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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Mar 21, 2021 3:25:12 GMT
I have been reading The Fall of Yquatine which has been much better than it has any right to be. I love how there’s this looming sense of dread with Fitz’s plot as he knows that Yquatine is going to fall while the Doctor is kind of the bad guy here as he hurts Compassion. And honestly with this and The Shadows of Avalon I’m actually starting to like Compassion a lot more. Like she was great in Interference and The Blue Angel but after that she kind of became one note. I gave up on “FoY” after the Doctor effectively raped Compassion by installing the randomiser without her permission and in fact AGAINST her wishes. I do like the whole Compassion arc, what with him effectively being relegated to companion status. If I’d have done one thing differently, I’d have had her being more protective of Fitz (allowing him to have quarters in a less “nightmare zone” of her internal structure for example) because as she has shown in other stories, she does care more for Fitz than she does the Doctor. Maybe even effectively allowing Fitz to be her pilot rather than the Doctor, whose Time Lordiness (and AHEM other factors) gives him control over her in many ways.
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Post by constonks on Mar 21, 2021 3:44:43 GMT
Just this second finished Engines Of War, got to say, Wow, what a great read. I thought it was a blockbuster of a book, and highly recommmended. A good description, yeah. It's the novelisation of a big-budget Doctor Who film that never was!
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Post by newt5996 on Mar 21, 2021 19:34:30 GMT
I have been reading The Fall of Yquatine which has been much better than it has any right to be. I love how there’s this looming sense of dread with Fitz’s plot as he knows that Yquatine is going to fall while the Doctor is kind of the bad guy here as he hurts Compassion. And honestly with this and The Shadows of Avalon I’m actually starting to like Compassion a lot more. Like she was great in Interference and The Blue Angel but after that she kind of became one note. I gave up on “FoY” after the Doctor effectively raped Compassion by installing the randomiser without her permission and in fact AGAINST her wishes. I do like the whole Compassion arc, what with him effectively being relegated to companion status. If I’d have done one thing differently, I’d have had her being more protective of Fitz (allowing him to have quarters in a less “nightmare zone” of her internal structure for example) because as she has shown in other stories, she does care more for Fitz than she does the Doctor. Maybe even effectively allowing Fitz to be her pilot rather than the Doctor, whose Time Lordiness (and AHEM other factors) gives him control over her in many ways. Oh it's most definitely a really messed up thing for the Eighth Doctor to do and it makes their relationship really rocky from that point forward as 8 kind of has stopped treating Compassion as a human and now as an object (the TARDIS is technically an object).
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Mar 22, 2021 6:08:43 GMT
I gave up on “FoY” after the Doctor effectively raped Compassion by installing the randomiser without her permission and in fact AGAINST her wishes. I do like the whole Compassion arc, what with him effectively being relegated to companion status. If I’d have done one thing differently, I’d have had her being more protective of Fitz (allowing him to have quarters in a less “nightmare zone” of her internal structure for example) because as she has shown in other stories, she does care more for Fitz than she does the Doctor. Maybe even effectively allowing Fitz to be her pilot rather than the Doctor, whose Time Lordiness (and AHEM other factors) gives him control over her in many ways. Oh it's most definitely a really messed up thing for the Eighth Doctor to do and it makes their relationship really rocky from that point forward as 8 kind of has stopped treating Compassion as a human and now as an object (the TARDIS is technically an object). which I wish we saw explored more.
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Post by newt5996 on Mar 23, 2021 20:09:02 GMT
Oh it's most definitely a really messed up thing for the Eighth Doctor to do and it makes their relationship really rocky from that point forward as 8 kind of has stopped treating Compassion as a human and now as an object (the TARDIS is technically an object). which I wish we saw explored more. That could describe a lot of the EDAs honestly: I wish this concept was explored more. At least when the VNAs had an idea for a character they stuck to that and had the writers explore that in different ways.
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Post by newt5996 on Mar 23, 2021 20:10:35 GMT
Starting Decalog 3: Consequences today, all I know is that this contains the first Doctor Who work of Steven Moffat which will be interesting as it's apparently a 7/Benny story. A bit concerning that this volume more than any other has writers who would never write for Who again, though I won't let that cloud my judgment.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Mar 23, 2021 20:47:47 GMT
which I wish we saw explored more. That could describe a lot of the EDAs honestly: I wish this concept was explored more. At least when the VNAs had an idea for a character they stuck to that and had the writers explore that in different ways. I recall someone saying that there was a lot of secrecy surrounding the EDAs and no one was told what was going on in other books - case in point “Fall of Yqutaine” which is basically a “Doctor gets separated from the TARDIS and his friends” story which had to hammer in a plot point to get Compassion out of the action. Which happened again in “The Space Age” (confused by the aliens power in the story and rendered unconscious) and come to think of it, “Coldheart” (fell down a hole she had to climb out of because of what the Doctor did to her), “the Banquo Legscy” (had to hid herself within another character) and “Ancestor Cell” (wounded and controlled by the Time Lords and Faction Paradox). So basically no one knew what to do with a sentient TARDIS, obviously, and plumped for the easiest solution.
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Post by constonks on Mar 26, 2021 19:08:50 GMT
With that new Weeping Angels game out, I've decided to revisit a couple Angel stories and check out a few new ones - one of the new ones was the Quick Reads book they showed up in - Magic of the Angels by Jac Rayner. A nice little Target-style novella with good character beats for the regulars and the guests. Feels like a 45-minute episode without much padding, although the resolution feels like a bit of a fizzle. It's also got the lovely touch of Matt Smith wearing Pertwee's gear to fit in as a magician (and Amy in the Mind Robber catsuit as his assistant, because of course).
I do have one other thing I want to read today - it's March 26th, the sixteenth anniversary of Rose, so it seems the perfect time to read Grounded, the Clive Finch story from the Target Storybook!
Edit: ...which was nice. A bit sad, of course, in the ways you'd expect from a story about Clive and his son!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2021 9:57:51 GMT
I'm going to fudge it a little and say these are from a book. Two books, to be precise. The charity anthologies Perfect Timing 2 and The Cat Who Walked Through Time (and all places were alike to them). The short stories are deeply silly, deeply fun and written by Diane Duane who Trekkers probably recognise for inventing Treklit Romulans (better known as Rihannsu) in the novel, My Enemy, My Ally and others. Catch the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan on one of their "off" days in The Effect of Dimensional Transcendence on Mozarella Cheese and A Dinner in Belgravia, both available on her blog to read (the stories and the recipes). Enjoy.
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Post by sexbombsimon on Mar 29, 2021 14:25:48 GMT
Hi all.
Last night i finished reading Harvest of Time, and I thought it was ok. Not amazing, but an ok read, definetly.
Now I need a little advice on what next.
Out of these.. what would you read next or alternatively, another blockbuster like Engines of War. The choices are:
* Scratchman - Tom Baker * Divided Loyalties - Gary Russel * The Drosten Curse - A L Kennedy
All opinions and recommendations appreciated
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Post by mark687 on Mar 29, 2021 14:47:47 GMT
Hi all. Last night i finished reading Harvest of Time, and I thought it was ok. Not amazing, but an ok read, definetly. Now I need a little advice on what next. Out of these.. what would you read next or alternatively, another blockbuster like Engines of War. The choices are: * Scratchman - Tom Baker * Divided Loyalties - Gary Russel * The Drosten Curse - A L Kennedy All opinions and recommendations appreciated Stratchman is delightfully weird but still Doctor Who and Divided Loyalties I like but I might be the only one. Regard mark687
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Post by constonks on Mar 29, 2021 15:46:18 GMT
Hi all. Last night i finished reading Harvest of Time, and I thought it was ok. Not amazing, but an ok read, definetly. Now I need a little advice on what next. Out of these.. what would you read next or alternatively, another blockbuster like Engines of War. The choices are: * Scratchman - Tom Baker * Divided Loyalties - Gary Russel * The Drosten Curse - A L Kennedy All opinions and recommendations appreciated Stratchman is delightfully weird but still Doctor Who and Divided Loyalties I like but I might be the only one. Regard mark687 Nah, Divided Loyalties might not be great but I enjoyed it too! It gets a lot of flack for "revealing too much" about the Doctor/the Toymaker/Gallifrey/etc. but I actually really like the Young Doctor sequence??? Heresy, I know. Still, Scratchman is the winner of the two for me (and I have yet to read The Drosten Curse) - while I know James Goss typed the actual words, Tom Baker's sensibility shines through the whole book and it's just lovely.
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Post by newt5996 on Mar 29, 2021 19:18:03 GMT
Stratchman is delightfully weird but still Doctor Who and Divided Loyalties I like but I might be the only one. Regard mark687 Nah, Divided Loyalties might not be great but I enjoyed it too! It gets a lot of flack for "revealing too much" about the Doctor/the Toymaker/Gallifrey/etc. but I actually really like the Young Doctor sequence??? Heresy, I know. Still, Scratchman is the winner of the two for me (and I have yet to read The Drosten Curse) - while I know James Goss typed the actual words, Tom Baker's sensibility shines through the whole book and it's just lovely. My problem with it isn't that it reveals stuff, but because it's just so damned mean spirited about the Season 19 TARDIS team. Everyone's insufferable except Nyssa who is just there. I don't know if Gary Russell just hated this team or what.
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Post by constonks on Mar 29, 2021 19:27:51 GMT
Nah, Divided Loyalties might not be great but I enjoyed it too! It gets a lot of flack for "revealing too much" about the Doctor/the Toymaker/Gallifrey/etc. but I actually really like the Young Doctor sequence??? Heresy, I know. Still, Scratchman is the winner of the two for me (and I have yet to read The Drosten Curse) - while I know James Goss typed the actual words, Tom Baker's sensibility shines through the whole book and it's just lovely. My problem with it isn't that it reveals stuff, but because it's just so damned mean spirited about the Season 19 TARDIS team. Everyone's insufferable except Nyssa who is just there. I don't know if Gary Russell just hated this team or what. That is true. From what I remember, Tegan's extra miserable during that book. (Although there are also times on TV when "everyone's insufferable but Nyssa who is just there" is not a bad description... Not that authors should aim for that!) Hey this was the early days of Big Finish - maybe Gary was happy with Sarah Sutton for coming back and not thrilled with the other two!
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Post by sexbombsimon on Apr 12, 2021 0:27:55 GMT
Stratchman is delightfully weird but still Doctor Who and Divided Loyalties I like but I might be the only one. Regard mark687 Nah, Divided Loyalties might not be great but I enjoyed it too! It gets a lot of flack for "revealing too much" about the Doctor/the Toymaker/Gallifrey/etc. but I actually really like the Young Doctor sequence??? Heresy, I know. Still, Scratchman is the winner of the two for me (and I have yet to read The Drosten Curse) - while I know James Goss typed the actual words, Tom Baker's sensibility shines through the whole book and it's just lovely. So, Just finished Scratchman - Blimey, I found it a little hard to read, but a good story-line. Its absolutely bonkers! Tom using the thesaurus, to a great extent!
The genuine effection he has for his companions in the book really shines through. and i felt it really was a book of 2 halves. The first being a lovely hammer-esque horror and the second half.Hard to describe.
If anyone who has read it can explain the epilogue and who he is speaking too. I would appreciate your thoughts.
Also.... what to read next?
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Post by constonks on Apr 12, 2021 1:33:15 GMT
Nah, Divided Loyalties might not be great but I enjoyed it too! It gets a lot of flack for "revealing too much" about the Doctor/the Toymaker/Gallifrey/etc. but I actually really like the Young Doctor sequence??? Heresy, I know. Still, Scratchman is the winner of the two for me (and I have yet to read The Drosten Curse) - while I know James Goss typed the actual words, Tom Baker's sensibility shines through the whole book and it's just lovely. So, Just finished Scratchman - Blimey, I found it a little hard to read, but a good story-line. Its absolutely bonkers! Tom using the thesaurus, to a great extent! The genuine effection he has for his companions in the book really shines through. and i felt it really was a book of 2 halves. The first being a lovely hammer-esque horror and the second half.Hard to describe. If anyone who has read it can explain the epilogue and who he is speaking too. I would appreciate your thoughts. Also.... what to read next?
If I recall correctly, the line really blurs between Tom and the Doctor in the epilogue, so I think I just assumed he was talking to all of us at home! I listened to the audiobook myself and took a few weeks' break between Book One and Book Two, which worked well with the shift in tone.
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Post by newt5996 on Apr 12, 2021 1:33:38 GMT
Nah, Divided Loyalties might not be great but I enjoyed it too! It gets a lot of flack for "revealing too much" about the Doctor/the Toymaker/Gallifrey/etc. but I actually really like the Young Doctor sequence??? Heresy, I know. Still, Scratchman is the winner of the two for me (and I have yet to read The Drosten Curse) - while I know James Goss typed the actual words, Tom Baker's sensibility shines through the whole book and it's just lovely. So, Just finished Scratchman - Blimey, I found it a little hard to read, but a good story-line. Its absolutely bonkers! Tom using the thesaurus, to a great extent!
The genuine effection he has for his companions in the book really shines through. and i felt it really was a book of 2 halves. The first being a lovely hammer-esque horror and the second half.Hard to describe.
If anyone who has read it can explain the epilogue and who he is speaking too. I would appreciate your thoughts.
Also.... what to read next?
I believe he's speaking to the audience.
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Post by newt5996 on Apr 12, 2021 4:12:01 GMT
Because I've just finished Dune, I'm going back to the EDAs for The Banquo Legacy. I adore the cover with the skull rat being such great imagery and it's by two authors I like. Andy Lane I think will bring some more class to this book, though I really hope as it's her penultimate adventure, Compassion is well served.
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Post by Whovitt on Apr 18, 2021 11:10:31 GMT
With the last pieces of Time Lord Victorious in my possession, I thought it was finally time to read the second novel. Except I was already 100 pages into At Childhood's End, so I finished that instead On the whole it's not a bad book, but it's not really got a lot going for it either, especially for an "Ace meets 13" gimmick. They don't really spend much time together, and her issues with Yaz (who she spends a little while with) are never really resolved either. The plot itself gets wrapped up but none of the character journeys really seem to reach any sort of conclusion. Also, what I'm calling the "Bat ex Machina" was really a contrived continuity reference too far. It felt like a cheap excuse to bring something back that really didn't need to be there, only to make it the only way the plot could ever have been resolved. Other than that though, like I say, it's not a bad book. There are almost certainly plenty more worth your time though.
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Post by tuigirl on Apr 24, 2021 18:55:13 GMT
The Missy Comic Volume 1. Well, we are off to a very good start! Entertainng, if a bit short. Missy is her usual self, most likely up to no good (at least from what we can expect, her plan is not yet revealed here). Her latest plan at least involves recruiting her younger self and posing as the Doctor. As expected from this writing/ drawing team from previous episodes, it is fun, well paced and well drawn. Certainly pickin up again from the previous 13/ 10 team-up.
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