gingerreader99's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure how this isn't a full rate 5 star book. It's a showcase of the absolute hilarious Genius that is Douglas Adams and in my opinion his perfect capture of the 4th Doctor and Romana. It's getting to the point after Shada and this that I never want to bother with 4th Doctor Stories that are not from him(and yes I know there's not very many). I really believe this gets funnier as it goes, but it has its moments throughout. I cannot wait to dive into the next Adams story I have waiting for me.
lilly_haferkamp's review against another edition
3.0
Spent a pleasurable time reading this Dr. Who Story based on Douglas Adams. Quite lovely but originally made for tv and I think it is better to watch than to read.
elizafiedler's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
littlepanda's review against another edition
3.0
It was good don’t get me wrong but my rating won’t go over three stars because as much as it was good it was also mighty confusing… I don’t like to feel like I am struggling against a book and this is what a third of the book felt like. Even if the entire plot was great the way to get there felt like Indiana Jones roller coaster at Disneyland, start with a headache ends with a great feeling.
Full review:
littlepandareads.wordpress.com
Full review:
littlepandareads.wordpress.com
prompted_ink's review against another edition
5.0
Jon Culshaw does a flawless Tom Baker impression in Dead Ringers. It's still on full-form in the audiobook adaptation of The Pirate Planet, first written for television by Douglas Adams then novelized by James Goss.
The book itself is worth it. While it differs significantly from the televised serial, the result derives from Douglas's old notes and drafts Goss had access to while writing this book. I would say this is the closest thing to an author's preferred text that we will get and it's just that good. Culshaw's impersonations make it even better.
The book itself is worth it. While it differs significantly from the televised serial, the result derives from Douglas's old notes and drafts Goss had access to while writing this book. I would say this is the closest thing to an author's preferred text that we will get and it's just that good. Culshaw's impersonations make it even better.
mick_travel's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
dbrooklyn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
One of Douglas Adam's story contributions to Doctor Who, in the Tom Baker era. The Doctor's and Romana's characters shine through, and he shaped Romana's character profoundly in her second story. Some of the big ideas and all the humour Adams added to the story are present, this is well worth a read for fans of this era of the show
iphigenie72's review against another edition
4.0
I came to this as fresh as can be if you have seen this serial, I saw it for the last time more than 10 years ago; I know I've seen it because I saw the key arc in chronological order at the time.
This book takes more than one sources of Douglas Adams' material as it is explained by James Goss at the end in a nice afterword; I always find it fascinating to know how things became what we know. The first draft is a more complex than the broadcast episodes ever could be, the budget of imagination knows no bound, 1970s television had its limitation in budget and other matters; even the rehearsal draft seems to have a lot more going for it than the final product for television.
The story starts this way: in their search for a segment of the key of time, the Doctor, Romana and K-9 arrive on Calufrax, or do they? It seems the TARDIS has again gone haywire even though it has that nifty new gadget to track down the segments... What is wrong: how come everything says they are on Calufrax and yet they are on Zanak?
I think the title of the piece gives away what is really going on... and I'm thinking the majority of the readers interested in this book will have seen the serial beforehand. I would recommend not seeing the serial just before reading the book though, it gives you a chance of reinventing the Captain and the different characters.
Like I said earlier, this story is more complex than the episodes: Romana's subplot of the rebel army if full fledged, K-9 has is own story (I'm thinking Douglas Adams really loved him too because he made him funny and even more resourceful that we know him to be normally), the Mourners (Mentiads in the broadcasted serials) are interesting and their background is explored plus they are important members of the team, the Captain can be quite scary... there's so much there and yet the bare bones are still very recognizable.
I think James Goss did a very good job incorporating the different ideas that were not used or had to be scissored; he did a good job with hints from our current world and they did not jar in the story. Douglas - if it were possible... - might have rewritten this in a lot of places (or not) and that's the prerogative of a creator; but I sincerely believe he would have liked this book and be proud of it.
This book takes more than one sources of Douglas Adams' material as it is explained by James Goss at the end in a nice afterword; I always find it fascinating to know how things became what we know. The first draft is a more complex than the broadcast episodes ever could be, the budget of imagination knows no bound, 1970s television had its limitation in budget and other matters; even the rehearsal draft seems to have a lot more going for it than the final product for television.
The story starts this way: in their search for a segment of the key of time, the Doctor, Romana and K-9 arrive on Calufrax, or do they? It seems the TARDIS has again gone haywire even though it has that nifty new gadget to track down the segments... What is wrong: how come everything says they are on Calufrax and yet they are on Zanak?
I think the title of the piece gives away what is really going on... and I'm thinking the majority of the readers interested in this book will have seen the serial beforehand. I would recommend not seeing the serial just before reading the book though, it gives you a chance of reinventing the Captain and the different characters.
Like I said earlier, this story is more complex than the episodes: Romana's subplot of the rebel army if full fledged, K-9 has is own story (I'm thinking Douglas Adams really loved him too because he made him funny and even more resourceful that we know him to be normally), the Mourners (Mentiads in the broadcasted serials) are interesting and their background is explored plus they are important members of the team, the Captain can be quite scary... there's so much there and yet the bare bones are still very recognizable.
I think James Goss did a very good job incorporating the different ideas that were not used or had to be scissored; he did a good job with hints from our current world and they did not jar in the story. Douglas - if it were possible... - might have rewritten this in a lot of places (or not) and that's the prerogative of a creator; but I sincerely believe he would have liked this book and be proud of it.
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2784594.html
As my regular reader knows, I rate James Goss as possibly the best regular writer of prose for Who at present. Here he follows on from the success of his novelisation of City of Death to tackle the missing book from the Key to Time series. And it's great, turning a somewhat problematic and wobbly screen story into a rather well developed narrative, filling background, foreground, and much else. The Doctor/Romana banter remains, cranked up a bit if anything; even K9 gets some good moments, plaintively calling "¿ɹǝʇsɐW" after lading upside down at one point. The Captain, the Queen and Mr Fibuli, who are all of course cartooney characters, none the less get a bit more depth and dimensionality in this treatment, and the Mentiads, renamed Mourners, make a lot more sense on the page than on the screen.
For a bonus we get the original story treatment by Adams, where the nature of the planet and the character of Romana had not yet fully evolved, and his thoughts on the Key to Time (which end with the hand-written word "Mice") - a lot more insight into story development usual. And there are some interesting hints about the true identity of the so-called White Guardian.
As my regular reader knows, I rate James Goss as possibly the best regular writer of prose for Who at present. Here he follows on from the success of his novelisation of City of Death to tackle the missing book from the Key to Time series. And it's great, turning a somewhat problematic and wobbly screen story into a rather well developed narrative, filling background, foreground, and much else. The Doctor/Romana banter remains, cranked up a bit if anything; even K9 gets some good moments, plaintively calling "¿ɹǝʇsɐW" after lading upside down at one point. The Captain, the Queen and Mr Fibuli, who are all of course cartooney characters, none the less get a bit more depth and dimensionality in this treatment, and the Mentiads, renamed Mourners, make a lot more sense on the page than on the screen.
For a bonus we get the original story treatment by Adams, where the nature of the planet and the character of Romana had not yet fully evolved, and his thoughts on the Key to Time (which end with the hand-written word "Mice") - a lot more insight into story development usual. And there are some interesting hints about the true identity of the so-called White Guardian.