| DREAMTIME by Simon A. Forward |
| Story 67 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands on an asteroid, and the Doctor, Ace and Hex find Uluru, and some visiting Galyari. During an attack by bunyips, the Doctor is sent into the dreamtime. There, he travels back to before Uluru's launch into space, where a tribal leader, Baiame, has brought together thousands of stranded people. When Baiame starts the launch, the Doctor insists he bring some of the local law agents on board, else they will perish when left behind. The Galyari suggest checking out tunnels below the surface, but Ace nearly drowns along the way. The Doctor returns to Hex, but when the Galyari try to reach the body of Baiame, he concocts a time device to heal the fracture in the dreaming, restoring all the people swallowed by the bunyips and so on. Released, the Galyari return to their craft to seek trade elsewhere, whilst the Doctor, Hex and Ace return to the TARDIS, leaving the people on the asteroid to continue their journey through space. |
| Review:- A clash of cultures, and a journey through space and time... Hex's first mission brings him into contact with unworldy forces from Earth and beyond, and Forward smugly gives his own creations, the Galyari, another run-out. Though at first sight, this seems a rather dispiriting jumble of ideas, the story does develop quite well, and although covering a broad canvas, it's fairly simple, at heart. The mystery of what Uluru is doing on an asteroid is wrapped up in a battle of dreams, and once the Doctor is taken, and Ace and Hex take separate routes to try and find answers, the story speeds along nicely in three directions. The more interesting strand concerns the Doctor, who travels through a dream state and arrives back in the past, just at the point before Uluru's launch into the stars. Dogmatic figurehead Baiame seems malice-free, and so cannot easily be identified as a mere villain. Indeed, the Doctor's simple act of persuasion to include those outside Baiame's group when the launch comes, is the catalyst for the later trouble which the Doctor has already seen. Despite this, Baiame doesn't take against the Doctor, later calling on him for help. So where is the trouble? The chaotic dream-state (which isn't very well explained at any point) and Uluru itself are more mistaken influences than out & out badness. Which leaves the Galyari. I was unimpressed by their previous appearance (in The Sandman) and here their trade mission is clearly not conducted in a spirit of fair enterprise. Their leader, Korshal, may claim to be merely seeking new technologies to trade, or that attacking Baiame is fair game. But the listener is left in the position that the actions of the Galyari are in opposition to what the Doctor is trying to do to help, and therefore must be wrong. The sequence with the kookaburra comes as a welcome pay-off to stop Korshal, although it reminds me of Fear Her, and makes their meek exit seem all too easy - but their sneak attack finish never happens. On his first mission off Earth, Hex carries himself pretty well. His "oh my God" catchphrase is used only when it seems really necessary, which is the mark of a good catchphrase. He also provides a bit of focus for Ace and the Doctor, who might find a different way of going about things. Overall, the story rewards by playing surprising and intriguing twists and three good cliffhangers. Uluru in space sounds a weird pitch, but the follow-through certainly pays off. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |