Rating: 
Summary: Rags - A Great Novel!
Review: "Rags" is certainly not for everyone's taste. It's moody and gruesome and contains almost intimidating amounts of British extreme culture as sampled in the mid-1970s. Certainly many references to punk band I'm quite sure I've never heard of. Nominally a story featuring the Third Doctor (long seen as a figure of the Establishment), the bubbly Jo Grant, and UNIT, this book views our heroes through a glass very darkly indeed.Rampant references to punk culture, Stonehenge, and Doctor Who's private angst -- how's that for a combination? Well, 1994's "No Future" got there first, but "Rags" is far more extreme and gritty, and sans the happy, fluffy ending. Still, if you can stomach the constant stream of blood and cynicism -- first-time DW author Lewis doesn't seem to be taking anybody's side, and the only character with a happy ending has to leave our "dimension" to achieve it -- you'll find this to be a harrowing, intelligent read in the style of some of Stephen King's darker hours. Surely if Richard Bachman were British this is the kind of book you might reasonably expect to see him write. Obviously "Rags" cannot be recommended to everyone, but it's written in a bold style and tells us that this is a story the author *really* wanted to tell. Since we so rarely see such storytelling passion in our DW novels these days, "Rags" certainly brightened my month. In a dark way.
Rating: 
Summary: Bone Thugs-N-Disharmony
Review: "Rags" is certainly not for everyone's taste. It's moody and gruesome and contains almost intimidating amounts of British extreme culture as sampled in the mid-1970s. Certainly many references to punk band I'm quite sure I've never heard of. Nominally a story featuring the Third Doctor (long seen as a figure of the Establishment), the bubbly Jo Grant, and UNIT, this book views our heroes through a glass very darkly indeed. Rampant references to punk culture, Stonehenge, and Doctor Who's private angst -- how's that for a combination? Well, 1994's "No Future" got there first, but "Rags" is far more extreme and gritty, and sans the happy, fluffy ending. Still, if you can stomach the constant stream of blood and cynicism -- first-time DW author Lewis doesn't seem to be taking anybody's side, and the only character with a happy ending has to leave our "dimension" to achieve it -- you'll find this to be a harrowing, intelligent read in the style of some of Stephen King's darker hours. Surely if Richard Bachman were British this is the kind of book you might reasonably expect to see him write. Obviously "Rags" cannot be recommended to everyone, but it's written in a bold style and tells us that this is a story the author *really* wanted to tell. Since we so rarely see such storytelling passion in our DW novels these days, "Rags" certainly brightened my month. In a dark way.
Rating:
Summary: Violent, yet classy!!!
Review: A band of punk rockers and their filthy cattle truck has started a convoy across the South west of England gathering loyal followers in their wake of destruction and murder everywhere they play. With Jo having succumbed to the malevolent pull of hatred from the band and the Doctor lost in some limbo void, it looks like its up to UNIT to solve the problem the way the Brigadier likes to, with all guns ablazing. You'll find that RAGs is a very different style of Doctor Who, written with a huge amount of horror elements along with very visual violent scenes. This horror element fits in perfectly with the time it is set in, the English countryside atmosphere helping make the tone perfect and feels like it is a JAMES HERBERT novel. You'll also notice that the Doctor, although he does play a big part in the finale, isn't really around much throughout the novel. He is either procrastinating about whether to do something proactive about this convoy or he is lost in some mind controlled void. Although the author does recognise this in the book, it does seem the Doctor was only a background character. Although the mind trip does involve some of the Doctor's subconscious doubts about himself, which are always good. This book could have easily been written without being placed in the Doctor Who universe at all. Characterisation is excellent for the Doctor, Jo and all the regulars of UNIT with Mike Yates shining through again as he tends to with novelisations he is in (as opposed to the sorry git he is portrayed on TV.) Overall, this is a good British horror book that just happens to involve the Doctor. RECOMMENDED!!
Rating: 
Summary: Blood and bones wrapped in rags
Review: A strange series of violent events surround the tour of an unnamed band through England. UNIT investigate, first in the form of the Doctor and Jo and later, as the scale of events escalates, the troops are called in. But what is happening on the surface is nowhere near the full story... This book is not what I would normally expect from a Third Doctor, as it contains a large proportion of violence and a relative small amount of the Doctor (I can't imagine Jon Pertwee would except such a relatively small role!). Set in England in the 70s, with the punk rock revolution occurring, the story is one that is essentially a horror novel with Doctor Who characters involved, but the most pivotal roles go to characters who are introduced in this book. It is a good enough book, quite readable, but the relatively passive roles that the regulars play is not likely to draw the regular Doctor Who reader in if the story doesn't suit.
Rating:
Summary: Blood and bones wrapped in rags
Review: A strange series of violent events surround the tour of an unnamed band through England. UNIT investigate, first in the form of the Doctor and Jo and later, as the scale of events escalates, the troops are called in. But what is happening on the surface is nowhere near the full story... This book is not what I would normally expect from a Third Doctor, as it contains a large proportion of violence and a relative small amount of the Doctor (I can't imagine Jon Pertwee would except such a relatively small role!). Set in England in the 70s, with the punk rock revolution occurring, the story is one that is essentially a horror novel with Doctor Who characters involved, but the most pivotal roles go to characters who are introduced in this book. It is a good enough book, quite readable, but the relatively passive roles that the regulars play is not likely to draw the regular Doctor Who reader in if the story doesn't suit.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ragman cometh
Review: An alien force has arrived on Earth, drawn by our planet's natural lines of power. It feeds on anger and unrest, and to this end employs a punk rock band to tour across England's countryside, inciting hatred and violence in the guise of hideous and literal class warfare. RAGS isn't much of a DOCTOR WHO adventure. The characters from the show (Jo Grant, The Brigadier, and the men of UNIT) barely make an appearance until the final third of the book, and the Doctor himself least of all. Furthermore, his characterization did not evoke the third Doctor - or any Doctor - for me. He does and says very little, and at those times seems out of character. The story itself is very slow and the situations remain pretty constant from start to finish with little progression in between. If I hadn't been counting the pages, I'd have been surprised I was two hundred pages in when I was. On the plus side, the author does take time to develop his supporting cast into more than just the usual throwaways. But their back stories never quite gain relevance in regard to the main plot. Capped off with an unsatisfying finale, this isn't an adventure I would particularly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: The Ragman cometh
Review: An alien force has arrived on Earth, drawn by our planet's natural lines of power. It feeds on anger and unrest, and to this end employs a punk rock band to tour across England's countryside, inciting hatred and violence in the guise of hideous and literal class warfare. RAGS isn't much of a DOCTOR WHO adventure. The characters from the show (Jo Grant, The Brigadier, and the men of UNIT) barely make an appearance until the final third of the book, and the Doctor himself least of all. Furthermore, his characterization did not evoke the third Doctor - or any Doctor - for me. He does and says very little, and at those times seems out of character. The story itself is very slow and the situations remain pretty constant from start to finish with little progression in between. If I hadn't been counting the pages, I'd have been surprised I was two hundred pages in when I was. On the plus side, the author does take time to develop his supporting cast into more than just the usual throwaways. But their back stories never quite gain relevance in regard to the main plot. Capped off with an unsatisfying finale, this isn't an adventure I would particularly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Save Your Money
Review: I am ashamed to say I read this book to the end. I kept hoping that the nightmare was just that- a nightmare. No, the blatent violence and gore of this book should never have been allowed to be published. Terminator or Aliens would be more restful reading!
Rating:
Summary: The only DW book I ever returned to the store!
Review: I am ashamed to say I read this book to the end. I kept hoping that the nightmare was just that- a nightmare. No, the blatent violence and gore of this book should never have been allowed to be published. Terminator or Aliens would be more restful reading!
Rating:
Summary: Save Your Money
Review: I got about a third of the way through this thing. The best discriptive word for it is 'ICK'.
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