| TOY SOLDIERS by Paul Leonard |
| Story 42 Synopsis: In the aftermath of World War I, children across Europe begin to go missing. The Doctor sends Chris and Roz to investigate, whilst Bernice gets a job at a factory producing teddy bears - the only clue linking the disappearances. But she is then taken, and his attempt to rescue her results in his press-ganging. They are transmatted to the planet Q'ell, where a giant machine has been running both sides of a war for 1,400 years, to create the technological advance to allow it to win a war against another race. But the Doctor shows that because it ran both sides, those fighting were incapable of even the smallest creative advance. He sabotages the machine, and is able to return the surviving children to their homes. |
| Review:- Off the back of two successful MAs in 7 months, the prolific Bristolian and friend of Jim Mortimore dished up a NA about war and loss. The story starts well, with efforts made to depict the toughness of the times, and why and how the children came to be taken, and the loss felt in their wake. Add in Roz and Chris struggling to make sense of 1919, Bernice hating her job, and the Doctor's new career, and the story bobs about enough to sustain interest. When Bernice and the Doctor are taken to the other world as well, the real depth of horror starts to sink in. Still early in their time as companions, and presumably their first return to Earth since Original Sin, Roz and Chris struggle to cope in a society that is backward to them, both mechanically and in terms of attitude to Roz. Since Roz was devised as senior to Chris, this creates yet more friction, though they make a good team. They do manage to keep track of the Earth side of the story, even if their desperate race against time seems more an excuse to write in scenes on a biplane. The situation on Q'ell is easy to follow, and all the more tragic for it. The kids forced to operate adult war machines, to assume adult responsibility, will never be able to return to their old lives, whether they live or die. It is also a tragedy that the Recruiter picks children because they make better killers, yet also relies on them to make technical advances, when few would have had the relevant schooling. Even before its controlling influence is factored in, its plan was doomed. The appearance of walking skeletons as the natives of the planet makes a quirky twist, although also just an excuse for some walking skeletons. The resolution, with a big machine getting clobbered, is hardly adequate, but then perhaps that's a just metaphor for war - takes people away from their homes without any thought to the long-term consequences. On the plus side, it's a short book, so it doesn't drag its readers down for long. And it does at least have some thought-provoking concepts inside, so it's not a total drag. Not his best book, but not his worst, either. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |