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annathepiperThis is one of the free Classic Doctor Who ebooks that the BBC has available for download, and I decided to read this 'un first on the grounds that it was Seventh Doctor and Ace, of whom I have seen very little, and that it was also calling itself a bit of a horror story, for which I was in the mood.
It's a bit odd jumping back to read Classic Doctor, when I'm so used to thinking in terms of Ninth and Tenth--especially Tenth. Seventh in particular was an odd change of pace, being of course very different physically from his later incarnations... and yet, at least in the hands of this author, showing signs already of what was to emerge once the new series got underway. This particular quote stood out:
It's rather funny that this book was written some time ago, and yet, rather indicative of what we were to get later. Hee. It's also worth noting that this particular author has in fact worked on the new series--he's the guy that wrote the episodes "The Idiot's Lantern" and "The Unquiet Dead". :D
Plot-wise, this one wasn't half-bad. You had your basic remote English town with creepy goings-on, your basic skeery monster killing people right and left, and some hardcore feeling old and run-down and almost ready to retire on the part of the Doctor. Meanwhile there was Ace, right on the verge of growing up and highly attracted to a handsome young local, and getting to blow stuff up at least once. There's a colorful side character who's kind of fun, some Nice Young People one hopes will get together, a particularly nasty person who does get his in the end, and a rather staggeringly high body count. There's a bit of exploration of cultural attitudes of the time--which is 1968--and quite a bit of callback to the Doctor's very earliest days with Susan. A bit of nice continuity there. Nothing too spectacular with the writing style; in one or two places, with overuse of sentence fragments, it kind of annoyed me. But all in all, a perfectly pleasant and quick read. Three stars.
It's a bit odd jumping back to read Classic Doctor, when I'm so used to thinking in terms of Ninth and Tenth--especially Tenth. Seventh in particular was an odd change of pace, being of course very different physically from his later incarnations... and yet, at least in the hands of this author, showing signs already of what was to emerge once the new series got underway. This particular quote stood out:
Yet, for all those years, he'd put his own feelings to one side, tucked them away as if they were of no importance. Now the full weight of his troubles was becoming clear.
Instead of trying to confront his insecurities, like any rational being, he had buried them deep in his psyche.
He was the Doctor, after all, and expected to be immune to such things. Above such trivial matters as emotion and longing and... love.
It was only a matter of time before all those repressed feelings flooded his system like poison from an untreated wound.
It's rather funny that this book was written some time ago, and yet, rather indicative of what we were to get later. Hee. It's also worth noting that this particular author has in fact worked on the new series--he's the guy that wrote the episodes "The Idiot's Lantern" and "The Unquiet Dead". :D
Plot-wise, this one wasn't half-bad. You had your basic remote English town with creepy goings-on, your basic skeery monster killing people right and left, and some hardcore feeling old and run-down and almost ready to retire on the part of the Doctor. Meanwhile there was Ace, right on the verge of growing up and highly attracted to a handsome young local, and getting to blow stuff up at least once. There's a colorful side character who's kind of fun, some Nice Young People one hopes will get together, a particularly nasty person who does get his in the end, and a rather staggeringly high body count. There's a bit of exploration of cultural attitudes of the time--which is 1968--and quite a bit of callback to the Doctor's very earliest days with Susan. A bit of nice continuity there. Nothing too spectacular with the writing style; in one or two places, with overuse of sentence fragments, it kind of annoyed me. But all in all, a perfectly pleasant and quick read. Three stars.