| PLAYERS by Terrance Dicks |
| Story ? Synopsis: After a narrow escape on Rigel Seven, Peri asks the Doctor to show her a good time for once. He takes her to 1899, but they land in South Africa. Witnessing an assassin, the Doctor gets involved, saving the life of a young British journalist - Winston Churchill. Churchill is later captured by the Boers, as are the Doctor and Peri. Churchill plots an escape, and is given help - but the Doctor is suspicious that it could be a trap. In the confusion, Winston escapes, and the Doctor and Peri reach the TARDIS. The Doctor recalls meeting Churchill during the First World War. There, he also encountered a mysterious Count and Countess, and was lucky to escape with his life. Deciding to investigate further, he takes Peri to London, 1936, where they are soon immersed into the social whirl. The Doctor saves Churchill from another attempted assassination, and is invited to his estate. He is also invited to meet Wallis Simpson, so Peri decides to attend on his behalf. There, she meets the Count and Countess, and Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's envoy in Britain. The Doctor is nearly killed by Nazis on his way to meet Churchill. Von Ribbentrop kidnaps Peri, believing her to be an American spy. The Doctor is warned not to interfere, lest Peri should come to harm. But he manages to effect a rescue, and she obtains a list from Von Ribbentrop of Nazi sympathisers. They realise there is a plot to launch an uprising, with the King giving the signal during a speech. Having convinced Churchill, the Doctor is able to arrange a ploy so that the King's speech can be prevented from being broadcast. He is then allowed to make a second speech, announcing his abdication. The signal is never given, and the uprising fails. The Doctor and Peri meet the Count and Countess one final time. They explain they are Players, manipulating humans for sport. During a scuffle, the Countess accidentally kills the Count, and the Game is lost. The Doctor and Peri leave in the TARDIS. |
| Review:- A somewhat indulgent book from Terrance Dicks, centreing on the Doctor protecting Winston Churchill from exterior attack... Opening with a superfluous escape from Rigel Seven (hmm, Catastrophea opened with a meaningless escape, too...), the Doctor promises luxury for Peri, and promptly fails. But by an amazing chance, he does save Churchill from a premature assassination, and the game is afoot. One short train trip later, and they're all in a Boer prison. One daring escape later, and history is back on track... The Doctor then allows Peri (and the readers) an interlude as we see what happened after The War Games (which Dicks co-wrote). This allows a chance to meet Carstairs and Lady Jennifer from that story again, as well as Major W. Churchill... and a spooky encounter in a secluded chateau... one daring escape later, and it's time to move the story forward to 1936. Here, the real fun starts, as the Doctor does allow Peri to enjoy luxury, and narrowly avoids being bombed. A meeting with the King and Churchill later, and soon Peri is being kidnapped, the Doctor is rescuing her, and a secret plot to get the King to foment a Nazi uprising is on the way... It's scarcely the most taxing book to read, and the level of incident is pretty low. Churchill comes across as a likeable character, but this portrait is unlikely to sway his critics into recognising his virtues. Equally, the King & Mrs Simpson are not treated as anything other than gits. It's almost typical of the book that the big conclusion of the King's speech is actively thwarted before he can even deliver it. This allows for the bigger finish as the Doctor comes face to face with the Players. Amusingly for the author, he suggests that in his future, the Doctor too will become a devious manipulator of time, which he obviously vehemently rejects. Tee hee, I don't think. I can't criticise someone for writing a book that a reader can follow and understand (and there are far worse books to read), but the Players rather diminish any sense of drama. The Doctor has to stop them, or else. And he does. But they sneak off at the end, to fight another day (in Endgame, and World Game, as it happens). Any sense of overall closure is therefore lost. But it's still a fun book, with mostly fun characterisations and incident. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |