MAG.E 6/MAG.E 6 (Disk 1 of 2).adf/Who/16/16

Text File | 1977-12-31 | 10KB | 245 lines

@3NEW ADVENTURES OVERVIEW
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In 1989 the BBC "temporarily halted" production of Doctor Who after 26
years of adventures through Time and Space. Not suprisingly most fans of
the show regard this as "a bad thing." Someone else who found this a bit of
a problem was Virgin Books- the publisher of the novelisations of the TV
stories.  The problem for Virgin was obvious, no more TV stories=no more
novelisations.  Fortunately the solution was also obvious, and thus was
born "Doctor Who - The New Adventures" a series of original novels that
promised "stories too broad and too deep for the small screen," as well as
promising to keep the money flowing into the newly created Doctor Who Books
imprint.

The number of New Adventures released is now over 25, with a new one coming
out every month.  The series has been so successful (in commercial terms at
least) that a new series "Doctor Who - The Missing Adventures"- featuring
stories with past Doctors has recently been announced, another new original
novel every month.  Keeping up could be a problem! The Doctor alone knows
how the dedicated fan will cope if the program returns and the flow of
novelisations starts up again!

This article is intended to give you an overview of the series to date,
what you NEED to read, what is worth reading, and what you should avoid at
all costs.  All opinions are of course mine, but I have great taste!


Timewyrm:  Genesys by John Peel ISBN:  0-426-20355-0

John Peel is a fairly well known name in the world of Doctor Who fandom, he
wrote the novelisations of "The Chase" and "The Daleks' Masterplan" and was
writing articles for genre magazines at least as far back as 1984.  This,
the first NA is competent but unspectactular.


Timewyrm:  Exodus by Terrance Dicks ISBN:  0-426-20357-7

Terrance Dicks is not exactly an unfamiliar name to the Doctor Who fan- he
was the script editor for ALL of the Jon Pertwee era, has written many
stories and has written an astonishing 65 novelisations.  So it's no
surprise that Exodus is a fantastic read.  The Doctor returns to Earth only
to discover that someone has changed history so that Hitler won the WWII
and reigns supreme over all of Europe. Not an original idea, but extremely
well executed.  Highly Recommended


Timewyrm:  Apocalypse by Nigel Robinson ISBN:  0-426-20359-3

Nigel Robinson was the editor of the novelisations for a long time and has
written four of them himself.  Apocalypse is another "OK" book, there's
nothing particularly wrong with it but doesn't have that "something special."


Timewyrm:  Revelation by Paul Cornell ISBN:  0-426-20360-7

Paul Cornell was an unknown to me but this novel gave the impression that
here was someone with talent worth watching. At times quite surreal
(disembodied heads rolling along the surface of the Moon?), but
entertaining and a nice resolution to the Timewyrm saga.  Good stuff.


Cat's Cradle:  Time's Crucible by Marc Platt ISBN:  0-426-20365-8

Oh dear.  The words "overly ambitious" spring to mind when I think about
this book.  Marc Platt had previously been responsible for my very
favourite McCoy story (Ghost Light) so this bloated, incoherent and boring
NA was a bitter disappointment.  There is good stuff in the NA, but getting
to it is a real chore.  For the completist only.


Cat's Cradle:  Warhead by Andrew Carmtel ISBN:  0-426-20367-4

Oh Dear, Oh Dear.  Andrew Carmtel- a former script editor of the program-
obviously had an old, rejected SF novel lying around and decided to
re-write it including the Doctor and Ace and pass it off as WHO.  This
would be OK if it worked, but the characterisations are so seriously out of
whack that the whole thing makes no sense whatsoever.


Cat's Cradle:  Witchmark by Andrew Hunt ISBN:  0-426-20368-2

I have no idea who Andrew Hunt is, but he wrote a competent enough NA that
reads more like a Pertwee story than McCoy. A lot of people hate this, but
after the previous two it was a welcome relief.  Doesn't resolve the Cat's
Cradle series because the Cat's Cradle series is linked only in name, you
can read this one in isolation without any problems.


Nightshade by Mark Gatiss ISBN:  0-426-20376-3

Now this is more like it.  The Doctor and Ace travel to a isolated British
village in 1968 for a rest only to discover that the villagers are being
murdered by an unknown force. Seems very Pertwee-like to me, others have
commented that it "feels" very like the early Quatermass series.  Good stuff!


Love and War by Paul Cornell ISBN:  0-426-20385-2

Wow!  This is the NA that introduces new companion Benny and says good-bye
(for a while) to Ace.  This is something you don't expect in a WHO book-
thought provoking AND entertaining.  The characterisations are spot on and
the monsters themselves are a thinly disguised metaphor for AIDS.  A truly
great NA and a damn fine novel as well.


Transit by Ben Aaronovitch ISBN:  0-426-20384-4

Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear.  I won't comment on this beyond saying that it
is undoubtedly the WORST NA.  I could write an entire article on just why
this is so bad and have been tempted to do so more than once.


The Highest Science by Gareth Roberts ISBN:  0-426-20377-1

Not bad at all.  Features a truly cool race of evil villain turtles and
Sheldukher "the most wanted criminal in the universe" (that's what it says
on the back blurb anyway). The twist about what exactly "The Highest
Science" is, is worth reading the book for alone.  Good, but better is to
come from Gareth Roberts


The Pit by Neil Penswick ISBN:  0-426-20378-X

What can I say?  Seemingly everyone hates this and I'm not going to argue
with them.  Strange really, all the elements for a good WHO story are here
but it just never seems to come off.  There is some worth in this NA, but
not enough to make it worth reading.


Deceit by Peter Darvill-Evans ISBN 0-426-20387-9

Peter Darvill-Evans is the editor of the NAs.  He must have worked really
hard to get this one accepted.  It's quite OK, although I'm getting awfully
sick of the
gestalt/omnipotent/omnipresent monsters in these books.  Ace returns in
this book and is now a borderline psychotic, what a happy little TARDIS it
is in the next few books!


Lucifer Rising by Andy Lane & Jim Mortimore ISBN:  0-426-20388-7

This is well cool.  Epic SF flawlessly integrated into the WHOniverse.
Exciting, intriguing and a genuinely innovative "monster" in Legion- a
multi-dimensional creature with a surprising physical appearance in our
dimensions. Recommended.


White Darkness by David A McIntee ISBN:  0-426-20395-X

The Doctor and pals, Haiti, Zombies, Voodoo and German Spies.  This NA
contains all the above and is very entertaining.  No great work of
literature, but a good solid WHO story with an interesting historical
flavour.


Shadowmind by Christopher Bulis ISBN:  0-426-20394-1

Many people have expressed dislike for this, I think it is almost great.
Cool little intelligent chipmunks and a nice space battle make for an
enjoyable NA.  Pity about the slightly crap end though.


Birthright by Nigel Robinson ISBN:  0-426-20393-3

A Doctor-less story involving Benny trying to solve a serious of mysterious
(not to mention messy) murders in Victorian England and Ace as a guerrilla
leader on a dying planet.  Not bad at all, although I really want to know
whether Muldwych is the Doctor or not.


Iceberg by David Banks ISBN:  0-426-20392-5

David Banks played a cyberman in numerous Doctor Who stories, David Banks
has acted in many other programs, David Banks cannot write to save himself.
 A bitter disappointment, especially as it features the first appearance in
the NA's of a traditional WHO-baddy, the Cybermen.


Blood Heat by Jim Mortimore ISBN:  0-426-20399-2

First of the Alternate Universe cycle.  The TARDIS travels to an alternate
Earth where the Silurians had killed the Doctor and conquered the Earth
during "The Silurians." Quite good, with an interesting twist on UNIT, now
a ragged resistance movement lead by an embittered, genocidal
Lethbridge-Stewart.


The Dimension Riders by Daniel Blythe ISBN:  0-426-20397-6

Another NA where all the elements are there but it never really works.  A
bit of a bore to be honest.


The Left-Handed Hummingbird by Kate Orman ISBN:  0-426-20404-2

The first NA by a woman and an Australian woman at that. I'll reserve
judgement until I manage to wade my way through it.  Many people say this
is great, however these tend to be the same people who said Transit was
great.  Hmmmm.

Update:  Well, it's very average indeed.


Conundrum by Steve Lyons ISBN:  0-426-20408-5

Fantastic.  A return to the Land of Fiction as featured in the 60's story
The Mind Robber.  This is a truly enjoyable NA.  If like me, you grew up
reading Enid Blyton you are in for a very special treat with appearance of
"The Adventure Kids" and their "unfortunate" dog.


No Future by Paul Cornell ISBN:  0-426-20409-3

Very good.  Wraps up the Alternate Universe cycle quite cleanly, the
actually baddy of the cycle is an old one from the TV show and if you
didn't work out who it was before this book you need to brush up on your
WHO history.  If I had a complaint about this book I'd say that it is a bit
too clever for its own good, but it is still very enjoyable.


Tragedy Day by Gareth Roberts ISBN:  0-426-20410-7

Highly enjoyable, doesn't take itself too seriously and has several comic
interludes, especially Ernie the Arachnid Assassin and his rather
gruesomely ironic fate.


And that's it for the moment, future releases at monthly intervals are:


Legacy by Gary Russell
Theatre of War by Justin Richards
All-Consuming Fire by Andy Lane
Blood Harvest by Terrance Dicks
Strange England by Simon Messingham
First Frontier by David A McIntee
St Anthony's Fire by Mark Gatiss
Parasite by Jim Mortimore
Falls the Shadow by Daniel O'Mahoney
Warlock by Andrew Cartmel
Set Piece by Kate Orman
Infinite Requiem by Daniel Blythe
Original Sin by Andy Lane

@2  BRETT O'CALLAGHAN