| ANACHROPHOBIA by Jonathan Morris |
| Story 54 Synopsis: Despite playing with the TARDIS and losing, the Doctor doesn't seem to have improved. Here, his ship is forced down onto an unnamed planet, and he is forced out into the harsh environment, with Fitz and Anji, to seek a cure. There is a war in progress, between the Plutocrats, and the Defaulters. The latest weapon is time, with zones of accelerated/decelerated time causing nastier deaths than ever before. The Doctor is mistaken for a time expert, and our three heroes are taken to Isolation Station 40. There, they learn that initial experiments to travel back in time, are underway, but doing badly. The Doctor rescues two crewmen from a terrible death, but when he brings them back, it seems they bring a virus with them. Nevertheless, the Doctor and Fitz make a timedive trip themselves, and fear that there is something trying to get into their capsule. On their return, it transpires that the ruse of being a time expert no longer washes, and they are imprisoned. But the virus is turning people into clock-type creatures, unmaking the staff of IS40 into unpeople. The Doctor finally finds that the creatures can be stopped by a slow-acting death, such as the mass-release of mustard gas. The infected staff are all killed, but all is not over. An auditor from Station 1, Mr Mistletoe, has come to check up on progress, and he reveals that two infected subjects are on their way to Station 1. The Doctor, Fitz and Anji, and Mistletoe set off to save the continuing spread of the infection. But they arrive too late, and Station 1 is wholly populated by the clock-creatures. Visiting the actuaries who run the whole operation, the Doctor deduces that the Plutocrats and the Defaulters are being run by the same people, to generate a perpetual war, purely for business. Finally, the Doctor becomes partially infected, and has to work out that the final solution to stopping the virus, is to prevent the initial breach in the time vortex. But he mustn't change history, or he will become a clock-creature permanently. He saves the day, but is physically drained. Whilst he recuperates, Mistletoe reveals himself to Fitz and Anji as Sabbath, and the Doctor has been set up purely to destroy the clock-creatures. |
| Review:- Ah-ha! So, three books since the latest "new dawn", how are things going? Well, plus ca change, it really is. Having recently read Hope, and had particular criticisms, I was more than bemused when this book went a similar way. Certainly, the "let's wrap this up by 3/4 of the page count, then hit them with the extra denouement" could have been more subtle had it not just happened! Will Trading Futures continue the trend? So, to the book. Many other reviews start by pointing out that Mr Morris' previous book was Festival Of Death, highly-acclaimed, and that this marks a change in tone. It makes you wonder how Gareth Roberts felt, when he got lauded to the skies for delivering book after book in the same furrow. Change style, and your audience screams in hatred. I, on the other hand, read it as the latest adventure of Dr Who, regardless of its writer's track record (although that depends on who it is). The Doctor has a full and intriguing role, is the pivot around which the book turns, and ultimately, the only person to whom the villains are bothered by. Fitz and Anji are intelligent, three-dimensional people, who have genuine concerns and feelings, and contribute to the storytelling. Perhaps the best thing to say is that had this book coem out say 7 years ago, then either Ace or Bernice would have had an affair with one of the other characters, for no particularly necessary reason. No danger of that here. Anji contributes a business knowledge that is quite vital, and Fitz is a decent man, surrounded by shades of black. I shall be sorry to see him go. Mistletoe/Sabbath (?) is amusing, and well-written, but I pray that neither Mr Morris nor Mr Richards thought he would fool anyone for a moment. OK, the final "this is the real me" is a surprise, but SOME misdirection was obvious from the word go, and anyone who read this, and thought he was some kind of homage to the bumptious "men from the ministry" who periodically interfered with UNIT, and no more, must have a reading age in single figures. All I was waiting for was an end-of-chapter revelation cliffhanger, which doesn't come, because Mistletoe isn't a one-off figure, he is a semi-regular. I assume he is Sabbath, as I can't recall anyone who would have the recognition of Fitz and Anji, and be in the same position of power. Mind you, the ending of Adventuress... is so opaque, I can't truly be certain. Still, it was intriguing, sort of. So, anyway, this is a jolly readable book, but if Mr Morris thinks it's a horror novel, as he sort of states in DWM, then he is sorely mistaken. Much modern Doctor Who transcends genre, and a straightforward book is in danger of being shredded in analysis. Being wise after the event:- Writing now, 6 months later, it is generally accepted that it is Sabbath. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |