Sleepy (The New Doctor Who Series)

Rating:
Summary: I Wasn't Sleepy
Review: (Although no one will probably be interested in this little view into my reading habits, it was such a relief to read SLEEPY immediately after reading Neal Stephenson's CRYTONOMICON and Andrew Cartmel's WARCHILD. SLEEPY actually had strong female characters! What a joy! Not that SLEEPY is some kind of radical feminist manifesto or anything, but it was a much needed change of pace to see women characters as more than just a) items to be rescued and b) sperm-banks. Hallelujah.)

I liked SLEEPY. I didn't like it as much as I did THE LEFT-HANDED HUMMINGBIRD or SET PIECE, but it has a lot going for it all the same. It seems to be the most straightforward of Kate Orman's first three NAs, and is much more focused on plot and story than on the intricate character explorations that were the highlights of those other two novels. While this made the book seem a little less special, it didn't detract from what is a good, solid, entertaining piece of science fiction.

I liked the way the book opens. Instead of having us first meet these Earth colonists and then going through the obligatory long introductions where the Doctor and companions are met with suspicion, locked up, escape, get locked up again, escape, and gradually gain the trust of the local rebels/leaders, etc., Orman forgoes the usual Doctor Who beginnings and launches us straight into the story. Yes, sometimes those slow introductions can be insightful and enjoyable, but there are times when one prefers to just get on with it. And since SLEEPY was so plot-oriented, I was happy to jump right into the middle of the action.

In any event, the story concerns an Earth colony, and in the spirit of those old Pertwee-era novelisations (I'm thinking specifically of THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE here), the explorers are looking to get away from the solar system and its overbearing governments/corporations. They've settled on what appears to be a hospitable planet and have hopes of raising a large community. But what the Doctor and company discover is an unknown virus that is suddenly activating strange psychic powers in whoever becomes infected. The community is understandably alarmed when a significant number of its membership can now read minds, levitate objects, or set things on fire just by thinking about it.

I mentioned that the story begins quickly. Well, it also moves quickly. The pace is smooth for the most part, but there also seemed to be places where it jerked ahead violently. It had the effect of keeping me on my toes, but I also found it a bit disorientating a times. I really had to pay attention to keep track of what was going on.

To be honest, I found most of the colonists to be a bit faceless. There's a fair amount of detail concerning each of them, but I just couldn't tell them apart without flipping back to reread the relevant sections. On the other hand, the commander of the company forces, Colonel White, was an intriguing and interesting villain.

I don't have a lot to say about this one really. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but not too much struck me in any particular way. I think of SLEEPY as a good engaging read that isn't overly demanding. I'm glad that most of Kate Orman's books are more involved than this one, yet this works well as a relaxing change of pace.

Rating:
Summary: Curiosity leads the Doctor down a strange path.
Review:

Doctor Who: The New Adventures - Sleepy
by Kate Orman
Doctor Who Books/Virgin Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-426-20465-4, $5.95 US; £4.99 UK; $7.99 Canada; $9.95 Australia

Doctor Who has managed to keep going for thirty-three years and looks likely to keep most of the world entertained for many more years to come, and never mind that the US-financed TV movie didn't manage to create any ratings records in the US of A -- it was still a major hit worldwide, indicating a continuing fan base for the show.

Virgin's line of Doctor Who books, quietly appearing at the rate of two a month for the past few years, have managed to generate both sales and controversy, the latter stemming from a decision on the part of the editors to develop threads and character elements that first began showing up with the seventh Doctor, played by Sylvester McCoy. This version of the Doctor is a master manipulator, firmly on the side of the angels in most respects, but given to secretiveness and using his companions for devious ends that as often leave them ragged and worn. Through the course of the books, the Doctor has endured more and more of the fruits of his work, verging on insanity before hauling himself back from the brink.

Sleepy, overall, is almost a benign book in this series -- the Doctor does find himself giving way to a virus-inflicted madness at first, joined in progress, as it were, but this is simply the opening shot. Returning from this bout, the Doctor and his companions plunge into a mystery involving a viral outbreak that triggers parapsychological powers in a group of colonists. There's a discovery that implicates a conglomerate, a few red herrings, a paramilitary invasion and some interesting twists and turns by the end. Orman's writing is nicely straightforward, keeping the story moving along at a reasonable clip without too much in the way of padding; there are also some nice viewpoint shifts. Orman does a nice job of capturing the McCoy version of the Doctor, down to the off-center questions and the furious determination when he's trying to stop something terrible from happening.

A good solid better-than-pulp-fiction series read, Sleepy is worth reading.

--Reviewed by Steven McDonald

©1996 by Steven McDonald