gingerreader99's review against another edition
5.0
A fitting end to my goal of 50 books this year! For a Target novel this is packed full of action in it's pages and my appreciation of the 7th Doctor continues to grow! (He may be in competition for my favorite at this point!)
That said, anyone who knows me well enough knows I enjoy British history and myth like King Arthur (see my review of Bernard Cromwell's first Arthur book or his The Last Kingdom books). This story was exciting and fitting as it turned that original myth on its head. Of course it's no surprise who Merlin is/was/will be, who else would it be? Special shoutout to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who apparently does not believe in retirement.
Seriously this Target novel has everything you need and is likely one of the most exciting I have had the chance to read.
That said, anyone who knows me well enough knows I enjoy British history and myth like King Arthur (see my review of Bernard Cromwell's first Arthur book or his The Last Kingdom books). This story was exciting and fitting as it turned that original myth on its head. Of course it's no surprise who Merlin is/was/will be, who else would it be? Special shoutout to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who apparently does not believe in retirement.
Seriously this Target novel has everything you need and is likely one of the most exciting I have had the chance to read.
lokster71's review against another edition
3.0
Firstly, it is a shame that Ben Aaronovitch didn't novelise his own story as it would have been interesting to see how he saw the story before the BBC got to it. However, I think Marc Platt does a fine job.
He does what I like about a lot of the later Target novelisations. He expands on parts of the story, filling in gaps and adding depth to it. For example, we get a description of the future incarnation of the Doctor that will be Merlin. Characters like Brigadier Bambera get better, more detailed introductions and still the story gets told.
Basically, Battlefield is the story of the final battle between Morgaine, her son Mordred and Merlin, who might be the Doctor. They've come to find Arthur, who legend tells us is resting until Britain's greatest need. Except these people come from a parallel world. Where, in the reverse of Clarke's law, a sufficiently advanced form of magic is indistinguishable from technology. It's a world of knights and honour. Of magic and demons. It is a bit of an odd fit for Doctor Who but it just about seems to work.
We get to see the Doctor's old friend Brigadier Alexander Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who himself feels like a visitor from an older world. The Brigadier was always cannier than the Doctor thought. A bit smarter too and that Brigadier is the one that pops up in this book, which I like. He also gets his best moment in my opinion, when he takes on the Destroyer.
This is also a story about nuclear weapons. Both literally and figuratively. There is a real one, which UNIT are trying to deal with and the Destroyer. I suspect named because of Oppenheimer's famous quote at the first successful test of an atomic bomb: "I have become death, destroyer of worlds." It seems like a story of its time. Now perhaps climate change - which gets a nod in the novelisation - would be the more likely focus.
Oh, and the other thing I like is the way it makes UNIT seem like a proper massive military organisation.
Enjoyed that.
He does what I like about a lot of the later Target novelisations. He expands on parts of the story, filling in gaps and adding depth to it. For example, we get a description of the future incarnation of the Doctor that will be Merlin. Characters like Brigadier Bambera get better, more detailed introductions and still the story gets told.
Basically, Battlefield is the story of the final battle between Morgaine, her son Mordred and Merlin, who might be the Doctor. They've come to find Arthur, who legend tells us is resting until Britain's greatest need. Except these people come from a parallel world. Where, in the reverse of Clarke's law, a sufficiently advanced form of magic is indistinguishable from technology. It's a world of knights and honour. Of magic and demons. It is a bit of an odd fit for Doctor Who but it just about seems to work.
We get to see the Doctor's old friend Brigadier Alexander Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who himself feels like a visitor from an older world. The Brigadier was always cannier than the Doctor thought. A bit smarter too and that Brigadier is the one that pops up in this book, which I like. He also gets his best moment in my opinion, when he takes on the Destroyer.
This is also a story about nuclear weapons. Both literally and figuratively. There is a real one, which UNIT are trying to deal with and the Destroyer. I suspect named because of Oppenheimer's famous quote at the first successful test of an atomic bomb: "I have become death, destroyer of worlds." It seems like a story of its time. Now perhaps climate change - which gets a nod in the novelisation - would be the more likely focus.
Oh, and the other thing I like is the way it makes UNIT seem like a proper massive military organisation.
Enjoyed that.
nwhyte's review
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1081346.html#cutid1[return][return]I'm not the greatest fan of Ben Aaronovitch, who wrote the original script, but Platt has taken the story and makes it work really well on paper. It makes you realise just how much of the TV version's problems were down to poor direction, bad music and lousy acting. We get some lovely back-story for the Brigadier and Doris; we get just enough explanation for the Doctor being Merlin to leave room for further speculation without just being stupid; we get the Bambera/Ancelyn relationship decently treated as well. Interestingly Platt has broken the story up into four parts which more or less coincide with the episodes as broadcast, the only novelisation where I remember this being done.[return][return]An easy pass for the Bechdel test, with Ace and Shou Youing defending each other against the forces of darkness (in the book, we are not distracted by their awful acting).
sshabein's review
4.0
A really solid Doctor Who tale made imaginatively better because I know my gal Jean Marsh plays Morgaine in the televised version. I read this aloud to my 9 year old son, a few pages at a time most nights, and we both enjoyed it.
lokster71's review
3.0
Firstly, it is a shame that Ben Aaronovitch didn't novelise his own story as it would have been interesting to see how he saw the story before the BBC got to it. However, I think Marc Platt does a fine job.
He does what I like about a lot of the later Target novelisations. He expands on parts of the story, filling in gaps and adding depth to it. For example, we get a description of the future incarnation of the Doctor that will be Merlin. Characters like Brigadier Bambera get better, more detailed introductions and still the story gets told.
Basically, Battlefield is the story of the final battle between Morgaine, her son Mordred and Merlin, who might be the Doctor. They've come to find Arthur, who legend tells us is resting until Britain's greatest need. Except these people come from a parallel world. Where, in the reverse of Clarke's law, a sufficiently advanced form of magic is indistinguishable from technology. It's a world of knights and honour. Of magic and demons. It is a bit of an odd fit for Doctor Who but it just about seems to work.
We get to see the Doctor's old friend Brigadier Alexander Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who himself feels like a visitor from an older world. The Brigadier was always cannier than the Doctor thought. A bit smarter too and that Brigadier is the one that pops up in this book, which I like. He also gets his best moment in my opinion, when he takes on the Destroyer.
This is also a story about nuclear weapons. Both literally and figuratively. There is a real one, which UNIT are trying to deal with and the Destroyer. I suspect named because of Oppenheimer's famous quote at the first successful test of an atomic bomb: "I have become death, destroyer of worlds." It seems like a story of its time. Now perhaps climate change - which gets a nod in the novelisation - would be the more likely focus.
Oh, and the other thing I like is the way it makes UNIT seem like a proper massive military organisation.
Enjoyed that.
He does what I like about a lot of the later Target novelisations. He expands on parts of the story, filling in gaps and adding depth to it. For example, we get a description of the future incarnation of the Doctor that will be Merlin. Characters like Brigadier Bambera get better, more detailed introductions and still the story gets told.
Basically, Battlefield is the story of the final battle between Morgaine, her son Mordred and Merlin, who might be the Doctor. They've come to find Arthur, who legend tells us is resting until Britain's greatest need. Except these people come from a parallel world. Where, in the reverse of Clarke's law, a sufficiently advanced form of magic is indistinguishable from technology. It's a world of knights and honour. Of magic and demons. It is a bit of an odd fit for Doctor Who but it just about seems to work.
We get to see the Doctor's old friend Brigadier Alexander Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who himself feels like a visitor from an older world. The Brigadier was always cannier than the Doctor thought. A bit smarter too and that Brigadier is the one that pops up in this book, which I like. He also gets his best moment in my opinion, when he takes on the Destroyer.
This is also a story about nuclear weapons. Both literally and figuratively. There is a real one, which UNIT are trying to deal with and the Destroyer. I suspect named because of Oppenheimer's famous quote at the first successful test of an atomic bomb: "I have become death, destroyer of worlds." It seems like a story of its time. Now perhaps climate change - which gets a nod in the novelisation - would be the more likely focus.
Oh, and the other thing I like is the way it makes UNIT seem like a proper massive military organisation.
Enjoyed that.
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