Rating: 
Summary: Winston Churchill and other manipulators
Review: When Peri declares herself disgruntled at the end of an adventure, the Doctor asks what it will take to gruntle her again. As king for elegance, the Doctor suggests England at the end of the 19th century. And it is at the end of the 19th century they arrive, but not in England. Instead, they arrive in South Africa, at the beginning of the Boer War, and soon find themselves in the company of a war correspondent by the name of Winston Churchill...This book introduces the Players, a group of shadowy beings who play games by manipulating the fates of people and countries. Terrance Dicks reuses them in his Eighth Doctor novel, 'Endgame', but this is their first appearance and hence sets the tone for the latter novel. It also sets a pattern followed by the later 'Divided Loyalties', which is to say the book has three parts, the first and last featuring one incarnation of the Doctor (here, the Sixth) and the middle an earlier one (in this case, the Second). This is a fairly satisfying arrangement, as we get to see more than one incarnation without having to go through all the hoopla of having two different incarnations meet. It also re-uses some supporting characters from the last Second Doctor serail, 'The War Games'. While the return of Lieutenant Carstairs and Lady Jennifer is no doubt a bonus for Who fans, I don't believe casual readers would find this in anyway a problem. And then there's Tom Dekker, from 'Blood Harvest', a Seventh Doctor novel. The Sixth Doctor's era seemed particularly concerned with the shows continuity, but I'm pleased to say this book uses continuity as it should: as a reward to those who follow the series without isolating casual readers. I am sometimes critical of Terrance Dicks writing, but not with this book: it seems like he had had a break from writing Who and leapt back into it with relish. On all counts, a worthy addition to the series.
Rating:
Summary: Winston Churchill and other manipulators
Review: When Peri declares herself disgruntled at the end of an adventure, the Doctor asks what it will take to gruntle her again. As king for elegance, the Doctor suggests England at the end of the 19th century. And it is at the end of the 19th century they arrive, but not in England. Instead, they arrive in South Africa, at the beginning of the Boer War, and soon find themselves in the company of a war correspondent by the name of Winston Churchill... This book introduces the Players, a group of shadowy beings who play games by manipulating the fates of people and countries. Terrance Dicks reuses them in his Eighth Doctor novel, 'Endgame', but this is their first appearance and hence sets the tone for the latter novel. It also sets a pattern followed by the later 'Divided Loyalties', which is to say the book has three parts, the first and last featuring one incarnation of the Doctor (here, the Sixth) and the middle an earlier one (in this case, the Second). This is a fairly satisfying arrangement, as we get to see more than one incarnation without having to go through all the hoopla of having two different incarnations meet. It also re-uses some supporting characters from the last Second Doctor serail, 'The War Games'. While the return of Lieutenant Carstairs and Lady Jennifer is no doubt a bonus for Who fans, I don't believe casual readers would find this in anyway a problem. And then there's Tom Dekker, from 'Blood Harvest', a Seventh Doctor novel. The Sixth Doctor's era seemed particularly concerned with the shows continuity, but I'm pleased to say this book uses continuity as it should: as a reward to those who follow the series without isolating casual readers. I am sometimes critical of Terrance Dicks writing, but not with this book: it seems like he had had a break from writing Who and leapt back into it with relish. On all counts, a worthy addition to the series.
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