SLEEPY by Kate Orman
In Brief: The Doctor & Co. must help an Earth-colony suffering from a sudden bought of telepathy. Sentient computers and secret-projects are involved.
SLEEPY was another of the New Adventures of which I remembered nothing from my original read back in 1996. As such it felt really like I was reading a completely new novel. It's not that the book is bad, it's just that with no BIG EVENTS happening not a lot stuck in the memory after 15 years. I was pleasantly surprised to find that SLEEPY is actually somewhat of a neglected gem. Particularly after the heavy-going in Just War and Warchild it makes for a nice contrast.
And it's not to say that the book is by any means filled with just Hugs & Puppies, it's just not as *HEAVY* as some recent reads.
But what of the plot? It involves the Tardis crew trying to help the colonists on Yemaya to try to find out why some people have suddenly developed enhanced mental powers. Finding the truth involves not a forgotten ancient super-race (while there are artifacts on the planet it's a big red herring) but rather a trip into the past for Bernice and Roz. Meanwhile Chris has to cope with his becoming psychic due to what turns out to be a manufactured virus. The cause of that virus leads to the discovery of the titular artificial intelligence SLEEPY.
Another major contrast with the previous book Warchild is that all of the regulars are deeply involved in events, especially The Doctor. Orman again really gets into the psyche of the time-lord, in particular when he suffers psychic attacks from the military troops sent to sort out the problems on Yemaya. While many authors keep the character as the inscrutable outsider here with get a detailed view into his thoughts and a sense that there's a larger game he's playing with the universe, with the lives of his friends hanging in the balance. It really sets up the sense that he'll have to pay a high price down the road.
One joy of re-reading the series is picking up the foreshadowing which I totally missed back in the mid-90s.
Also a positive in SLEEPY is how non-European the colonists are, with most having an African or Australian background. It's a small touch, but one which adds a nice texture to the story. I suspect this is a side-benefit of having non-British authors write for Doctor Who. As well, Orman gives a good chunk of the action to Bernice and Roz as well as other strong female characters throughout the novel. Meanwhile Chris remains somewhat useless.
One could very easily class Orman as the anti-Mark Gatiss, since all of his characters seem to be slight variations on straight army-soldiers from the 1940s.
So while SLEEPY may be a bit of a "small story" in the series it's still a very enjoyable book. Kate Orman gets into the head of The Doctor like no other and really expands the possibilities of the character. It's unfortunate that this richness of character can really only happen in a novel as the 45-minute confines of a TV episode don't really allow for as much depth (particularly with all of the corridor running). It reminds me that in a lot of ways I became a Doctor Who fan as much due to The New Adventures as the show proper.
Warchild by Andrew Cartmel
In Brief: A tale of psychic teens and killer hounds.
One thing to know about Warchild is that it wraps up Andrew Cartmel's "War" trilogy that started way back with Cat's Cradle: Warhead which was book #6 in the series (oh so very long ago) and then continued in the more resent Warlock. Unfortunately *another* thing to know about Warchild is that it's not quite as as the other two books, although this really only means that it's still very good.
The main issue for me was the rather poor structuring that Cartmel used, in that about 2/3rds of the novel feels like a 1st-act setup with subsequent events being rushed through in the final 50 pages. With all of the New Adventures being in the 250-300 page range I almost suspect Cartmel saw the page-limit approaching and realised he had to quickly wrap things up. It's a shame since while events are somewhat drawn out they're never less than totally engrossing. Basically the book should have been longer.
But back to the good. Cartmel's strength, as in his 2 other novels in the series, is his excellent writing-style, particularly in his characterisation. Most of the events in Warchild follow those of the earlier books, especially concerning the character of Jack and the state he's left in after Warlock (his body in suspension and mind held in a dog). Most of the book is actually devoted to characters from the earlier novels rather than the series regulars, in particular government-agent Creed.
The Doctor and Benny are mainly absent as they spend their time reviving Jack's body in the Doctor's house while Chris is undercover as a monk at Ricky's school. Of the regular Roz gets most of the action, although she's somewhat more Ace-like than recently as she joins up with a military crew dealing with the problem of thousands of dogs suddenly forming a giant pack and turning on their owners.
Interestingly although Warchild is set about 15 years after Warlock (which was around 10 years after Warhead) this book is much less "futuristic", other than a few mentions of holographs this could have been set in the 1990s rather than 2030s. As a result the book feels far less dated the earlier ones. I'm thinking that the "Cyberpunk" trend of 1992 was less popular than in 1996 when this book was published, the future wasn't quite looking so bleak.
This being a Cartmel book we're also privy to some more of his personal politics. Rather than concentrating on the "horrors of technology/pollution" or Animal-Rights here we have some in-depth views on the psychology of leadership. Much of the story revolves around Creed's son Ricky and his ability to sway other people's emotions and the threat this can pose if put into the wrong hands. Perhaps having the long "1st-act" concentrating on the menace of the controlled pack of dogs helps show what the menace of having an Alpha Male human in charge of society would be like. Cartmel is definitely of the ilk who sees humans as mildly over-evolved apes so this animalistic leaning fits.
But it's the plot-line around Ricky that leaves the reader feeling that things don't really come together. Everything gets wrapped up a little too quickly.
However this is a minor complaint about what was still a very good book in the range. I admire Andrew Cartmel's ability to weave a good story around a central concept that's worth some contemplation (the impact of body language and how it can cause others to fall into line). This alone puts Warchild well above so many other books (and indeed TV episodes) that have rather simpler tales to tell.
