Reviews

http://nhw.livejournal.com/781202.html[return][return]Cornell's first novel, I think, and pretty good stuff, winding up the Timewyrm tetralogy that kicked off the Virgin series of New Adventures of Doctor Who. A decent effort, certainly on a par with the first and second books of the series for quality (the third being pretty dire). The Doctor has to confront his enemy, the Timewyrm, by hunting through the nooks and crannies of his own mind with help from his own past incarnations (and I liked the Doctor/Doctor interactions, not usually done this well). Many of the characters spend much of the book taking sanctuary in a church which is their only protection against a bizarrely hostile environment outside - a setting Cornell of course used again in the Ninth Doctor TV story, "Father's Day".

fullfledgedegg's review

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fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

arutha2321's review

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4.0

Very epic and slightly confusing ending to the Timewyrm tetralogy. Looking forward to more of what The New Adventures series has to offer.

whovian2711's review

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4.0

Timewyrm Revelation is an explosively creative debut for Paul Cornell in the Virgin New Adventures series. Abandoning the more traditional, recognisable structures of the previous novels, Revelation is a dreamlike whirlwind of immense charm and complexity, with some fantastic character exploration and development for the Doctor and Ace.

Although Revelation is unlike any Doctor Who story before it, Cornell is true to the principles of what the show had become by this point and expands upon them in a way that feels very ahead of its time; many prominent themes, particularly around the Doctor's unconscious mind, have since been picked up in the revived tv series. There's a delightful focus on the "ordinary", with much of the story centred on genuinely likeable characters and the familiar imagery of a rural parish church, which grounds the more surreal aspects of the story and creates a sense of wonder in the juxtaposition of the ordinary and extraordinary (which the show has always captured so well, even from its very first episode).

Revelation can be a little confusing and hard to follow at times, but it's absolutely worth the effort. This is not just a brilliant Doctor Who story, but an excellent novel in its own right, and I can't wait to read more of Paul Cornell's work.

nukirisame's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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