| BULLET TIME by David A. McIntee |
| Story ? Synopsis: Hong Kong, April 1997. Sarah Jane Smith comes to the island in search of a story, and is surprised to see the TARDIS in the grounds of a new company run by a Mr Pendragon. She is even more surprised when UNIT tell her that Pendragon is the Doctor, though not an incarnation she recognises. She soon comes to believe that he is running a Triad, and liaises with Tom, a CIA officer also investigating the Doctor. The Doctor is eventually able to explain that he had been fronting the Tao Te Lung triad as an expediency to help some stranded aliens recover their vessel and leave Earth. Sarah learns of the Cortez Project, which aims to assume all aliens are hostile, and to kill them. The Doctor is able to thwart their efforts, but Sarah is shot in the process by Tom, who considers the Doctor hostile. |
| Review:- One of the few experimental PDAs, this falls somewhere between being a proper solo story for Sarah Jane, and a solo story for the 7th Doctor. Since she doesn't know him, except what she is told or can judge for herself, his apparently machiavellian aspect works to provide some drama in the book, as UNIT and CIA agent Tom seem to be the good guys. Of course, this is arse-about-face, but it does Sarah no credit that she cannot fathom that her old friend would have an ulterior motive, however different his face. Her willingness to trust Tom also proves rather disastrous, when he proves less friendly than he seemed. The whole plot with the Tao Te Lung, and the trap for Tse Hung, turns out to be rather well presented and executed. The same cannot quite be said for the plot about the aliens (presumably the Tzun, though they're never named, bar one small mention of Ph'Sor). Though the Cortez Project is a believable (regrettably) ploy for extremist persons in UNIT or the CIA, it does rather render the previous three-dimensionality of characters into less sensible ciphers. It's never quite clear why Sarah takes so long to tumble to the Doctor being the good guy, even in the face of the evidence, and her condemnation of him as she tricks Tom into shooting her is a bum note. Her shooting has led some/many to assume that Sarah dies. Her existence in the epilogue (and School Reunion, now, tee hee) does put the mockers on this. Whilst rather lacking in its Doctor Who-ness, it must be said that this is quite a readable little thriller (for the most part). Though characters like Yi Chung ultimately prove to be just padding, they're well-written padding. So barring the last 1/4 or so, this is worth reading. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book. |