| WORLD GAME by Terrance Dicks |
| Story ? Synopsis: The Doctor is sentenced to death, but given a chance. Time interference on Earth has been noted, and he is sent by Sardon, of the CIA, to check it out, with an assistant, Serena. He finds his old nemesis from the Players, the Countess, is up to a new game involving Napoleon. He prevents the French general meeting an early death. Then he and Serena travel to save Nelson and Wellington from an untimely death at 10 Downing Street. Realising Waterloo will be the final battle, the Doctor and Serena travel forward to find out what the Countess does. They befriend Talleyrand, and show him the future of France if the Countess is not stopped. He tells them Wellington was killed on the night before the battle. The Doctor and Serena attend a ball, where the attempt is made. Serena takes the bullet instead. The Doctor joins Wellington at Waterloo, and near the end of the day, realises help from Blucher and the Prussians should have arrived. He goes to find them, and realises why they have been duped. Wellington wins the battle. Back on Gallifrey, the Doctor exposes Sardon's deputy, Luco, as the Countess' accomplice. He agrees to a further CIA mission, on the condition that Jamie joins him... on a visit to Space Station Camera. |
| Review:- Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar comes the latest exploit for the Doctor from Terrance Dicks. This may have been his last chance at writing for Doctor Who, given the uncertain future for the PDA range, and he has gone out with a medley of many of his old themes, with a few new ones added on top. The buzz for this book is it being the first official acceptance of the fan theory known as "Season 6 (b)" - that rather than being sent straight into exile after The War Games, the Doctor is given a limited freedom in return for his acting on the behalf of the Time Lords (or rather, the CIA). This first mission involves a run-in with the Players, whom the Doctor has already met twice, in Players and Endgame. This concludes their series, with the greatest game of them all. To undertake his mission, the Doctor is given an assistant, Serena, who is ambitious but not too lilywhite. She proves an asset more than a hindrance, although she is hardly given chance to share the story with the Doctor. The Countess is our nemesis, representing the nefarious Players, who have a better hand of cards than the Time Lords, and the chaotic dream of pushing Napoleon to victory at the Battle of Waterloo. So, this story allows the reader to meet and learn about Wellington, Napoleon and Talleyrand, which at least accords with the education remit of the series, and I certainly came away better informed about this period of history. There are some questionable lapses. The appearance of a vampire allows for a bit of Gallifreyan subterfuge, and also reminds regular readers of Terrance's earlier stories involving vampires. His cunning usage of psychic paper to link to the New Series is more acceptable. Serena not making it to the end at least ties up her story, and allows Terrance to lead this story into The Two Doctors. He is also able to remark that this adventure was so stressful that the Doctor's hair whitens, explaining his appearance in that same story. So this is a story that ties in with much of the show's heritage, whilst also providing something new - a trick that Terrance just about gets away with. He also gives the Players a decent finish, with more sense of their background, almost akin to the Toymaker or the Eternals, and allows them to achieve a victory, if only to show the Doctor how to defeat them. Arguably they were creative dead-ends, but they did provide entertainment. Overall, this is a charming and interesting book, well worth reading, whether you think this Doctor was a dead ringer for Napoleon or not, and in a world where impressionists are lauded despite not really resembling the people they are supposed to, perhaps it doesn't matter anyway. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |