| WISHING WELL by Trevor Baxendale |
| Story 19 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands near the Derbyshire village of Creighton Mere, where a derelict old well has drawn attention from far afield. Whilst a couple of local women plan to restore it to its former glory, the tale of hidden treasure causes Nigel Carson to reopen an old tunnel to try and dig through to the base of the well. What they find down there is a deadly fungus parasite, which the Doctor identifies as a Vurosis. It's seeking out its brain, a small stone in Nigel's possession. Despite the Doctor's best efforts, the Vurosis recovers the brain, and begins to grow. But in expending so much energy, the Doctor is able to fight back against it, killing it for good. In the aftermatch of the chaos, the treasure is found. |
| Review:- Another sleepy English village, with all the cliches that abound, and a creepy old well... In many ways, this is quite a simplistic story. The talk of treasure leads the story one way, but readers would expect some kind of alien involvement, and sure enough there is. In what feels at times like a blatant rip-off/homage to Fury From The Deep, the living fungus at the bottom of the well becomes more ferocious as the book progresses, until it starts turning people into monsters, looking for its brain. Once it manages to get hold of it, after a brief spot of toilet-based drama (!), then it comes back to life and starts to rampage... Whilst this all slowly plays out, there is suspense and mystery over what lies in the well, and then what Martha can do to rescue the Doctor once he gets trapped down the well. This leads to the Gaskin Tunnel, and a brief sojourn into melodrama over regrets for the dead. And the crux of my problem with the book is quite simply: how deep is this well supposed to be? At times, the description suggests that the Doctor is pretty much descending into the bowels of the Earth. Given that the sloping Tunnel has to meet up with the well, credibility begins to stretch when people start running up and down the Tunnel in a hurry. I daresay that wells are usually dug to quite a depth, but the imprecision here is more suggestive of dramatic convenience and actual probability. With so little else in the story, if this misdirection falters, then the book provides only an empty experience. The finish is a bit disappointing, too, with the all-powerful beast seemingly unstoppable, until the Doctor just overpowers it mentally, admittedly with a little help. It doesn't feel like the satisfying and just conclusion to the story - except if it counts as being as much of a letdown as the rest of the book. The cover's a distraction, too, given that the well is never described as looking like that. But that's just a slip twixt cup and lip, I can understand. The characters are fair enough, albeit rather cliched. Dotty-but-feisty old woman, brusque rich lord of the manor, secretive desperate manipulator, doughty but loyal diggers etc. The Doctor and Martha make little impact on the place, events bringing people together as much as any particular effort. One of the less successful books in this range. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book. |