paddyh's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
secretlyadoombot's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
lokster71's review against another edition
1.0
I read this when it was first published during Doctor Who's long absence from television. It was the first book in the Virgin New Adventures series, which was supposed to be a way of keeping Doctor Who alive whilst adding depth and more adult themes to it. I remember being totally disappointed with it then. I never went back to re-read it.
Peel seemed to confuse 'adult' with something much less mature and took an interesting setting and an interesting concept and turned it into dull mush.
I feel pretty much the same about it now. It's a terrible book. It might even be the worst Doctor Who Novel I have ever read and I've read a few. Why Virgin picked this as the launch book I do not know. Thankfully Terrance Dicks was there, with his safe pair of hands, and could rescue the series. Other writers were to do better. Sometimes much better.
I don't normally rant about books I don't like, because in the end it is just my personal opinion and I suspect lots of people will like this in a way I don't. I'm going to put it back in its place on the shelf never to be read again. When I die it'll pass to someone else. I might even will it to someone I don't like very much.
Peel seemed to confuse 'adult' with something much less mature and took an interesting setting and an interesting concept and turned it into dull mush.
I feel pretty much the same about it now. It's a terrible book. It might even be the worst Doctor Who Novel I have ever read and I've read a few. Why Virgin picked this as the launch book I do not know. Thankfully Terrance Dicks was there, with his safe pair of hands, and could rescue the series. Other writers were to do better. Sometimes much better.
I don't normally rant about books I don't like, because in the end it is just my personal opinion and I suspect lots of people will like this in a way I don't. I'm going to put it back in its place on the shelf never to be read again. When I die it'll pass to someone else. I might even will it to someone I don't like very much.
dylanb2344's review
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
dp112's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
It's quite contrived, and its politics are a little sketchy. Gets too far into professional fanfic territory at times (in a bad way).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia, Genocide, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
One of the supporting characters is a 13 year old sex worker, who is a priestess in the Temple of Ishtar in Kish (it takes place in ancient Mesopotamia)isayhourwrong's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
More like the flaws of john peel being the focus of this book
nwhyte's review
http://nhw.livejournal.com/666835.html[return][return]The first ever of the New Adventures of Doctor Who published by Virgin between 1991 and 1997. Actually rather good stuff as the Seventh Doctor and Ace find themselves in ancient Babylon battling an alien force, mixing it up with Gilgamesh. If I'd picked this up back in 1991 I would certainly have ended up buying many more. Biggest flaw - the silly title. Why the "y" in "Genesys"?
count_zero's review
4.0
This is a story that probably couldn't have been done on television, if only for reasons of budget and content. The story is interesting and well written.
geoff's review
2.0
I was really debating between 2 and 3 for this one. It's not exactly a bad book, it's just... kinda dull and predictable. I still got some enjoyment out of reading it, though I can't say that I'll remember much a bout it in a month's time. Excessive continuity references pushed it into a 2-star for me. The tipping point was the moment in the climax where Seven pointlessly turned into Three to execute a particularly tedious bit of technobabble and throw out some references to the UNIT era. Completely unnecessary.
whovian2711's review
3.0
Despite a slow and clunky start, this turned into a fairly fun read. Its enjoyability is marred, however, by John Peel's deeply uncomfortable approach to sexual violence in the ancient world and the Doctor's very out-of-character response to it, particularly where Ace's safety is concerned. The unsavouriness is worsened by Peel's objectifying descriptions of female characters' bodies (how often do we need to be reminded that a 13 year-old priestess has bare breasts?!). Despite these elements, the novel serves as a reasonably enjoyable introduction to the Timewyrm story arc and the world of the Virgin New Adventures in general.