philosopher_kj's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, and Murder
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Cursing
saoki's review against another edition
4.0
Goth Opera is an urban fantasy vampire novel as seen through a Doctor Who lens. It's got an interesting plot, some nice creepy moments, great dialogue and the characterization is very much on point. I specially liked that the author knew how to write Tegan (too many writers make her a useless complaining machine) and cared to show her relationship to Nyssa. The writing is tight and compelling, while still being emotional, fun and thrilling. I was not surprised to learn that the author is indeed the same Paul Cornell of The Witches of Lychford fame.
I picked up this book after reading some recent Doctor Who novels, expecting it to be like those: an entertaining adventure that felt like an episode of the show but did things with setting and imagery that would have been too hard to accomplish in a tv show. And it is that, but it's also a great adventure and far more daring in prose and plot than those modern Who novels. Absolutely recommended.
I picked up this book after reading some recent Doctor Who novels, expecting it to be like those: an entertaining adventure that felt like an episode of the show but did things with setting and imagery that would have been too hard to accomplish in a tv show. And it is that, but it's also a great adventure and far more daring in prose and plot than those modern Who novels. Absolutely recommended.
gingerreader99's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately as far as conclusions to trilogies go this can be filed in the "not as good as the second volume" with Alien 3, Terminator 3 and Return of the Jedi. Which isn't to say it wasn't good because it most certainly was and quite enjoyable. I just vastly preferred Blood Harvest over Goth Opera. Though the ending did leave some more questions that would be interesting to explore if continuations past this have been published.
khourianya's review against another edition
3.0
Ok people - some women read Harlequin romances as a guilty pleasure. Not me. I'm afraid you are about to be inundated with Doctor Who novels since geeky sci-fi/fantasy is MY guilty pleasure. The best part about Doctor Who adventures is that they don't necessarily need to be read in any particular order because the adventures could happen anywhere by any doctor at any time. Because I am a bit OCD, though, I will probably read them all in order - series by series. Don't judge.
Goth Opera is one of the thirty-three Doctor Who Missing Adventures books, published by Virgin Books, between 1994-97. This particular book features the 5th Doctor and his companions Tegan and Nyssa.
From GoodReads:
‘The time of humanity on this world has come to an end. The long night is starting. The age of the undead is upon us.’
Manchester, 1993. The vampires of Great Britain have received a message: the long-awaited arrival of their evil messiah is imminent. It’s time for a recruitment drive.
On holiday in Tasmania with Tegan and the Doctor, Nyssa is attacked by a demonic child. She escapes unharmed - except for two small wounds in her neck.
Why are the descendants of the Great Vampire so desperate to obtain the blood of a Time Lord? And what is their connection to a forbidden ancient Gallifreyan cult
***
My desire to read vampire fiction comes and goes in waves. I wasn't feeling it when I started this one, but I quickly got into it. And it made me want to track down some 5th Doctor episodes.
Overall, as my first Doctor Who book ever - I really enjoyed it. I thought it felt like how Doctor Who should feel, though perhaps slightly slower moving. Given that it was written to fill the void between filming and was in the lead up to the 1996 movie that I have yet to see - I felt it captured it. The writing wasn't stellar, but it was good enough. I wanted a guilty pleasure read and that was exactly what I got. And it was such a quick read that I was on to the next book before I knew it. :) The length of these books makes them perfect to plow through on a vacation!
One book down - four hundred or so to go...(Not even kidding a bit)
Goth Opera is one of the thirty-three Doctor Who Missing Adventures books, published by Virgin Books, between 1994-97. This particular book features the 5th Doctor and his companions Tegan and Nyssa.
From GoodReads:
‘The time of humanity on this world has come to an end. The long night is starting. The age of the undead is upon us.’
Manchester, 1993. The vampires of Great Britain have received a message: the long-awaited arrival of their evil messiah is imminent. It’s time for a recruitment drive.
On holiday in Tasmania with Tegan and the Doctor, Nyssa is attacked by a demonic child. She escapes unharmed - except for two small wounds in her neck.
Why are the descendants of the Great Vampire so desperate to obtain the blood of a Time Lord? And what is their connection to a forbidden ancient Gallifreyan cult
***
My desire to read vampire fiction comes and goes in waves. I wasn't feeling it when I started this one, but I quickly got into it. And it made me want to track down some 5th Doctor episodes.
Overall, as my first Doctor Who book ever - I really enjoyed it. I thought it felt like how Doctor Who should feel, though perhaps slightly slower moving. Given that it was written to fill the void between filming and was in the lead up to the 1996 movie that I have yet to see - I felt it captured it. The writing wasn't stellar, but it was good enough. I wanted a guilty pleasure read and that was exactly what I got. And it was such a quick read that I was on to the next book before I knew it. :) The length of these books makes them perfect to plow through on a vacation!
One book down - four hundred or so to go...(Not even kidding a bit)
andystehr's review against another edition
3.0
I liked Goth Opera more than I expected to. The Fifth Doctor's voice was well captured. I'm still not sure about vampires in Doctor Who. Especial how prominent a role they appear to have in the history of Gallifrey. Though it only comes up when vampire are the villain. Maybe they think they're an important part of time lord history but no one else really does.
jaimesando96's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This missing adventure gives Nyssa some great depth and comparable experience to Tegan’s possession by the Mara. Nyssa’s point of view elevates this novel beyond just another doctor who novel.
scampr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Goth Opera sees the return of the Great Vampires, first seen in 4th Doctor story State of Decay and since then, an ever growing part of Gallifreyan mythos/history. I'm a big fan of their original appearance, so I was excited to see how the 5th Doctor era would approach them, along with what connections there were to the previous story I read.
This story forms a paradoxical sequel/prequel connection with the 7th Doctor novel Blood Harvest. The events of Blood Harvest in regards to the vampires and some other details are what cause the plot of this book, but the Doctor encounters them in the opposite order. Chronologically there are more references to be found in reading Goth Opera second, but you do not necessarily need to read one to understand the other, and they can be done in either order and still be just as rewarding.
Paul Cornell is a writer I continue to praise each time I encounter his work, and you can tell here that he really understands the 5th Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa. The characterisation is great, with some particularly good development & emotional insight for the companions.
Compared to Blood Harvest's stronger connections to State of Decay, this story has a much more distinct personality and original ideas at play. When Nyssa is secretly turned into a vampire, the Doctor and friends soon uncover a group of fanatical vampires in 1990s Manchester with nefarious plans at work. There's some good sci-fi ideas, and really interesting inclusions and lore developed in regards to Vampire and Gallifreyan history/society. Plenty of great references and some fun surprises in there too.
This novel has a neat balance between the gothic atmosphere and fantastical, evocative writing style of Cornell with his effortless dialogue and wittiness. It's a perfect mix of gory horror mystery, character drama, fun romp and high concept, epic world ending scenario.
This story forms a paradoxical sequel/prequel connection with the 7th Doctor novel Blood Harvest. The events of Blood Harvest in regards to the vampires and some other details are what cause the plot of this book, but the Doctor encounters them in the opposite order. Chronologically there are more references to be found in reading Goth Opera second, but you do not necessarily need to read one to understand the other, and they can be done in either order and still be just as rewarding.
Paul Cornell is a writer I continue to praise each time I encounter his work, and you can tell here that he really understands the 5th Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa. The characterisation is great, with some particularly good development & emotional insight for the companions.
Compared to Blood Harvest's stronger connections to State of Decay, this story has a much more distinct personality and original ideas at play. When Nyssa is secretly turned into a vampire, the Doctor and friends soon uncover a group of fanatical vampires in 1990s Manchester with nefarious plans at work. There's some good sci-fi ideas, and really interesting inclusions and lore developed in regards to Vampire and Gallifreyan history/society. Plenty of great references and some fun surprises in there too.
This novel has a neat balance between the gothic atmosphere and fantastical, evocative writing style of Cornell with his effortless dialogue and wittiness. It's a perfect mix of gory horror mystery, character drama, fun romp and high concept, epic world ending scenario.
art_cart_ron's review against another edition
4.0
The timing for this read follows my having seen Peter Davidson, Janet Fielding, and Sarah Sutton live at ReGeneration Who Con (3/2018). It couldn't have been a better pick - as the novel features these three actor's characters in a story that breaks the bounds of the show limitations in dramatic and fulfilling ways on all fronts. Tegan and Nyssa are fully-realized characters, and The Doctor is well characterized for his fifth incarnation (although, this may be one of the more generic points - his companions were much more character-driven). Some truly messed-up and surprising elements, baby vampires forcefully following a primal nature, the interconnectivity of Gallifreyan origins with those of their vampire rivals (under-utilized in the series... but it's also easy to see how show-runners would want to carefully steer away from vampire trendiness and preconceptions). I also very much liked the awkward shoe-horning in of Romana's role (this is apparently a companion book to another story one need not have read - the VNA, Blood Harvest). I'm interested in the Doctor's Theta (Sigma) designation, and in the stories of his earliest compatriots. Ruath features prominently.
These characters are my old friends. That's just how it goes. They're part of my DNA, and that's probably not going to change. I'm thankful for the amazing fans that keep them alive and well - the largest of whom are the authors, range editors. These books are timeless.
These characters are my old friends. That's just how it goes. They're part of my DNA, and that's probably not going to change. I'm thankful for the amazing fans that keep them alive and well - the largest of whom are the authors, range editors. These books are timeless.
nwhyte's review
http://nhw.livejournal.com/654897.html[return][return]This was the first of the Missing Adventures of Doctor Who, published 1994 at (I suppose) the same time as Terrance Dicks' Blood Harvest. It features the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan, shortly after the death of Adric, and another brief appearance from Romana, and (of course) vampires; setting is between Manchester in England, Tasmania, and bits of Gallifrey. Paul Cornell's vampires seem much more familiar, much more like Buffy's than did those in the Terrance Dicks stories; I wondered for a brief moment if Joss Whedon might have read this, but then realised that of course he and Paul were both born in the mid-1960s and educated in southern England, so will have read the same vampire books, and seen the same vampire movies, as me, whereas Terrance Dicks is thirty years older.[return][return]All good stuff. Paul brings religion and a dodgy evangelist into the novel without sermonising; Tegan's Balkan roots are explored (there are a couple of Balkan references which I found of interest). Tegan must be much easier to write than Nyssa, which might explain what happens to the latter during the course of the book. I was left largely satisfied, though feeling that the conclusion was perhaps a little implausible. (But then, it may not be completely fair to demand total plausibility in a book featuring vampires and Doctor Who.)