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A review by kandicez
Doctor Who: The Silent Stars Go By by Dan Abnett
3.0
I want to start by saying that Abnett did a beautiful job of capturing the voices of the Doctor, Amy and Rory. He represented their repartee perfectly. The Doctor has promised Rory Christmas a home, which Rory, simply enough, thinks means Leadworth. Rory, Rory, Rory...how long have you traveled with the Doctor? The Tardis lands on a beautiful, snowy planet that is immediately recognizable as NOT Leadworth. It is Christmas-ish, though. :) Our travelers discover a terraforming colony under attack and proceed to save the day, as only the Doctor and his companions could do. With a lot of frivolity, confusion and finally a kind resolution. The Doctor is nothing if not fair and kind.
The story is not what earned the book only three stars. The problem was that it actually was a BOOK. I've only read one other Doctor Who book and was disappointed, but uncertain why. I love Gibbons' comics, and now, having given a second novel a chance, I think I can put my finger on the shortcoming. Doctor Who is a visual story. It's simply too fantastic to come across on the page. I feel disloyal to myself saying that because I love fantasy and consider my imagination a great one. Doctor Who defies that. For his charm and quirkiness to come across I simply must see him. I think that's why I love the comics, but not the novels. On the page he and his adventures just seem silly.
There was nothing wrong with the story. The fault does not lie with Abnett. If this novel were converted to a script, I'm certain it would be a great episode. We get to re-visit some of the older Doctor's foes - The Ice Warriors. I've seen them in the old episodes. They definitely come across as cheesy, but again, fare better on screen than in print. In print, they don't simply seem cheesy, they actually seem, well...stupid. The descriptions are accurate, but don't do them justice.
I think I will stick to the show and comics for my Doctor fixes from now on.
On a side note, Amy wears a pair of red mittens with elastic running through the sleeves to keep them in place. Abnett mentions them often enough that I would believe he lost a bet and was challenged to mention them as many times as possible in the story. That's my only complaint with his writing, and it's a small one.
The story is not what earned the book only three stars. The problem was that it actually was a BOOK. I've only read one other Doctor Who book and was disappointed, but uncertain why. I love Gibbons' comics, and now, having given a second novel a chance, I think I can put my finger on the shortcoming. Doctor Who is a visual story. It's simply too fantastic to come across on the page. I feel disloyal to myself saying that because I love fantasy and consider my imagination a great one. Doctor Who defies that. For his charm and quirkiness to come across I simply must see him. I think that's why I love the comics, but not the novels. On the page he and his adventures just seem silly.
There was nothing wrong with the story. The fault does not lie with Abnett. If this novel were converted to a script, I'm certain it would be a great episode. We get to re-visit some of the older Doctor's foes - The Ice Warriors. I've seen them in the old episodes. They definitely come across as cheesy, but again, fare better on screen than in print. In print, they don't simply seem cheesy, they actually seem, well...stupid. The descriptions are accurate, but don't do them justice.
I think I will stick to the show and comics for my Doctor fixes from now on.
On a side note, Amy wears a pair of red mittens with elastic running through the sleeves to keep them in place. Abnett mentions them often enough that I would believe he lost a bet and was challenged to mention them as many times as possible in the story. That's my only complaint with his writing, and it's a small one.