scampr's review
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
3.0
This isn't a bad story, but I don't know if I'd call it good either, it's just very strange.
First of all, the pairing of the 2nd Doctor with just Ben and Polly is incredibly odd. Some of the more brief Doctor/Companion dynamics from the show's history are really great when expanded on - 5 and Peri come to mind - but this is not one I think works well, or one that people were particularly desperate for either.
It feels somewhat like the writer knows this as well, as I'm half convinced that this story was written with Jamie and others in minds but changed later to accommodate certain aspects of the plot. For most of the story the Doctor is paired up with Ben while Polly is frequently split off with other parts of the plot.
Despite the incohesive Tardis team, the Doctor himself is still quite enjoyable here.
Regardless of my issues with the main characters, the story is just plain weird, and similarly incohesive. I can see where the ideas might've connected/came from but there's far too many at play, including mid 20th century Hollywood, high society cults, murder investigations, drug mobs and paranormal/alien occurrences. This also leads to some very jarring themes/tones, whether it be be spooky, bombastic and glamorous, silly, noir detective stuff, high concept sci-fi, or ten other things. Whenever I felt I had just gotten a grip on what the story was trying to be, something else was thrown into the mix or things changed direction. I definitely enjoyed certain moments and ideas, but this novel is somehow less than the sum of its parts.
First of all, the pairing of the 2nd Doctor with just Ben and Polly is incredibly odd. Some of the more brief Doctor/Companion dynamics from the show's history are really great when expanded on - 5 and Peri come to mind - but this is not one I think works well, or one that people were particularly desperate for either.
It feels somewhat like the writer knows this as well, as I'm half convinced that this story was written with Jamie and others in minds but changed later to accommodate certain aspects of the plot. For most of the story the Doctor is paired up with Ben while Polly is frequently split off with other parts of the plot.
Despite the incohesive Tardis team, the Doctor himself is still quite enjoyable here.
Regardless of my issues with the main characters, the story is just plain weird, and similarly incohesive. I can see where the ideas might've connected/came from but there's far too many at play, including mid 20th century Hollywood, high society cults, murder investigations, drug mobs and paranormal/alien occurrences. This also leads to some very jarring themes/tones, whether it be be spooky, bombastic and glamorous, silly, noir detective stuff, high concept sci-fi, or ten other things. Whenever I felt I had just gotten a grip on what the story was trying to be, something else was thrown into the mix or things changed direction. I definitely enjoyed certain moments and ideas, but this novel is somehow less than the sum of its parts.
frakalot's review
3.0
You can tell from the blurb that this is going to be an outlandish plot, the idea reminds me of some original series Tomorrow People episodes. I didn't think this was a great book but it had some good moments and The Doctor is spot on. Polly and Ben aren't as familiar but aren't too bad.
The Doctor is one step ahead throughout, of course, but kudos to the author for giving Polly the part of explaining things to The Doctor near the end. However, De Sande's kissing rampage is decidedly creepy so whatever the opposite of kudos is for that.
The Doctor is one step ahead throughout, of course, but kudos to the author for giving Polly the part of explaining things to The Doctor near the end. However, De Sande's kissing rampage is decidedly creepy so whatever the opposite of kudos is for that.
nwhyte's review
1.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1956469.html
Another Second Doctor novel featuring Ben and Polly (no less than five spinoff books are set between The Power of the Daleks and The Highlanders, if you count a Telos novella and an annual). Although there is an interesting idea here of alien intelligences infesting the movie industry (done better than in Pratchett's Moving Pictures, though this really isn't saying much), it is let down badly by the writer's failure to get American idiom at all accurately and by some ludicrous plot points - at one point a murder suspect outwits two policemen guarding his home to smuggle a corpse inside, for instance. And poor Polly gets possessed / hypnotised yet again.
Another Second Doctor novel featuring Ben and Polly (no less than five spinoff books are set between The Power of the Daleks and The Highlanders, if you count a Telos novella and an annual). Although there is an interesting idea here of alien intelligences infesting the movie industry (done better than in Pratchett's Moving Pictures, though this really isn't saying much), it is let down badly by the writer's failure to get American idiom at all accurately and by some ludicrous plot points - at one point a murder suspect outwits two policemen guarding his home to smuggle a corpse inside, for instance. And poor Polly gets possessed / hypnotised yet again.
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