A review by rebelbelle13
Silhouette by Justin Richards

2.0

I'm sad to say I was not overly impressed by this 12th Doctor entry. The YA approach didn't help the story very much and I believe it would have been better had it been longer, more detailed and geared towards an adult audience. Capaldi's Doctor fails at most points to materialize, and Vastra and Jenny are generic and useless here, to the point where random Victorian stand-ins wouldn't have made any difference to the story. The only characterization that feels right is Strax and Clara. The three "monsters" of the book, Silhouette, Affinity, and Empath, are left feeling very two dimensional and underused. They have such amazing abilities and yet we see very little of them until 2/3 of the way through the novel. Despite the setting and the huge cast of characters involved in this short story, I had trouble getting engaged and interested. Had the story been longer, the three 'monsters' abilities and backstories truly explored, the setting was made full use of and the characterization was better, this could have been a memorable and poignant story. As it is, it doesn't do much for me.
There were a few things that redeemed the story. I enjoyed Affinity changing into all of the Doctor's past faces- that's always a treat when his past incarnations are given a nod. I enjoyed the Frost Fair, and the setting of Victorian London. Strax was quite amusing, and I found myself giggling when he was on the page. Silhouette's use of origami was different and interesting. Clara was capable of handling her side of things. Beyond that, there's not much here that really grips and stays. It's fine for a quick, surface read, but not very memorable beyond that. Here's hoping the next 12th Doctor novel is better.