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condalmo's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Reread it to get ready for the 60th anniversary specials. It's a decent read, light on the Doctor and heavy on the companions, who are not particularly likeable. Wibbly wobbly Squid Gamey.
benjcombe's review
0.75
An unimaginative, poorly written mess, though the last few paragraphs set up fascinating possibilities for the 60th
almostlikequake's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
thoroughlymodernreviewer's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
For a story called “The Celestial Toymaker,” the titular Toymaker doesn’t get a lot of page time or exploration. Still, it’s easy to see how this villain has gained such popularity among Doctor Who fans. And it’s a shame this story remains his only appearance in the tv show.
It’s hard to judge the book as an adaptation considering the serial it’s adapting is largely missing. So, on its own, it’s a fine book. Nothing particularly memorable as a story or as a Doctor Who adventure. The Doctor is largely sidelined and a lot of the Toymaker’s games don’t work as well on the page as they (presumably) did on screen. But if you’re desperate to experience this story in some way, you could do a lot worse than this. It’s a very quick read, and it’s more fun than not. Plus, Dodo and Steven get a lot to do, even if it’s kind of repetitive.
Not my favorite Target novelization by a long shot, but it’s enjoyable enough.
It’s hard to judge the book as an adaptation considering the serial it’s adapting is largely missing. So, on its own, it’s a fine book. Nothing particularly memorable as a story or as a Doctor Who adventure. The Doctor is largely sidelined and a lot of the Toymaker’s games don’t work as well on the page as they (presumably) did on screen. But if you’re desperate to experience this story in some way, you could do a lot worse than this. It’s a very quick read, and it’s more fun than not. Plus, Dodo and Steven get a lot to do, even if it’s kind of repetitive.
Not my favorite Target novelization by a long shot, but it’s enjoyable enough.
nwhyte's review
http://nhw.livejournal.com/825455.html[return][return]Fan lore seems to be that Alison Bingeman did most of the heavy lifting on this novel, which is competent enough but doesn't really sparkle. Indeed, the one point about the dialogue of the original which caught my interest - Dodo's exchange with Steven about whether the Toymaker's minions should be considered as real people or not - is weakened and watered down. Davis says proudly in his introduction that the novelisation allows the sets of the story to be portrayed as lavishly as originally intended, rather than the cut-down version show in 1966, but since the first three episodes are lost this doesn't make a lot of difference. For me, reading the written word rather than listening to the audio made it more difficult to ignore the lacun
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