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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:10:09 GMT -5
Deceit
An interesting book, if steeped a little too much in series continuity for the sake of it rather than to help advance the story or develop the characters. The central idea is nothing new, insane meglomaniac grasping for power, the only difference this time is it's a bunch of brains in a bucket rather than a mental machine. The return of Ace is handled well, giving her a sizable slice of the book to show how different she isn't to before she left. The Doctor is pushed to the side a bit, even though the book has more room than usual to get him involved but this just adds to the 'dark' persona he's developing. All in all it could have been a lot, lot worse.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:10:40 GMT -5
Lucifer Rising
This is the book that wouldn't die! It seemed to take an eternity to read, I think I lost the will to live at one point I think and overdosed on an easter egg to try and take the pain away A great story but far, far, far, far, far, far too long Both authors have gone on to write more and better books than this, but after such a good debut, they had a lot to live up to...
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:11:17 GMT -5
White Darkness
Fantastic The best book in the range so far. I loved the mix of sci-fi, zombies and the Cthulhu mythos of HP Lovecraft. The historical setting worked well to counterpoint the more fantastic elements of the story as well as add extra menace and evil nasties. All in all this is a book I'd recommend that everyone should read at some point
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:12:22 GMT -5
Shadowmind
An interesting story, albiet populated by a few too many characters which dilutes the plot just a little too much. The concept of the duplicates is handled quite well I think and having 2 factions just adds to the tension as not only do you have to worry about who is a duplicate but then who's on which side. The idea of Umbra almost spoils things really, the duplicates are enough on their own without another threat being added.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:12:37 GMT -5
Birthright
A quick and easy read that focuses on Benny and Ace, but with the unseen hand of the Doctor felt throughout. It's a fairly interesting take on the BEM story, unfortunatly Virgin's insistance that their stories have a clearly defined antagonist figure kind of gets in the way as he's a terribly cliched 2-d character and the story would be much better served without him.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:12:53 GMT -5
Iceberg
The first Cyberstory of the Virgin era is something of a wasted opportunity, given that the Doctor doesn't appear properly until half way into the book and the Cybermen several chapters later. Still the lack of Cybermen gives the story room to let the real heroine of the book Ruby develop and become a character to identify with. When the Cybermen do appear they're even nastier and more ruthless than ever before. Now they're slice and dice fast freeze enthusiasts ruler by a megalomaniacal calculator. Reading the book in 2006, the year the book is set, and seeing all the failed predictions of social development is a bit of a let down as it edges the book out of gritty reality and into cheesy fantasy and the pointless continuity references to The Tenth Planet, The Invasion and Revenge of the Cybermen get tiresome after a while, there are other Cyberstories. I for one would have liked at least a nod to Earthshock and Silver Nemesis.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:13:12 GMT -5
Blood Heat
An interesting 'what if' senario. What if the Silurians had won? We get to see some of the season 7 regulars too: The Brig, Liz, Benton and a brief appearance by Jo Grant, before the Brig kills her. The concept of only one main universe has always felt wrong to me, given the events of Inferno when the Doctor implies that there are an infinite number of parallell universes. I like this idea more, it adds a certain number of possiblities to the series. Plus we'll see another one next week in the new series, so that makes the one universe idea redundant anyway, so that's something to be greatful for Also the main body of text is another, great characterisations, plotting and a vivid Jurassic Park in the East End fell about the whole thing makes this book stand out as a memorable and enjoyable book.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:14:00 GMT -5
The Dimension Riders
A strange book that spends half the time trying to be Shada and the rest of the time trying to be a sequel to Shada. Sadly it never quite manages to be either and so comes across as a bit of a mess. The dead soldiers are an interesting idea but the book seems to spend far to much time trying to convince us they're a good idea, rather than showing us. After the splendid Blood Heat this is something of a climbdown in every sense of the word...
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:14:18 GMT -5
The Left-Handed Hummingbird
A mildly interesting rewrite of The Aztecs with bits of Titanic and Woodstock thrown in to pad it out a bit. The Blue is an interesting enemy but could have been handled a lot better as it comes across as slighly less threatening or memorable than Alpha Centuri! There are worse books in the range, but many are better than this, which is a shame.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:14:35 GMT -5
Conundrum
And the rewrites go on. This time The Mind Robber is given the treatment and once again it fails badly. I can't wait for an original story again. This one is horribly dull, yet I liked it a lot when it was published, now 12 years on and there's nothing in it at all to entertain me.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:15:04 GMT -5
No Future
The best book of the 'rip off the past' series of books and by far the best. Instead of rewriting one single story No Future instead remixes the UNIT era and comes up with an interesting mix of action, adventure and double-crossing. The Monk and the Vardens are not to most memorable villains the Doctor has ever faced but somehow they manage to muddle their way through the story as credible, if easily defeated, enemies and the ending is right out of The Time Monster, but with a slightly better resolution.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:15:31 GMT -5
Tragedy Day
A nice, pleasant, book to sink my teeth into after the recent run of below par releases. Now that things are looking outward again this is a breath of fresh air in so many ways. Good prose, good characters, good monsters and good villians make for an enjoyable romp in time and space. The Doctor manages to defeat so many different enemies at once that it's hard to remember how cool he really is when watching season 24. Benny as love interest is a neat twist too and I can feel her revulsion in every word she speaks. This book is a bright diamond in a tiara full of gems
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:15:56 GMT -5
Legacy
An interesting finale to the Peladon saga begun in Jon Pertwee's reign as the Doctor. The 7th Doctor and Benny prove to be interesting adversaries to several political plots on the planet and another extra-extrodinary plot by a magic tiara. It's nice to see the Ice Warriors back after so long, although Alpha Centauri is much less animate than past stories show. Sidelining Ace for much of the story and then getting rid of her altogther is a bit of a waste imho as she could easily have been incorperated into the events, instead not using her sticks out as a failing of the book to maximise the available resources. Still in the end the Doctor defeats the bad guys and that's all you can ask of a book The interesting characters and sly continuity references are an added bonus.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:16:16 GMT -5
Theatre of War
Very, very, very, very dull, maybe duller but I can't be bothered to go into any more detail of the dullality. Nothing happens until the penultimate chapter. It's 200+ pages of waffle and shouty people all going up their own backsides. If I could pick any one book to forget I wouldn't pick this one it's not even that memorable to forget. The Doctor and co are all their usual selves, which is something but it's not enough to fail to hang a plot on. I had more fun haveing a wisdom tooth removed I think. This is a book for completists and masochists only, I liked CC: Warhead more.
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Post by kg redhead on Jan 27, 2007 5:16:54 GMT -5
All-Consuming Fire
After the last few books its refreshing to have something a little bit different than usual, mixing Sherlock Holes with Doctor Who and the Cthulu mythos is an inspired decision and the lavish attention to detail in the writing just adds the sumptiousness of the book. Unlike Legacy I didn't miss the absense of Benny or Ace at all, as there was so much else to whet the appetite. There's a lot of lavish imagrey too, the hidden library, the secret club with a cameo by the 3rd Doctor and the underground railway powered by blasts of air rather than coal. Such small treats are what seperates a good book from an average one. I heartily recommend this book to everyone, it's well worth it
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