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eyreguide's review against another edition
5.0
As it says in the Introduction of the book, this story was written before Doctor Who got so complex, with multiple timelines and explorations of what it means to be a time traveler. And I thought that since I'm used to the shenanigans of Steven Moffat, this book would probably be pretty tame. Wrong. While it seems old hat now to have the Doctor realize he is going to die doing something, this story takes that chilling realization and spins out a very complex sequence of events. The plot moves back and forth between characters and incidents that build on each other as the pieces of the puzzle are gradually revealed. The pure technical skill in an author having to piece such a complex story together is admirable, and having the story come together so perfectly in the end is kind of awe-inspiring. There were so many little scenes that were dropped, seemingly tangentially, and later brought into the story and explained completely. Reading this book was pure enjoyment.
Aside from the technical crafting of the story, the characters that make up G-lock are varied, eccentric, and humorous. It seemed like a melting pot of all the kinds of characters the Doctor is used to coming up against, from pompous, self-important leaders to dutiful, not very bright policemen, selfish, arrogant villians, and kindly, innocent humans and aliens who are very brave. The characters make up a huge part of the charm of this story and the realistic way in which they are all thrown together gives a great backdrop for the Doctor and Romana to interact with. The author also captured the dry, sardonic humor of the Doctor, and the patient, efficient voice of Romana so well, that it felt like this story should have been filmed.
The novel also has a tongue-in-cheek humor about it, in the vein of Douglas Adams that made it delightful to read, and there are some great laugh-out-loud moments. While the many shifts between characters and incidents can make this story somewhat difficult to keep up with at times, I found the whole reading experience to be so much fun, and absolutely worth it!
(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review.)
Aside from the technical crafting of the story, the characters that make up G-lock are varied, eccentric, and humorous. It seemed like a melting pot of all the kinds of characters the Doctor is used to coming up against, from pompous, self-important leaders to dutiful, not very bright policemen, selfish, arrogant villians, and kindly, innocent humans and aliens who are very brave. The characters make up a huge part of the charm of this story and the realistic way in which they are all thrown together gives a great backdrop for the Doctor and Romana to interact with. The author also captured the dry, sardonic humor of the Doctor, and the patient, efficient voice of Romana so well, that it felt like this story should have been filmed.
The novel also has a tongue-in-cheek humor about it, in the vein of Douglas Adams that made it delightful to read, and there are some great laugh-out-loud moments. While the many shifts between characters and incidents can make this story somewhat difficult to keep up with at times, I found the whole reading experience to be so much fun, and absolutely worth it!
(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review.)
lisa_pizza's review against another edition
4.0
I always love the wibbly-wobbly-rimey-wimey driven stories of Doctor Who, and this one is no exception. I think as a book it could have done with a few less characters and it would have been easier to follow. On screen it might've been ok to follow, but as I'm reading it's hard to keep track of who saw who when and did what where. I love the concept that the Doctor comes upon an event where he apparently saved the day yet he hadn't done it yet in his personal timeline. Would love to see something similar on a tv episode. I'm not too familiar with classic Who so if someone knows of a particular episode that's similar, please let me know :)
mikime's review
4.0
A novel packed with timey-whimey adventures for the Doctor and Romana, so that throughout the first half everybody seems to refer to things and events that neither the heroes nor the readers have done or seen yet, making it sometimes hard to follow the plot. It all solves out eventually, as the always - mentioned first law of time travel is dutifully respected. K-9 is part of the story too, as well as a few new friends that will help the Doctor and Romana, some more wilfully than others... It all begins in a mash-up of old spaceships locked in a closed-in collapsed hyperspace tunnel, where tourists from all kinds of planets come to experience death and come back from it to tell all about it... until zombies wake up instead, and all hell of time-distortions breaks loose.
shane's review against another edition
5.0
This was an excellent read. A very entertaining story. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward never let me down anyway and their voices and personalities really do come through in this book. I've said it before but I love the fourth Doctor and always enjoy reading his stories. This has it all really, the best Doctor, (one of)the best companions, an engaging storyline, some great supporting characters(hoopy is wonderful), and a lot of light-hearted fun all the way through.
If there's one thing that lets a lot of Doctor Who novels down a little, it's that the ones I've read so far tend to be set in places that involve the Doctor & Co. running through seemingly endless, same-ish corridors. However, I've not read enough Doctor Who books to be able to say that this is a feature/failing of most of them. Time will tell. I'm certainly planning on reading all of the 4th Doctor novels, I just miss Tom Baker so much in his role as the Doctor that it would be wrong of me not to continue with the rest ...and if they're as good as this and Shada I'll be glad I did.
If there's one thing that lets a lot of Doctor Who novels down a little, it's that the ones I've read so far tend to be set in places that involve the Doctor & Co. running through seemingly endless, same-ish corridors. However, I've not read enough Doctor Who books to be able to say that this is a feature/failing of most of them. Time will tell. I'm certainly planning on reading all of the 4th Doctor novels, I just miss Tom Baker so much in his role as the Doctor that it would be wrong of me not to continue with the rest ...and if they're as good as this and Shada I'll be glad I did.
sabregirl's review against another edition
4.0
The constant time loops of them going back and back and back got a little repetitive and confusing. But it was a good story, Romana was in character, and Four had the mannerisms but I didn't see a lot of the dialogue he said.
adammichaell's review against another edition
5.0
Doctor Who fans are so lucky to have Jonathan Morris! Definitely one to come back to and re-read every few years.
joe_spracklen17's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Where to even start with this book. Well if you're a fan of the 4th Doctor, Romana 2 and K-9, read this book! If you're a fan of most wobbly wobbly timey wimey stories, read this book!
Basically, the Tardis team arrives right at the end of a disaster and finds out they've already been here and saved it. But now they are getting mixed up in the events of the G-lock (the space station it's set on) and are having to go back in time because they know they have already saved it! They end up jumping around in time and meeting people in the wrong order. They're just trying to save the day and its madness.
Now you might be thinking that sounds too confusing, timeline-wise, but don't worry! You never feel lost! I think that's the best thing about this story, it's so well written that you won't feel lost, you'll just enjoy the ride. There are so many moments where a character will mention something or something will happen and then you'll see the same event from another perspective later down the line and it's so satisfying to see it come together.
I also think the pacing is very swift, there is always something happening and there was never a moment where I felt the story slowed down or wasted time.
The characterization is also very well done and the Doctor and companions feel great and the dialogue is great, you can just hear those actors voices coming off the page. The side characters are also very enjoyable, interesting, and well-written, there are lots of characters to fall in love with and I'm sure you will.
The villains are also very interesting, there are actually two different villains both with intersecting motives which makes it all the more interesting to find out what they both want.
A few points a didn't enjoy too much. There is a character called Hoopy who is basically a space hippy, very 'cool man far out!' kind of vibes. I found his dialogue entertaining at first but got a little old quite quickly. The same with the AI computer character called Eric who is basically comically suicidal and again it got old quite quickly. It was just very Douglas Adams which I wasn't a fan of.
Overall I think this book is amazing and would defiantly recommend it if you're a fan of Doctor Who and you're looking for a 4th Doctor story! There are so many great ideas and the story is presented in such an interesting way. I think you'll be more than entertained.
Basically, the Tardis team arrives right at the end of a disaster and finds out they've already been here and saved it. But now they are getting mixed up in the events of the G-lock (the space station it's set on) and are having to go back in time because they know they have already saved it! They end up jumping around in time and meeting people in the wrong order. They're just trying to save the day and its madness.
Now you might be thinking that sounds too confusing, timeline-wise, but don't worry! You never feel lost! I think that's the best thing about this story, it's so well written that you won't feel lost, you'll just enjoy the ride. There are so many moments where a character will mention something or something will happen and then you'll see the same event from another perspective later down the line and it's so satisfying to see it come together.
I also think the pacing is very swift, there is always something happening and there was never a moment where I felt the story slowed down or wasted time.
The characterization is also very well done and the Doctor and companions feel great and the dialogue is great, you can just hear those actors voices coming off the page. The side characters are also very enjoyable, interesting, and well-written, there are lots of characters to fall in love with and I'm sure you will.
The villains are also very interesting, there are actually two different villains both with intersecting motives which makes it all the more interesting to find out what they both want.
A few points a didn't enjoy too much. There is a character called Hoopy who is basically a space hippy, very 'cool man far out!' kind of vibes. I found his dialogue entertaining at first but got a little old quite quickly. The same with the AI computer character called Eric who is basically comically suicidal and again it got old quite quickly. It was just very Douglas Adams which I wasn't a fan of.
Overall I think this book is amazing and would defiantly recommend it if you're a fan of Doctor Who and you're looking for a 4th Doctor story! There are so many great ideas and the story is presented in such an interesting way. I think you'll be more than entertained.
lairedae's review
4.0
This book was quite ambitious in the timey-wimey plot-line, but boy did it deliver. Very much enjoyed. Characterisations of Four, Romana II and K-9 felt spot-on. The supporting cast was delightful, and it was fascinating to follow the continuity of quirks and events.
felecia's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderfully woven time travel tale. The characterizations of The Doctor, Romana, and K-9 are spot on. The Mystery of the Cerebus and how The Doctor sacrificed his life to save the G-Lock are compelling and a nice romp!