| CITY AT WORLD'S END by Christopher Bulis |
| Story ? Synopsis: The TARDIS lands on top of a skyscraper. The Doctor, Ian, Susan and Barbara descend to ground level, shortly before a meteor storm hits, demolishing the building. Barbara is trapped in a lift cage, Susan is taken to hospital, and Ian and the Doctor are taken back to a refugee camp, believed to be insane escapees. The truth is fantastic. They arrived in the city of Arkhaven, on the doomed planet Sarath, which is soon to be hit by its Moon, which is in a decaying orbit. The Arkavians have built a huge rocket to take their people to a new world, Mirath. The Doctor and Ian are attacked during a breakout, and when they raise the alarm, they soon improve their position, becoming feted guests. Susan recovers in hospital. Barbara struggles to find a way out through sewers, eventually finding the surface and meeting Susan. They are soon captured and put to work. The Doctor is entrusted to look over the rocket, and makes a few discoveries, which he tells Ian. The moon is affected by planetary stresses, and splits into two chunks, the smaller of which will impact within 8 hours. The Zero Day evacuation goes into effect. The Doctor and Ian try to trace their friends, finally reaching the mysterious quarry when excavation work goes on. The ship is exploded by the Mayor of Arkhaven - as the Doctor explains, it could never have flown anyway, so there must be a secret plan. It turns out a smaller craft, the Lander, will be able to leave for Mirath, but only with a small number of occupants. To the Mayor's surprise, his computer system, Monitor, attempts a takeover. The secondary Susan was one of many android duplicates that Monitor built to ensure its own survival on Mirath. But through its link with Susan, it enables a retaliation, destroying Monitor and its androids. The false Susan will have to be the autopilot system for the Lander. The Doctor takes a portion of space from the TARDIS to enable the Lander to take all the surviving Arkavians. The ship takes off, eventually arriving safely on Mirath. Monitor had planned to take the TARDIS with them, so the Doctor is able to get his friends away, once Barbara has revealed she still has the missing key. |
| Review:- It's the end of the world, and not everyone's going to make it out in time... The disaster genre is not often presented credibly in Doctor Who, but this is one of the better efforts. In keeping with its supposed setting, the travellers are soon split up and separated from their Ship, and whisked into a place where another Ship has taken on a mystical significance, and hope that it will gets its occupants "home". But the imminent catastrophe seems safely in the background, whilst a people continue to struggle for supremacy when the situation doesn't call for it. The Doctor is able to use his intelligence to capitalise on the break-out from the NC2 internment camp to show off his knowledge and get he and Ian into a safer spot, and show care for Susan. Soon, the mysteries flow. Where do the missing NC2's go? Why does the Ship have a big tunnel underneath it? Why is Susan cast out with the rubbish, and yet also safe in the hospital? Will they ever find Barbara? Luckily, the history teacher is resourceful and determined, unwittingly tracing the secret hideout of the Taklarians. She is made a pawn in their dream of revenge, and then almost recovered by Ian. The failure of their attempted reunion keeps a bit of zest during the middle section, and her lucky meeting of Susan after she reaches the surface, and then their subsequent capture keeps mystery real. As for the Doctor and Ian, they find their status improved for once, but find the inevitable risks of fame in such a stratified society. They learn that secrets and lies are part and parcel of Arkhaven life, but even more so than they are told. When Susan is kidnapped and then shot, things seem bad, but the discovery that she is just a replacement throws another twist at the reader. And then the moon splits, and Zero Day arrives. The sudden addition of a countdown adds the final ingredient to the story. The hunt for Barbara is suddenly imperative, whilst the Taklarian attack on the Ship is just a red herring. Its destruction seems to come rather out of the blue, but its decoy nature adds another element of quest - where is the real ship? The rather harsh idea that the work on the real Ship was done by recaptured escaped NC2's, who were expected to die anyway, makes it clear that there is a lack of generosity present. That few will make the trip to Mirath is explicable, but the callous way that the survivors have been chosen makes for unpleasant explanations, and it's almost fitting that Monitor's last-minute uprising puts a hole in the scheme. Susan's replacing ties in at last, and she is able to help a retaliation against the machine, and also be the replacement pilot. Were it not for the rather weak character of Susan anyway, this would be the stuff of high emotion. As it is, it's rather hohum. With a sudden and uncharacteristic piece of help from the Doctor (which seems only there to anticipate Planet Of Giants), the Arkavians manage to make their bold new journey, and the Doctor and his friends are able to leave the doomed planet in their own ship. The rather emotionless presentation of mass slaughter rather exposes the lack of heart in the book, though it's well-plotted and exciting. From an unpromising premise, a fine story results. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |