| THE ROOM WITH NO DOORS by Kate Orman |
| Story 59 Synopsis: The Doctor and Chris land in medieval Japan, following a time trace. They are almost beheaded by samurai, but are rescued by Penelope Gate, a time traveller, with Joel Mintz. A large metal object landed in a nearby village, and has caused magical things to happen. Two feuding war-lords wish to claim the object, as does an angry Caxtarid slaver, and a bunch of Kapteynians. The Doctor tries to keep the object, a pod, out of everyone's hands, whilst trying to work out what it is. He's shot by an arrow and believed dead by Chris, who buries him. Chris carries out the Doctor's last orders, to get the pod to a nearby monastery. The Doctor recovers, and finds Joel was trying to get one of the war-lords to invent the computer. The Caxtarid is killed by the war-lord when she tries to change sides. Just as the warriors arrive at the monastery, the Doctor opens the pod, releasing the Kapteynian trapped inside and rendering the pod ineffective. The Doctor returns Penelope and Joel to their respective timezones. Chris, feeling less guilty about Roz and Liz, rejoins the Doctor in the TARDIS, and they leave. |
| Review:- Chris is feeling the burden of his travels, and the Doctor is postponing the inevitable... Orman was one of the regular NA writers, and turns up one last time with a semi-sequel to her previous Return Of The Living Dad, with Joel Mintz back again, as well as Caxtarids and mentions of Lacaillans. Fortunately, this is wrapped up in a challenging unfamiliar setting, medieval Japan. A space pod falls to Earth, causing magic beneficial effects to the villagers who find it. Naturally, a powerful gift from the gods draws the attention of local feuding warlords who will stop at nothing to seize it. Into this simple set-up ride the Doctor and Chris, each still struggling with recent events. Where the book succeeds well is in the simple character moments. Though Kame is disturbed by his resurrections, he still carries on with trying to protect people. Chris finds that he can cope better when he addresses the situations he is in in terms he can figure, instead of letting himself be over-whelmed. Penelope Gate has briefly found time travel as a means of escaping a dreary marriage. The Kapteynians are merely concerned to help their trapped compatriot. And so on. The villains of the book are products of the times. The lone Caxtarid, Te Yene Rana, is as brutal as the warlords, but perhaps with less perspective. As for Joel, the dozy would-be time meddler, it's hard to see why Orman clearly likes him so much. His proposed punishment calls to mind that for the Master in The Time Monster, and with the same unsatisfying resolution. It ill reflects on a book about war that it funks the matter of punishment for war crimes. Whilst the Caxtarid is killed, the surviving warlord merely retains his dignity once the Doctor deals with the pod. On the whole, the story is perhaps rather better than the way in which it is told. In itself, it's quite a nice read and does at least perk Chris and the Doctor up, even if they both realise that the end is near... though they can't realise how close it is. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |