| THE DOCTOR TRAP by Simon Messingham |
| Story 23 Synopsis: On Planet 1, Sebastiene has brought together 12 hunters to organise the hunt for the last Time Lord, the Doctor. Lured to Snowcap Base on Earth, the TARDIS is moved to Planet 1, Donna kidnapped, and the Doctor transmatted into the hunting zones. But he switched places with Baris, Sebastiene's dupe, and has been trying to keep Seb at bay. Donna finds herself in a sort of virtual Bracknell, where she eventually meets the Doctor, once Seb sends him in. Seb sends the hunters in to finish the job, whilst the Doctor and Donna try to keep Baris alive. The Doctor realises that the Planet wants to replace Seb with him, but he is able to escape with Donna, leaving Baris to keep an eye on a now rueful Sebastiene. |
| Review:- Back for the 1st time in nearly a decade, Messingham takes familiar ideas and gives them a fresh spin. When announced, the blurb suggested a rehash of The Last Dodo, but thankfully this takes more of a tone against hunters and protected species. The opening with talk of Snowcap Base and General Cutler proves alarming (suggesting The Tenth Planet), and the idea of an alien beast at large echoes other tales like The Seeds Of Doom. But that proves to be just a red herring, to lure the Doctor into a trap. But the Doctor has been in too many traps over the years, and turns the tables as much as he can. With a madman like Sebastiene to thwart, and a sad man like Baris to rescue, it's a pretty tense book. Some sideshow is provided by Donna's virtual prison, which is very reminiscent of Forest of the Dead, though this time it seems rather more pertinent. As she slowly comes to terms with her incarceration, and eventually rumbles Sebastiene's ruse, it shows her strength of character in a positive way. Baris allows for some unsubtle and unamusing digs at a stereotype of fans. Such is the modern age, that whereas previous fan analogues have been about pretend versions of the show, here Baris is unashamedly a fan of the Doctor. Whether a complete body change is taking hero-worship too far, or whether Seb pushed him into it is another matter. Sebastiene is a strange and rather shallow figure. His omnipotence is undermined, and seems worthless even when demonstrated. Since the ending with the motive of Planet 1 enforcing the overall similarity to The Mind Robber, perhaps it's harsh to expect too much novelty. I did expect Baris would be allowed to replace Seb, but instead they're expected to work together in some sort of compromise. Can't see it working happily, really. The various hunters are either ciphers easily forgotten, or guys like Weimark, who gets depth and story time, but is still quite worthless, really. His name, and location of Beriagrad, suggests an old-fashioned attempt at villainous characterisation, though it just irks. On the whole, then, the book is fair enough, nothing too terrible, but hardly a triumph either. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book. |