Well now, I hadn't read this before, and it fits rather neatly as a follow-up to The Exiles.
For a start, Tara Samms provides us with an origin for the names
'Susan' and 'The Doctor' - one that makes sense, and comes out of the
story rather than being tacked on. It's the travellers' first contact
with humans, and as usual we run the gamut from the noble, through the
venal, to the downright psychopathic.
There are plenty of contrasts between the two stories as well. The Exiles
does a great job of feeling like the early series, to the extent that I
pictured it in monochrome - although I only realised this at the
mention of Susan's brown robes. Frayed doesn't even try. Actually
there is no time when it would have fitted with the TV series, as it
has a definite 1990s/early 2000s feel. The main aspect that it does take
from the parent show is from later in the 1960s: this is a classic
'base under siege' story, complete with a commander crumbling under the
strain, suspicion of the Doctor and internal conflict amongst the
humans. Unlike some parts of the Troughton era, however, we don't have a
surfeit of such stories; and it works as a refreshing change.
Unfortunately, and this is no reflection on the writing, I'm not a big
fan of the gruesome and ultraviolent tendencies that were so prevalent
in the "long 1990s", particularly in comics; and this book is a part of
that movement. The action effectively takes place in two worlds, with
people in both suffering horrific injuries and death. This lessens my
enjoyment considerably, and probably knocks a couple of points off my
rating.
It's the use of two worlds that makes this story much more than just a
base under siege. Susan's telepathic abilities play an important role
once again, though it is only in her interactions with Jill, another
telepathic girl, and she doesn't directly affect anything. The Doctor -
in the "real" world - is kept at more of a distance, but is handled
well...for the most part. He starts out appropriately selfish and
concerned only with himself and his granddaughter, but then seems to
take up a moral stance which is out of place for a pre-Unearthly Child
tale. His dialogue is also a little too variable, sometimes dipping
into a "generic Doctor" voice which certainly wasn't Hartnell's.
Samms' prose is good, with some particularly fine phrases - to pick an
example that struck me as a great chapter ending, "he was alone with the
screaming in a silent room." He also writes characters well, and we see
inside the heads of several humans in the base. This really helps the
"real world" part to live.
I said "he" above, because "Tara Samms" is actually a pseudonym for Stephen Cole, who has written more than a dozen Who
novels, a similar number of audios, some short stories and even more
comics; as well as acting in an editorial capacity for the BBC and
elsewhere. I haven't read enough to see if there is a pattern behind his
use of the pseudonym (and another, "Paul Grice"). His books, at least,
tend to be quite varied, so that I never know quite what to expect.
Overall, then, a mixed bag; but being a novella it was an easy read,
even if the tone didn't really suit me. And I applaud the experimental
nature of the book. After all, you can't innovate while trying to please
all the people.
Published:
Date: 20th November 2003
ISBN: 1-903889-22-7
Rating:
4.5/10.
Next Time:
An odd aside, as I reminisce about Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. There is a reason for this, honest!
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