| DEATH AND DIPLOMACY by Dave Stone |
| Story 49 Synopsis: The TARDIS is hijacked, with the Doctor tasked as Arbiter at peace talks between three warring empires, the Saloi, the Czhans and the Dakhaari. Meanwhile, Roz and Chris find themselves working for the Czhans in a covert operation on the planet Moriel. And Benny finds herself stuck on Jaris, where she runs into another human, Jason Kane, who helps her head for her friends. En route, they begin to fall in love. The Doctor realises that the Hollow Gods, who arranged the talks, are a sham, and is able to expose them to the respective leaders of the three races. On Moriel, the apparently peace-loving Plobs turn out to be the war-like Skrak, awaiting the return of their leader. Unwittingly, Benny and Jason bring that lost leader with them. He tries to usurp the conference, but a robot sent to kill Benny and Jason finally tracks them down and kills the Skrak Leader instead. The Three Empires renounce their struggles and agree to come together. Benny and Jason decide to get married. |
| Review:- A crazy (though not as crazy as Sky Pirates!) runaround from Stone, who makes a good case for many companions, as his multi-layered plot moves a lot better with many viewpoints. Starting out by splitting the Doctor, Benny, Roz & Chris, the story starts out from several directions, some of which seem only vaguely connected to the rest. The former Adjudicators being drafted into the Czhanos army gives a lead-in to the situation on Moriel, whilst the Doctor is trying to negotiate the planet's future with the leaders of the Czhans, Saloi and Dakhaari. Whilst this is going on, Benny seems as far away as possible, making a fast friend in the mysterious Jason Kane, and trying to stay alive and get back to her friends. It is Jason's other travelling companion, Shug, who proves to be their link to the main plot. Of course, it could hardly be a Dr Who-ized peace conference without something trying to sabotage it, and with the three nominal culprits seeming so even-handed, the prospect of an outside force is easy to accept. The red herring of the Hollow Gods is perhaps a bit convoluted to make it work, but since the Doctor sees through them (the clue is in the name, as so often), that might add up. And so it goes, moving back and forth between the three settings, as the story slowly builds to its inevitable crisis point. The mishaps of Roz & Chris seem a mere sideline at times, whilst the Doctor's dealings with the three principal leaders is often just an excuse for the author's typical excessive sentence structures, and some cheap gags about sex. Though that's more the vein of the Benny/Jason strand. Ultimately, Jason's pet turns out to be the mysterious missing agitator, against whom the Doctor is able to unite the three warring factions, and whom dies as a result of a run-in with a robot. As the author admits, it's a bit of an anti-climax. Unless you're of the opinion that Benny & Jason's meeting is the main plot, and that this book is just the set-up for the succeeding Happy Endings. On the whole, this is a complicated but well-paced and interesting tale that doesn't set out to change readers' minds and consequently succeeds. But there are less disposable books in the range. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |