Doctor Who: The Algebra Of Ice

Rating:
Summary: What A Read!
Review: As with her last two Dr. Who books, Lloyd Rose proves, again, that she sure can write a great yarn with lots of surprises. Algebra of Ice is another fabulous read. The story line is fairly linear (which I like), but that doesn't stop her from giving us twist and turns in her usual roller coaster approach. There is much more character development in this one than in her previous two (which were also wonderful). In her usual style, she makes the Doctor seem more, well, "human" than in many adventures, without taking away any of his magic.

Once again, there is a wavering of time. In this case, events repeat themselves, but not quite in the same way, potentially changing history. The Doctor knows that this has to be stopped, and he has to find the weak point that is allowing the time to waiver. With help from the TARDIS, he locates the point and finds that it is a human mathematician. That is about all that I will relate of the plot because I don't want to give anything away. You will want to get to the next page to see what happens.

In this adventure, Ace is the Doctor's only companion. Rose's development of Ace is terrific. Ace is not left on the sidelines in this one. She becomes a central figure, and the Doctor is lucky to have her around. Rose explores the Doctor-Ace relationship with all of the complexities that one would expect.

Rose clearly must have done a lot of research into mathematical trivia for this one. However, her mathematical references are presented in the context of the story, so don't think that you have to know any mathematical concepts to understand it. I was also struck by her knowledge of philosophical concepts that have, unfortunately, also become trivia these days. Her references show that either she is very well read or she has found a great source for finding just the right philosophical reference. But all this is texture to the main story, which is a fabulous one.

So, great plot, great character development, great twists and turns, great texture, fun read. We couldn't ask for more.


Rating:
Summary: Rose hits the mark again
Review: Okay, so I'm a little biased as my other two Lloyd Rose books (most notably City of the Dead) have special positions on my bookshelf so I was obviously looking forward to The Algebra of Ice immensely even though I could probably count all the PDAs I've read on one hand.

I wasn't disappointed.

The story was surprisingly tight, though it had the tendency to shift as all of Rose's books do, rather suddenly. I felt though that it worked here as she was clearer on the plot, very tight on the prose and excellent in characterization. As a matter of fact, it's not the Doctor or Ace who make the book at all, it's an original character, Ethan the mathematician, who really is the heart of the book, though it would be unfair to deny Ace's role as her relationship with Ethan provides a startlingly personal look at the material. Ethan's mysterious illness is wonderfully handled and pays off at the end as one assumes all along that it must be the impending alien invasion that is causing it which turns out, in fact, to be false and once again takes us to a very human place.

I was pretty good in math at school; took an advanced class but believe me when I say I had no intention of understanding this book. And that's brilliant because I can honestly say, I did! Rose makes it very clear, uses Ace, but in a not as obvious way as sometimes is handled, as an unknowledgable to explain, to demonstrate, to show without boring the audience to death or talking down to them.

Brett is a fantastic baddie, in the best sense of the word (and I had this strange image of Toby Stephens playing him, just gnawing at the scenery!). Too often lately, I've found that sci-fi likes to show us the "gray areas", as they call it: why a villain is doing something, how it's really deep and emotional even if disagreeable. Brett is a nihilist; he's doing it because he can. And most of all, because he's bored, because life isn't up to his standards, because every character in this book is in some way avoiding truly living whether it's out of fear (Ethan) or disdain (Brett). As the Doctor observes at the end, Ace really is the only one in the book who ever really was truly alive.

Not to say the book doesn't have its drawbacks, however. It's a complete regression to the NA days, with the Doctor's seventh incarnation having all the fun sucked out of him, showing it for what it supposedly "truly" is: manipulation; I was never crazy about that particular line of thinking. Ace is sometimes shown to be cringingly naive and I suppose we're supposed to be moved by the way she doesn't recognize the way she's being played (I thought we solved most of this in Curse of Fenric and Ghost Light but alas...). Rose claims that she didn't know if she could write Ace, and it shows terribly sometimes.

But all that aside, this was just a fantastic book; I finished it in two sittings! But, one question: what on Earth does that synopsis have to do with the actual book?