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Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious: All Flesh is Grass by Una McCormack, Lee Binding, James Goss
feathersmcgraw's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
3.5
As the climax of a big multimedia crossover, All Flesh is Grass has the unenviable task of tying off as many different plot threads as possible. Its not perfect, but I think it does a good job. I even enjoyed it a bit more than the previous book. The main draw is far and away the characters. Each Doctor is well-realised. Brian the Ood has emerged an unlikely highlight from the entire affair.
I have two main gripes. The first is that the book is just too short - the second time I've said that this crossover. We bounce between battles incredibly quickly so if you aren't enjoying the characters for whatever reason there's not a lot else here for you.
The second problem is that (to the surprise of absolutely no-one) the daleks very quickly become the big bads. I don't even consider this a spoiler based on A) the cover and B) how quickly it happens. In a story with death-dealing cosmic horrors, bloodthirsty vampires and feuding doctors, daleks daleking all over the place might genuinely be the least interesting option they could have went with. I'd still argue the daleks are well-written, but c'mon.
That said, they are both quibbles. All in all I'm enjoying the crossover as a whole more now that I've read this.
I have two main gripes. The first is that the book is just too short - the second time I've said that this crossover. We bounce between battles incredibly quickly so if you aren't enjoying the characters for whatever reason there's not a lot else here for you.
The second problem is that (to the surprise of absolutely no-one) the daleks very quickly become the big bads. I don't even consider this a spoiler based on A) the cover and B) how quickly it happens. In a story with death-dealing cosmic horrors, bloodthirsty vampires and feuding doctors, daleks daleking all over the place might genuinely be the least interesting option they could have went with. I'd still argue the daleks are well-written, but c'mon.
That said, they are both quibbles. All in all I'm enjoying the crossover as a whole more now that I've read this.
snivystorm's review against another edition
3.0
This book didn’t stick the landing.
After reading “The Knight, the Fool and the Dead”, I was hyped for this book. More hyped than I had been for a Doctor Who story in a long time. But this book left me disappointed.
Now that’s not to say its terrible. Its still a solid book whose prose flows as well as its predecessor and is a good Doctor Who adventure. However, it has a lot of problems. I will list them accordingly below. But of course…
***Spoilers***
Firstly, the Tenth Doctor abandons his Time Lord Victorious rage so fast. He becomes the Tenth Doctor again with only a bit of a telling off from the Eighth and Ninth Doctors. The scene of them doing it is a much weaker version of what fans experience between Eleven, Ten and War’s confrontation in the Elizabethan dungeons during “The Day of the Doctor”. This feels rushed and doesn’t justify Ten getting over a child’s death, Estinee, whom he had emotional scenes with connecting with and protecting her, he witnessed in person only hours earlier. I should have known from the sixth page when the Doctor was fussing over his collar feeling too tight rather than the sheer rage and righteousness he felt at the end of the last book that this story wasn’t going to commit to the Time Lord Victorious idea. Part of me wishes Steve Cole had wrote this book instead of Una McCormack because the shift in writing and tone is so jarring it is like Ten’s experiences in the last 50 pages “The Knight, The Fool and the Dead” didn’t happen. McCormack nails Ten’s character, but this really should have been more like he was in “Waters of Mars’” last 10 minutes than the typical Ten.
Secondly, the inclusion of the Eighth and Ninth Doctors not living up to the hype. This stems from the book being a similar length to its predecessor but now having three Doctors to juggle. They don’t get as much breathing room as Ten did and suffer for it. Further, one is expected to have read/heard their tales leading up to them encountering Ten. Now I wouldn’t mind this too much - part of the fun of Doctor Who’s stories branching across media is the ability to revisit it but from another Doctor’s perspective - but this book expects you to have experienced those stories; no proper summary is given for why Nine and Eight are here and with who they are with beyond “we sensed you were causing a paradox”. This means the book doesn’t really stand on its own, so hurts its accessibility, especially because the narrative is experienced through all three Doctors rather than solely Ten.
This sharing of the narrative leads into the third flaw, which is the Eighth and Ninth’s characterisation. Bar the scene setting of who they are around (Nine with vampires and Eight with Daleks) and Nine’s occasional “Ullo”, I wouldn’t know the Eighth and Ninth Doctors were talking. Unlike Ten, their characterisation isn’t distinct. Yeah, they are still the Doctor and do Doctor things but they aren’t *their* Doctor. Apart from the part near end when Eight marvels at Gallifrey while Nine and Ten look on knowing what happens to it in the future, the essence of McGann and Eccleston’s portrayals isn’t felt.
Fourthly, the Daleks become the main threat. I knew this would happen (when don’t the Daleks become the big bad?) but it happens wayyy too soon and they don’t do anything…distinctive. Blow up Gallifrey? Hate the Doctor? Its all the same and not done in a stylistic or amazing way to make it stand out from the dozens of times this has happened before. I would have much preferred the Time Lord Victorious to be the novel’s big bad, especially as that is what “The Knight, The Fool and the Dead” had setup - The Doctor usurping the Kotturuh as the Master of Death or even have the Kotturuh replace him as the main enemy again after he reconciles and becomes the Tenth Doctor again. The Daleks are the Doctor’s most iconic enemy but they weren’t the enemy for this story.
In short, this story is like a worse “The Day of the Doctor”. How I feel about this book is much like how I felt after watching “Hell Bent”. This book is what “Hell Bent” was to “Heaven Sent”. A story that quickly disregards what its predecessor setup and tells its own story while tangentially appreciating the thematic focus that it was building to (Ten confronting his darkness compared to Twelve grieving Clara’s death.)
All of this is a shame. The book isn’t bad. Its well written and well paced. However, it is lacking and really is a disappointment coming off of how amazing Steve Cole’s book was. I can only think this book suffers because it is the last(?) in the Time Lord Victorious tale so relies on readers having experienced the whole thing to fully enjoy it. But even then, if all the series built up to was for Ten to not really be the Time Lord Victorious and for it to be another “beat the Daleks” run of the mill story, then this is a heavy crash landing.
***Spoilers end***
Based on sheer disappointment, I am so tempted to give this a 2/5, but then I would be undercutting the fact this is still a well written tale. If I view it in isolation, its definitely a 2/5: lacks in detail, no vivid descriptions of the characters and doesn’t do loads with its premise. As a sequel, its a 3/5: capable conclusion but leaves a lot of disappointment for the place the story was heading.
To summarise: if you’re thinking of reading this after reading “The Knight, the Fool and the Dead”, don’t. This novel doesn’t do the story its predecessor built towards justice.
After reading “The Knight, the Fool and the Dead”, I was hyped for this book. More hyped than I had been for a Doctor Who story in a long time. But this book left me disappointed.
Now that’s not to say its terrible. Its still a solid book whose prose flows as well as its predecessor and is a good Doctor Who adventure. However, it has a lot of problems. I will list them accordingly below. But of course…
***Spoilers***
Firstly, the Tenth Doctor abandons his Time Lord Victorious rage so fast. He becomes the Tenth Doctor again with only a bit of a telling off from the Eighth and Ninth Doctors. The scene of them doing it is a much weaker version of what fans experience between Eleven, Ten and War’s confrontation in the Elizabethan dungeons during “The Day of the Doctor”. This feels rushed and doesn’t justify Ten getting over a child’s death, Estinee, whom he had emotional scenes with connecting with and protecting her, he witnessed in person only hours earlier. I should have known from the sixth page when the Doctor was fussing over his collar feeling too tight rather than the sheer rage and righteousness he felt at the end of the last book that this story wasn’t going to commit to the Time Lord Victorious idea. Part of me wishes Steve Cole had wrote this book instead of Una McCormack because the shift in writing and tone is so jarring it is like Ten’s experiences in the last 50 pages “The Knight, The Fool and the Dead” didn’t happen. McCormack nails Ten’s character, but this really should have been more like he was in “Waters of Mars’” last 10 minutes than the typical Ten.
Secondly, the inclusion of the Eighth and Ninth Doctors not living up to the hype. This stems from the book being a similar length to its predecessor but now having three Doctors to juggle. They don’t get as much breathing room as Ten did and suffer for it. Further, one is expected to have read/heard their tales leading up to them encountering Ten. Now I wouldn’t mind this too much - part of the fun of Doctor Who’s stories branching across media is the ability to revisit it but from another Doctor’s perspective - but this book expects you to have experienced those stories; no proper summary is given for why Nine and Eight are here and with who they are with beyond “we sensed you were causing a paradox”. This means the book doesn’t really stand on its own, so hurts its accessibility, especially because the narrative is experienced through all three Doctors rather than solely Ten.
This sharing of the narrative leads into the third flaw, which is the Eighth and Ninth’s characterisation. Bar the scene setting of who they are around (Nine with vampires and Eight with Daleks) and Nine’s occasional “Ullo”, I wouldn’t know the Eighth and Ninth Doctors were talking. Unlike Ten, their characterisation isn’t distinct. Yeah, they are still the Doctor and do Doctor things but they aren’t *their* Doctor. Apart from the part near end when Eight marvels at Gallifrey while Nine and Ten look on knowing what happens to it in the future, the essence of McGann and Eccleston’s portrayals isn’t felt.
Fourthly, the Daleks become the main threat. I knew this would happen (when don’t the Daleks become the big bad?) but it happens wayyy too soon and they don’t do anything…distinctive. Blow up Gallifrey? Hate the Doctor? Its all the same and not done in a stylistic or amazing way to make it stand out from the dozens of times this has happened before. I would have much preferred the Time Lord Victorious to be the novel’s big bad, especially as that is what “The Knight, The Fool and the Dead” had setup - The Doctor usurping the Kotturuh as the Master of Death or even have the Kotturuh replace him as the main enemy again after he reconciles and becomes the Tenth Doctor again. The Daleks are the Doctor’s most iconic enemy but they weren’t the enemy for this story.
In short, this story is like a worse “The Day of the Doctor”. How I feel about this book is much like how I felt after watching “Hell Bent”. This book is what “Hell Bent” was to “Heaven Sent”. A story that quickly disregards what its predecessor setup and tells its own story while tangentially appreciating the thematic focus that it was building to (Ten confronting his darkness compared to Twelve grieving Clara’s death.)
All of this is a shame. The book isn’t bad. Its well written and well paced. However, it is lacking and really is a disappointment coming off of how amazing Steve Cole’s book was. I can only think this book suffers because it is the last(?) in the Time Lord Victorious tale so relies on readers having experienced the whole thing to fully enjoy it. But even then, if all the series built up to was for Ten to not really be the Time Lord Victorious and for it to be another “beat the Daleks” run of the mill story, then this is a heavy crash landing.
***Spoilers end***
Based on sheer disappointment, I am so tempted to give this a 2/5, but then I would be undercutting the fact this is still a well written tale. If I view it in isolation, its definitely a 2/5: lacks in detail, no vivid descriptions of the characters and doesn’t do loads with its premise. As a sequel, its a 3/5: capable conclusion but leaves a lot of disappointment for the place the story was heading.
To summarise: if you’re thinking of reading this after reading “The Knight, the Fool and the Dead”, don’t. This novel doesn’t do the story its predecessor built towards justice.
goldyapper's review
medium-paced
3.75
Multi - Doctor stories in which the Dr's have differing viewpoints will always be interesting. Having 2 of my favourite Dr's (8th and 10th) and memorable side characters such as Brian the Ood, makes this a fun read.
Although the fact it ends with another Dr Vs. Dalek battle is a little disappointing as the conflict between 10 Vs. 8 and 9, was much more interesting to read.
7.5/10
Although the fact it ends with another Dr Vs. Dalek battle is a little disappointing as the conflict between 10 Vs. 8 and 9, was much more interesting to read.
7.5/10
nwhyte's review against another edition
5.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3579834.html
The Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors are brought together, together with Brian the Ood assassin and a Dalek time squad to confront the Kotturuh. Sparkling repartee between the three of them.
The Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors are brought together, together with Brian the Ood assassin and a Dalek time squad to confront the Kotturuh. Sparkling repartee between the three of them.
idkhello's review against another edition
2.0
The first book was amazing, watching slowly descend of ten into his worst version etc but this book was just pure pif paf battles in the cosmos and that’s not my type of things lol
biblionerdrflxn's review against another edition
3.0
See more of my reviews here!
This story picks up where The Knight, The Fool, & The Dead left off, with the 10th Doctor facing off with the Kotturuh to defeat death once and for all. Unexpectedly, two earlier versions of himself, the 8th and 9th Doctors, have teamed up with the Daleks and the vampires to stop him. Major battles ensue, and the Doctors' alliances become tenuous and fraught with peril. The 10th Doctor struggles to accept that no one should have the power over life and death, including himself, while attempting to prevent his supposed allies from wreaking havoc throughout the Dark Times.
This is a fun adventure with multiple doctors. I enjoyed getting to read them playing off each other, especially the 8th doctor interacting with his two later versions. The story was action-packed with several battles and a lot going on to tie the disparate story threads of Time Lord Victorious together. So, it was never boring. Brian the Ood and Mr. Ball were once again a comical treat, and I hope they show up in more media outside of Time Lord Victorious. I also found the idea of the Doctors fighting each other to be an interesting premise, and seeing the 10th Doctor truly adopt the mantle of Time Lord Victorious as he tries to control time and defeat death was magnificent to read.
The pacing of this story was strange. It seemed to jump from battle to battle with little breathing room or explanation of what was going on. I figured it all out before the end, but a little more down time in the story would have probably helped keep the story from feeling too jumpy. I also wish more time was devoted to the 10th Doctor when he was the Time Lord Victorious. It is such an interesting idea, and he did not take on that mantle for very long in the book. I would have loved to see him struggle with it a bit more.
I was also disappointed that the Kotturuh were defeated so quickly. I really liked their introduction in the last book and wish they had been a bit more formidable since they were literally death-bringers. Instead, this book was yet another Dalek story. Don't get me wrong, I love the Daleks. However, I also wanted something fresh from the overall story of this book and multimedia project, and I didn't get that from this at all. It felt like I was reading about Time War Part 2 by the end of the book.
All Flesh Is Grass was a fitting crescendo to the Time Lord Victorious project. It is a short, fast-paced read and a fun multi-doctor story. Just like many of the other Time Lord Victorious works, this book is fun, yet somewhat frustrating, because it does not live up to its full potential. However, despite the weird pacing and rehash of previous story beats and monsters, the interaction between the Doctors and getting to see even a glimpse of the 10th Doctor take on the Time Lord Victorious mantle is worth giving it a read. Therefore, I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.
This story picks up where The Knight, The Fool, & The Dead left off, with the 10th Doctor facing off with the Kotturuh to defeat death once and for all. Unexpectedly, two earlier versions of himself, the 8th and 9th Doctors, have teamed up with the Daleks and the vampires to stop him. Major battles ensue, and the Doctors' alliances become tenuous and fraught with peril. The 10th Doctor struggles to accept that no one should have the power over life and death, including himself, while attempting to prevent his supposed allies from wreaking havoc throughout the Dark Times.
This is a fun adventure with multiple doctors. I enjoyed getting to read them playing off each other, especially the 8th doctor interacting with his two later versions. The story was action-packed with several battles and a lot going on to tie the disparate story threads of Time Lord Victorious together. So, it was never boring. Brian the Ood and Mr. Ball were once again a comical treat, and I hope they show up in more media outside of Time Lord Victorious. I also found the idea of the Doctors fighting each other to be an interesting premise, and seeing the 10th Doctor truly adopt the mantle of Time Lord Victorious as he tries to control time and defeat death was magnificent to read.
The pacing of this story was strange. It seemed to jump from battle to battle with little breathing room or explanation of what was going on. I figured it all out before the end, but a little more down time in the story would have probably helped keep the story from feeling too jumpy. I also wish more time was devoted to the 10th Doctor when he was the Time Lord Victorious. It is such an interesting idea, and he did not take on that mantle for very long in the book. I would have loved to see him struggle with it a bit more.
I was also disappointed that the Kotturuh were defeated so quickly. I really liked their introduction in the last book and wish they had been a bit more formidable since they were literally death-bringers. Instead, this book was yet another Dalek story. Don't get me wrong, I love the Daleks. However, I also wanted something fresh from the overall story of this book and multimedia project, and I didn't get that from this at all. It felt like I was reading about Time War Part 2 by the end of the book.
All Flesh Is Grass was a fitting crescendo to the Time Lord Victorious project. It is a short, fast-paced read and a fun multi-doctor story. Just like many of the other Time Lord Victorious works, this book is fun, yet somewhat frustrating, because it does not live up to its full potential. However, despite the weird pacing and rehash of previous story beats and monsters, the interaction between the Doctors and getting to see even a glimpse of the 10th Doctor take on the Time Lord Victorious mantle is worth giving it a read. Therefore, I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.
sleepytechnokid's review
4.0
I liked All Flesh is Grass and to be honest, it should be better, I mean I like how it is, my problem is that The Daleks we're the main villain in this book of course it was seen miles away as they play a very huge role in this storyline but I did wish that this book was gonna be full-on Doctor vs. Doctor, the Time Lord Victorious be combating with his other selves but of course they can't do much as the Kotturuh extinction has already occurred.
I do like the interactions with the Three Doctor especially the Eighth Doctor and his wittiness, despite the typical plan of Daleks want to rid Gallifrey before the Time Lord Genisis, I do enjoy the second half of the book and the ending especially scenes on the planet Birinji, ad my favorite character has to be Inyit who’s basically a Renegade Kotturuh and the last of her kind, I actually grew fond of her.
I did like the meaning of the title of the last book. The Knight, The Fool, and The Dead are the description of the three incarnations of the Doctor.
10 = The Knight
8 = The Fool
9 = The Dead
It's a good conclusion to the Time Lord Victorious but it should’ve been Bigger.
I do like the interactions with the Three Doctor especially the Eighth Doctor and his wittiness, despite the typical plan of Daleks want to rid Gallifrey before the Time Lord Genisis, I do enjoy the second half of the book and the ending especially scenes on the planet Birinji, ad my favorite character has to be Inyit who’s basically a Renegade Kotturuh and the last of her kind, I actually grew fond of her.
I did like the meaning of the title of the last book. The Knight, The Fool, and The Dead are the description of the three incarnations of the Doctor.
10 = The Knight
8 = The Fool
9 = The Dead
It's a good conclusion to the Time Lord Victorious but it should’ve been Bigger.