A review by kateofmind
Doctor Who: Byzantium! by Keith Topping
2.0
This one felt as much like a religious tract or historical novel celebrating the early Christians (and, by contrast, booing everybody else, or at least the Romans and Jews; the Greeks come off as kind of okay. Mostly. They redeem themselves a bit in the end) as like a Doctor Who novel, especially since, as others have observed, Byzantium has next to no plot beyond "TARDIS crew gets separated; TARDIS crew has trouble reuniting; crew members get involved in contemporary lives maybe more than they should." It even has Bible verses quoted at the beginning of every chapter!
It also has Ian engaging in some rather hearty misogyny (though in his defense *I GUESS* all the women he encounters are pretty horrible, or at least annoying. But mostly horrible). The Doctor helping to write the Bible. Vicki whining all over the place. But Barbara, Barbara actually frees herself from her situation and tries to find the others. Barbara rules. Ian and Vicki drool. And the Doctor, well, meh the Doctor. I've never been that great a fan of the First Doctor, except in that dutiful "well without him we'd have none of the others" way.
I was pretty psyched when this was over, but I didn't hate enough to rage-quit it. Barbara saved it. Hail, Barbara.
It also has Ian engaging in some rather hearty misogyny (though in his defense *I GUESS* all the women he encounters are pretty horrible, or at least annoying. But mostly horrible). The Doctor helping to write the Bible. Vicki whining all over the place. But Barbara, Barbara actually frees herself from her situation and tries to find the others. Barbara rules. Ian and Vicki drool. And the Doctor, well, meh the Doctor. I've never been that great a fan of the First Doctor, except in that dutiful "well without him we'd have none of the others" way.
I was pretty psyched when this was over, but I didn't hate enough to rage-quit it. Barbara saved it. Hail, Barbara.