Eight Doctors (Dr. Who Series)

Rating:
Summary: All my doctors . . . finally
Review: A very good read. It's simple and easy to follow. A trap set by the master gives the Doctor a bit of amnesia. He must go find his other selves to regain his memory and history. I personally liked the explaination on how the master was able to do what he did in the movie, as well as the meeting with the 7th and 8th doctor (although the meetings with his 1st and 4th selves were very well written too). This is a good starting point for anyone just starting the world of Doctor Who and nice stroll down memory lane for us long time fans.

Rating:
Summary: All my doctors . . . finally
Review: A very good read. It's simple and easy to follow. A trap set by the master gives the Doctor a bit of amnesia. He must go find his other selves to regain his memory and history. I personally liked the explaination on how the master was able to do what he did in the movie, as well as the meeting with the 7th and 8th doctor (although the meetings with his 1st and 4th selves were very well written too). This is a good starting point for anyone just starting the world of Doctor Who and nice stroll down memory lane for us long time fans.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD BOOK??? LOVE IT OR LIKE IT.
Review: After a lot of negative feedback I was thinking that this book was going to be bad. But as it's DR WHO I knew I had to read it and must say that i enjoyed it. The idea of the TARDIS taking the now amnesiatic (that a word?) Doctor to meet his other selves was pretty cool. His meetings with the 1st, 3rd and 4th Docs impressing me the most. It got a bit confusing when meeting his 6th self and trying to tie up continuity within this period (which is virtually a nightmare to do) and downright disappointing with his 7th Doc meeting. There's also the introduction of new companion, Sam. Obviously, Terrances purpose was to introduce her but not to develop her character that much. This wouldn't be labled as a 'thinker' or 'groundbreaking' novel like some of the others, but for a no-brainer read, tis good.

Rating:
Summary: Why do people dislike this book so much?
Review: All the reviews I've seen of this book have been negative, except for the ones here at Amazon.com. I suspect that this means that the average "Doctor Who" fan enjoys this type of story, as I do. I also think that the people who gave the book negative reviews elsewhere on the Internet had become so used to the complexity and depth of the novels from Virgin that they found it hard to accept that there was another possible way of writing original "Doctor Who" novels. I found the book vastly enjoyable, although it does have some flaws. It is true, as others have pointed out, that the various segments of the book are not very strongly connected to each other, and Dicks misses some obvious opportunities to remedy this--for example, why couldn't one of the policemen who stopped the Master's hijacked car when he was on his way to Devil's End in the Third Doctor segment have been one of the ones involved in the Eighth Doctor's arrest and interrogation--15 or 25 years later in real time, but earlier in the book? There are also annoying continuity problems--not only with Virgin's novels, but with the television series. I noticed a couple of these that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else: for instance, the Fifth Doctor refers to Turlough's coin as being from Trion, when I don't think the Doctor knew Turlough was from Trion until his departure story, "Planet of Fire." Characterization also leaves something to be desired: Dicks can't make the Seventh Doctor sound like himself except by having him repeat a line from one of his televised stories. Worst of all, though, is the scene where the Third Doctor threatens to kill his Eighth self to gain his properly-functioning TARDIS, his own having been disabled by the Time Lords when they exiled him to Earth. While this passage is well-written to a certain extent, it fails to convince the reader that the Third Doctor could ever consider doing something so evil. I also disliked the passages introducing Sam, the new companion; the first two chapters, which featured her, bored me to tears, while the concluding passage in which she joins the Doctor in the TARDIS is so weird that it's easy to see why some of the series' subsequent novelists have suggested that the Doctor was somehow coerced into taking her on board. Nevertheless, any "Doctor Who" fan should enjoy this book overall, filled as it is with surprises, humor, suspense, familiar faces and new and fascinating information about the Doctor and his universe.

Rating:
Summary: 8 Doctors = 1 Star
Review: As a long time fan of Doctor Who, it is with great sorrow that all I can say is what a load of rubbish. The concept of the book is great, Doctor number 8 seeks out his former selves so that he can regain his memories after losing them due to a trap set up by long time foe the Master. As he meets his former selves, Doctor number 8 joins them in adventures while regaining his memories. Unfortunately, to make the new Doctor come across well, the author makes the other Doctors out to be complete losers. For example, a very out of character Doctor #3 threatens to kill his future self if he won't free him from his imprisonment on Earth, the egomaniacal actions of Doctor #4 directly lead to the death of a child, and Doctor #7 just sit around contemplating suicide. The only reason this book pulls in a star at all, is due to the fact that we see the new Doctor go out of his way to stop a small time drug dealer. It was nice to see that the new Doctor will stand up to any wrong doing no matter how great or how small. It's too bad the editor of this book didn't do the same when this manuscript was presented to him.

Rating:
Summary: A nice diversion.
Review: First off, I've got to say this really wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. The drawback is that it could have been a special episode of the original TV series but it never becomes much more. The method with which the Eigth Doctor meets his former selves gives their interactions more depth than previous "reunion" stories. The visits with the first three doctors are the best as they all expeirence some "growth" from their meetings with their future self. Ironically, it is the Doctors whom which the actors are still living and could possibly portray them in a TV special again where the story begins lacking. These encounters vary from simple "team-up adventures" to the re-writing of "what really happened' during the televised "Trial of a Time Lord" story, a story that was already too complex to begin with. Although it was nice to see the plot holes of that TV serial filled, it should have been a book on it's own as this part of the novel doesn't "fit" with the rest. An attempt to fill in readers on what happened to The Master between the final episode of the series and the TV Movie also dosen't fit and seems like an afterthought. The real slight, however, is the Seventh Doctor. This novel ignores the continutity established in previous novels with another publisher. But fortunately, this too is brief and almost a throwaway in the story and can easily be ignored. All in all, THE EIGHT DOCTORS is not bad. Considering we will never get to see anything of it's like on television, it was a nice "fan dream come true" romp. But now that this is out the way, I look forward to the series taking off in new directions and finding it's own voice for this new Doctor for a new era.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: For the first story that is for the new 8th Doctor it could have been better, but it was a very easy read. I found that it went along pretty smoothly, but was confusing exactly what happened to the Doctor in the beginning of the story, causing him to visit his other selves.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I appreciated how the Doctor in this story came back to visit his former selves at key moments in his personal development. It allows the series to harken back to past triumphs while looking forward to future glory. I hope the character of Sam is further developed, but I'm very happy with the product I have in my hands, and hope to see more of these characters in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Call and Response
Review: I appreciated how the Doctor in this story came back to visit his former selves at key moments in his personal development. It allows the series to harken back to past triumphs while looking forward to future glory. I hope the character of Sam is further developed, but I'm very happy with the product I have in my hands, and hope to see more of these characters in the future.

Rating:
Summary: A can't-stop-reading book.
Review: I don't know about a lot of people who have read this book, but I liked it. It started out a little like the latest movie, but immediately got very interesting.