| SO VILE A SIN by Ben Aaronvitch & Kate Orman |
| Story 56 Synopsis: The Earth Empire, 2982. The Doctor learns something strange happened on Iphigenia, and heads there with Chris. But things go wrong, and he needs Roz to help rescue him. She arrives to find Chris has gone off with someone impersonating the Doctor, but she and the real one are able to reach their destination first, and blow it up. The Doctor is then kidnapped, but finds his way to the Empress, whose suffering he ends. The psi infection is still at large. Roz and Chris meet an old ally, FLORANCE, who helps them escape a tight hole. The Doctor deduces the Brotherhood have been using Duke Armand to create necessary chaos so he will be the new Emperor. But after they catch him, the trouble continues. So attention turns to another would-be Emperor, Duke Walid, who is also working for the Brotherhood, but as a diversion for them. The Doctor finally realises there is another Nexus in the Solar System, on Mimas, and with Chris, finds himself in the clutches of the Brotherhood. Roz meanwhile is sceptical about her sister becoming Empress, and heads back into battle. The Doctor embraces the Nexus, using it to wipe out the Brotherhood for good. But Roz is killed in battle. During her funeral, he suffers a heart attack. |
| Review:- And so, finally, after 10 books, the psi-powers saga comes to an end... but at what cost? This book achieved notoriety when its publication had to be delayed when original writer Ben Aaronovitch had a crisis and couldn't complete it. The increasingly-prolific Kate Orman stepped in at the 11th hour to provide an ending, in an unintended homage to The Ultimate Foe. It got published 5 months late, shortly before Virgin lost its licence to publish the New Adventures as Doctor Who at all. So, there is a question mark over this book, as the reader wonders whether they're reading something that was meant to happen, or which happened to suit the book's rescuer. The biggest problem is the shock ending, which is less of a shock when the succeeding books followed on from it, especially Bad Therapy. Here, the book opens with the aftermath of the shock, which rather dilutes the effect. But it's better than nothing, perhaps. As for the actual story, it's a basic runaround with the final confrontation with the Brotherhood. Say what you like about the NAs in general, they did tend to make a good job of writing arcs, though usually just shorter runs of 4-5 books. Though this one lasted for 10, not all of them are out & out relevant to the ongoing plot. Which works well enough. The fate of Roz Forrester, and the setting, means this is something of a sequel to Original Sin. One key example is that whereas we met Chris' family in that book, who were salt-of-the-earth sorts, this time we meet Roz' family, who are rich and powerful. It is never suggested, but still clear as day, that Leabie is no less corrupt than Walid, or Armand, or any other honcho of the time. It is only her relation to Roz that leaves the reader to side with her. Beyond all this, it's just your average "bunch of nutters wish to operate super-weapon to clobber billions of people" plot. The notion that the Brotherhood's ultimate ambition is to force everyone to join their psi-club is at least a rational one, which helps. The effects of psi-weapons on the Doctor make it clear that the threat is a great one. The whole business about alternative versions of him is less impressive, and makes for a rather underwhelming blink-and-you'll-miss-it conclusion, but maybe there was no other way to handle it. Roz' death is entirely arbitrary, and comes with no drama, since the Doctor already knows it's coming and effectively does nothing. The coda of his heart attack is presumably some kind of cosmic karma coming into play, and Kadiatu's entirely rotten attempt to shake him out of his reverie is even less credible. More impressive is Bernice's handling of Roz' wardrobe, and it becomes clear that the reader has been kept at distance from her deliberately, whereas Bernice and Ace' personalities made up great chunks of previous tales. Ultimately, it is the writers and the editors who failed with Roz, and assuming people will automatically care when she dies is a tragic mistake. The cover's pretty good, for a change, but the title isn't. As an average thriller, not that bad, really. As an end to the psi-powers arc, pretty fair. As a farewell to Roz, pretty weak. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |