NA #33 Parasite

Parasite by Jim Mortimore

In Brief: A few hundred years in the future the Doctor, Ace and Benny arrive within The Artifact, a world inside-out. Within are spectacular wonders and terrifying creatures that are going through some severe changes.

Nihilism ensues.

I enjoyed Parasite, although it's possibly the darkest and most defeatist slice of Doctor Who ever. Rather than the normal narrative of Doctor & Co Vs. Alien-Threat/Monster this book is a massive example Man Vs. Nature as the main antagonist ends up being the environment itself (well there *is* a minor bad character, but he doesn't do much). With the regulars separated from the Tardis almost immediately after landing and the Doctor essentially in a coma for most of the book, Bernice and Ace are left to suffer in a major way.

By the end of the book Ace will have been blinded, had small creatures burrow under her skin and later break out, almost die from radiation poisoning and end up almost feral snacking on raw meat. Meanwhile Bernice suffers from various infections, a skull fracture, a crushed leg and having her stomach sliced open to remove a large parasite. The minor characters (an expedition into The Artifact comprised mainly of students) fare even worse (there are no happy endings...). While it sounds like the Jim Mortimore is just being sadistic towards his character it very much fits with the sense that he wants the reader to really understand how dangerous nature can really be, an alien nature especially so.

Also it gives both Ace and Bernice a chance to really shine a bit as they are forced to deal with the various dangers within the Artifact (the Killer Microwave-Monkeys being the worst). "New" Ace is finally starting to again feel like an extension of the original character rather than some horrible Linda Hamilton in T2 impersonation which is welcome after being so irritating for so very long.

So when I say I enjoyed this book it wasn't out of some perverse pleasure at the suffering but due to the quality of the writing and as a stark contrast to the relatively "safe" environments we normally see (or read about). On-Screen we don't really ever feel that the likes of Jo, Rose or Amy are ever really in serious peril or have to deal with real issues of survival. I can't think of another example of the series where the only real accomplishment for any of the characters is simply to survive. It helps is that Mortimore is one of the better writers of the "New Adventures" so far, with his earlier (co-written) Lucifer Rising and Blood Heat having equally evocative and imaginative settings. The Artifact itself, a zero-gravity environment filled with luminous oceans and impossible (and seriously unfilmable) flora and fauna is expertly realised.

I'm glad to see that the series over the past few books has started to push the possibilities of Doctor Who in written form again after a slump. It's a reminder that it's worth putting up with some sub-par stories since there's normally some quality right around the corner.

Although that's a mantra I have to remind myself of more and more as we slowly work through the 2011 series on TV...