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saroz162's review against another edition
3.0
Is it crazy that I enjoyed this?
Victor Pemberton's novella is basically a proto-Virgin Missing Adventure, telling a Doctor Who story with limitless scope and budget and only really held back by the regulation page count. (It still manages a somewhat higher than normal word count of more than 40,000.) That works in the author's favor, because by far, his greatest skill in this book is the scene-setting, with long descriptive passages. There is incredibly economical dialogue throughout the book, especially the first half, and - it works. Somewhere about a third of the way in, I realized I felt like I was reading a John Wyndham novel - something like The Kraken Wakes - with brief, moody appearances by the fourth Doctor and Sarah.
Or at least, characters calling themselves the Doctor and Sarah. The other side of the coin is that Pemberton's characters are flat as cardboard, which almost works with his supporting cast, who are obviously there to prop up the plot. The Doctor and Sarah barely resemble their TV personas, though, with the Doctor at his grimmest and Sarah veering between a tough professional (more like Liz Shaw) and a terrified child (more like Jo Grant). I can just about deal with it, but it certainly gives the impression of a strange, dark, alternate universe Doctor Who.
The book only barely follows the story beats of the original LP, and while Pemberton finds an original solution to his invasion threat, the final chapters of the book feel somewhat tethered and damp. Perhaps Pemberton recognized a little too late that while he still needed to be writing a Doctor Who book, he wasn't very interested in its restrictions. As a result, what starts strong, moody and mysterious wraps up a little too cleanly and quickly to really be called a success - but I love that he tried.
Victor Pemberton's novella is basically a proto-Virgin Missing Adventure, telling a Doctor Who story with limitless scope and budget and only really held back by the regulation page count. (It still manages a somewhat higher than normal word count of more than 40,000.) That works in the author's favor, because by far, his greatest skill in this book is the scene-setting, with long descriptive passages. There is incredibly economical dialogue throughout the book, especially the first half, and - it works. Somewhere about a third of the way in, I realized I felt like I was reading a John Wyndham novel - something like The Kraken Wakes - with brief, moody appearances by the fourth Doctor and Sarah.
Or at least, characters calling themselves the Doctor and Sarah. The other side of the coin is that Pemberton's characters are flat as cardboard, which almost works with his supporting cast, who are obviously there to prop up the plot. The Doctor and Sarah barely resemble their TV personas, though, with the Doctor at his grimmest and Sarah veering between a tough professional (more like Liz Shaw) and a terrified child (more like Jo Grant). I can just about deal with it, but it certainly gives the impression of a strange, dark, alternate universe Doctor Who.
The book only barely follows the story beats of the original LP, and while Pemberton finds an original solution to his invasion threat, the final chapters of the book feel somewhat tethered and damp. Perhaps Pemberton recognized a little too late that while he still needed to be writing a Doctor Who book, he wasn't very interested in its restrictions. As a result, what starts strong, moody and mysterious wraps up a little too cleanly and quickly to really be called a success - but I love that he tried.
iamleeg's review against another edition
2.0
Not a great outing for Tom Baker. His Doctor acts entirely out of character and the plot limps along to a disappointing "climax". There's probably a reason this one wasn't made into a TV series.
nwhyte's review
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1046178.html#cutid6[return][return]On the one hand, it scores over the audio version on which it is based by having a larger number of active characters and a wider view of the action. On the other hand, Pemberton's writing style is absolutely dire, with a cringeworthy phrase on almost every page. In addition, he seems unsure which Doctor he is writing for, with the appearance of a flute (ie recorder) at the end, and a confusion about whether we are in the 1960s or 1970s. Not quite the worst novelisation or spinoff fiction I've read, but really one for completists only.
simsbrarian's review
2.0
Ooof. This was entirely disappointing. If not for the 40+ minute interview with Elisabeth Sladen (actress who played Sarah Jane Smith) and the fact that Tom Baker did a decently fun read of the narration; this would not have been worth the listen at all.
This was a CD remastering (though "remastering" is a bit of a poor phrase as often the background music and ambient noises are so loud you have to turn the volume down; only to miss the much softer voices of the actors trying to speak over the cacophony) of a 1970s audio story in the Doctor Who universe. The Doctor and Sarah Jane land on a beach near the mouth of the Thames in current day London. But something fell from the sky and has been causing problems.It's the Pescatons! Seemingly invincible, metal-covered vicious human-eating half-fish humanoid monsters from the planet Pesca (in the constellation of Pisces, naturally). The one who landed is apparently an advance scout for the oncoming migration!
The pacing and storytelling here were very haphazard and the actual plot was very disjointed and completely illogical.The Doctor learns a vital bit of info early on when he sees a Pescaton die rather violently but doesn't choose to SHARE it with anyone. And it turns out the Magical Solution to these Nearly Invincible Murder Fish is...high pitched noises. So the Doctor plays a piccolo and It DISINTEGRATES THE flesh off their vertebra. I wish I was kidding... Sadly, Sarah Jane doesn't get much screen time and does nothing of real note.
This is one to skip unless you want to hear the actor's voices and get a laugh at just how strange and rather bad the whole thing is.
This was a CD remastering (though "remastering" is a bit of a poor phrase as often the background music and ambient noises are so loud you have to turn the volume down; only to miss the much softer voices of the actors trying to speak over the cacophony) of a 1970s audio story in the Doctor Who universe. The Doctor and Sarah Jane land on a beach near the mouth of the Thames in current day London. But something fell from the sky and has been causing problems.
The pacing and storytelling here were very haphazard and the actual plot was very disjointed and completely illogical.
This is one to skip unless you want to hear the actor's voices and get a laugh at just how strange and rather bad the whole thing is.
leeg's review
2.0
Not a great outing for Tom Baker. His Doctor acts entirely out of character and the plot limps along to a disappointing "climax". There's probably a reason this one wasn't made into a TV series.
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