Head Games by Steve Lyons
In Brief: An eruption of fictional-energy threatens the universe. The Doctor, with companions old and new, must deal with the results as his evil doppelganger Dr.Who causes havoc throughout time and space.
Head Games should have been a very good book. Steve Lyons is a decent writer and he is playing with some decidedly good ideas here. Unfortunately a high level of quality only emerges in spurts as overall the novel is decidedly mediocre. The big problem is that much of the story is set on the very bland alien world of Detrios, where the "Fictional Energy" (from Lyons' earlier Conundrum) has resulted in a giant crystal "Miracle" hanging in the sky. While things do improve when the plot moves to 2001 England it still lumbers the novel with some markedly dull passages.
All of the energy leaking out has found its was to Jason, the earlier Master of the Land of Fiction. He subconsciously uses it to create Dr.Who, a comic version of The Doctor who decides that his alter-ego is actually a force for evil and that he and all of his followers (companions) must be destroyed. So what we have is a big metaphor for how The Sevenths Doctor's methods go beyond the black & white plots of his earlier incarnations/stories. His actions are always a choice between consequences (although aren't everyone's?) rather than simply "fighting eveil". While this greying of The Doctor's motivations seems common-place now (what with modern episodes like "Midnight" and "Amy's Choice" showing the character is less than a positive light) for the 1995 this was still fairly new territory.
The other method Head Games uses to comment on how manipulative the 7th-Doctor has become is through having his current Tardis team (Benny, Roz and Chris along and a cameo from Ace) meet previous companion (to the 6th and 7th Doctors) Mel.
I know, I missed her too.
The good part of Mel returning is that through her disgust of the actions of the current Doctor (basically forcing Detrios to suffer to save the universe) we get a good sense of how much he has changed from earlier "simpler" times. Unfortunately I think Lyons missed an opportunity to do something interesting with her character, since for the most part she comes across as a shrill and irritating screamer (so exactly how she was portrayed on TV). This would have been a great chance to try give her a bit of depth.
As a side note the big problem with Mel (as well as Peri) is that she was always too much of a "throw-back" character on the show, as if the production team at the time were looking to the 60s & 70s (in particular regulars like Victoria and Jo Grant) for inspiration. Unfortunately in 1985/86 having such a character was *exactly* the wrong decision to make; they needed something new to reinvigorate the series. Thankfully that happened in 1987 when Ace joined (although by then it was probably too little, too late). Watching episodes with Mel is frustrating, since Bonnie Langford *is* actually a very good actress but was unfortunately lumbered with a terrible character to play.
Ok, back to Head Games itself. While a lot of the book doesn't quite work it's still a hugely important part of The New Adventures. It acts as a big marker for how much the novels and The Doctor have developed since the early days. The book is essentially a big thumb in the nose to fans at the time who complained (oh how they complained, particularly in Internet newsgroups...) that the books just "weren't Doctor Who". As with modern times, a lot of people had a set idea of what Doctor Who should be like, which was The Doctor thwarting alien invaders and toppling corrupt governments and nothing else. Dr.Who exists to show how unsatisfying such a character can be. Not even Superman would be so empty.
The book also gives the reader insight into the 7th-Doctor, in particular when confronted by the manifestation of his 6th persona. We get into some serious continuity references here as we learn that the 7th Doctor "forced" himself into being to keep the unhinged 6th from becoming the evil Valeyard (if this doesn't make sense go and watch the monumental mess that is The Trial of a Timelord, if you dare). But again I'm discussing plot-points of the novel rather than actually reviewing the thing.
And that's the big problem, while the book has some BIG THINGS happen that are worth discussing the parts just don't add up to a satisfying whole. The narrative is too much of a mess and the non-regulars aren't interesting at all. I can see what Steve Lyons was aiming for and it was a good idea, it's just that he doesn't manage to pull it off. Overall Head Games, while clever, is just too much of a mess to recommend.
Toy Soldiers by Paul Leonard
In Brief: It's 1919 and aliens are kidnapping children and forcing them to become soldiers in a meaningless war on a far-off world.
The Doctor is not amused.
Toy Soldiers, like Zamper immediately before, is a book for which I held absolutely no memory. Re-reading it now I can understand why, the characters and situations just never rise above being "a bit dull". There's not enough plot to sustain an entire novel and several parts of the book are taken up with descriptions of various air and ground battles on the alien planet that become a bit tedious. Also the author becomes rather heavy-handed in his anti-war message so things turn a little preachy. While I'm all for a nice pacifist message I've seen it done better elsewhere (such as in Human Nature).
Also the book is lacking a decent antagonist. While the reason behind the kidnappings (a big alien computer trying force technological upgrade through war) makes sense and fits in with the "pointlessness of war" theme it leave the reader feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
However there are some aspects of the book that work well and raises Toy Soldiers into the ranks of the "mediocre yet worthy". The novel makes good use of Chris and Roz for once, who in being separated from The Doctor and Benny for much of the book get a chance to develop as characters as they're forced to cope with 1919 attitudes. Roz gets some good moments as she slowly comes to realise the prejudice surrounding her darker than average skin.
Benny also gets a good chunk of the action, as she struggles to break her brain-washing when she is captured and sent to the alien war-zone. The Doctor is absent for long stretches of the book, which works well as it forces the other characters to figure out problems on their own.
While nothing in the book is actually bad the whole thing is just uninspired. There's nothing in the book that's really that much different from what has gone before in the New Adventures. With the subject matter and setting Toy Soldiers should have been one of the highlights of the series but as it is just remains a forgotten and forgettable entry in the lexicon of Who.
Zamper by Gareth Roberts
In Brief: The hidden warship-building planet of Zamper holds a Terrible Secret.
Don't they all?
Giant turtles are involved.
The quality of The New Adventures, over the (dear lord) 40+ books I've now read, have ranged from Excellent to Alright to Terrible to the depths of "My Eyes! My Precious Eyes!". I say this because while Zamper is not-a-very-good-book (a ranking just above Terrible) I say so more since it's a disappointment rather than it being the affront to my sanity that a few of these books have been.
The one with the psychic space-squirrels still gives me nightmares.
I should have expected that I wouldn't be impressed by the book considering that this is one of the few novels in the range for which I had absolutely no memory. Almost every other book in the New Adventures I recall some sort of snippet or event at least, however Zamper was a complete blank.
The plot: The Doctor & Co. crash on a planet that produces the galaxy's best warships through a lightly manned (4 people) underground base. Also present are a couple of The Chelonians (giant militaristic turtles last seen in Roberts' The Highest Science) who are buying a ship with which to reclaim past glories, or something. However the automated "Management" that runs the facility is breaking down, and the slug-like Zamps, who actually construct the ships are beginning to act very odd indeed.
The biggest problem with the book is that for the first 3/4rds or so nothing much really happens. Most of the characters just wander around the facility bitching at each other while The Doctor heads into some underground caves where he spends almost all of the book. With a less than interesting setting (a planet that looks like a quarry with purple skies. I thought these books were supposed to give us things *not* seen in the original series) and forgettable characters a decent plot would have at least livened things up. Unfortunately that decent plot is nowhere to be found here, as mentioned things sort of meander along until a "twist" (spoiler: The Zamps and The Management are actually EVIL (Bwahahahah!)) towards the end moves everything into silly-action territory.
Gareth Roberts has done his best, his writing style is still very good and up until the last act there's still a sense that there will be a decent pay-off. It's just that pay-off never happens and instead everything is concluded with everything and everyone (who isn't a regular) blowing up. As for the regulars, The Doctor is pretty much side-lined throughout although Benny does get some good bits when interacting with the Chelonians. Having Ace leave has been a definitely benefit to her character. However Chris & Roz have yet to show any real spark as part of the Tardis crew; Roz in particular suffering as she seems more and more like Ace-light in her stories so far.
So while I didn't find reading Zamper to be a chore (at least it's short), I did find it to be a completely sub-par entry in the series. While there have been worse Doctor Who stories (much, much worse) written that's hardly a defence of the book. No part of Roberts' effort here even seem to be trying to rise above mediocre, which is a shame for an author who normally manages to write something much better. I suspect that my new memories of this book will once again be quickly forgotten...
