Reviews

Doctor Who: System Wipe by Oli Smith

Only show reviews with written explanations

tracey_stewart's review

3.0

I used to read a lot of Star Trek novels, back in the day, until I finally grew tired of the high percentage that used Star Trek trappings without achieving the atmosphere, the ambience, the characterization of the original - - all the things that made Star Trek such a part of my life. But there were a number of really amazing books in the series, the ones that felt like unfilmed episodes, that nailed the characters' voices and the feeling of living and serving aboard a Constellation class ship. (That's the stuff I always loved, show and books: where would I go when my shift was over, where would I eat and get a new book and sleep and recreate?) So I kept reading 'em ... and maybe it's not surprising that Doctor Who novels spark the same ambivalence. Except I haven't read as many, and I don't think I've ever read one which got it just right. (Not even Ben Aaronovitch's, so far.)

Still, there were three available through Netgalley, and I figured … what the heck.

I'm still looking.

System Wipe is an Eleventh Doctor adventure (which for me is a small strike against it – far from my favorite Doctor, him). He, along with Amy and Rory, arrive in Earth's future to find it apparently depopulated, and discover a virtual reality which has taken on a life of its own – but which is being decimated. And of course the Doctor flings himself into the situation to fix it.

"‘But how does that –’ Rory began, but Amy interrupted him."

I don't remember being that annoyed on the show with her interrupting him so much. By which I mean constantly.

The Doctor: ‘I’ll shut up now.’ Uh, no. I'll take "things the Doctor would never say" for a thousand, Alex. Especially Eleven.

I really would love a novel that takes a little time to explore the TARDIS. That's what I would write. But no - everyone's in a huge rush to leave the blue box.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.

cxppatee's review

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adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

felinity's review

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2.0

On a deserted world, the Doctor (Matt Smith) logs in to the network, discovering life within a virtual world threatened by the approaching darkness, but leaving Amy and Rory behind to face their own danger in the real one.

Of all the Doctor Who tie-ins, this has been the most disappointing read. The characters were flat, allowing me to hear the voice of Amy/Rory/the Doctor only occasionally, and the plot was only a slightly interesting twist on an old theme. There were some flashes of more (

Spoiler

Daryl getting the Doctor's line, for instance

) but also some that just made me sigh (

Spoiler

Blondie's hacked sword leading back to Silence in the Library

) and the copy I read still needed some grammatical fixes.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

charlene_balba's review

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

urlphantomhive's review against another edition

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3.0

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

The Doctor is trapped inside the virtual world of the game Parallife, the world of which is about to get wiped. The real world at the same time is also endangered.

This was another very quick adventure for the 11th Doctor, Amy and Rory. I find that I quite like the stories that are set in virtual reality after I read The Three Body Problem. Even though I felt the characters were not caught as well as in some of the Doctor Who novels I've read, it was not difficult to imagine the story as an episode of the television series.

It's a short and fast paced read and in the 'real' world there is more than enough happening as well. I found it an enjoyable read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

memnoch's review against another edition

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4.0

A really fun fast read. Stayed true to characters.

kittykult's review against another edition

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3.0

System Wipe follows the Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory, who have landed at the end of Earth - again. This time, the Earth is a desolate wasteland, but someone has left their virtual reality headset plugged in. The Doctor decides to try out the game and discovers that the abandoned video game characters have made a life of their own in the absence of humans. However, there is a virus that is threatening to delete all the character and world data - at the same time as Amy and Rory discover an army of robots are planning a demolition of Earth's buildings to make a clean slate for humanity to rebuild if it ever returns back to Earth.

There were some funny moments, but this book was not as fun as the others in this series that I have read (Death Riders, Heart of Stone, etc). This book is appropriate for younger fans of Doctor Who as well, especially those who are really into video games. It is light-hearted, fast-paced, and wraps up neatly with a happy ending. Again, I would say that it is more along the lines of upper elementary level reading than middle grade as it claims to be, but a Doctor Who fan of any age can likely get some enjoyment out of any adventure the Doctor goes on.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.