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hidekisohma's review
2.0
So when i was going through the doctor who EDA's, i saw that this was the lowest rated out of all of them. Of course it wasn't really a choice to skip this one as i was already 16 books deep into this series and need to read all of them.
Needless to say, seeing all the negative press this one received i was a little nervous going in. Is it really as bad as everyone says? I mean.... yeah it's pretty bad. Not the WORST. but...yeah pretty bad.
Sam and the doc are separated most of the time because the doctor is trying to save everyone and sam is doing the same thing but in a weird culty setting.
The biggest problem i had with this book is that it's OBVIOUS the author wasn't trying to write a fun story. that's this book's biggest downfall. Usually, even in a bad doctor who book you can look at it and go "well, at least the author was TRYING to write a fun story, it just went to hell." this one. no. This book from the getgo is OBVIOUSLY Jim just stroking his ego going "ooohhh look how cerebral and smart i am!"
The plot will just stop for pages at a time while he starts saying stuff like "the universe is an endless void of stars continually exploding and being reborn in a vast--" zzzzzzzsnore. He'll do this and wax rhapsodic for no reason. The story in itself is not a fun who adventure, it's Jim writing a love letter to his brain that he thinks is so big.
As for the story itself, it's pretty convoluted and nonsensical. a star is dying and being reborn and the planets are getting messed up because of it so the doc has to try to save the day. Granted, i just simplified it a metric butt ton, but that's the general idea.
This is one of those "if the doctor didn't show up at all, nothing would have changed" stories too. so if you're expecting the ending to be the doctor being awesome, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
Sam is VERY annoying in this one as her "save everyone" mentality has been taken to a whole new level where she follows this cult guy around chatting about life, religion and saving people for over half the book.
Some reviews have stated how she's childish, and i agree. she's very much so in this book. There's a point early on when the doc says "hey, go off and do what you need to do" and he gives her a useful bag of stuff and after he leaves she goes "I DON'T NEED HIS HELP!" and throws the bag away...for...no reason really. and i'm sitting there like "but...why?" like she regresses in her characterization for no reason and yeah, i can see why people complain about sam in this one.
There's a lot of death in this one. like a LOT of death. i mean, i laugh about how Chris Bulis is the king of body count, but OH MY GOD this is like.... this makes Bulis look like Paul Magrs (yeah, you're a super nerd if you get that comparison) but yeah millions upon MILLIONS of people die in this one. so...yeah be ready for that.
The scene continuity was also very confusing in this one. one second they'll be on a ship then they're on a planet's surface. then they're in a refugee camp. It's all over the place. there's no rhyme or reason to the setting changes and it left me more than a little confused as it went on. The previous book, Janus didn't have this problem, and i pretty much knew when we moved locations all the time. This one was just all over the place.
The only thing i didn't dislike about this was the doctor had some funny banter with the random people in this one and it made it more bearable. The thing is, this book doesn't fill me with hate like Vanderdeken or Seeing I did. It just leaves me with an eyeroll as you see the book for what it is, Jim patting himself on the back for being able to cobble together a depressing book with metaphors about life and the universe.
Wow! thanks Jim, it's just what i wanted!
The average rating for this book at the time of this review is a 2.7 and.....yeah i definitely see that. Does it deserve to be the WORST book in the series? I mean, it's boring, annoying, and stupid, but for me, it's a solid 2/5. Not good, but mercifully short and i managed to power through it in 2 1/2 days. out of the 17 in the series so far, yeah, i'd say it's probably 3rd worst ahead of seeing I and vanderdeken. Definitely deserving of the rating, and definitely not a book i'll ever visit again.
2/5.
Oh and yes, there is indeed a scene with the doctor surfing on a tidal wave up to the president of the planet's window. that was probably the highlight of the book. which is very sad
Needless to say, seeing all the negative press this one received i was a little nervous going in. Is it really as bad as everyone says? I mean.... yeah it's pretty bad. Not the WORST. but...yeah pretty bad.
Sam and the doc are separated most of the time because the doctor is trying to save everyone and sam is doing the same thing but in a weird culty setting.
The biggest problem i had with this book is that it's OBVIOUS the author wasn't trying to write a fun story. that's this book's biggest downfall. Usually, even in a bad doctor who book you can look at it and go "well, at least the author was TRYING to write a fun story, it just went to hell." this one. no. This book from the getgo is OBVIOUSLY Jim just stroking his ego going "ooohhh look how cerebral and smart i am!"
The plot will just stop for pages at a time while he starts saying stuff like "the universe is an endless void of stars continually exploding and being reborn in a vast--" zzzzzzzsnore. He'll do this and wax rhapsodic for no reason. The story in itself is not a fun who adventure, it's Jim writing a love letter to his brain that he thinks is so big.
As for the story itself, it's pretty convoluted and nonsensical. a star is dying and being reborn and the planets are getting messed up because of it so the doc has to try to save the day. Granted, i just simplified it a metric butt ton, but that's the general idea.
This is one of those "if the doctor didn't show up at all, nothing would have changed" stories too. so if you're expecting the ending to be the doctor being awesome, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
Sam is VERY annoying in this one as her "save everyone" mentality has been taken to a whole new level where she follows this cult guy around chatting about life, religion and saving people for over half the book.
Some reviews have stated how she's childish, and i agree. she's very much so in this book. There's a point early on when the doc says "hey, go off and do what you need to do" and he gives her a useful bag of stuff and after he leaves she goes "I DON'T NEED HIS HELP!" and throws the bag away...for...no reason really. and i'm sitting there like "but...why?" like she regresses in her characterization for no reason and yeah, i can see why people complain about sam in this one.
There's a lot of death in this one. like a LOT of death. i mean, i laugh about how Chris Bulis is the king of body count, but OH MY GOD this is like.... this makes Bulis look like Paul Magrs (yeah, you're a super nerd if you get that comparison) but yeah millions upon MILLIONS of people die in this one. so...yeah be ready for that.
The scene continuity was also very confusing in this one. one second they'll be on a ship then they're on a planet's surface. then they're in a refugee camp. It's all over the place. there's no rhyme or reason to the setting changes and it left me more than a little confused as it went on. The previous book, Janus didn't have this problem, and i pretty much knew when we moved locations all the time. This one was just all over the place.
The only thing i didn't dislike about this was the doctor had some funny banter with the random people in this one and it made it more bearable. The thing is, this book doesn't fill me with hate like Vanderdeken or Seeing I did. It just leaves me with an eyeroll as you see the book for what it is, Jim patting himself on the back for being able to cobble together a depressing book with metaphors about life and the universe.
Wow! thanks Jim, it's just what i wanted!
The average rating for this book at the time of this review is a 2.7 and.....yeah i definitely see that. Does it deserve to be the WORST book in the series? I mean, it's boring, annoying, and stupid, but for me, it's a solid 2/5. Not good, but mercifully short and i managed to power through it in 2 1/2 days. out of the 17 in the series so far, yeah, i'd say it's probably 3rd worst ahead of seeing I and vanderdeken. Definitely deserving of the rating, and definitely not a book i'll ever visit again.
2/5.
Oh and yes, there is indeed a scene with the doctor surfing on a tidal wave up to the president of the planet's window. that was probably the highlight of the book. which is very sad
rebelbelle13's review
1.0
WHAT. WAS.THAT. Seriously, I have never read a more complicated-for-no-reason, out of character, ego-stroking science fiction book before, ever. I have read and watched a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, and Doctor Who in my day and you occasionally come across something that is so bloated, where clearly the author is attempting to break out and showcase his "talent", well beyond the breadth and scope of what the book is actually supposed to be. Beltempest is trying so desperately to be something that it isn't. Jim, this is Doctor Who. It's not a philosophical book about birth and death and what the universe means. We expect a little waxing rhapsodic with certain Doctors, but this is over the top and unnecessary.
Not only is the writing over the top and complicated for no reason, the plot makes very little sense. We're meant to believe an ancient race came to the dying Bel galaxy, put its fetus in the sun (thereby giving it millions of more years of life) and nano-bots evolved on one of the planets, looking to use humans as vehicles to take over the universe? There's also the usual influx of side-characters who aren't that important in the scheme of things, and are going to die anyway. Sam has regressed yet again, and Jim has the Doctor acting like a confused child, who whips out random items and then gets upset when he can't decide what to do. In the end, he doesn't really do anything, and his being there doesn't make a whit of difference.
This is also the highest body count of any Who book yet, with deaths in the billions.
The core idea is ok, I suppose, and given to another capable author, could have been told better and reworked to a halfway decent story. As it stands, it really deserves a 1.5. And as I can't do half stars, I'm rounding down this time, because I can't get back the time I wasted reading this.
Not only is the writing over the top and complicated for no reason, the plot makes very little sense. We're meant to believe an ancient race came to the dying Bel galaxy, put its fetus in the sun (thereby giving it millions of more years of life) and nano-bots evolved on one of the planets, looking to use humans as vehicles to take over the universe? There's also the usual influx of side-characters who aren't that important in the scheme of things, and are going to die anyway. Sam has regressed yet again, and Jim has the Doctor acting like a confused child, who whips out random items and then gets upset when he can't decide what to do. In the end, he doesn't really do anything, and his being there doesn't make a whit of difference.
This is also the highest body count of any Who book yet, with deaths in the billions.
The core idea is ok, I suppose, and given to another capable author, could have been told better and reworked to a halfway decent story. As it stands, it really deserves a 1.5. And as I can't do half stars, I'm rounding down this time, because I can't get back the time I wasted reading this.
eightfitz's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nwhyte's review
1.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1690475.html
An Eighth Doctor Adventure that didn't really grab me - the plot, involving an artificial cosmic doom threatening an entire solar system, very similar to the last book I read in this series, and Mortimore's writing rather undisciplined - I normally like his books and scripts more than I did this one. Poor Sam gets messed around with in mind and body.
An Eighth Doctor Adventure that didn't really grab me - the plot, involving an artificial cosmic doom threatening an entire solar system, very similar to the last book I read in this series, and Mortimore's writing rather undisciplined - I normally like his books and scripts more than I did this one. Poor Sam gets messed around with in mind and body.
sleepytechnokid's review
2.0
I wanted to read this out of curiosity but I couldn't get myself through the book because of the characterization of the Eighth Doctor was Uncomfortably Off.
julis's review
2.0
I don’t understand how the person who wrote Natural History of Fear could also write this.
It took me 3 tries and an entire year to get through it, because I kept waiting for the plot, for actual secondary characters (instead of 1 dimensional archetypes), for literally anything but a series of distantly connected scenes.
Part of it, definitely, is that what worked so well in NHF, the stark and often absent setting descriptors, doesn’t work in a novel. But also? There’s not so much a plot as sequence of events where 8 and Sam bounce around like ping pong balls. I don’t care about any of the characters, including Eight and Sam, which is an accomplishment. Despite finishing it yesterday, I couldn’t even tell you how the plot was resolved, except it had to do with nanobots. Yay.
Onward and upward?
It took me 3 tries and an entire year to get through it, because I kept waiting for the plot, for actual secondary characters (instead of 1 dimensional archetypes), for literally anything but a series of distantly connected scenes.
Part of it, definitely, is that what worked so well in NHF, the stark and often absent setting descriptors, doesn’t work in a novel. But also? There’s not so much a plot as sequence of events where 8 and Sam bounce around like ping pong balls. I don’t care about any of the characters, including Eight and Sam, which is an accomplishment. Despite finishing it yesterday, I couldn’t even tell you how the plot was resolved, except it had to do with nanobots. Yay.
Onward and upward?
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