Rating: 
Summary: The Best Sixth Doctor Story
Review: Although 'Castrophea' was very disappointing, 'Players', written by veteran TV writer Terrance Dicks, is very much a return to form.It was very brave for Dicks to write a book set in a period which he has never written for. His characterisation of the Sixth Doctor and Peri are excellent, and Winston Churchill is very believable, although his characterisation of the Second Doctor is a bit hit and miss. All in all, this book is very good, and anyone who is a fan of the sixth Doctor, and Terrance Dicks, should definitely buy it!
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely enjoyable, but ultimately a bit disappointing
Review: First, the good things about this book: The concept of the Doctor meeting Winston Churchill is a superb one, and it's surprising it took so long for someone to use it. It seems very approprite that the writer to finally chronicle this epochal meeting (or rather, meetings) was Terrance Dicks, the "grand old man" of "Doctor Who" fiction. The interaction between the Doctor and Churchill is very enjoyable, and the way the book is structured around three different periods in Churchill's life (the Boer War, World War I and the Abdication Crisis) is exciting and deeply evocative for a Churchill fan like me, reminding us of the variety of experiences Churchill lived through in his ninety years. As a "Doctor Who" fan and Churchill aficionado I would have stood up and applauded when I read the passage in which Peri notes how alike Churchill and the Doctor are, an observation which had occurred to me often before, except that I was reading the book on a bus! The continuity references to the TV series and earlier books are handled extremely well, enriching the story without getting in the way. I had never liked the so-called "Season 6b" concept (the idea suggested by some fans that the Second Doctor actually had many further adventures between "The War Games" and "Spearhead from Space") and had anticipated being annoyed by its being made "canonical" in this book, but the panache with which Dicks handles this part of the story won me over. The appearance of a character from "Blood Harvest" is also well handled, and can be appreciated either as a reference "back" to "Blood Harvest" by people who have read that book or as a reference "forward" (since "Blood Harvest" takes place later on the Doctor's timeline) by those, like me, who have not. The characterization of Peri is excellent and that of the Sixth and Second Doctors is also very good, although perhaps a tiny bit too interchangeable -- at one point in the Second Doctor segment I realized I had been envisioning the Doctor in his Sixth body for a page or two. Now the disappointing points. First of all, there is no plot. "The Eight Doctors," which I liked a great deal, has often been criticized for the weakness of its plot, but it does have a strong central idea connecting all its set pieces -- the Eighth Doctor has amnesia and must visit his previous seven selves to regain his memories. For much of "Players" the reader remains hopeful that the events will turn out to be connected by a strong plot thread. Unfortunately, in the end one realizes that, although there are threads connecting the three set-piece sections into which the book is divided, they are very weak ones. "Players" is, in fact, less unified than "The Eight Doctors," even though the latter book is divided into eight set-piece sections. One ends up suspecting (especially after reading the intriguing last chapter and epilogue) that "Players" will turn out to have been simply an extremely long prologue to its sequel, Dicks' forthcoming Eighth Doctor novel "Endgame." This may not be a bad thing, however, if "Endgame" turns out to be a good book. For me the most serious problem with "Players" is a passage in which a fictional character becomes involved in one of Churchill's real-life exploits in such a way as to seriously lessen the degree of heroism which Churchill showed in the real-life situation. I feel that Dicks should not have treated the historical career of one of the greatest figures of the twentieth century quite so cavalierly as he does in this passage, and it is largely because of this that I am giving this book only three stars. Nonetheless, I do recommend this book. Winston Churchill is its "guest star," and he does not disappoint. No one else can write books that have the feel of "real" "Doctor Who" as effortlessly as Terrance Dicks. No "Doctor Who" fan will want to miss the thrill of witnessing the first meeting of Britain's greatest real-life hero and her greatest fictional hero under the blazing South African sun.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely enjoyable, but ultimately a bit disappointing
Review: First, the good things about this book: The concept of the Doctor meeting Winston Churchill is a superb one, and it's surprising it took so long for someone to use it. It seems very approprite that the writer to finally chronicle this epochal meeting (or rather, meetings) was Terrance Dicks, the "grand old man" of "Doctor Who" fiction. The interaction between the Doctor and Churchill is very enjoyable, and the way the book is structured around three different periods in Churchill's life (the Boer War, World War I and the Abdication Crisis) is exciting and deeply evocative for a Churchill fan like me, reminding us of the variety of experiences Churchill lived through in his ninety years. As a "Doctor Who" fan and Churchill aficionado I would have stood up and applauded when I read the passage in which Peri notes how alike Churchill and the Doctor are, an observation which had occurred to me often before, except that I was reading the book on a bus! The continuity references to the TV series and earlier books are handled extremely well, enriching the story without getting in the way. I had never liked the so-called "Season 6b" concept (the idea suggested by some fans that the Second Doctor actually had many further adventures between "The War Games" and "Spearhead from Space") and had anticipated being annoyed by its being made "canonical" in this book, but the panache with which Dicks handles this part of the story won me over. The appearance of a character from "Blood Harvest" is also well handled, and can be appreciated either as a reference "back" to "Blood Harvest" by people who have read that book or as a reference "forward" (since "Blood Harvest" takes place later on the Doctor's timeline) by those, like me, who have not. The characterization of Peri is excellent and that of the Sixth and Second Doctors is also very good, although perhaps a tiny bit too interchangeable -- at one point in the Second Doctor segment I realized I had been envisioning the Doctor in his Sixth body for a page or two. Now the disappointing points. First of all, there is no plot. "The Eight Doctors," which I liked a great deal, has often been criticized for the weakness of its plot, but it does have a strong central idea connecting all its set pieces -- the Eighth Doctor has amnesia and must visit his previous seven selves to regain his memories. For much of "Players" the reader remains hopeful that the events will turn out to be connected by a strong plot thread. Unfortunately, in the end one realizes that, although there are threads connecting the three set-piece sections into which the book is divided, they are very weak ones. "Players" is, in fact, less unified than "The Eight Doctors," even though the latter book is divided into eight set-piece sections. One ends up suspecting (especially after reading the intriguing last chapter and epilogue) that "Players" will turn out to have been simply an extremely long prologue to its sequel, Dicks' forthcoming Eighth Doctor novel "Endgame." This may not be a bad thing, however, if "Endgame" turns out to be a good book. For me the most serious problem with "Players" is a passage in which a fictional character becomes involved in one of Churchill's real-life exploits in such a way as to seriously lessen the degree of heroism which Churchill showed in the real-life situation. I feel that Dicks should not have treated the historical career of one of the greatest figures of the twentieth century quite so cavalierly as he does in this passage, and it is largely because of this that I am giving this book only three stars. Nonetheless, I do recommend this book. Winston Churchill is its "guest star," and he does not disappoint. No one else can write books that have the feel of "real" "Doctor Who" as effortlessly as Terrance Dicks. No "Doctor Who" fan will want to miss the thrill of witnessing the first meeting of Britain's greatest real-life hero and her greatest fictional hero under the blazing South African sun.
Rating: 
Summary: A great Sixth Doctor story
Review: I know I must be one of the few Sixth doctor fans out there, but this book hooked me on the whole series. The characters seem to be very true to form, and well written. Terrance Dicks did a wonderful job writing for these unfamiliar characters. I only hope the other books continue to put forth this type of effort.
Rating:
Summary: A great Sixth Doctor story
Review: I know I must be one of the few Sixth doctor fans out there, but this book hooked me on the whole series. The characters seem to be very true to form, and well written. Terrance Dicks did a wonderful job writing for these unfamiliar characters. I only hope the other books continue to put forth this type of effort.
Rating:
Summary: Another solid adventure
Review: I'm not usually a big fan of Doctor Who stories where the main characters have adventures with historical figures. Not to say that this situation can't be and hasn't been done well, but the usual result is that the historical events end up being cheapened and the sense of history never gets properly conveyed. So when I read on the back-cover blurb of PLAYERS that the Doctor and Peri were going to be having adventures with (among other people) Winston Churchill, I hoped that I wouldn't be disappointed with the result. Thankfully, I wasn't. Terrance Dicks has done a wonderful job of making his Churchill appear like the historical figure he was and doesn't let him fall into the trap of being just another character who happens to have a famous name. By allowing us to view Churchill over the course of several decades, a real sense of history is established. This lets us view Churchill in the proper context; he's a real person who has done hundreds of things before without contact with the Doctor. He has his own life and his own place in the history books. This may seem like a simple thing to setup, but I've seen far too many instances where this background isn't established and the result is that there is no connection between the real person and the fictional version used in the story. Dicks passes with flying colours here. With the periodic dips into Churchill's timeline it seems more like the Doctor is jumping in and out of Churchill's personal biography rather than just pulling Churchill into his own otherworldly adventures. The story itself is straightforward without being totally simplistic. Aliens (the Players of the title) are attempting to manipulate the course of human history for their own bored amusement. The plot is slightly frustrating in that the back-cover summary tells the reader exactly what the Players are up to, but until almost the conclusion, the characters in the book are virtually oblivious to any of their machinations. Another annoyance is that by the end of the story the reader hasn't learned much more about the Players than what the blurb has already informed us of. Fortunately, the sections that deal specifically with the Players (they exist behind the scenes and rarely make personal appearances) are done stylishly enough to compensate for the lack of explanation. For the most part, the characterization of the sixth Doctor and Peri are handled very well, especially in the beginning section. There are a few places towards the middle and end where Dicks seems to forget the bombastic nature of the sixth Doctor, but overall, he's got them spot on. Even the extended portion featuring the second Doctor is done well, which should not be a surprise after all of Dicks' Target novelisations. All in all this was an entertaining, fast-paced book that kept me interested the whole way through. During the reading of it, I kept having flashbacks to Terrance Dicks' Target novelisations, but I mean that in the best possible way. While a lot of those books have been criticized for being shoddy, cut-n-paste hack jobs, some of them were excellent examples of the best of Doctor Who. There were only a few places were the comparison to Targets was unflattering and that was the numerous paragraphs that consisted entirely of passages like: "The Doctor brought Churchill up to date and told him of their adventures while Churchill laughed loudly." These information dumps for the varying characters seemed to crop up in far too many places, were very annoying and really broke up the pace of that section. On the other hand, for every one of those present there were numerous places in which his minimalist prose style really helped to quicken the pace and tighten the action. Terrance Dicks has been writing these characters for (literally) decades, and the result is that he can make it look easy and effortless. When he's on form, he can produce some of the most enthralling Doctor Who fiction out there. This is not an example of his best work, but it's certainly not his worst and it comes recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Another solid adventure
Review: I'm not usually a big fan of Doctor Who stories where the main characters have adventures with historical figures. Not to say that this situation can't be and hasn't been done well, but the usual result is that the historical events end up being cheapened and the sense of history never gets properly conveyed. So when I read on the back-cover blurb of PLAYERS that the Doctor and Peri were going to be having adventures with (among other people) Winston Churchill, I hoped that I wouldn't be disappointed with the result. Thankfully, I wasn't. Terrance Dicks has done a wonderful job of making his Churchill appear like the historical figure he was and doesn't let him fall into the trap of being just another character who happens to have a famous name. By allowing us to view Churchill over the course of several decades, a real sense of history is established. This lets us view Churchill in the proper context; he's a real person who has done hundreds of things before without contact with the Doctor. He has his own life and his own place in the history books. This may seem like a simple thing to setup, but I've seen far too many instances where this background isn't established and the result is that there is no connection between the real person and the fictional version used in the story. Dicks passes with flying colours here. With the periodic dips into Churchill's timeline it seems more like the Doctor is jumping in and out of Churchill's personal biography rather than just pulling Churchill into his own otherworldly adventures. The story itself is straightforward without being totally simplistic. Aliens (the Players of the title) are attempting to manipulate the course of human history for their own bored amusement. The plot is slightly frustrating in that the back-cover summary tells the reader exactly what the Players are up to, but until almost the conclusion, the characters in the book are virtually oblivious to any of their machinations. Another annoyance is that by the end of the story the reader hasn't learned much more about the Players than what the blurb has already informed us of. Fortunately, the sections that deal specifically with the Players (they exist behind the scenes and rarely make personal appearances) are done stylishly enough to compensate for the lack of explanation. For the most part, the characterization of the sixth Doctor and Peri are handled very well, especially in the beginning section. There are a few places towards the middle and end where Dicks seems to forget the bombastic nature of the sixth Doctor, but overall, he's got them spot on. Even the extended portion featuring the second Doctor is done well, which should not be a surprise after all of Dicks' Target novelisations. All in all this was an entertaining, fast-paced book that kept me interested the whole way through. During the reading of it, I kept having flashbacks to Terrance Dicks' Target novelisations, but I mean that in the best possible way. While a lot of those books have been criticized for being shoddy, cut-n-paste hack jobs, some of them were excellent examples of the best of Doctor Who. There were only a few places were the comparison to Targets was unflattering and that was the numerous paragraphs that consisted entirely of passages like: "The Doctor brought Churchill up to date and told him of their adventures while Churchill laughed loudly." These information dumps for the varying characters seemed to crop up in far too many places, were very annoying and really broke up the pace of that section. On the other hand, for every one of those present there were numerous places in which his minimalist prose style really helped to quicken the pace and tighten the action. Terrance Dicks has been writing these characters for (literally) decades, and the result is that he can make it look easy and effortless. When he's on form, he can produce some of the most enthralling Doctor Who fiction out there. This is not an example of his best work, but it's certainly not his worst and it comes recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Are We Playing A Game????
Review: The story takes place during many events in the life of Winston Churchill. The Boer War, WW1 and the beginnings of WW2. Each time the Doctor has a feeling that events to assassinate Churchill are being manipulated by an unknown team. Most impressive was the use of the 6th Doctor to relay a similar confrontation with Churchill during his 2nd persona. Once again, as in the Eight Doctors, Terrance Dicks is trying to smooth out continuity stuff-ups, by having the 2nd Doctor run errands for the CIA (Celestial Intervention Agency) just before his forced regeneration Therefore the 2nd Docs appearance and references to Jamie and Zoe about all knowledge of him being wiped from their minds in the Five Doctors was obviously during this period. One problem though - you don't really get to find out who or what the PLAYERS are. All characterisation is spot on. Well written, easily read, very entertaining - RECOMMENDED to all.
Rating:
Summary: Better work from Dicks
Review: This is Terrance Dicks' best novel for some time. As usual, the author has returned to some of his favourite stomping grounds, including a flashback for the Second Doctor in World War One. The Sixth Doctor and Peri arrive in South Africa just an assassin takes a pot shot at the young Winston Churchill. Having saved Churchill's life, the Doctor believes that more sinister forces are at work, manipulating the actions of the Boers. Hindsight is the Doctor's greatest ally and his greatest fear: how much must he interfere to insure Churchill's future? Events come to the fore in the 1930s, spurred on by the intrigues of the Nazis, accompanied by the mysterious assassin... This is an excellent adventure story, very much in the mould of Indiana Jones or even Colonel Blimp. Familiar faces from the past reappear to aid the Doctor,and the 'Players' may turn out to be very old enemies indeed... Despite believing the Doctor to be an archetypal character, Dicks has got the Sixth Doctor exactly right here. This may even be the Sixth Doctor at his best, and it's a pity that it's never going to be on TV, for Dicks allows the Doctor to ditch that dreadful coat, to be replaced by a costume that Colin Baker might have preferred. 'Players' surpasses 'Exodus': although it employs real life characters from the same period, its overall slant is contrary to the earlier book and far more tasteful. I gave this a high mark because I didn't expect to enjoy it, but I did. However, Terrance Dicks could win higher marks if only he tried to do something a bit more original.
Rating:
Summary: another great adventure of the 6th doctor and peri!!!
Review: Well Terrance Dicks has a another great story here. He wrote many of the serial in novel form during the shows years on the air. In this adventure without giving anything away, the Doctor and peri land in the boers war of 1899. They meet Winston Churchill. They are captured but escape. Churchill continues on with life. This is before a strange man tries to kill him. After the Doctor and Peri leave, the Doctor explain he meet churchill before(in his second form. ) During this type a some old friends come back to help the Doctor foil this plot of the Players. The Players turn out to be some old foes(although it is never really explained(perhaps the foes from the some other new books) if anyone please say in your review. This book puts the main people in real life problems(like peri getting kidnapped!!spoiler ) It is a fun book that takes place in a war time situation. Look for the following people to come back in this novel(dekker,his aide,lady Jennifer and castairs from the war games ) I would recommend this book to fans of the show or of the 6th Doctor and his aide Peri !!!
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