episode of Doctor Who. Of course I also liked reading about the Daleks, with their well known voice pattern. George Mann (I hadn't read anything he wrote before) has a very pleasant and easy to visualize style. I would recommend this novel, if you're a fan of the series or the books.
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
In anticipation of the coming new series of Doctor Who, I'll be reading/reviewing some of the new Doctor Who books. I'm not overly experienced with them yet, as I've only read and discussed Touched by an Angel (my other favourite Doctor Who monsters!)
Because The Engines of War is about the most iconic of the Doctor Who adversaries: The Daleks. The dashboard of my laptop is a Dalek in a gondola, cruising through Venezia (made by my sister). It might not come as a surprise then to find out I was looking forward to meet the Daleks again in this book.
In the middle of the Great Time War the Doctor (The War Doctor) is forced to crash/land on the planet of Moldox (once inhabited by humans, who are now enslaved by the Daleks). He meets Cinder, a girl from Moldox who 'exterminates' Daleks for a living. When they find evidence of some new, powerful Dalek weapon, they hurry back to Gallifrey, but that might not be the wisest of decisions...
I liked it! I'm even looking forward more to the new series, because it read like an episode of Doctor Who. Of course I also liked reading about the Daleks, with their well known voice pattern. George Mann (I hadn't read anything he wrote before) has a very pleasant and easy to visualize style. I would recommend this novel, if you're a fan of the series or the books.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Cinder is life… but the author needs to stop talking bout her “thigh muscles”… three times is a little weird.
Exciting tie in, glad the War Doctor gets a story and we get to see the Time War and how it’s temporally fought. Fuck Rassilon and FUCK Karlax.
Exciting tie in, glad the War Doctor gets a story and we get to see the Time War and how it’s temporally fought. Fuck Rassilon and FUCK Karlax.
