| THE BANQUO LEGACY by Andy Lane & Justin Richards |
| Story 33 Synopsis: England, 1898. Compassion is attacked and her artron energy drained. Forced to land, the Doctor and Fitz find themselves at Banquo Manor, with their friend trapped in the guise of a local. They witness an electro-telepathic experiment that is sabotaged and kills Professor Richard Harries. Inspector Ian Stratford arrives to investigate, and suspects the Doctor. When he disappears the next day, Stratford is convinced. But he is trailed outside and found dead. Harries' body disappears briefly Back at the Manor, there are more deaths. Stratford deduces Harries was a blackmailer, and killed by John Hopkinson, another guest. But the death toll rises. The Doctor turns up alive, in the grip of the reanimated Harries. The dead scientist had created a telepathic link to his twin sister, whose unconscious is now in control of the corpse. By fetching some explosives from a shed outside, the Doctor is able to stop the corpse permanently. He also locates the Time Lord agent at hand, the butler, Simpson, who is killed falling from a high window. Once the Doctor locates Simpson's jamming equipment, then the artron drain is stopped, and the Doctor and Fitz can once more escape inside Compassion, leaving the survivors to settle up... |
| Review:- With the net closing in on the Doctor, what better/worse time to become involved in a Victorian murder mystery in an isolated country house? In a break with the norm, the bulk of the story is related via two first-person accounts from people present. This allows for the story to progress quite entertainingly, whilst also keeping our heroes at a distance. And whilst we are privy to the thoughts of Hopkinson and Stratford, the interplay between them allows for a fair relation of the other. And there are still plenty of secrets. Whilst there is an early clue about 6 white squares in Simpson's room, the mystery of the Time Lord agent is not the central question, fortunately. Richard Harries, unfortunately too similar in name to the late Irish actor of great renown, is easily spotted as a would-be fruitcake, and his demise comes earlier than might have been expected. But with suspicion falling on the Doctor, the subsequent temporary disappearance of the corpse, the discovery of the missing Doctor, and so on, there are plenty of puzzles to keep a reader guessing, and interesting in reading on. Fitz is as out of his depth as anyone. His concern for Compassion causes confusion, especially when he fears she is lost inside Susan Seymour forever. The danger to both of them highlights the ongoing danger of the Time Lords, still in the background but menacingly. With the Doctor disappearing around page 100, that leaves 60-odd pages of his absence to allow the other characters to take precedence. When he returns, the action begins to escalate. It is unfortunate that the denouement is based around a lumbering out of control monster. What works for Hammer horror doesn't really resonate on the page as well. The silliness as characters escape up the chimney allows for brief thrills, but at the risk of the credible scenario. And after a nod to Pyramids Of Mars, Harries is blown to bits, and once the Doctor safely finds Simpson's limiter, it's time to go. Admittedly, there's no scope for chat when he is still on the run, and the epilogue with Simpson finding his clue after 170 years of waiting somehow doesn't feel like the exciting cue for the succeeding end-of-saga tale. On the whole, it's a riveting book, well told, which loses its grip towards the end. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |