fullfledgedegg's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
scampr's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I'm a sucker for alternate timeline scenarios, and this story is a pretty thorough delve into the premise of "what if the Silurians were victorious and reclaimed the planet?"
The result is a distinctly bleak and violent story of the remaining human survivors in their desperate efforts to fight back. The worldbuilding and action was honestly my least favourite part of this story, as it's all pretty much what you'd expect for such a drastic timeline change. The real strengths are in the characters and their moral and emotional perspectives of the their conflict and world. This story almost becomes too much at times, but there is just enough "Doctor Who-iness" to make the darker tone work.
The result is a distinctly bleak and violent story of the remaining human survivors in their desperate efforts to fight back. The worldbuilding and action was honestly my least favourite part of this story, as it's all pretty much what you'd expect for such a drastic timeline change. The real strengths are in the characters and their moral and emotional perspectives of the their conflict and world. This story almost becomes too much at times, but there is just enough "Doctor Who-iness" to make the darker tone work.
nwhyte's review
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1713327.html
What if the Silurians had killed the Third Doctor in the 1970s and taken over the earth, leaving the Brigadier and Liz Shaw as leaders of a hunted and dwindling human resistance? Jim Mortimore brings the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Benny to a parallel universe to find out. It was particularly interesting to read it soon after listening to a slightly different alternate timeline for Liz (The Sentinels of The New Dawn) and also the Ace-in-devastated-England stories, Project: Destiny and A Death in the Family, which Big Finish did last year. Mortimore writes engagingly and I kept turning the pages, but I was not totally convinced by some of the details - the use of the Tardis to sort things out at the end, or the Jo Grant time line, or the plausibility of two decades of human resistance (including a functioning nuclear submarine). Still, a pleasing read, with the ending setting up (I suppose) a story arc for the next few novels.
What if the Silurians had killed the Third Doctor in the 1970s and taken over the earth, leaving the Brigadier and Liz Shaw as leaders of a hunted and dwindling human resistance? Jim Mortimore brings the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Benny to a parallel universe to find out. It was particularly interesting to read it soon after listening to a slightly different alternate timeline for Liz (The Sentinels of The New Dawn) and also the Ace-in-devastated-England stories, Project: Destiny and A Death in the Family, which Big Finish did last year. Mortimore writes engagingly and I kept turning the pages, but I was not totally convinced by some of the details - the use of the Tardis to sort things out at the end, or the Jo Grant time line, or the plausibility of two decades of human resistance (including a functioning nuclear submarine). Still, a pleasing read, with the ending setting up (I suppose) a story arc for the next few novels.
nukirisame's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
markk's review
2.0
I sought out this Doctor Who novel in the Virgin New Adventures line after enjoying [b:The Face of the Enemy|882838|Doctor Who The Face of the Enemy|David A. McIntee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507472009s/882838.jpg|868115] and [b:The Time Travellers|74472|Doctor Who The Time Travellers|Simon Guerrier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387743133s/74472.jpg|72030] in the Past Doctor Adventures series, the plots of both of which also involved alternate timelines in the Who universe. It was my first VNA novel, and unfortunately it will probably be the last, as it just wasn't as good as the PDA books I've read. Part of this may be attributable to elements unique to Jim Mortimore’s writing, or perhaps to the fact that I just didn’t warm to the characters of Bernice Summerfield and the more warrior-like Ace in the VNAs. Or perhaps it was because the story wasn't resolved within the novel, as the events in it proved part of some overarching contest between the Doctor and some unnamed Big Bad whom he would face again in the next novel. But with so many Doctor Who novels out there to choose from and only a finite amount of time available to read, I think I will invest it in other series that seem truer to what it is I enjoy most in a Doctor Who novel.
hammard's review
5.0
This was one of the first VNAs I ever read (I can't remember if it was the very first but was in a bulk lot I got) and continue to be very impressed with it. This is still very fannish as a lot of the early ones are but for good narrative purposes. This is more or less the setup for Turn Left, where an outside force creates an alternative timeline where The Doctor died. However, in Blood Heat the turning point is from the Third Doctor era, and The Seventh Doctor, Benny and Ace arrive in it decades later. It manages to be horrifying and tense but also has quiet philosophical moments.
My main issue I recall from my first reading was the level of tension in the TARDIS team but on this reading it feels less prominent and fits with the ongoing arcs.
My main issue I recall from my first reading was the level of tension in the TARDIS team but on this reading it feels less prominent and fits with the ongoing arcs.
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