| WARMONGER by Terrance Dicks |
| Story ? Synopsis: Peri is a guerrilla leader on Sylvana. She has been for months. Now, her motley band are staging another daring attack on a supply truck. They succeed, but are captured shortly after. Soon, the rest of her group are all dead, and Peri set for execution at dawn, when a new spaceship lands, defeating the local baddies. They want Peri, and she is taken to their leader, the Supremo. He is none other than the Doctor. It transpires that a year before, offering Peri some R&R, the Doctor brought her to a peaceful planet, where Peri was attacked by a giant bird. With her arm almost lost, and time short, he took her to Karn, so Mehendri Solon could try to save her. He does, but furthers his own machinations. Before the Doctor and Peri leave, they witness a peace conference start. But General Rombusi has secret plans of conquest. He steals Peri, and lets the Doctor know his real identity; Morbius. Peri is sent out into space, landing on Sylvana. The Doctor is sent to Gallifrey to warn them about Morbius. He winds up being asked to lead a mission uniting various galactic powers into an Alliance against Morbius. He succeeds at this, uniting Sontarans, Draconians, humans, Ogrons and even some Cybermen. Eventually, the Doctor realises that the final showdown will be on Karn, and it is. Morbius almost wins, but gets imprisoned, and executed. The Doctor gives history a push in the direction he knows it will take. Then he and Peri flit. |
| Review:- Yes, it's the return of Terrance! If you saw a book in the sci-fi section of your local half-decent bookshop, without the Dr Who logo, but this cover of spaceships fighting, and the title, Prelude, would it grab you? For those who scarcely care, it's a prequel to The Brain Of Morbius, setting up all the little quirks that people first saw in 1976. I have to admit I only realised this for sure on page 112, when Rombusi gets his first mention, and I felt myself taking against this book. OK, Karn is a walloping great giveaway, and would the Doctor, admittedly desperate and panic-stricken, REALLY favour a known lunatic as Peri's best chance? He could have taken her to any surgeon on any planet in any time period, and he just so happens to take her to Solon before Morbius dies. Come on, Terrance, even I could do better than that. The book is a joy to read, and the characterisations of all the alien races work for me. Though the question keeps coming to mind - what happens after Morbius gets beaten? Will these aliens remain as a peaceful brotherhood? Or will they go back to kicking the crap out of each other, now enhanced by experiences of their other Allies? I also think that the "Alliance of different races to combat 1 baddie and his followers", might just be a comment of some kind on Osama Bin Laden. No? Apparently, this was supposed to be in part a Napoleon-Wellington analysis, but I'll be jiggered if I agree with that. Perhaps if he wants to examine wars, he should just say so, or make his shadows a bit more light. (Terrance did later get his chance to do that book, with World Game). This may just be the continuation of a feeling of dismay with BBC Books this year, but I feel this is the first time I've felt annoyed with a Terrance Dicks book. Still, he'll be back... |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |