cicadacryptid's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Pacing issues are awful.
nwhyte's review against another edition
2.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1835481.html
This was the first of the BBC Past Doctor Adventure novels, from 1997, featuring the Third Doctor and Liz Shaw with the core UNIT team of the Brigadier, Benton and Mike Yates. It has its moments, particularly in injecting a past history to the Brigadier and Benton and attributing (separate) sex lives to Liz and Yates. But there's a lot of Stuff here, some of which works OK - Chancellor Goth was responsible for sending the Doctor to Peladon, apparently - and some of which doesn't - the convoluted international back-story to UNIT, the fifth Beatle, the aliens of the title. I suppose it catches the spirit of the very early Pertwee shows quite well, but this isn't necessarily an entirely good thing.
This was the first of the BBC Past Doctor Adventure novels, from 1997, featuring the Third Doctor and Liz Shaw with the core UNIT team of the Brigadier, Benton and Mike Yates. It has its moments, particularly in injecting a past history to the Brigadier and Benton and attributing (separate) sex lives to Liz and Yates. But there's a lot of Stuff here, some of which works OK - Chancellor Goth was responsible for sending the Doctor to Peladon, apparently - and some of which doesn't - the convoluted international back-story to UNIT, the fifth Beatle, the aliens of the title. I suppose it catches the spirit of the very early Pertwee shows quite well, but this isn't necessarily an entirely good thing.
count_zero's review against another edition
This book is so desperate to show you how 70s it is, that it can't stop ramming it down your throat. Between a bunch of poorly executed references to various 70s prog rock
bands, and shoehorned in drug use (of hallucinogens, naturally), the book loses any sense of being a 3rd Doctor story.
bands, and shoehorned in drug use (of hallucinogens, naturally), the book loses any sense of being a 3rd Doctor story.
bookswithike's review
3.0
Hippies see strange lights in the sky at a concert, and some people are found dead nearby. The Doctor and Liz investigate. Meanwhile the Brigadier discovers corruption at the very heart of UNIT.
The first six parts of this story were absolutely incredible. It was fast-paced and followed intriguing mysteries and characters that developed naturally as time went on. So I don't understand how the ending dropped the ball so spectacularly. The final part was rushed and unearned, and wrapped up in a stupid, very un-Doctor Who-like way. The solution to the mystery of UNIT's corruption was the most boring possibility imaginable.
The aliens - the eponymous "devil goblins" - were in some ways great, and others terrible. What was great about them was their overall designs and their technology, which were really unique and fun, and made for some great opportunities for action or horror scenes in the book. What sucked about them was their personality - they were literally just naturally evil and aggressive. They had no actual motivations besides being hateful. Like, that's the daleks' thing. Be more original, Topping and Day. Also their feud with the other aliens in the story was never explained.
Most of the characters were great. Every one of the main characters from the show got something to do, even Yates and Benton. Though they tried to turn Yates into a chauvinistic womaniser, which was really weird and didn't fit with the show portrayal at all. The other weak link was Liz Shaw, which was very disappointing. As with Scales of Injustice before it, Devil Goblins attempts to give a send-off to Liz, and at the same time explore the personal lives of her and the Brigadier. I think the writers just got so focused on the Brig's story (which was great) that they completely forgot to develop Liz. Her friends are flat, one-dimensional characters, and beyond being a useful scientist, she doesn't have much of an impact on the story. As a result of this, her exit at the end of the story feels totally unearned and shoehorned in. As a contrast to this, the book does a deep dive into the Brigadier having PTSD, and, in my opinion, handled it incredibly.
The book's original characters, for the most part, were also very good. While they aren't exactly deep or complex, they are all fun, thoroughly entertaining characters, with believable motivations and personalities. Except Viscount Rose. He was a very intimidating and powerful character, but they failed to properly explain what his deal was.
But there is one major character who is just poorly handled in every respect. Thomas Bruce, as a character, makes no sense. He's an arrogant jackass who the writers tried to make sympathetic at the end by adding in a sad backstory that wasn't even remotely set up or foreshadowed. This just added to how unearned the ending was.
The prose itself was great, with brilliant action, suspense and mystery-building. The strongest parts were the horror sections, and there were some very unsettlingly scenes with a great atmosphere to them. There were also some really nice quiet moments, particularly with the Doctor himself. I also liked the interludes, which provided little snapshots of things going on elsewhere, following characters outside the main cast who weren't strictly relevant to the story, but provided a canvas on which to show the wider picture of what exactly was going on.
Overall it was a pretty average story, but managed to be extremely disappointing, due to the very promising set-up and poor pay-off.
The first six parts of this story were absolutely incredible. It was fast-paced and followed intriguing mysteries and characters that developed naturally as time went on. So I don't understand how the ending dropped the ball so spectacularly. The final part was rushed and unearned, and wrapped up in a stupid, very un-Doctor Who-like way. The solution to the mystery of UNIT's corruption was the most boring possibility imaginable.
The aliens - the eponymous "devil goblins" - were in some ways great, and others terrible. What was great about them was their overall designs and their technology, which were really unique and fun, and made for some great opportunities for action or horror scenes in the book. What sucked about them was their personality - they were literally just naturally evil and aggressive. They had no actual motivations besides being hateful. Like, that's the daleks' thing. Be more original, Topping and Day. Also their feud with the other aliens in the story was never explained.
Most of the characters were great. Every one of the main characters from the show got something to do, even Yates and Benton. Though they tried to turn Yates into a chauvinistic womaniser, which was really weird and didn't fit with the show portrayal at all. The other weak link was Liz Shaw, which was very disappointing. As with Scales of Injustice before it, Devil Goblins attempts to give a send-off to Liz, and at the same time explore the personal lives of her and the Brigadier. I think the writers just got so focused on the Brig's story (which was great) that they completely forgot to develop Liz. Her friends are flat, one-dimensional characters, and beyond being a useful scientist, she doesn't have much of an impact on the story. As a result of this, her exit at the end of the story feels totally unearned and shoehorned in. As a contrast to this, the book does a deep dive into the Brigadier having PTSD, and, in my opinion, handled it incredibly.
The book's original characters, for the most part, were also very good. While they aren't exactly deep or complex, they are all fun, thoroughly entertaining characters, with believable motivations and personalities. Except Viscount Rose. He was a very intimidating and powerful character, but they failed to properly explain what his deal was.
But there is one major character who is just poorly handled in every respect. Thomas Bruce, as a character, makes no sense. He's an arrogant jackass who the writers tried to make sympathetic at the end by adding in a sad backstory that wasn't even remotely set up or foreshadowed. This just added to how unearned the ending was.
The prose itself was great, with brilliant action, suspense and mystery-building. The strongest parts were the horror sections, and there were some very unsettlingly scenes with a great atmosphere to them. There were also some really nice quiet moments, particularly with the Doctor himself. I also liked the interludes, which provided little snapshots of things going on elsewhere, following characters outside the main cast who weren't strictly relevant to the story, but provided a canvas on which to show the wider picture of what exactly was going on.
Overall it was a pretty average story, but managed to be extremely disappointing, due to the very promising set-up and poor pay-off.
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