REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO: THE BOG WARRIOR

Cover by Two Associates/Woodlands Books

DOCTOR WHO:

THE BOG WARRIOR

TIME TRIPS BOOK 6

BY

CECELIA AHERN

ISBN: 978-1-44814-237-8

 Pages: 33

Publisher: BBC Books/Ebury Publishing

Published: 8 May 2014

On the cover:

(From the publisher's website.)

Arriving on the planet Cashel, the Tenth Doctor witnesses a strange masked ball. To guarantee peace, Prince Zircon has to choose a bride from the Bog People – dead men and women who have been resurrected as slaves. Or as warriors. But Zircon is in love with the enslaved Princess Ash, whose parents were deposed and executed by the current Queen. As usual, the Doctor has walked right into trouble, and it's up to him to sort it out.

   I am a big fan of Doctor Who. I am also a big fan of Fairy Tales, both traditional and modern. This story satisfies my enjoyment of both of those things.
   No attempt is made here to hide that this is inspired by Fairy Tales. There are lots of small details, and some larger plotpoints, that are clearly taken straight out of the Fairy Tales that have been adapted by Disney. If you have read a bit of Fairy Tales, you can have fun spotting where the influence comes from.
   That is not meant to suggest that this is unoriginal, or just a straight retelling, it is far from either of those. There are some delicious twists on what you'd expect from a Fairy Tale, and this story definitely takes its own paths.

   This is not a long story by any means, but Ahern has still managed to get some complexity into it. She is showing she is very good at tight plotting, there is nothing here that is wasted. What is here though is a story that feels like it should take up more pages than it actually does. It is actually bigger on the inside. (Sorry for the pun...)
   The structure is pretty classic Doctor Who. The Doctor arrives at a planet, notices something strange, and meddles. But it doesn't feel like this is something that have been done many times before.
   The way Ahern draws us into the events at the same time as The Doctor works very well. We get to discover what is going on with The Doctor. There is a feeling that we are there with him, even though we don't have a companion that can take our place in the story. Some of this is because the Fairy Tale setting is so familiar. I think everyone will be aware of at least some of the references made. But the most important element that pulls the reader in is Ahern's writing. She gets us on an intimate footing with the characters, and that she does it by playing on familiar emotional tropes does not detract from how well she does it.

   As mentioned above there is some interesting twists to the familiar in this story. A big one has to do with the nature of some of the characters. I really liked that, it is an excellent twist and it makes for a much more complex world than the black & white that some Fairy Tale retellings descend into.
   There is plenty of tension here, it's not a given that the story turns out the way it does. The pacing is also on the faster side of things, which is good when the story is this short. There are no unnecessary breaks here, and this is definitely something to read in one go. It would be hard not to.

   I found this to be really enjoyable. It has absolutely everything you could want from a Fairy Tale, and it is a great Doctor Who story. Ahern is without doubt a very good writer, and she tells a tale that I don't hesitate to call essential for anyone who enjoys a good Fairy Tale retelling. There is also plenty to enjoy here for the Doctor Who fan who wants a strong standalone story with the Tenth Doctor.
   This is simply an excellent Fairy Tale and Doctor Who crossover.

NOTE: I got an e-ARC of this from the publisher/NetGalley.

REVIEWS: You can find a full list of my Doctor Who reviews here. (Including the first five Time Trips stories.)

LINKS: Cecelia Ahern   Ebury Publishing

REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO: KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

Cover by Two Associates/Woodlands books

DOCTOR WHO:

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

TIME TRIPS BOOK 3

BY

NICK HARKAWAY

ISBN: 978-1-44814-187-6

Pages: 49

Publisher: BBC Books/Ebury Publishing

Published: 6 February 2014

On the cover:

 (From the publisher's website.)

Deep in the gap between the stars, the TARDIS is damaged by a temporal mine. It’s not life-threatening, but the Tenth Doctor will need a while to repair the damage. But he’s not alone. The strangely familiar-looking Christina thinks the Doctor has arrived in her bed and breakfast, somewhere in Wales. In fact, the TARDIS seems to have enveloped Christina’s entire town – and something else is trapped inside with it. A violent, unnatural storm threatens them all and – unless it’s stopped – the entire universe.

   This is a story from the end of the Tenth Doctor's time. And it is unmistakenly the tenth Doctor too, you can clearly hear Tennant speak his lines in your head while you read this. Harkaway has managed to capture the personality of the tenth incarnation perfectly. The author has also found room for some signposts as to when this is happening, I'll refrain from divulging the biggest one, since I thought it was a very pleasant surprise myself. There's also a tie to a story of the Doctor's future, a nice Easter egg for those that remember that particular incident. 

   So the story is placed into the canon of the television show, but it is certainly not constrained by it in any way. This story stands very well on its own, and it is a very good one too.

   The narrative starts quite literally with a bang, as mentioned in the cover copy above the TARDIS hits a temporal mine, and from there the story takes some very interesting turns. Harkaway is good at hiding where his plot is taking us, it takes quite a long time before we get any certainty to what is happening. This certainly heightens the suspense, but it also allows the Doctor to shine. The author really shows off the curiosity and inquisitiveness the Doctor has, something that has made him such a lovable hero to so many people.

   There is a sense of fun and wonder throughout the story, even though it is quite far from a humourous story. What we do get is a story that is pervaded with a sense of tension. We know all the time that something serious is happening, and the author manages to really make the reader feel it. 

   It's not unusual for the TARDIS to be an important location in a Doctor Who story, but the way it is done here feels fresh. There's another location here that is totally new, and that has a very interesting history behind it. One that isn't immediately clear.

   Harkaway has managed to make the locations very much part of the story, as well as something that adds to the mystery and suspense. The ambiguity when it comes to where we are is very well done, and the reveal of the reality behind it was a satisfying one.

   All in all this is a very enjoyable Doctor Who story. It has some very interesting ideas behind it, and they are very well executed. For me this was an excellent addition to the Doctor's world, and I think it will be of interest to Science Fiction fans who are unfamiliar with his written adventures.

   For those Doctor Who fans that miss the Tenth Doctor this is an absolute must. If you haven't got this yet you really should point your browser at your preferred e-book retailer, you won't regret it.

NOTE: I got an e-ARC of this from the publisher/NetGalley.

REVIEWS: The Death Pit (Time Trips 1)  Into the Nowhere (Time Trips 2)

LINKS: Nick Harkaway   Ebury Publishing