| KURSAAL by Peter Anghelides |
| Story 7 Synopsis: The planet of Saturnia Regna, in the Cronus system, has been bought by Gray Corp, to terraform it into Kursaal, a holiday world. But an exploration team find an ancient cathedral, a site related to an extinct race of wolf-like creatures called Jax. But a brutal attack leaves nearly all the team dead. The TARDIS arrives, and the Doctor and Sam pose as a pathologist and nurse. But investigating cop Kadijk comes to believe they are part of terrorist group, HALF, and that the Doctor is their elusive leader, Bernard Cockaigne. The dead archaeologists turn into Jax. The Doctor escapes custody and returns to the cathedral with Cockaigne. They learn about the movement across the system by the Jax, but are narrowly rescued from new Jax by Kadijk. The Doctor persuades him that the head of Gray Corp is in danger. Sam has already dropped in on him, and witnesses his change into a Jax. But he is pushed to his death out of a window. The Doctor sneaks Sam away. She asks to see the future, so they return to the planet 15 years later. After a bomb attack at a theme park, the Doctor is sent back to hospital, whilst an apparently dead Sam disappears - to the zoo, where she releases surviving Jax drones. She tracks down Cockaigne, who reveals the site of the cathedral. Kadijk tracks the Doctor down soon after he finds Cockaigne dead. They go to a funfair ride built over the cathedral, where Sam prepares for the awakening of the Jax. She tells the Doctor that the Jax is just a virus, not the wolves particularly. Kadijk plans to explode a bomb in the cathedral, but the Doctor wants to find a cure for the Jax. They reach a shuttle, but can't set off the bomb without a direct hit. Sam has already sneaked onto the shuttle, and kills Kadijk. The Doctor gets her into the escape pod and joins her, launching as the ship crashes into the cathedral site, burying the Jax again. The Doctor manages to cure Sam of her infection, but she is oblivious of what she did anyway. |
| Review:- It's werewolf time, in a tale of greed and preservation... There are many familiar parts to this story. The ideas of archaeological digs, of terrorist organisations, of animal rights groups, of ruthless big businesses, of weary but dedicated police... all these things are familiar. But rather than being a recipe for tiresome repetition, the blend makes them all work well together, and provides a challenging mystery for the Doctor. The opening scene, where miserable rich man Gray antagonises archaeologist Saraband and then they're both attacked sets the story up, and when the Doctor and Sam fall into place, and have to pretend aliases to avoid awkward questions, they start a chain of consequence that leads to a belated conclusion 15 years later. Captain Kadijk is a believable, dogged no-nonsense cop, struggling to keep the peace against the odds. Hassled by HALF terrorists, he's blinded to what the real situation is, and his assumption that the Doctor is really the elusive Bernard Cockaigne makes a frightening sense in his eyes, but it also shows how far wrong he is. That Sam should have met the real Cockaigne not long before informs the reader that HALF, whilst hardly innocent, aren't quite the threat he believes. When the Doctor rescues Sam briefly, and is paired with Cockaigne, it's something of a wonder that he takes quite so long to suss out the werewolf connection. Almost as much of a wonder as Sam going straight to Gray with her theory. After being rescued from the dig and hastily reunited with Sam, the Doctor doesn't seem too bothered that there might be any loose ends. But in a rare twist, the story moves forward in time to show things going out of control again. The return of Kadijk and Cockaigne is believably handled, with the former getting tired, and the latter living in fear. That the Doctor should again take so long to realise (or admit) that Sam is not a victim, but a perpetrator, is not to his credit, or to the credulity of the audience. The chance for a big, proper ending in the Jax cathedral allows for some gruesome gags at the expense of tacky funfair rides, and with Sam as a mouthpiece for the Jax, it gives the Doctor a chance to learn the truth of the Jax. Even if Kadijk fails to make it to the end, he does dish out some meaty violence at the Doctor's expense, and the final crash-the-ship finish seems a bit drastic, but presumably would scuttle the Jax for a long time (the naff ending showing that Cockaigne is alive and infected really rankles). Sam luckily escapes the worst of the infection and forgets she ever did anything. Zzz. What was the target audience again? So, far from flawless, but pretty entertaining, and not too boring about lycanthropy. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of the book. |