| THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN by Simon Messingham |
| Story ? Synopsis: The year is 2096. Earth is still recovering from the effects of its war with the Myloki. Three strangers turn up, and are attacked. One is shot through the head, the second is injured, and the third gets the second away to safety. After 6 months, the first stranger wakes up. The Doctor is surprised not to have regenerated. His rescuers believe him to be Myloki, but he can only confirm their view that the Myloki are returning after decades of peace, during which time Earth has been shattered. Jamie and Zoe are rescued from their lives, but whilst Zoe is a reluctant ally, Jamie believes the Doctor to be dead, and the man calling himself the Doctor to be a robot double. The Doctor sets off to find Neville Verduna, whose scurrilous book on the Myloki war gave PRISM, the organisation which defeated the Myloki, a bad reputation, from which they retreated to become SILOET instead. Verduna is on the brink of death, still bitter over Grant Matthews, the man whom the Myloki made immortal. Jamie is imprisoned in a base on the bottom of the sea with one other top security prisoner. Jamie decides to free this person, but they turn out to be Karl Taylor, the Myloki agent, and Jamie is forced to watch Karl massacre the prison staff and steal a submarine, which he sneaks on board. Zoe examines Skyhome, the SILOET's base in the sky, and finds a secret room where Professor Graham has been working on a device to destroy Matthews. The Doctor next travels to find John Sharon, last of the brothers who were infamous as Global Response for helping out around the world. Sharon is bitter thay SILOET stole their thunder, and has been trying to do good on a small scale. The Myloki have been sending beams down to Earth which have had an inimical effect. Sharon tells the Doctor that Matthews is living on Sharon Island, Global Response's old base. The Doctor is welcomed by Matthews, but Taylor arrives to kill him. The Doctor is able to use Graham's weapon in Taylor, as Jamie realises he is the real Doctor after all. They return to Skyhome with Matthews, where Bishop, the head of SILOET tries again to destroy Matthews, with only brief success. The Doctor realises that the Myloki are seeking Matthews, whom they remade using Myloki genetic material, and will stop at nothing to retrieve him. He helps send Matthews back, despite Bishop's efforts to stop him. The Myloki presence fades away, leaving Earth safe to rebuild itself. Verduna finally dies, satisfied. Reunited at last, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe leave in the TARDIS. |
| Review:- Over the years, many other works of fiction have been crossed over with Doctor Who. Here, the puppet-making career of Gerry Anderson gets its big moment, as shows like Thunderbirds, UFO and Captain Scarlet are homaged by Messingham. On one level, this is a decent book, telling an exciting and compelling story that keeps its mysteries up for most of the story. On another level, it's total tripe. For most of the time, the references are mere dressing for the story. The Myloki are the Mysterons, Matthews is Scarlet, SILOET is SHADO, Global Response is International Rescue, the Sharons are the Tracys, Boffin is Brains, et cetera. Sadly, the book needs some way to resolve all these elements into a single sensible storyline, and it can't do it. The story begins in dramatic fashion by splitting up the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, leaving the latter to settle down in this society, whilst the former recuperates from near-death. Strangely, 1/3 of the book passes like this before Jamie and Zoe are brought in from their experiences, just to humour the Doctor. Then there is the hunt for the missing Matthews, whilst Jamie believes all is lost and tries to make trouble, and Zoe puts work before conscience. The overarching countdown of the Myloki invasion seems to take a conveniently long time, allowing the plot to lurch from setting to setting. Even after Matthews is eventually found, there is still more time to sort things out before the final showdown. To cope with respecting so many different shows would be difficult if Messingham had tried to give them all equal billing. Thunderbirds comes away badly, and Scarlet very well. Indeed, Matthews is the reason behind the events of the book, and their resolution. I myself don't know if Scarlet actually ever achieved a final resolution, but this one seems pretty fair. Sadly, it's reminiscent of Empire Of Death, amongst others, and seems a rather drab end to the anticipated apocalypse. Zoe's forgiveness of the Doctor is swift, but Jamie takes a very long time, almost to the point where the reader might wonder what will do it. To the book's credit, the motivation for his realisation is sensible, even if he looks like the thick Scotsman for it. The Doctor just about holds his dignity, despite the frequent ludicrous tone of the book. His quest for Matthews is patient and never forlorn, and his frustration with Bishop is neutered by a sense of impotence. As I say, the story is alright, but the homage is a farce. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |