| HOPE by Mark Clapham |
| Story 53 Synopsis: The Doctor decides to see how far he can push the TARDIS. So, far in the future, it blows a gasket, depositing its crew on Endpoint (?), before falling through a layer of ice, into a toxic and deadly sea underneath. The Doctor finds that a series of murders has recently been committed, though he is deemed innocent. Seeking a way to retrieve the TARDIS, the Doctor, Anji & Fitz come to the Silver Palace, home of Silver, bio-cybernetic person, who rules with a fist of metal. With the provision of an anachronistic apple core, Silver agrees to get the TARDIS back, but asks the Doctor to help find the murderer. He deduces it is connected with the vivactic gland, common to the Endpointers, but no-one else. Using himself and Fitz as bait, the Doctor sets a trap to catch the murderer. He succeeds, to find a small colony of humans living in a submarine on the seabed. But Silver traces the Doctor and rescues him. The humans have planet-reforming equipment which will rejuvenate Endpoint. Silver releases the TARDIS to the Doctor. But all is not well. For Anji has asked Silver to recreate her dead boyfriend, Dave, with his advanced genetic skills. In return, Anji takes data and readings from the TARDIS that Silver asks for. The Doctor helps Silver with a little chemistry, and Silver begins his big scheme. He converts the humans into Silverati, superior to humans, and with time technology, he will be able to flit from Endpoint for good. But the Doctor switches the destination of his travel tunnel, leaving him on an isolated neighbouring planet. Dave II gets to live his life, and Anji promises the Doctor not to be so naughty again. |
| Review:- If you have been generous enough to follow these reviews, you will already know my feelings on the current swing of the books, and the whole Dr Who 2 it espouses. Well, Hope is both argument in favour and in opposition to the new order. Hope is a jolly fun book, that changes focus every so often, so that there's always a sub plot taking your attention centre stage, and much drama. Some of these dramas are resolved with almost pathetic ease, and this allows a clear run for the next plot section. Perhaps the biggest problem is one beyond either Mark or Justin's control. Before I bought this book, I read the DMW Preview, which purports to be spoiler-free, yet features the "Enemies" on almost every occasion. So, I knew that however long it took, and however nice he was in the meantime, Silver would turn out to be the baddy. Oh, and Silver's big plan is a pearler! He's creating a super-race, who are a bit silvery, and a bit better than humans. Yes, altogether, he's creating a new race of Cybermen! How totally disgusting. You see, whatever Justin Richards claims to have destroyed continuity, he's in fact up to something FAR worse. Silver, the misguided scientist, victim of war, life prolonged by technology, is exactly like Davros. So, there we are - a book with the aim of killing the memories of the old-style baddies, by simply creating identikit monsters. Andrew Cartmel's rewriting the mythos suddenly seems like nothing, compared to this. As soon as the Silverati reminded me of the Cybermen, I was just waiting to see whether they'd get killed off, or live to die another day, so to speak. And, big shock, they're not destroyed at the end. Well, how long before we see a return, eh, Mr Richards? Some may say that Justin Richards is following the tradition of Dr Who producers who act as if the only era that matters is NOW, but all it highlights is that many people involved just haven't got a clue. I mean, destroying continuity is one thing. Claiming that the new books are treading a new path is one thing. But then this knowing nod to the audience rubbish is beyond taste. If you're going to be NEW, then don't dress up old ideas as new ones. Because ye general public aren't going to fall for it. On a different note, it has been much mentioned how this is Anji's book. This is for the thickos in the audience who were upset that Anji has "not been well characterised" during the previous 10 books. What claptrap. What it means is that Fitz gets relegated, so presumably his backlash will be next. Then again, there'll be Trading Futures soon, another Anji book. Oh good. There's me thinking they should be Dr Who books. Still... |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |