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A review by faiazalam
Doctor Who: Venusian Lullaby by Paul Leonard
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.75
I thought this was an incredible take on Doctor Who, almost as if The Web Planet had any depth to it. The exploration of Venusian culture is fascinating and the novel reaches far beyond what could ever have been possible in the 60s.
The characterisation of The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are pretty decent, though a few bits had left me rather cold. The Doctor seemed to care far less about his companions than he would be expected to by this point, and Ian and Barbara were really put through the ringer in a way that seems far too much. Understandably, this novel is not referenced in the television show (given that it was published a few decades later), but the trauma of their experiences, along with the idea that Ian ends up spending 3 weeks on Venus, seems not to be picked up on at all, and simply dropped as if their torture was an everyday happenstance.
It's a thicker read than the first two novels, relying heavily on the reader being able to grasp Venusian society with very little in terms of reference points, but this treatment of the reader as intelligent isn't handled poorly, and is very welcome after the easy reading of the first two novels.
The plot itself is pretty mudnane, aliens come to a world, promising to help them, only for everyone to realise that they have ulterior motives, but at the end of the day, what makes this novel a masterpiece is the sheer imagination needed to create the world of Venus, and that is impressive in of itself.
The characterisation of The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are pretty decent, though a few bits had left me rather cold. The Doctor seemed to care far less about his companions than he would be expected to by this point, and Ian and Barbara were really put through the ringer in a way that seems far too much. Understandably, this novel is not referenced in the television show (given that it was published a few decades later), but the trauma of their experiences, along with the idea that Ian ends up spending 3 weeks on Venus, seems not to be picked up on at all, and simply dropped as if their torture was an everyday happenstance.
It's a thicker read than the first two novels, relying heavily on the reader being able to grasp Venusian society with very little in terms of reference points, but this treatment of the reader as intelligent isn't handled poorly, and is very welcome after the easy reading of the first two novels.
The plot itself is pretty mudnane, aliens come to a world, promising to help them, only for everyone to realise that they have ulterior motives, but at the end of the day, what makes this novel a masterpiece is the sheer imagination needed to create the world of Venus, and that is impressive in of itself.