Combat Rock (Doctor Who)

Rating:
Summary: It's just not good Doctor Who
Review: I don't like 'Combat Rock'! I far prefer the Missing Adventures novels to either the 7th Doctor range, or the current 8th Doctor range. Give me a 'traditional' Pertwee/Troughton/(Tom) Baker story any day!

I'm not saying that 'Combat Rock' has no merit - although I was unable to find any. I am saying that to me, it just wasn't good Doctor Who!

I've read two completely opposing points of view on the purpose of the Doctor Who novel range. The first is that they should expand the series, explore different styles and themes and to push new boundaries that the series never explored. The second is that they should reflect the feel and style of the 'era' they are set in, just as 'Romance Of Crime' and 'English Way Of Death' fit, stylistically, so perfectly into season 17.

To a degree, both POVs have merit. The 7th Dr books, and later the 8th Dr books certainly seem to be following the first idea - exploring new styles and themes, while (certainly in the early years) the MAs/Past Doctor books reflected a certain feeling, reminiscent of the eras they were set in. But this has changed over the last few years. The Past Doctor Adventures have become more like the 7th Dr and 8th Dr Adventures.

Back to 'Combat Rock'. I had problems imagining Troughton's Doctor, Jamie and Victoria in this setting. Every time I read 'Doctor', Sylvester's interpretation kept springing to mind. Substitute Ace for Jamie and Benny for Victoria (with some slight re-writing) and you have a typical 7th Doctor story. Nothing in this novel called to mind the 'era' the story was supposedly set in. Everything felt wrong.

Yes, it was the gore, the violence and the 'shock value' of this novel that was the turn off for me. OK, I agree, the Troughton years had violence, but the violence was generally sanitised. All the mindless blood and guts, cannibalism and shooting babies in 'Combat Rock' is just not in keeping with the style of the Troughton era.

While reading 'Combat Rock', I could not shake the feeling it had been written with the 7th or 8th Doctor in mind. In fact a lot of the Past Doctor Adventures of the last few years seen to have been written with the 7th or 8th Doctor in mind. If anyone at BBC Books is reading this, please, can we go back to Past Doctor Adventures that are written for the specific Doctor and their era? No more novels about Doctor X, and "we'll fix it up later with 'find/replace' in the editing!"

Rating:
Summary: What a bloody mess!
Review: I love cannibals. When the Robinsons invite us over for dinner, we never know whether it's to have dinner or for dinner. So far, it hasn't been an issue, thankfully. But you never know with that zany family!

I'm not sure I want to read about them, however. Combat Rock, by Mick Lewis, is full of them. Not just full of them, but full of graphic descriptions of them. There is so much blood and gore (and not just from cannibals) in this book that I was faintly sickened as I read it, and I have a strong stomach. What are our intrepid Dr. Who heroes doing in a monstrosity such as this? Not much, actually, which is another problem with this book.

The Indoni have colonized an alien planet for years, making it a haven for tourists. Some Papul locals make their living from this tourist trade (women of the street, tour guides, etc) while others bristle under the oppressive regime. But something is lurking in the jungles. 400 year old tribal mummies have come back to life and begin murdering tourists. Ferocious beasts roam the jungle, making food out of unsuspecting prey. The local population in the jungle seem to have reverted to cannibalism, all at the direction of some mysterious man, the Krallik. The Doctor's insatiable urge to investigate leads them right into the middle of a civil war, an ugly one at that. None of the sides are particularly attractive and the Doctor has to rescue his friends and try to keep them alive. Along with getting to the bottom of things, of course, like he always does.

I'll get the main problem with this book out of the way, because it's a question of taste and style. Mick Lewis' first Who book, Rags, was an interesting look at violence and how it affects us. It was a horror book, but it seemed to have a point to make about violence. Combat Rock, however, seems to be missing even that justification. It is an ugly book, but it doesn't seem to be an ugly book with a purpose. It's full of violence, with descriptions of people being incinerated, brains being eaten, shot with blood pumping, and dismemberment. The excessiveness of it hardened me to it after a while, but it was still extremely unpleasant to read. If you're squeamish at all, avoid this book like you would a Michael Bolton song.

When I say style, I mean the fact that Combat Rock doesn't fit in with the Second Doctor's era at all. The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria seem horribly out of place in this book. I'm sure Lewis was trying to contrast the innocence of the era with the ugliness of reality, but it just doesn't work. I don't like seeing Victoria, a 19th century upper-crust young British woman, threatened with violence in the middle of the jungle. It's not something I want to read about. Jamie isn't as bad, considering the fact that he comes from a Scottish combat background to begin with. The Doctor feels lost in the middle of all this, though he does wonderfully in the final confrontation with Krallik

Another problem with the book is that it's fully of extraneous characters. Lewis does nothing with the two female Indoni other than have them along for the ride and have them threatened by their captors. The mercenary team roaming the jungle does a lot of shooting, killing, burning, maiming and some sleeping around, but ultimately don't amount to much. Lewis attempts to give their leader, Pan, a bit character by going into his background to explain why he treats women the way he does. Since he bored and disgusted me, you can just imagine what those sequences did for me.

Even a worse sin, however, is what Lewis does with the regulars. Mainly, nothing! They are along for the ride, but other than the Doctor's final confrontation with Krallik, they don't do anything. They get captured, and they go places. Jamie gets sent on a combat mission with the rebels and Victoria gets captured by the Indoni and sees how ugly they are, but neither of them actually does anything throughout their whole time on screen. Their characterization is ok (though the Doctor doesn't feel like Troughton despite a couple of "oh my giddy Aunt!" expressions), but they are extra. This story would hardly have changed if it were not a Dr. Who story. That's inexcusable in my book.

There is not a likable character in the bunch. There are two semi-likable tourists who are captured along with the Doctor's party, but we don't see much of them and then they are summarily killed (or at least one of them is, but the other one disappears, so it amounts to the same thing). I cared about what happened to the Doctor and his companions, but I already know they're going to be safe (they do have some TV stories after this to star in). I didn't care if anybody else lived or died, not even the missionaries.

I never thought I'd give a 1 star rating to any book that I had finished, because if I was able to finish it then there had to be something to keep me reading. But I have to do it here, because I cannot recommend this book at all. Maybe if you're a horror fan who likes blood and gore, you may like this one (assuming the Dr. Who logo doesn't turn you off). Only the completist Dr. Who fan in me kept me going through this one.

David Roy

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time.
Review: I'd like to be eloquent, but why? This book certainly doesn't deserve it. It's 281 pages of unadulterated trash. The author believes that by placing several "Oh, my giddy aunt" phrases that it will become a Doctor Who book. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's obvious that author Mick Lewis has never learned anything about the Doctor or the characters that he travels with. The worst mistake is the fact that several people in the story speak another language that no one understands...apparently the Tardis' telepathic circuits were not functioning this week and only on one group of people, as everyone else on this planet spoke english. I'd like the author to read more and learn about the characters before ever writing again. His writing style is atrocious and vulgar. If he got paid for everytime he used the word "penis" he'd now be the wealthiest man in the world. Maybe he can take that wealth and find a new career as a dishwasher or something else that fits his style. Anything to prevent him from writing about these characters again. Either that or make him read this book again- that would teach him a lesson. Sorry, even I'm not that cruel. There goes several hours of my life that I'll never get back again. Totally wasted.

Rating:
Summary: Punk Meets Comfortable Who
Review: Over the years, I've grown to appreciate the Troughton era far more than I did when I was a gaffer. Much has been written about the 'family' atmosphere of this period in the show's history, which tends to perhaps overshadow the fine writing that often accompanied it. But in many fans' minds, this was Who at its most comfortable, the least edgy.

Which it wasn't. The Web of Fear, anyone? The ending of The War Games? Which really doesn't make Combat Rock at that much of a shock, at least to me.

The book is a fine combination of the subgenre of horror writing best described as 'splatterpunk' with a deep affection for the era of the Second Doctor. At first, it doesn't seem this can actually work, but it does. The more adult threats--especially concerning Victoria and lascivious soldiers--are a bit jarring, but are handled well, and realistically so. As for the Doctor, he views the horror around him with the sad shock we would expect. This rings true, and it makes Combat Rock work as a book.

If there is any problem with the book, it may be with the ending. The introduction of a purely 'Who' type villian didn't really work for me, not after all that had gone before. But still, this was a fine read, and I look forward to more of Mick's Who work.

Rating:
Summary: You've been used by a toadstool!
Review: This is a book about cannibals. It's about savagery and terrorism, blood and grist and, roughly five thousand corpses. On the rain-forest archipelago of the planet Jenggel, the primitive natives of the island Papul are returning to their cannibalistic ways, after the mummified corpses of their ancient tribal leaders return to life. On the "pleasure island" of Batu, seven punk-rock hit men are gathering, on orders from Jenggel's President, to kill a lot of people and thus justify the President's naked power grab. In the opening teaser (which is never connected up to the rest of the book), a soldier impliedly murders a woman and her baby, and that's pretty much the lightest moment on offer.

Author Lewis gives us a detailed setting: we learn the names of all the islands, and their major cities; we learn how the inhabitants of each island are different from one another. There are discourses on commerce, trade, and leisure. I started reading all this while on a business trip in Puerto Rico, so the tourist in me was satisfied.

Lewis is the anarchist of the "Doctor Who" range. His previous book, "Rags" was about a punk rock band whose music kills. That one I bought in a graveyard, in the World Trade Center Borders in the summer of 2001. "Combat Rock" is about what you'd expect from the author of "Rags": 100% downbeat from start to finish, with no sympathy or mercy spared for anybody. Lewis's lone moment of generosity comes from sparing the lives of two members of the guest cast.

Once you desensitize, and let the blood and gore wash gently over you, there are interesting things to be learned about the Second Doctor and his Season 5 companions, Jamie and Victoria. Victoria, whose TV portrayal was all about compassion and screaming, is revealed to be a bit of a Victorian-era rebel. She has an interesting relationship with a loyal native soldier, before the inevitable happens to him. Jamie is more hormone-dominated in "Combat Rock" than he ever was on TV, but he does pull off a very clever gambit in the final chapter, to escape becoming the dinner course at a cannibal's house.

The Doctor is vivid, unusual for the Patrick Troughton books, which generally have no idea what to do with his character. The definitive TV Troughton moment came in "Tomb of the Cybermen", when he inflated the ego of the villainous Klieg by shouting increasingly frantic praise... only to pull back slyly and murmur "Now I know you're mad. I just wanted to make sure." There are several moments in "Combat Rock" similar to that ethos, although most of them are limited to the final three chapters -- earlier in the book, the Doctor is annoyingly passive, refusing to dive out of a boat to save a companion from monster-infested water. Once he finally confronts the psi-powered menace on Papul who's responsible for the bloodbath, he is in full Troughton form, uttering a line so wonderful I wish Troughton were still alive to record it: "You've been used by a toadstool!"

The plot is competently done. The bulk of the story is lite Conrad: a jungle trek on foot and by canoe, to meet the depraved toadstool-junkie Krallik. In that party are not one, but two, people, who are not what they seem. Most of the seemingly random bits of butchery (a missionary watching his star pupil come back to eat him, for example) do connect back to the overall plot, even if many of the characters don't get to meet the Doctor before dying horribly.

You will benefit from reading the author bio and acknowledgements first. Lewis tells us that most of the story is drawn from real-life Earth locales and events, and that at least two of the supporting cast are based on his friends.

If you have a high splatter quotient -- if you've been cheerfully desensitized to the sight of intestines and brains thanks to month after month of these "Doctor Who" books, and if you don't mind being seen toting a book with such a violent, charmless cover -- there's a good addition to the "Doctor Who" universe waiting to be read. Here's a book that takes risks: the lone continuity reference is Victoria noting that her hit-man captive is worse than the Daleks. And, because "Combat Rock" is so tightly woven, you actually believe her.