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Post by sherlock on Jun 29, 2024 13:35:01 GMT
Autonomy
A story with a very very simple concept (Autons in a giant shopping centre) that the writer has to somehow stretch out into a full novel. Unfortunately the way he does it is long sections of copyright-free rogue Autons (I did find ironic enjoyment in how the the “ice queen” section was written cos clearly someone realised Narnia wasn’t quite in public domain after that part had already been planned) and some really annoying side characters. There are three scenes of actual interest here; two grisly deaths and when the titular autonomy comes into the picture. But sadly with that concept all I could think of was the Big Finish stories that have explored the idea of autonomous Autons better.
The Tenth Doctor is in one of his more annoying moods here, with all more childish sides of the character turned up to 11, and the pseudo-companion doesn’t make much of an impression. She doesn’t even spend all that much time with the Doctor.
Honestly the most intriguing thing here for me was a character mentioning Euros, implying this is a timeline where Britain joined the Eurozone sometime before 2013. Imagining the alt-politics for that to have happened just gave me something to latch onto.
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shutupbanks
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Post by shutupbanks on Jun 30, 2024 10:07:25 GMT
The Time Warrior
A great start to a new season and a new companion. On the page this is a riproaring and witty adventure in the Middle Ages (despite the appearance of potatoes). The introduction of Sarah Jane Smith is handled terrifically and she proves her worth very quickly. A hoot. Really, you can’t go wrong with Terrance Dicks adapting a Robert Holmes script.
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shutupbanks
Castellan
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 3, 2024 12:40:53 GMT
The Dinosaur Invasion
Much better than its reputation suggests, despite having a plotline stolen directly from Enemy Of The World. Characters are nicely drawn and the story is explained economically without it feeling rushed.
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Post by mark687 on Jul 3, 2024 12:56:59 GMT
The Dinosaur Invasion Much better than its reputation suggests, despite having a plotline stolen directly from Enemy Of The World. Characters are nicely drawn and the story is explained economically without it feeling rushed. Ah Ha The last 3rd Doc Target to inflate my expectations Regards mark687
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shutupbanks
Castellan
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 5, 2024 9:42:46 GMT
Death To The Daleks
Much better than the on-screen version but it is a mash-up of Terry Nation’s greatest hits, albeit quite a bit more fun than what he usually delivered. Some great moments, though, and it has that magnificent cover which we all loved back in the day.
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shutupbanks
Castellan
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There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 7, 2024 2:02:59 GMT
The Monster Of Peladon
Not the best of Pertwee’s adventures but in the capable hands of Terrance Dicks this becomes quite exciting with a lot of the running around and small number of locations becoming less noticeable and the climax being very well-paced. And the memorable moment where Alpha Centauri opens his eyes, despite being correctly described as being monocular in the previous paragraph.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 7, 2024 11:07:54 GMT
Ruby Red
A pretty good start to the Fifteenth Doctor‘a adventures in prose. He and Ruby leap into action and the supporting characters are well depicted, which was a blessed relief after Autonomy’s skin deep characterisation. The historical setting was novel and worked well.
I’ve seen some criticism of Gibson’s audiobook performance but I thought she did well. Her quieter narration suits the tone well and I liked her takes on the various characters; especially the creepy villain voice. The production quality of the audiobook seems to have gone up a gear with sound effects now in the mix.
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shutupbanks
Castellan
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 9, 2024 5:52:03 GMT
Planet Of The Spiders
I can’t be trusted to be objective about this book because I’ve loved it since I was a child. It’s just Who perfection. From the moody and atmospheric prologue right through to the epilogue it recaptures the feeling of watching the show brilliantly, even the ridiculous extended chase sequence. A total comfort read.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 11, 2024 16:45:45 GMT
Another dip into Titan’s comics with their Fourth Doctor arc; Gaze of the Medusa
Plot-wise it’s a nice runaround with the Doctor and Sarah, toying with Greek mythology and gothic Victorian style of the TV era. The artwork was a bit odd in places though, as it seems the Doctor and Sarah are often traced from TV stills. It makes them standout like a sore thumb compared to other characters who fit in more naturally.
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shutupbanks
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 12, 2024 3:30:00 GMT
… And The Giant Robot
Robot is a rather delightful mash-up of Frankenstein and King Kong. It has the flavour of the UNIT era but with a new Doctor who is itching to get out and explore the universe. There’s also some rogue scientists (again!) and some rubbish science; pretty much everything we love about Doctor Who.
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Post by shallacatop on Jul 12, 2024 12:38:03 GMT
Ruby RedA pretty good start to the Fifteenth Doctor‘a adventures in prose. He and Ruby leap into action and the supporting characters are well depicted, which was a blessed relief after Autonomy’s skin deep characterisation. The historical setting was novel and worked well. I’ve seen some criticism of Gibson’s audiobook performance but I thought she did well. Her quieter narration suits the tone well and I liked her takes on the various characters; especially the creepy villain voice. The production quality of the audiobook seems to have gone up a gear with sound effects now in the mix. I enjoyed it too. Breezy, but an unusually good characterisation of the TARDIS team, which is usually a bit generic in the first batch of NSAs. I thought Millie's reading was charming in its own way. I wouldn't say it was great, but I didn't get the impression she was overjoyed to do it! Audio reading is an art form and I'm glad she's had a go, even if it becomes a one-off. Like you, I liked her takes on the different characters and I did love her recreation of Ruby and the Doctor's relationship when they had dialogue together, that was missing on screen for the most part, yet is the best thing about the season. Bodes well if she wanted to do Big Finish.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2024 13:27:27 GMT
Ruby RedA pretty good start to the Fifteenth Doctor‘a adventures in prose. He and Ruby leap into action and the supporting characters are well depicted, which was a blessed relief after Autonomy’s skin deep characterisation. The historical setting was novel and worked well. I’ve seen some criticism of Gibson’s audiobook performance but I thought she did well. Her quieter narration suits the tone well and I liked her takes on the various characters; especially the creepy villain voice. The production quality of the audiobook seems to have gone up a gear with sound effects now in the mix. I enjoyed it too. Breezy, but an unusually good characterisation of the TARDIS team, which is usually a bit generic in the first batch of NSAs. I thought Millie's reading was charming in its own way. I wouldn't say it was great, but I didn't get the impression she was overjoyed to do it! Audio reading is an art form and I'm glad she's had a go, even if it becomes a one-off. Like you, I liked her takes on the different characters and I did love her recreation of Ruby and the Doctor's relationship when they had dialogue together, that was missing on screen for the most part, yet is the best thing about the season. Bodes well if she wanted to do Big Finish. Hopefully one day - if she's not a megastar by then! Though to play devil's advocate: Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman both have done BBC readings while still in the role. It's getting actors to reprise it when they're not the incumbent that's the issue.
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shutupbanks
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 13, 2024 12:19:47 GMT
The Ark In Space
Ian Marter’s first foray into the novelisations is a doozy. There’s all kinds of horror, a wonderful antagonist (definitely not a villain), and some terrific expansions from the teleplay. And his descriptions of the Wirrrn’s infection and takeover of Noah’s body are utterly horrific and totally unsuitable for impressionable kids like I was back then.
Oh, and for detractors of certain events in recent Who, the Doctor meets a character who willingly gives up his life for him in an explosive finale. It’s an annoying trope, but it isn’t exclusive to 13.
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Post by shallacatop on Jul 13, 2024 12:34:23 GMT
I enjoyed it too. Breezy, but an unusually good characterisation of the TARDIS team, which is usually a bit generic in the first batch of NSAs. I thought Millie's reading was charming in its own way. I wouldn't say it was great, but I didn't get the impression she was overjoyed to do it! Audio reading is an art form and I'm glad she's had a go, even if it becomes a one-off. Like you, I liked her takes on the different characters and I did love her recreation of Ruby and the Doctor's relationship when they had dialogue together, that was missing on screen for the most part, yet is the best thing about the season. Bodes well if she wanted to do Big Finish. Hopefully one day - if she's not a megastar by then! Though to play devil's advocate: Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman both have done BBC readings while still in the role. It's getting actors to reprise it when they're not the incumbent that's the issue. They did but it was when they first did the role and never did anything again since. You sort of get the impression they were contractually obliged but weren’t keen on the experience. Matt performed his as though it was Groundhog Day every time he read a line and was the same with the video games too. Jenna has gone on record at saying she didn’t enjoy the experience at all. But there’s a difference between audio reading and audio drama. Sarah Sutton didn’t enjoy doing her Companion Chronicle and didn’t do any more, but clearly enjoys doing the dramas. We can but hope, Matt & Jenna are both personal faves so I’d love it.
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 20, 2024 13:18:53 GMT
The Sontaran Experiment
Ian Marter’s novelisation of this two-part story is possibly the most “adjusted” book in the entire range (except possibly The Rescue, also by Marter). But it expands terrifically, utilising the limitless budget of the imagination and exploring ideas that the script could only suggest at. But that does slow the pace a little, giving us a rather sluggish story as a result.
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 21, 2024 13:33:05 GMT
Genesis Of The Daleks
A competent and tidy retelling of a classic Who story. Nothing terribly special but it does hit all the right beats despite glossing over the wonderful “do I have the right?” scene. Dicks does know how to set a scene, though, and it opens beautifully with the reader dropped right in the middle of an ancient conflict.
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Post by fitzoliverj on Jul 22, 2024 16:23:23 GMT
Reading "The Return of Robin Hood", although I'm finding it a bit heavy going. I can tolerate the writing style, aimed at kids, no, that's fair enough - but the mistakes. Are they mistakes, or the author trying to be too clever by half. One character peels potatoes mere pages after a reference to "The Time Warrior", and there's a reference to clerical marriage that cannot at least be a self-indulgent gag.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 23, 2024 12:59:38 GMT
Caged
This story makes the somewhat odd choice to give the reader the ability to piece things together way earlier then the leads (seriously had the plot figured out by Chapter 4), but it’s well told and captures Fifteen & Ruby well. Bonnie Langford’s narration is very good.
I think of the two so far I preferred Ruby Red.
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shutupbanks
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Post by shutupbanks on Aug 4, 2024 13:29:32 GMT
Revenge Of The Cybermen
The televised Revenge suffers from being not as good as the two stories on either side of it. The book version is a capable retelling that doesn’t quite capture the excitement of the original version. It explains the Cyberman lore nicely but a lot else is left for the readers to fill in the blanks. A reminder of the story more than a revisit.
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Post by fitzoliverj on Aug 4, 2024 14:15:08 GMT
Currently reading Doctor Who Origins. I think the criticism it recieved - that it's just "young companion meets the Doctor then forgets about it" every time - is justified, but the stories themselves so far are well-written. The one about Davros, which takes BF's "I, Davros" continuity and ties young Davros from "The Magician's Apprentice" into it; that's a terribly fanfic-y idea but it's a great story.
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