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A review by saroz162
Doctor Who: The Pescatons by Victor Pemberton
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.