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nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1523021.html
I have grumbled occasionally about writers (particularly Eric Saward) who thought that they could channel Douglas Adams, and were wrong. But Jonathan Morris's first novel is an excellent tribute to the Douglas Adams era of Doctor Who - set between Shada and The Leisure Hive, but clearly a story that escaped from Season 17 rather than Season 18. I really enjoyed this: the Doctor / Romana relationship is sheer crack, and yet the book survives the potentially gloomifying element of killing off (and then revivifying) various characters as part of a tourism attraction. There is even a spaced-out lizard who talks like Zaphod Beeblebrox. Great lines include:
''Normally, when I arrive somewhere, people point guns at me and throw me in prison. Within about twenty-four and a half minutes of arriving, usually,' said the Doctor.'
and, in a homage to Hunter S. Thompson:
'It was somewhere around the bow star on the edge of the galaxy that the drugs began to take hold.'
Over a few days when I was wrestling with technological problems of my own, this story of convoluted timelines, suicidal computers, mystical intelligent plants and mellow reptiles reassured me somewhat about the benign nature of the universe, and I am grateful to Morris for that.
I have grumbled occasionally about writers (particularly Eric Saward) who thought that they could channel Douglas Adams, and were wrong. But Jonathan Morris's first novel is an excellent tribute to the Douglas Adams era of Doctor Who - set between Shada and The Leisure Hive, but clearly a story that escaped from Season 17 rather than Season 18. I really enjoyed this: the Doctor / Romana relationship is sheer crack, and yet the book survives the potentially gloomifying element of killing off (and then revivifying) various characters as part of a tourism attraction. There is even a spaced-out lizard who talks like Zaphod Beeblebrox. Great lines include:
''Normally, when I arrive somewhere, people point guns at me and throw me in prison. Within about twenty-four and a half minutes of arriving, usually,' said the Doctor.'
and, in a homage to Hunter S. Thompson:
'It was somewhere around the bow star on the edge of the galaxy that the drugs began to take hold.'
Over a few days when I was wrestling with technological problems of my own, this story of convoluted timelines, suicidal computers, mystical intelligent plants and mellow reptiles reassured me somewhat about the benign nature of the universe, and I am grateful to Morris for that.
kateofmind's review against another edition
4.0
The plot of this Fourth Doctor/Romana II/K-9 romp is worthy of admiration and applause, as the TARDIS crew arrives on the scene of a disaster only to find that everyone who survived it is overwhelmed with gratitude towards our heroes for saving them, which telegraphs that timey-wimeyness is in the offing. And boy is there! I do love time travel stories that are actually about time travel and don't just treat the past or future as simply a weird kind of location.
BUT...
The author, Jonathan Morris, almost disappeared too far up Douglas Adams' fundament for this one. I was constantly distracted from the quite enjoyable plot and setting (oh, the setting: a 100+ spaceship pile-up in a collapsing hyperspace tunnel, which has been turned into a seriously far-out tourist attraction) by all of the rib-digging allusions to Adams (there's even a character named Hoopy. Oh please), to the point where, while ordinarily I'd be tempted to go back and re-read to admire the plot construction (which involves a lot of back-tracking along the TARDIS crew's personal timelines, Bill and Ted style), I don't wanna, because rolling my eyes is not fun.
Maybe someday.
But this could have been a five-star read. It should have been.
BUT...
The author, Jonathan Morris, almost disappeared too far up Douglas Adams' fundament for this one. I was constantly distracted from the quite enjoyable plot and setting (oh, the setting: a 100+ spaceship pile-up in a collapsing hyperspace tunnel, which has been turned into a seriously far-out tourist attraction) by all of the rib-digging allusions to Adams (there's even a character named Hoopy. Oh please), to the point where, while ordinarily I'd be tempted to go back and re-read to admire the plot construction (which involves a lot of back-tracking along the TARDIS crew's personal timelines, Bill and Ted style), I don't wanna, because rolling my eyes is not fun.
Maybe someday.
But this could have been a five-star read. It should have been.
sshabein's review against another edition
5.0
This is a really good one. Some DW novels are a good story, but only so so writing, but thankfully this isn't one of them. Enjoyed reading this to my son.
chloeimogen's review against another edition
4.0
Best Doctor Who book I've ever read. Very imaginative and even all the side characters were interesting.
shane's review
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.
hammard's review
5.0
Great Doctor Who tie-in novel. The regulars are exemplary and 90 of the time it evokes the original era. Not quite as good as his more recent work but still pretty good.
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