A review by kribu
Doctor Who: Diamond Dogs by Mike Tucker
5.0
So, yeah.
*looks at the star rating*
... I think I liked it. :P Obviously, it's not like I'm saying "this is the most amazing book that ever was or ever will be" but .. it's quite possibly my favourite Doctor Who book I've read. And I've read a lot of them. And I've not been over the moon about most of the recent ones, so - between having felt a little let down by the relatively few Twelfth Doctor related offerings there have been in general, and having had to wait such a long time for a new batch, and not even having Clara on board... I was a little apprehensive.
But damn, I'm glad I picked this one to read first out of this brand new trio of S10 tie-in novels. (Not to say the other two suck, I very much hope not - I just haven't read them yet!) Because this (and I pretty much gobbled it down in a couple of hours) was basically everything I could ask from a tie-in book - excitement, a fair plot that moves along, some new characters who actually feel like rounded people with a life and back story, and more than anything else, plenty of awesome action by the Doctor.
Gah. I'm going to miss Twelve so much. I'm just glad he's been around long enough for the writers to finally get a decent handle on him, because I really loved him in this one. So much. *all the hearteyes*
Also, given that the books had to be written before anyone had actually seen Bill in action (although it's pretty clear the writers have had a fair idea about the first three S10 episodes to work from - so for anyone who prefers to stay in the dark, there's a couple of mentions of things happening in Smile and Thin Ice, although no more than what can be assumed from the trailers), I thought the characterisation - based on what we've seen so far, in The Pilot - was pretty spot-on. She doesn't have an awful lot to do in this book, but neither is she just a bystander, and for me the balance of the focus on Bill and the Doctor was just about right.
Anyway. Yes. Not going to talk about the plot, other than it worked well enough for me, and I've always loved those Doctor Who books that tackle the humans' far-future affairs, this time mining diamonds in the rings of Saturn - which I could just visualise.
*looks at the star rating*
... I think I liked it. :P Obviously, it's not like I'm saying "this is the most amazing book that ever was or ever will be" but .. it's quite possibly my favourite Doctor Who book I've read. And I've read a lot of them. And I've not been over the moon about most of the recent ones, so - between having felt a little let down by the relatively few Twelfth Doctor related offerings there have been in general, and having had to wait such a long time for a new batch, and not even having Clara on board... I was a little apprehensive.
But damn, I'm glad I picked this one to read first out of this brand new trio of S10 tie-in novels. (Not to say the other two suck, I very much hope not - I just haven't read them yet!) Because this (and I pretty much gobbled it down in a couple of hours) was basically everything I could ask from a tie-in book - excitement, a fair plot that moves along, some new characters who actually feel like rounded people with a life and back story, and more than anything else, plenty of awesome action by the Doctor.
Gah. I'm going to miss Twelve so much. I'm just glad he's been around long enough for the writers to finally get a decent handle on him, because I really loved him in this one. So much. *all the hearteyes*
Also, given that the books had to be written before anyone had actually seen Bill in action (although it's pretty clear the writers have had a fair idea about the first three S10 episodes to work from - so for anyone who prefers to stay in the dark, there's a couple of mentions of things happening in Smile and Thin Ice, although no more than what can be assumed from the trailers), I thought the characterisation - based on what we've seen so far, in The Pilot - was pretty spot-on. She doesn't have an awful lot to do in this book, but neither is she just a bystander, and for me the balance of the focus on Bill and the Doctor was just about right.
Anyway. Yes. Not going to talk about the plot, other than it worked well enough for me, and I've always loved those Doctor Who books that tackle the humans' far-future affairs, this time mining diamonds in the rings of Saturn - which I could just visualise.