| THE BLUE ANGEL by Paul Magrs & Jeremy Hoad |
| Story 26 Synopsis: The Doctor has landed the TARDIS on board the spaceship Nepotist, where he annoys Captain Blandish. The ship finds itself in an uncharted section of space, where they find Valcea, and beam down to meet the Glass Men, who are ruled by Daedalus, who foments a war. The Doctor stumbles across Iris Wildthyme, who is also around. She explains that Valcea is part of the Enclave, which is part of the Obverse. She allows the war to continue, putting the Doctor out of the way for his own safety, and to his surprise and dismay. |
| Review:- A perplexing confection running out of order and putting the Doctor in a real fix. After the seismic shock of Interference, the growing story of a future war leads to an oddball encounter with a new section of space, and an old friend who may not be trustworthy. Whilst the Doctor finds himself in a dreary Star Trek send-up aboard the Nepotist, Iris is helping beleaguered shoppers in Gateshead who are harbouring an alien child. As you do. And this all contrasts with a peculiar narrative where the Doctor appears to be living in a council house with his companions. Eventually, the strands of the story come together, and the council house drama seems to be a safe house that Iris has put the Doctor in to stop him interfering in a war. How that relates to the other war is anyone's guess. The build-up given to the portentous Glass Men of Valcea, and the fearsome Daedalus is entirely out of proportion to credence. It is regrettable but the attempt to think big means that things get too confusing. Whilst it is possible to think a path through, it doesn't make for a satisying experience, and the feeling created is "who cares?" As with Magrs' previous EDA, the sense of a writer pleasing himself instead of caring about his audience is all too clear. And the usage of 'capacious' is chronic smugness, rather than valid description. Iris is typically worthless, Compassion is woefully under-written for her 1st story as a companion, Fitz gets little to do, and the Doctor ends up kept at arms length from events. Way to go... The kind of book that makes an audience asks questions, but not desired ones. Things like "can I have my money back?" |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of the book. |