Saturday 8 November 2014
A Message From the Doctor
Peter Capaldi made this message for a 9 year old autistic boy whose grandmother had just died. What a man!
Monday 3 November 2014
Review: Silhouette by Justin Richards
One of the first Twelfth Doctor novels, this book sees Peter Capaldi's Doctor and companion Clara head to Victorian London to investigate a mysterious power spike. Inevitably they meet up with the Paternoster Row gang, Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax as they investigate a series of murders.
I always think a sci-fi story set in the Victorian era works rather well and this is another example. The story is mostly set around a Frost Fair and Carnival of Curiosities, a magical setting which is so perfect for Doctor Who. The villain is rather good, a properly despicable Victorian villain that you really dislike. Although there's no monsters as such there are some interesting characters with special abilities, all of which are fantastic creations, yet somehow not outrageous.
I felt at times that the character of the Twelfth Doctor wasn't particularly accurate, but I suspect the author had little to do on and managed a decent if not entirely successful attempt. Clara is good here which is nice to see although I did feel the Paternoster Row trio weren't needed here. In the TV show there's always been a strong reason for them being in the episode, that they affect the story in some way, but here it feels like the plot would have been pretty much identical without their presence. They are well characterised though and as usual Strax has some really funny moments.
The first set of novels for a new Doctor also suffer from the author only knowing the basics to what the new character is like and how the series will feel but actually Richards gives us a really enjoyable Victorian Doctor Who story.
I always think a sci-fi story set in the Victorian era works rather well and this is another example. The story is mostly set around a Frost Fair and Carnival of Curiosities, a magical setting which is so perfect for Doctor Who. The villain is rather good, a properly despicable Victorian villain that you really dislike. Although there's no monsters as such there are some interesting characters with special abilities, all of which are fantastic creations, yet somehow not outrageous.
I felt at times that the character of the Twelfth Doctor wasn't particularly accurate, but I suspect the author had little to do on and managed a decent if not entirely successful attempt. Clara is good here which is nice to see although I did feel the Paternoster Row trio weren't needed here. In the TV show there's always been a strong reason for them being in the episode, that they affect the story in some way, but here it feels like the plot would have been pretty much identical without their presence. They are well characterised though and as usual Strax has some really funny moments.
The first set of novels for a new Doctor also suffer from the author only knowing the basics to what the new character is like and how the series will feel but actually Richards gives us a really enjoyable Victorian Doctor Who story.
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