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Rating: 
Summary: A cross between Alistair Maclean and Doctor who
Review: I'll start off by saying I have a very critical eye towards all the Dr. Who tie-in fiction currently in (or recently out of) print. This book, however, passes my demanding standards. I picked up the book because I skimmed an early scene characterizing the 2nd Doctor, and it drew me in: accurate depiction of the television personas of each Doctor is always the minimum standard for me. Although Richards' presentation of the 2nd Doctor begins a bit erratic and is at moments almost tediously described, by the time the action gets rolling, I fully accepted the author's characterization of perhaps the hardest Doctor (played on television by brilliant actor Patrick Troughton) to nail down. It seems the more the author wrote, the easier came the 2nd Doctor's mercurial and ever fascinating personality. The plot is a good, political plot with obvious overtones concerning the game of chess. This metaphor is played out very well and with engaging complexity, yet still remains easy to follow. The revelations that surprise throughout are all well set up early on. My only criticisms really are that neither companion Jamie or Victoria have much to do, and the end is more than a bit rushed and far too cavalier in its treatment of characters we've followed since the beginning of the book. Lastly, the Doctor takes an action towards the end that belies the usually deeply compassionate portrayal of the Doctor that Troughton worked hard to achieve, but this doesn't really detract too much from the rest of the story. The ultimate conclusion is satisfying, answering most of the questions the reader might have formed during reading. The action and characters are contained and easy to follow, another common failing in other Dr. Who fiction that is here overcome. So, for those "Whovians" in the mood for an entertaining 2nd Doctor novel adventure, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Not really the second Doctor's kind of story
Review: The era of Patrick Troughton, who played the second incarnation of the Doctor, is one best remembered for its stories about alien monsters and the threats they posed to isolated groups of humans. The stories that depart from this formula (like 'The Highlanders', 'Enemy of the World' and 'The Space Pirates') are usually quite forgettable - with the obvious exception of 'The Mind Robber'. Why Justin Richards chose to stray so far from the essence of the second Doctor in this novel is a bit of a mystery.Arriving in what appears to be a medieval castle, but is actually a prison in space, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are caught up in a series of political intrigues around the future of a space empire. With elements of 'The Man in the Iron Mask' mixed liberally with visual descriptions of what would have been slapstick comedy if presented visually, the novel is interesting enough but seems overly obsessed with the comic elements that were only one factor in Troughton's stories. Dealing with the future of empires really wasn't this incarnation's interest, and I'm afraid that Jamie and Victoria are probably among the last companions you'd want in such a story - both should have been more out of their depth.
Rating:
Summary: Not really the second Doctor's kind of story
Review: The era of Patrick Troughton, who played the second incarnation of the Doctor, is one best remembered for its stories about alien monsters and the threats they posed to isolated groups of humans. The stories that depart from this formula (like 'The Highlanders', 'Enemy of the World' and 'The Space Pirates') are usually quite forgettable - with the obvious exception of 'The Mind Robber'. Why Justin Richards chose to stray so far from the essence of the second Doctor in this novel is a bit of a mystery. Arriving in what appears to be a medieval castle, but is actually a prison in space, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are caught up in a series of political intrigues around the future of a space empire. With elements of 'The Man in the Iron Mask' mixed liberally with visual descriptions of what would have been slapstick comedy if presented visually, the novel is interesting enough but seems overly obsessed with the comic elements that were only one factor in Troughton's stories. Dealing with the future of empires really wasn't this incarnation's interest, and I'm afraid that Jamie and Victoria are probably among the last companions you'd want in such a story - both should have been more out of their depth.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreams Of Empire
Review: There's nothing really wrong with this tale. It has lots of action, as the Doctor and his friends are stuck in a prison/fortress perched on a lonely asteroid, during a siege designed either to liberate or asassinate an important political prisoner (important to the planet Haddron, anyway)...it's up to the Doctor to figure out which, before too many people are incinerated by killer robots. Yes, the Doctor has much robot trouble in this book. There are robots arriving via a spaceship, there is a robot masquerading as a human, there are old robots decorating the prison which start to come to life. And as all these robots converge on the cell of a man named Kesar--former rebel who tried to turn Haddron from a Republic into an Empire, now a scarred, masked mystery-man who merely wants to sit around playing holographic chess, or shoot the breeze with former allies and enemies. If the recurrent chess motif is supposed to be a metaphor for the power-games and deadly battles going on in the book, it half works. The minute-to-minute action is far too chaotic to even remotely resemble a chess game (thank goodness). But certainly the political intrigue percolating up from the backstory involving rebels and loyal Republicans of Haddron, does mirror a kind of grand chess game, complete with many many "pieces" of one colour pretending to be another colour. No one's loyalty, or true motives, is quite what it seems in this story, and it's up to the Doctor to root out every traitor or double-agent skulking about--practically one per chapter, in the late-going. There's even the semblance of a murder mystery here, though the trappings are not terribly original. All in all, the book works because of its rapid pulse, never slowing down once the prison holding Kesar turns into a war zone. It kind of goes like this: firefight/more people dead/another political revelation...firefight/more people dead/another political revelation. Who would've thought the Republic of Haddron's woes could be exposed and cleaned up just through one exciting prison siege! Well, of course, it's helped by the Doctor being so clever under fire. And Jamie is so brave, considering none of this has anything to do with him. And Victoria is still a great screamer, great for alerting the entire fortress about where the latest trouble is.
Rating:
Summary: Keep with it - it does get better.
Review: This book strides away from the normal Troughton-esqe monster story and goes for a political type story instead. I found the book quite bland for at least the first half of the book, but you should stick with it as the pace and excitement greatly increases after the first half with the arrival of the VETACS (robot super warriors). Just approach this book as a no-brainer and you should find, at least, a little bit of enjoyment out of it.
Rating:
Summary: "Dreams" too much in the Ninties
Review: When I first read "Dreams of Empire" I noticed two things. First, it was not much like a second Doctor story from the sixties. He would never usually handle things like he did here, the violence and technology is nothing like what the writers of the show at the time wanted, and the overall second Doctor playfullness got turned into silliness. Second, this story is too much a cross of the Roman Empire and "Star Wars." Down to the last detail of the man in the mask, it was Darth Vader. Overall, the book has an enjoyable plot, but it needed more creative characters and an eighth Doctor setting.
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