| HEAD GAMES by Steve Lyons |
| Story 43 Synopsis: The Doctor learns that the energy from the Land of Fiction is leaking, and tries to stop it. But it has contacted its last Master, Jason, who creates Dr Who, a fictional parody of the Doctor, and embarks on a quest to catch the Doctor and his evil companions, and put them on trial. Mel finds her bleak existence on Avalone curtailed by her capture, Ace is less impressed, Chris is considered on side, and Roz tries to keep at large. Bernice struggles, and the Doctor feels preoccupied. The leaking energy has also provided a panacea for the bleak planet of Detrios, and the Doctor's answer to stopping the leak will spell disaster for the planet. Chris gets involved with the locals, some of whom have a messianic devotion problem. Dr Who takes Jason to sort out Earth, but their attempts to subvert Buckingham Palace fail, and an attempted assassination of the Queen is just a cover. Jason places Dr Who on the throne, but the Doctor comes to convince him to stop his games. Jason reluctantly agrees, and helps the Doctor and Ace put a stop to the energy leak. Mel is appalled at the Doctor's current attitude, and the change in Ace. She leaves on bad terms. Chris is gloomy at having failed to help Detrios. After a prompt from Ace, the Doctor decides he must do something about Kadiatu. |
| Review:- A sequel to a sequel, and yet also an extended excuse for a catch-up on the direction of the books. The sideshow on Detrios, and Dr Who's crusade almost feel like distractions from the dissertion on the Doctor's character, partly through the eyes of his friends. The Doctor at this point is not so much a blatant warmonger, as a crusader, a fighter to not merely right wrongs, but put the whole universe to rights. The status of Time's Champion provides a heavy mantle that causes him to make sometimes brutal decisions, in order to preserve the greater good. Of course, this whole thing was originated on TV in Seasons 25 & 26, when the Doctor gave the Daleks and the Cybermen a right kicking. The New Adventures gave full reign to this idea, and slowly, the Doctor found himself taking on more warlike companions than before. Roz and Chris were not merely cops, but the products of a ruthless 30th century society that needed to adapt to threats in all shapes and sizes. Though an archaeologist, Bernice had been born during the Dalek Wars, and was handy when armed, when necessary. Even Ace had been changed by her travels into a harder fighter, at ease with firepower and understanding of the fights that the Doctor took on. So how would poor Mel cope with all this? And why wouldn't Jason paint him as an aberrant dictator bringing misery to millions? The problem is that whilst a laudable and interesting idea, it takes up most of the book, and is astonishly boring. And none of it is helped by the feeble attempts at knowing humour which pepper the narrative occasionally. Whilst this sort of stuff helped enliven the preceding Conundrum, here it merely serves as a desperate garnish to a lacklustre meal. Detrios is such a tediously generic planet that any interest in their religiose society is bludgeoned by a racial gimmick of "humans" and "lizards". Chris' interest and problems provide some colour, but his devotion is hard to share. Jason uses his fantastic powers in a typical manner, causing disastrous loss of life without moral recompense, and later perverting the course of history with an attack on the Queen. This smugly Republican undertone is all well and good, but it doesn't make the book one iota more mature as a result. All it does is show Jason that it isn't easier to save the world from a position of power. So, Detrios loses its "Miracle" and Mel is returned to her life on bad terms. And Ace handily gives the Doctor an idea for his next adventure. Overall, it's a pretty pointless book, told in inclusively tiresome style, adding up to a waste of time. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |