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cortokeereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
As a Doctor Who fan I really, really wanted to enjoy this. However, it was just slow and uninteresting. I was pretty disappointed. I stuck it out and finished but I feel like I spent forever reading it.
kcdigangi2112's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
sohxpie's review against another edition
4.0
A really good read that maybe just needs a little polishing around the edges. The story was fun and entertaining, just a little difficult to follow at points with all the time jumps. Unsurprisingly, Alex Kingston absolutely nails River Song and Melody Malone and I for one, would not mind more novels like this in the future.
eskimo97's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.0
jonathanpalfrey's review
3.0
This is a Doctor Who spin-off novel, set in the Doctor Who universe with a few characters from Doctor Who, but almost entirely without the Doctor. Can you enjoy it if you don't know Doctor Who? Yes, I think so. You'll know more about the background to the story if you know Doctor Who, but that knowledge isn't essential.
It stars River Song, who was played by Alex Kingston on television, and is now written by Alex Kingston—"with Jacqueline Rayner", it says inside, though not on the cover. The TARDIS doesn't appear, but there is time travel, because River Song has a vortex manipulator: a much smaller time-travel device that is also an established part of the Doctor Who universe.
I liked River Song on television, and I liked Alex Kingston; I had no idea whether she could write a novel, but I gave it a try. The result is good, better than I really expected. Well, her half-hidden partner Jacqueline Rayner has made a career out of writing Doctor-Who-related fiction for more than two decades, so she has relevant experience.
Considered as a Doctor Who spin-off novel, this is a superior job, well above average. The story is exciting, complex, and well constructed. River Song as a character was created and previously written by Steven Moffat, but here she's maintained credibly; and I imagine that Moffat could genuinely enjoy this continuation of his work. Kingston and Rayner have taken the project seriously and done some historical research for it.
Considered as a novel competing with other novels in general, it's a bit of an oddity. There isn't a lot of descriptive text, it concentrates on action and dialogue, so the story is fast-paced but sketchy; and characterization is also rather sketchy. At times I was reminded of Tintin stories: there's a sort of cartoon-strip feel to it. Although the later part of the story gets rather weird by Tintin's standards.
Some parts of the story take place in New York in 1939, reminding me of films from around that time—which presumably influenced the authors.
Quite early in the story, two prisoners in separate cells of a high-security prison find that they can talk to each other through a ventilation shaft, and their conversation kicks off the plot. There was a very similar plot element in [b:Tiger! Tiger!|1258748|Tiger! Tiger!|Alfred Bester|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317025879l/1258748._SY75_.jpg|1398442] (1956), and I've been told also in [b:The Count of Monte Cristo|7126|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611834134l/7126._SY75_.jpg|391568] (1846), which I haven't read.
So far I've read this book once, and I liked it, so it deserves at least 3 stars. If I like it better on rereading, maybe 4 stars. Bear in mind that, when assigning a rating, I'm comparing it with novels of any kind, outside the Doctor Who context.
It stars River Song, who was played by Alex Kingston on television, and is now written by Alex Kingston—"with Jacqueline Rayner", it says inside, though not on the cover. The TARDIS doesn't appear, but there is time travel, because River Song has a vortex manipulator: a much smaller time-travel device that is also an established part of the Doctor Who universe.
I liked River Song on television, and I liked Alex Kingston; I had no idea whether she could write a novel, but I gave it a try. The result is good, better than I really expected. Well, her half-hidden partner Jacqueline Rayner has made a career out of writing Doctor-Who-related fiction for more than two decades, so she has relevant experience.
Considered as a Doctor Who spin-off novel, this is a superior job, well above average. The story is exciting, complex, and well constructed. River Song as a character was created and previously written by Steven Moffat, but here she's maintained credibly; and I imagine that Moffat could genuinely enjoy this continuation of his work. Kingston and Rayner have taken the project seriously and done some historical research for it.
Considered as a novel competing with other novels in general, it's a bit of an oddity. There isn't a lot of descriptive text, it concentrates on action and dialogue, so the story is fast-paced but sketchy; and characterization is also rather sketchy. At times I was reminded of Tintin stories: there's a sort of cartoon-strip feel to it. Although the later part of the story gets rather weird by Tintin's standards.
Some parts of the story take place in New York in 1939, reminding me of films from around that time—which presumably influenced the authors.
Quite early in the story, two prisoners in separate cells of a high-security prison find that they can talk to each other through a ventilation shaft, and their conversation kicks off the plot. There was a very similar plot element in [b:Tiger! Tiger!|1258748|Tiger! Tiger!|Alfred Bester|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317025879l/1258748._SY75_.jpg|1398442] (1956), and I've been told also in [b:The Count of Monte Cristo|7126|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611834134l/7126._SY75_.jpg|391568] (1846), which I haven't read.
So far I've read this book once, and I liked it, so it deserves at least 3 stars. If I like it better on rereading, maybe 4 stars. Bear in mind that, when assigning a rating, I'm comparing it with novels of any kind, outside the Doctor Who context.
radueriel's review against another edition
2.0
"There's something so human about taking something great and ruining it a little so you can have more of it."
katemeany's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
kaitlyn312399's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
tandemjon's review against another edition
3.0
I thoroughly enjoyed about 80% of this then (for me) it seemed o lose its way a bit, not mention needing a flow chart to keep track of all the characters and who they actually we're and wern't. It's more a 3.5 than a 3 and someone with a younger mind than me will undoubtedly find the end much less confusing!
bookswithleigh's review against another edition
3.0
The Ruby's Curse is a pulp murder mystery with a Whovian twist. What may be most unique about it -- among murder mysteries, that is -- is that it was written, at least in part, by Alex Kingston, better known to Doctor Who fans as River Song herself.
There's little point in discussing the plot of this novel -- it's as quirky, ridiculous, and pomp as any Doctor Who episode. If you enjoy the antics of the show, you won't be put off by the pacing or twists of this book. I will, however, discuss the writing itself: it's...alright. It's certainly better than I expected, and better than most tie-in novels I've read for other shows and games in the past. But I think it fell into dangerous waters by splitting the story between Melody Malone and River Song, because at least for me, the first several chapters/POV sections we actually get for Melody Malone were a slough to get through. There was so little "living in the story" and so much "telling you what happened in 5 sentences or less" every paragraph, and it remained this way until River discovered the edited manuscript further along in the book. The River Song POV was much more polished in comparison, and I'd have rather read that the entire way through the book than go back and forth the way The Ruby's Curse did.
HOWEVER! It still wasn't bad. Yes, some of the twists were predictable. Yes, there were layers upon layers upon layers of time and dimension travel. Yes, there was a talking cat at one point. Yes, you probably do need a healthy understanding of the River Song arc in Doctor Who before you read this book to enjoy it to its fullest. But, as a Doctor Who fan myself (...well, some seasons), I was still entertained throughout most of this novel. And I appreciated the blink-or-you'll-miss-it reference to River discovering the existence of the 13th Doctor's...shall we say changes?
There's little point in discussing the plot of this novel -- it's as quirky, ridiculous, and pomp as any Doctor Who episode. If you enjoy the antics of the show, you won't be put off by the pacing or twists of this book. I will, however, discuss the writing itself: it's...alright. It's certainly better than I expected, and better than most tie-in novels I've read for other shows and games in the past. But I think it fell into dangerous waters by splitting the story between Melody Malone and River Song, because at least for me, the first several chapters/POV sections we actually get for Melody Malone were a slough to get through. There was so little "living in the story" and so much "telling you what happened in 5 sentences or less" every paragraph, and it remained this way until River discovered the edited manuscript further along in the book. The River Song POV was much more polished in comparison, and I'd have rather read that the entire way through the book than go back and forth the way The Ruby's Curse did.
HOWEVER! It still wasn't bad. Yes, some of the twists were predictable. Yes, there were layers upon layers upon layers of time and dimension travel. Yes, there was a talking cat at one point. Yes, you probably do need a healthy understanding of the River Song arc in Doctor Who before you read this book to enjoy it to its fullest. But, as a Doctor Who fan myself (...well, some seasons), I was still entertained throughout most of this novel. And I appreciated the blink-or-you'll-miss-it reference to River discovering the existence of the 13th Doctor's...shall we say changes?