gingerreader99's review against another edition
4.0
I'm going to give it the 4 star. Though I feel like it fits somewhere between 3.5 and 4. It's an amazing story, hilarious , over the top. Made me laugh out loud even, but oh my was it hard to follow at times and slightly confusing and it was so much to take in that one could almost forget what actually happens at the beginning of the story in relation to the end. All in all though. Still a worthwhile read that once I was into it I could not put down.
elizafiedler's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
prompted_ink's review against another edition
5.0
If you're familiar with Life, the Universe, and Everything, most of the material in Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen is nothing new. Lords Cricket Ground, the concept of Slow Time and the Wicket Gate, Hactar, and of course the Krikkitmen are all there in this new retelling, but James Goss does what he does best as seen with his City of Death and Pirate Planet novelizations.
These old serials from 1970s Doctor Who, remastered and adapted into books, get a new lease on life when James Goss is at the helm. The same thing could also be said of Gareth Roberts's retelling of Shada, but then again I'm biased. It's Douglas Adams.
Whether you're a fan of the late Douglas or a Whovian, I would still recommend this book. For the latter, you get a story written by a talented novelist who is very much connected to the time lord and the universe he travels. For the former, you get that and so much more. If you're already familiar with the history of the Krikkitmen via Neil Gaiman's Don't Panic or Jem Roberts's The Frood, this book expands on that with new documents Goss unearthed from the Douglas Adams archives at Cambridge.
Of course, you also get the story of the Kirkkitmen as close to how Douglas would have wanted it. Plus, there's Romana and K-9. Always a sign of a fun romp and a good Doctor Who story.
These old serials from 1970s Doctor Who, remastered and adapted into books, get a new lease on life when James Goss is at the helm. The same thing could also be said of Gareth Roberts's retelling of Shada, but then again I'm biased. It's Douglas Adams.
Whether you're a fan of the late Douglas or a Whovian, I would still recommend this book. For the latter, you get a story written by a talented novelist who is very much connected to the time lord and the universe he travels. For the former, you get that and so much more. If you're already familiar with the history of the Krikkitmen via Neil Gaiman's Don't Panic or Jem Roberts's The Frood, this book expands on that with new documents Goss unearthed from the Douglas Adams archives at Cambridge.
Of course, you also get the story of the Kirkkitmen as close to how Douglas would have wanted it. Plus, there's Romana and K-9. Always a sign of a fun romp and a good Doctor Who story.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review against another edition
4.0
I must confess, the overriding feeling that I felt reading this book was just how much I miss Douglas Adams. No, I never met him, but his Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency series had a huge impact on me and not a day goes by when I don't make a reference to one or the other. I think James Goss did a marvellous job at conveying the story in Adams' style. At the back of this book is Adams' complete Treatment for his proposed film/TV episode that never happened. It was from this, and some other material, that Goss wrote this book. It's quite impressive as to how little Goss had to do, so much material was already there.
For those familiar with Adams' works, this story may well resonate as some of its plot points were later used in Life, the Universe and Everything, book three of THGTTG. However, although there are some unmistakable similarities, this is a very different story and particularly fitting for a Tom Baker Doctor Who. That being said, despite a very strong first act, this story does fall into the trap that many Doctor Who stories do (and Douglas Adams' stories for that matter) and got a bit woolly towards the end.
This was a story that knew what it was, and where it came from. It wasn't afraid to have fun with the franchise and never took itself seriously.
As already mentioned, the back of the book holds some extra material in the appendices. There's a summary of how Douglas Adams' story nearly came to the big screen. His complete Treatment (featuring a different companion called Jane), and an alternate first chapter with an older Sarah-Jane Smith as the companion having finally been reunited with the same Doctor that abandoned her in Edinburg all those years ago.
For those familiar with Adams' works, this story may well resonate as some of its plot points were later used in Life, the Universe and Everything, book three of THGTTG. However, although there are some unmistakable similarities, this is a very different story and particularly fitting for a Tom Baker Doctor Who. That being said, despite a very strong first act, this story does fall into the trap that many Doctor Who stories do (and Douglas Adams' stories for that matter) and got a bit woolly towards the end.
This was a story that knew what it was, and where it came from. It wasn't afraid to have fun with the franchise and never took itself seriously.
As already mentioned, the back of the book holds some extra material in the appendices. There's a summary of how Douglas Adams' story nearly came to the big screen. His complete Treatment (featuring a different companion called Jane), and an alternate first chapter with an older Sarah-Jane Smith as the companion having finally been reunited with the same Doctor that abandoned her in Edinburg all those years ago.
echrisindy's review against another edition
5.0
Almost more Douglas Adams than Douglas Adams! Cover to cover over-over-the-top fun!
kayakobold's review against another edition
3.0
Douglas Adams Buch 5 Sterne, aber als Dr Who... Bin ich nicht so überzeugt
mick_travel's review
adventurous
funny
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? No
5.0
nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2968930.html
This is surely the last of the unpublished Douglas Adams scripts to surface. Back in 1976, Adams had actually submitted a story outline to Robert Holmes involving warlike aliens with a peculiar connection to cricket - this in itself was surely inspired by "Volcano", the seventh episode of one of my very favourite stories, the epic Daleks' Master Plan, broadcast on New Year's Day 1966, in which the TARDIS, pursued by Daleks, materialises at Lord's during a cricket match.
Douglas Adams fans will at this point be shifting uncomfortably and muttering that this whole plot was basically recycled into the third Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy book, Life, The Universe and Everything, published in 1982 (also available as an audio play recorded in 2003, featuring a posthumous appearance by Douglas Adams). And that's basically right. The two stories share the vicious Krikkitmen, whose planet is trapped in a timewarp, and who are seeking to restore a cosmically important artifact which is shaped like a wicket and has five parts scattered through the cosmos. (That last bit will also be familiar to Who fans from the Key to Time.) So, given that James Goss is trying to channel the spirit of Douglas Adams in rewriting a Doctor Who story that Adams himself had already rewritten, is there really any point?
Actually, yes. It works rather well. Goss has updated Adams' original Fourth Doctor/Sarah concept to include instead the second Romana and K-9, which effectively sets the story around the same era as City of Death, also of course recently novelised. And he takes Adams' core concepts and runs with them in a different direction, while remaining aligned with the story's original core. In particular, he has paid a bit more internal homage to the continuity of the Time Lords and Gallifrey than Adams was interested in doing, which does make it knit more easily into the Whoniverse. The one scene that doesn't work particularly well is the early passage of the Krikkitmen's massacre at Lords; massacres are not terribly funny, and Goss doesn't really try to make this one funny either, but it therefore falls rather flat. However, it's possible to blame Adams at least as much for that misfire. After that, we go to interesting places, on an enjoyable and yet slightly terrifying journey.
This isn't the best Goss or Adams story, and to be honest I would probably have enjoyed it more if I cared even slightly about cricket (which I don't). But it's well worth a look even for non-completists.
This is surely the last of the unpublished Douglas Adams scripts to surface. Back in 1976, Adams had actually submitted a story outline to Robert Holmes involving warlike aliens with a peculiar connection to cricket - this in itself was surely inspired by "Volcano", the seventh episode of one of my very favourite stories, the epic Daleks' Master Plan, broadcast on New Year's Day 1966, in which the TARDIS, pursued by Daleks, materialises at Lord's during a cricket match.
Douglas Adams fans will at this point be shifting uncomfortably and muttering that this whole plot was basically recycled into the third Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy book, Life, The Universe and Everything, published in 1982 (also available as an audio play recorded in 2003, featuring a posthumous appearance by Douglas Adams). And that's basically right. The two stories share the vicious Krikkitmen, whose planet is trapped in a timewarp, and who are seeking to restore a cosmically important artifact which is shaped like a wicket and has five parts scattered through the cosmos. (That last bit will also be familiar to Who fans from the Key to Time.) So, given that James Goss is trying to channel the spirit of Douglas Adams in rewriting a Doctor Who story that Adams himself had already rewritten, is there really any point?
Actually, yes. It works rather well. Goss has updated Adams' original Fourth Doctor/Sarah concept to include instead the second Romana and K-9, which effectively sets the story around the same era as City of Death, also of course recently novelised. And he takes Adams' core concepts and runs with them in a different direction, while remaining aligned with the story's original core. In particular, he has paid a bit more internal homage to the continuity of the Time Lords and Gallifrey than Adams was interested in doing, which does make it knit more easily into the Whoniverse. The one scene that doesn't work particularly well is the early passage of the Krikkitmen's massacre at Lords; massacres are not terribly funny, and Goss doesn't really try to make this one funny either, but it therefore falls rather flat. However, it's possible to blame Adams at least as much for that misfire. After that, we go to interesting places, on an enjoyable and yet slightly terrifying journey.
This isn't the best Goss or Adams story, and to be honest I would probably have enjoyed it more if I cared even slightly about cricket (which I don't). But it's well worth a look even for non-completists.
happysami's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really interesting look into what could have been! It worked so well as a Doctor Who story, though obviously it also worked great with Hitchhiker's Guide.
ellen_mellor's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
4.0
A fun romp through time and space that takes the same basic shape as Life, The Universe and Everything and weaves a different route through the narrative.
Goss does a good Adams impression and the whole thing hums along.
I very much appreciated that Chapter 42 was called The Meaning of Life.
Goss does a good Adams impression and the whole thing hums along.
I very much appreciated that Chapter 42 was called The Meaning of Life.