| NO FUTURE by Paul Cornell |
| Story 23 Synopsis: The Doctor brings Ace and Bernice to London, 1976, to try and see how Danny Pain will save the world. Disguising the TARDIS as Nelson's Column, he gets Bernice to join punk group Plasticine as their lead singer. Ace is a roadie, and gets involved with record company boss Robert Bertram. The Doctor is a Wanted man, and UNIT aren't happy. He finds an ally in Warrant Officer John Benton. A plan to infiltrate UNIT goes awry when a helicopter taking the Doctor, Bernice, Benton and the Brigadier has to land on Salisbury Plain. The Brig has been undercover - he knows UNIT are compromised. Bertram gets Ace to take a potshot at the Queen. He finds she is an ally, so he reveals himself to be Mortimus aka The Meddling Monk. He has been messing about with the Universe for the past 4-5 books, with the help of Artemis, a Chronovore he has trapped. He is using the Vardans to infiltrate UNIT. The Doctor gets the Brig to ally with Black Star, a terrorist group, who are themselves compromised by Broadsword, a UNIT offshoot. Black Star have been set up by the Monk too. The Doctor confronts the Monk, but Ace appears to stab him to death. But he returns to hijack a planned global TV concert. Plasticine will play a tune which knocks the Vardans for six. The Doctor tries to save the Monk from Artemis' wrath, but Ace gets him off. The day is saved, Ace makes up with the Doctor and Bernice, Danny Pain sort of saves the world. As a finishing touch, the Doctor breaks the chameleon circuit. |
| Review:- So this was it! After a few months with the TARDIS company put through the wringer, stabbings, shootings, and more, a conclusion! Anyway, the book. Is this Cornell-by-numbers? If it is, then so be it. I was quite cheesed off when this got pasted in a DWM review. I found (and find) this a really good read, enjoyable and entertaining. The "kisses with history" are so subtle, they don't matter in the long run. All the characters are interesting and well motivated. All the villains are believably nasty. And the end shows that not even the Doctor (or his sorceror's apprentice, Ace) can manage the <Reset> button. Which is a lesson to remember. The idea that the brains behind the last few books is the Monk seems a little bit unlikely, even with the power of a Chronovore at his control. That the Monk should pretend to be a Richard Branson figure to enable a change in technology to stop the Doctor deducing how to foil the Vardans is almost ludicrous enough to foster the suspicion that the Doctor would never have gone to such lengths in the supposed "real" history. It's nice that Benton is considered strait-laced enough to remain loyal to the Doctor even in the face of all else. Also, the Brigadier's pretend villainy lasts only long enough for its loss to be all the better. Sadly, the idea of UNIT being compromised is very tiresome, and this wouldn't be the last time it would happen. I also think that this is a better title than Anarchy In The UK would have been. I get the impression that Cornell himself wasn't too pleased with this, which is a shame to me. I rather like it. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |