NA #22 Conundrum

Conundrum by Steve Lyons

In Brief: A town which doesn't exist is being threatened by a vampiric literary red-herring. Benny befriends a retired and depressed ex-Superhero, Ace is menaced by a collection of Doctor Who books and the narrator is frustrated that he can't describe the Doctor's thoughts.

It's all very meta.

These books are definitely the now-slightly-forgotten bridge between 1989 and 2005 (aka "the no-show zone"). Rather than just trying to ape the original show (as with other book tie-in series out there) the series isn't afraid to try new things constantly, for better or worse.

Anyone who's watched more than one story from 1963-1989 would be very aware of how different the show could be from one year to the next. Even the supposed "classic" Tom Baker years ranged from horror-pastiche (The Ark in Space, Pyramids of Mars) to social satire (The Sunmakers) to hard science-fiction (Warriors' Gate). You'd be hard-pressed to really define a formula for a typical Doctor Who story, as various authors constantly try new things regardless of the medium involved.

So with this in mind we have Conundrum which is a book which completely breaks down the "fourth wall" of literature. It's a book which is written as if by an author who is aware he is controlling all in the novel except for the regular characters.

The same force which has been altering time over the past few novels brings back the Land of Fiction (from 1968's The Mind Robber) to try to trap the Doctor & Co. As such the book is "written" by the master of the land, who creates an entire false reality. I'd be tempted to say that all of this is spoilery, but considering that we're aware of the fact from page 1 it's hardly a surprise. What was a surprise was that what could have been an up-its-arse aren't-I-clever mess turned out to be very good.

What helps is that Lyons turns out to be a very good writer. It's impressive that despite a few mis-steps the publishers continued to get new authors involved in the series with almost every novel, rather than just relying on a few regulars. While it may be frustrating for some that the tone and style of the series is constantly changing I find it to be keeping my interest high as I go through all of the novels. Much like the show itself what I love is the fact that you never know what is coming next (and also that if I hit a bad book it's more than likely the next one will be better).

But again I realise I'm more discussing context rather than the book itself (I over-analyse, I know). Since the book is set in a land where all of the characters except for the regulars are slightly vague archetypes (as they're fictional constructs). What's interesting though is how all of the types clash together while interacting with the well-defined regulars, with characters from a domestic sitcom interacting with those of a comic book. Even a piss-take of The Famous Five/Hardy Boys pop up in the form of (deliberately) cloying The Adventure Kids (who meet a fate that would otherwise never happen). This all fits together since with the book being "written" by a 90s teenager it includes a lot of his interests, in fitting with how "The Mind Robber" included 19th/early-20th century characters beloved by the "master" of the land at that time.

Also good is Lyons' use of Ace, as he gets around some of the more annoying traits of the character recently by having her actually criticised by the "writer" as being a character past-her-prime and annoying to the reader (again, it's meta on the meta). But we also finally get her opening up again somewhat and explaining why she still travels with the Doctor despite being so angry with him. It all leads to a completely dysfunctional crew (even worse than 1983's Tegan/Turlough pairing) but then I guess looking back to 1994 we were still in the era before the companion's family/fiancée turned up constantly to give them depth.

I'm finding it difficult to actually discuss the plot that much since at the end everything is turned on its head as the Doctor refuses to participate in the story since to do so would mean they would remain trapped. However the end isn't a cop-out since it's all makes sense in retrospect. I'd say the only thing that is a little disappointing (although it's on purpose) is that since all of the new characters we met didn't turn out to exist it means that I felt a little unsatisfied since many of the minor plot-threads were forgotten as the Doctor takes control of the novel. But then again since that's the point I can't really criticise since it all works in context.

I guess that's the sign that Conundrum works magnificently well since even the "bad" parts turn out to be on purpose for the greater good of the novel. Hugely clever stuff.