Rating: Summary: A great start for the new series of Doctor Who. Review: A great book that'll make you think a lot. Both sides of the story are very interesting. You'll like this book if you like vampires. It has a very shocking ending and a great preview to what Sam is like from now until her future with Doctor Who.
Rating: Summary: Vampires Suck, the Doctor Rocks! Review: I think "Vampire Science" was a good, entertaining story, well suited to the Doctor Who style. Even though there are parallels to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (the attitudes and personalities of the vampires), I still greatly enjoyed the story and emotions involved. I felt the story was written well enough to let your imagination wander to think, "Man, what would I do if something like this happened?" I like Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum, I think they're both fine authors who obviously put as much thought into their work, and work as hard, as any other author.I look forward to all the upcoming Doctor Who novels, and am sure I will enjoy them equally.
Rating: Summary: Pretty Bad!!!!!!!! Review: I've got something to say to whoever wrote this book! I don't care about other side characters you create!!!! I bought the book for the Doctor!!! The Main problem with this book is that too much time is spent on some lady the author creates (which she probably modeled after herself), and the Doctor is treated more like the side character!! Don't waste your money, there are better books out there!!!
Rating: Summary: Utterly Horrid Review: Kate Orman should've quit after her first book, for the quality of her work has become steadily worse with each new book - ultimately presenting us with this unimaginative and very tedious mess that doesn't have any remnants left from the show we once loved. This book is on the reading level of an eight year old, for it's pure childish fantasy - what happened to Dr Who being a sci-fi series?
Rating: Summary: FAIR PIECE OF WORK TO THE DR. WHO LIBRARY Review: Ok, I liked Vampire Science, in so far as that it was an easy read, and the 8th Doctor continues to be well developed, as well as Sam. She finally gets her character well fleshed out, and the Doctor is shown as a more compassionate, "touchy feely" persona than any previous incarnation. Carolyn is also well done. What's not right about this book? The plot. It's fine and all, but seems to wander, as though not quite sure of where it's going next. I'd really give this book 2 1/2 stars if I could...lightweight reading that shines through the Doctor and Sam's development.
Rating: Summary: Now you see Sam, now you don't!!! Review: Saddly, its the Mel-factor again. Remember how annoying it was when Mel (the sixth & seventh Doctor's companion)was just plunked into the TV serie's plot-line. Wasn't that annoying! Well, get ready because here we go again. After the fluff and non-introduction that the new companion got in Terrance Dick's infantile novel, I'm sure you're thinking that Sam will be introduced in the next novel. Surprise!!! Insted, we get treated to a introduction that sounds like this..."The Doctor and I have been traveling for sometime now". And speaking of the new Doctor that we are all so eager to get to know...don't get your hopes up. He is hardly the central character of this book. What is with all these "secondary" characters that eat up most of the plot? I use the term "plot" very loosely. It is infact a story that has the characters running from one location to the other (and back again)pointlessly. The first two outings in the new BBC line of Dr Who novels are five star yawns. Do yourself a favor and watch an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" because in the end that is what this book is more akin to. Sorry Kate.
Rating: Summary: Review of Vampire Science Review: The primary characters in Vampire Science are very well developed. The Doctor is a caring individual but is willing to defend the innocent at any cost. These two qualities are shown by his trying to reconcile the differences between James and Carolyn and confronting the vampire, eve, back in 1976 when the Doctor and Sam first met Carolyn. Sam's character shines through in this novel as opposed to her first appearance in Eight Doctors. She is shown to be inquisitive, intelligent, and not afraid to take risks when necessary. General Kramer is shown to be very distrustful of the Doctor at first since she mentions to Carolyn in the beginning of the novel how the Doctor had a previous companion whom he had under his "control" What made Kramer interesting was that the man she distrusted was the one she needed to stop the Vampire killings. General Kramer could have used a little more personal history to flesh her character out more. It would not have been a bad idea for Orman and Blum to have Kramer tell Carolyn her first encounter with the Doctor in detail. UNIT itself was rarely seen in the novel except towards the middle and the end. Orman and Blum, if they decide to use UNIT again, should make them more proactive even if there is not a dangerous situation they must combat. Joanna Harris was a very weak character in that she didn't seem to be very smart nor very cunning. Her character is so dull that the reader may find it hard to remember that she is the leader of a vampire clan. Slake was a very interesting character and his arguments with Harris made for interesting dialogue. Also, his dialogue with Shackle bordered somewhat on dark humor. Slake's description of vampire life in the middle of the novel was very descriptive and crisp. Carolyn and James were not very interesting characters. Their characterizations were mediocre and they appeared to be too emotional throughout the novel. The balance between narration and dialogue was perfect. Sam's dialogue showed much bravado and the Doctor's was offbeat. Slake's dialogue was also fresh and insightful. The only dialogue the reader may find boring is from Kramer, Carolyn, Harris, and James. The structure of Vampire Science worked to the story's benefit. Starting the story in 1976 with Sam in a coffee bar was unique. The action scenes did compliment each other except when UNIT and Kramer raided The Other Place nightclub. UNIT and Kramer playing peacekeepers was not very realistic. Detail also benefited the structure as well. For example, the Doctor's car, the TARDIS library, description of The Other Place, and the description of the theatre the vampires lived in. The tension in Vampire Science did keep the story moving. Several events in the story that kept it moving are when the Doctor subdues and accidentally kills Eve the vampire in 1976, Sam gets bitten by a vampire, the Doctor and Harris bloodfast, Harris and Sam trying to escape Weird Harold, and the Doctor near death after being bitten by Slake and his followers. The setting in Vampire Science could have been improved. The reader will find that going from the theatre back to Carolyn's house in the beginning does get repetitive. When the novel flashed back and forth to different scenes such as the TARDIS and The Other Place nightclub, that was when the setting did not make the reader lose interest. There is no theme in Vampire Science but the novel does prove that the vampires, the Time Lords' enemies, are not beyond hope since Harris was turned back to a human when the Doctor snuck her the vamp-away formula The style and tone of Vampire Science benefit most of the book. The poor characterization of James and Carolyn are the reason why the both of them are excessively sentimental which ruins some of the novel.James is mawkish and too uncertain of himself and everything in the story. Carolyn was portrayed more as a love sick teen than a cancer doctor. Her fascination about traveling with the Doctor in his TARDIS watered down the decent narration in some chapters of the novel.
Rating: Summary: A real page turner! Review: This book captures the imagination from the get-go. The characterization of the Doctor is spot on and Sam is not nearly so annoying as she sometimes is in other DW books. UNIT is a nice touch and the authors seem to understand exactly the effect the Doctor has on unsuspecting females. The suspense level when Sam goes hunting vampires at night - alone - and when the head of the Vampires drinks the blood of her victim while bloodfasted to the Doctor is painful! I couldn't read fast enough. The team of Blum and Orman strikes again! Terrific!
Rating: Summary: Finally, the series is on the right track! Review: This is the 2nd book in the new Dr. Who series by BBC books and only the third novel to feature the 8th Doctor. Finally, the books are on the right track with their portrayal of this new Doctor for the '90's. Authors Orman and Blum manage to not only capture the personality as presented by actor Paul McGann in the TV Movie, but expand on it in lots of clever ways. The Doctor's penchant for little magic tricks; whimsical changes of subject and driving a VW around San Fransisco are great extensions of the character. It's hard to believe that there are only 90 minutes of film on which to base this character as they have made him so 3-dimensional. Unfortunately, his new companion, Sam, dosen't fare as well. She comes off as a "clone" of Ace, a companion of the 7th Doctor's. The "one-off" compainion of Caroline works better in this story than Sam. The story itself is very successful in capturing the "Doctor Who for the '90's" spirit that the TV Movie exuded by setting the vampires in the "goth" nightclub scene that is rampant in most major cities these days. The vampires themselves are well rounded characters and fit into the mythos of Anne Rice quite nicely. There is also a lot of humor laced throughout. I loved the vampire snail story! An attempt is made to throw in the "traditional Dr. Who monster" near the climax, but it wasn't really needed as the story's strength comes from the fact that it bucks tradition. I'd like to see more in the sereies like this.
Rating: Summary: One of THE Best Doctor Who Novels of All Time! Review: This one is THE first novel of the BBC series for many who've read it. "Eight Doctors" simply didn't have anywhere NEAR the 'oomph' that Kate Orman and her hubby Blum's tale does. The Eigth Doctor's personality is explored quite thoroughly, none of the cardboard vestigial tripe that Dicks presented in his novel. The new companion Sam actually seems more interesting here, not like the vapid Ace clone Dicks introduced. Don't be fooled by the later reviews Whovians; "Vampire Science" is a rip-snortin' read from cover to cover!
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