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Rating: 
Summary: A change of pace for the 8th Doctor
Review: "The Banquo Legacy" suffers by obviously being a non-Doctor Who novel with Doctor Who grafted onto it. A typical, almost cliched gothic mystery is given a few SF motifs, and a very trite explanation is given for the Doctor and Fitz's involvement (Compassion is almost a non-player).Not the worst EDA, but it does manage to mark time until the next novel, the end of the Faction Paradox cycle.
Rating: 
Summary: Skull Duggery!!!!!
Review: After suffering from an Artron energy inhibiting device Compassion is near death and must take refuge in someone else's body to recuperate whilst the Doctor has lost the ability to regenerate while the inhibitor is active. They are thrust into a situation involving an experiment gone wrong, the walking dead and a timelord agent that has lain in wait for the Doctor to arrive for 100 years. Set in 1898 the novel is told from two different accounts written in a diary/report format from an inspector from Scotland Yard and a Solicitor. This format of writing has given the book an incredible amount of realism with the aspect of the time period it is set in and the style of writing is very reminiscent of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Plus the scenes involving being stalked by the living dead are incredibly reminiscent of Michael Myers from the Halloween series - SPOOKY!!! This is definitely in the top ten of Dr. Who novels written to date. WELL RECOMMENDED!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellence
Review: BANQUO LEGACY is fantastic. It's dripping with atmosphere, it has a cracking plot, and it feels miles away from being "just another runaround". This is such a relief after so many forgettable books (there's been so many of them before this, that I can't even remember when the last memorable book was) to have something that's just flat-out good. The book is split into two memoirs. One is written by a solicitor who is being paid to be an impartial witness to a scientific experiment. The other is written by a police inspector who is called to the scene after everything goes fatally wrong. Set in the 19th Century, the story feels very much at home in the culture of the original mad scientists and the stories of the intellectuals of the time. The real authors of the book, Andy Lane and Justin Richards, set the stage wonderfully, with every detail fitting perfectly into the Victorian mystery novel that they've created. There are some wonderful themes running through this book; the most satisfying and well executed would be the reflections upon seeing an objective reality from two differing, subjective standpoints. This is most obvious in the narrative, as the overall story is told from the point of view of two different people. This leads to a handful of overlapping scenes where certain details and events are described twice with slight differences in their recollection; it's an effect that's pulled off very nicely. This theme also extends into the experiment that they are observing, which is based upon the placing of thoughts and experiences from one mind directly into another. It crops up in one or two other places (most notable the sections involving Compassion) and is quite rewarding to the reader once one figures out what is going on. The only real problems with this book are that the authors were so skillful at creating a late 19th Century atmosphere that the references to Time Lords, TARDISes and other anachronisms seem very much out of place. Perhaps there would have been a better way to incorporate these elements into the story without their metaphorical seams showing. Despite these minor details, this is quite an enjoyable book and comes as a breath of fresh air. Don't skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Excellence
Review: BANQUO LEGACY is fantastic. It's dripping with atmosphere, it has a cracking plot, and it feels miles away from being "just another runaround". This is such a relief after so many forgettable books (there's been so many of them before this, that I can't even remember when the last memorable book was) to have something that's just flat-out good. The book is split into two memoirs. One is written by a solicitor who is being paid to be an impartial witness to a scientific experiment. The other is written by a police inspector who is called to the scene after everything goes fatally wrong. Set in the 19th Century, the story feels very much at home in the culture of the original mad scientists and the stories of the intellectuals of the time. The real authors of the book, Andy Lane and Justin Richards, set the stage wonderfully, with every detail fitting perfectly into the Victorian mystery novel that they've created. There are some wonderful themes running through this book; the most satisfying and well executed would be the reflections upon seeing an objective reality from two differing, subjective standpoints. This is most obvious in the narrative, as the overall story is told from the point of view of two different people. This leads to a handful of overlapping scenes where certain details and events are described twice with slight differences in their recollection; it's an effect that's pulled off very nicely. This theme also extends into the experiment that they are observing, which is based upon the placing of thoughts and experiences from one mind directly into another. It crops up in one or two other places (most notable the sections involving Compassion) and is quite rewarding to the reader once one figures out what is going on. The only real problems with this book are that the authors were so skillful at creating a late 19th Century atmosphere that the references to Time Lords, TARDISes and other anachronisms seem very much out of place. Perhaps there would have been a better way to incorporate these elements into the story without their metaphorical seams showing. Despite these minor details, this is quite an enjoyable book and comes as a breath of fresh air. Don't skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best ever.....
Review: Original, witty, poetic. Two of Doctor Who's best authors teaming up to tell a simple horror story (well, maybe not that simple) from two different perspectives. I read this in a few hours and was so mad when it was done. And was even more mad that Paul McGann wasn't starring in the DVD release of this!!!
Mr. Lane & Mr. Richards worked terribly hard to achieve the local and historical flavor of the piece but it is more than evident in the content that they had fun doing it. And MAN, did I have fun reading it. Scary in some places, laugh out loud funny in others. Some good BBC books before this one, some bad ones, but I must say this was arguably the first GREAT ONE. The Talons of Weng-Chiang of the 8th Doctor.
The only "negative" I can say is that one should read some 8th Doctor/Fitz novels before this one to really get attached to their interplay. There's some "techno-babbly" stuff about Compassion being a TARDIS and yadda-yadda-yadda, but this is a character driven story, enjoyable for all Doctor Who fans. Highest possible recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best ever.....
Review: Original, witty, poetic. Two of Doctor Who's best authors teaming up to tell a simple horror story (well, maybe not that simple) from two different perspectives. I read this in a few hours and was so mad when it was done. And was even more mad that Paul McGann wasn't starring in the DVD release of this!!!
Mr. Lane & Mr. Richards worked terribly hard to achieve the local and historical flavor of the piece but it is more than evident in the content that they had fun doing it. And MAN, did I have fun reading it. Scary in some places, laugh out loud funny in others. Some good BBC books before this one, some bad ones, but I must say this was arguably the first GREAT ONE. The Talons of Weng-Chiang of the 8th Doctor.
The only "negative" I can say is that one should read some 8th Doctor/Fitz novels before this one to really get attached to their interplay. There's some "techno-babbly" stuff about Compassion being a TARDIS and yadda-yadda-yadda, but this is a character driven story, enjoyable for all Doctor Who fans. Highest possible recommendation.
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