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scampr's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Ultimate Treasure presents an enjoyable but fairly pedestrian adventure for the 5th Doctor and Peri. A group of characters with very different backgrounds, personalities and motives cross paths on a mysterious quest for mythicised treasure - it's a pretty familiar story template, and this book does have a fair few tropes and predictable elements on top of it. But not every story HAS to be groundbreakingly original in every way, so I should make it clear this was still a solid read overall.
Some people dislike expanded media broadening the time this incarnation spent with his new friend Peri before heroically sacrificing himself in The Caves of Androzani, and while I understand where they're coming from, it's never been an issue for me. This is because a lot of these additional stories (this one included) have a more inexperienced and bubbly portrayal of Peri, and they maintain a dynamic between her and the Doctor that feels very new. Although they are separated for a decent chunk in the middle of the story, the pair are really fun together - and when they are apart, their characterisation and dialogue remains really strong and true to from.
There's a substantial array of side characters involved in the quest, and while some feel a little less necessary than others, they all still serve a purpose and are generally well written. Some are antagonistic, some friendly, some uncooperative and others bizarre. The groups they are a part of change across the story, keeping things interesting and fresh with the clashing personalities and motives it brings together.
Before the quest part of the story begins, there are a few chapters spent establishing the characters and worldbuilding, which I felt was nicely done, and could maybe have been longer. But ultimately, the story has to start unfolding and so the main characters end up converging on a strange planet home to powerful seers where the treasure is supposedly hidden. This is one of those stories that feels like it could only work in expanded media, as the vastness and complexity of the adventure seems beyond anything the show could capture regardless of shooting on sets or location.
When it comes to actual plot, the journey to the treasure is not all that exciting, just a series of challenges/obstacles that have some clever solution but can be forced through in other ways. There are one or two cool settings or ideas along the way, but most of it feels like padding to facilitate the character beats and subplots between them. Thankfully, most of these subtextual elements work well, and it isn't a chore to reach the conclusion.
There's a good sense of stakes by the climax, and even though the outcome and final moral of the story are to be expected, I still found the ending for the quest and all the characters to be satisfying.
Not the most memorable story out there, but well executed - and definitely one that other appreciators of Five and Peri will enjoy!
Some people dislike expanded media broadening the time this incarnation spent with his new friend Peri before heroically sacrificing himself in The Caves of Androzani, and while I understand where they're coming from, it's never been an issue for me. This is because a lot of these additional stories (this one included) have a more inexperienced and bubbly portrayal of Peri, and they maintain a dynamic between her and the Doctor that feels very new. Although they are separated for a decent chunk in the middle of the story, the pair are really fun together - and when they are apart, their characterisation and dialogue remains really strong and true to from.
There's a substantial array of side characters involved in the quest, and while some feel a little less necessary than others, they all still serve a purpose and are generally well written. Some are antagonistic, some friendly, some uncooperative and others bizarre. The groups they are a part of change across the story, keeping things interesting and fresh with the clashing personalities and motives it brings together.
Before the quest part of the story begins, there are a few chapters spent establishing the characters and worldbuilding, which I felt was nicely done, and could maybe have been longer. But ultimately, the story has to start unfolding and so the main characters end up converging on a strange planet home to powerful seers where the treasure is supposedly hidden. This is one of those stories that feels like it could only work in expanded media, as the vastness and complexity of the adventure seems beyond anything the show could capture regardless of shooting on sets or location.
When it comes to actual plot, the journey to the treasure is not all that exciting, just a series of challenges/obstacles that have some clever solution but can be forced through in other ways. There are one or two cool settings or ideas along the way, but most of it feels like padding to facilitate the character beats and subplots between them. Thankfully, most of these subtextual elements work well, and it isn't a chore to reach the conclusion.
There's a good sense of stakes by the climax, and even though the outcome and final moral of the story are to be expected, I still found the ending for the quest and all the characters to be satisfying.
Not the most memorable story out there, but well executed - and definitely one that other appreciators of Five and Peri will enjoy!
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