A review by wyrmbergmalcolm
Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen, by James Goss
4.0
I must confess, the overriding feeling that I felt reading this book was just how much I miss Douglas Adams. No, I never met him, but his Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency series had a huge impact on me and not a day goes by when I don't make a reference to one or the other. I think James Goss did a marvellous job at conveying the story in Adams' style. At the back of this book is Adams' complete Treatment for his proposed film/TV episode that never happened. It was from this, and some other material, that Goss wrote this book. It's quite impressive as to how little Goss had to do, so much material was already there.
For those familiar with Adams' works, this story may well resonate as some of its plot points were later used in Life, the Universe and Everything, book three of THGTTG. However, although there are some unmistakable similarities, this is a very different story and particularly fitting for a Tom Baker Doctor Who. That being said, despite a very strong first act, this story does fall into the trap that many Doctor Who stories do (and Douglas Adams' stories for that matter) and got a bit woolly towards the end.
This was a story that knew what it was, and where it came from. It wasn't afraid to have fun with the franchise and never took itself seriously.
As already mentioned, the back of the book holds some extra material in the appendices. There's a summary of how Douglas Adams' story nearly came to the big screen. His complete Treatment (featuring a different companion called Jane), and an alternate first chapter with an older Sarah-Jane Smith as the companion having finally been reunited with the same Doctor that abandoned her in Edinburg all those years ago.
For those familiar with Adams' works, this story may well resonate as some of its plot points were later used in Life, the Universe and Everything, book three of THGTTG. However, although there are some unmistakable similarities, this is a very different story and particularly fitting for a Tom Baker Doctor Who. That being said, despite a very strong first act, this story does fall into the trap that many Doctor Who stories do (and Douglas Adams' stories for that matter) and got a bit woolly towards the end.
This was a story that knew what it was, and where it came from. It wasn't afraid to have fun with the franchise and never took itself seriously.
As already mentioned, the back of the book holds some extra material in the appendices. There's a summary of how Douglas Adams' story nearly came to the big screen. His complete Treatment (featuring a different companion called Jane), and an alternate first chapter with an older Sarah-Jane Smith as the companion having finally been reunited with the same Doctor that abandoned her in Edinburg all those years ago.