Review: The Price of Paradise (Public)
Doctor Who: The Price of Paradise by Colin Brake. HC, 249 pages, BBC Books, 2006.
The Tenth Doctor and Rose follow a distress signal to the beautiful planet Laylora, where the Humphrey Bogart is stranded, and strange things are happening among the natives. Legendary creatures are coming to life again, and the entire planet seems to be going awry.
*Warning: SPOILERS* The opening scene with the Doctor and Rose playing Earth-poker was amusing. The idea of the human-ish but not really human Laylorans was cool. The whole idea of a paradise planet with unlimited fuel that's allergic to humans is intriguing, but I guess in the end I felt that it wasn't developed enough. These tie-in novels are apparently written to a deadline and kept under wraps, and sometimes that can work against the line. Professor Shulough was a good example of this, her cruelty and single-mindedness and turn-around to becoming a mentor didn't feel real to me.
The whole idea of people knowing there's a planet of unlimited fuel out there and giving up after only 50 years doesn't work. Somebody else has got to be on the trace, and now that the Professor's paved the way, others will follow. And how are they going to keep this a secret? I suppose that's why Jae Collins (the space-racing gambler) was killed off early.
There were also some questions as to what exactly happened with the earlier ship, that was never fully explained (unless it was and I missed it). Makes me nostalgic for the way Justin Richards is far too obvious in some of his books. Not that this one didn't have a few obvious plot moves, but there were enough things I hadn't thought about to keep me going.
This didn't blow me away, but was a quick read and an interesting idea. If I'm a bit harsh on it, it's because I felt that the idea and characters, more properly explored, could have made a novel I'd greatly enjoy. As is, it is entirely readable but doesn't really stick in the mind.
The Tenth Doctor and Rose follow a distress signal to the beautiful planet Laylora, where the Humphrey Bogart is stranded, and strange things are happening among the natives. Legendary creatures are coming to life again, and the entire planet seems to be going awry.
*Warning: SPOILERS* The opening scene with the Doctor and Rose playing Earth-poker was amusing. The idea of the human-ish but not really human Laylorans was cool. The whole idea of a paradise planet with unlimited fuel that's allergic to humans is intriguing, but I guess in the end I felt that it wasn't developed enough. These tie-in novels are apparently written to a deadline and kept under wraps, and sometimes that can work against the line. Professor Shulough was a good example of this, her cruelty and single-mindedness and turn-around to becoming a mentor didn't feel real to me.
The whole idea of people knowing there's a planet of unlimited fuel out there and giving up after only 50 years doesn't work. Somebody else has got to be on the trace, and now that the Professor's paved the way, others will follow. And how are they going to keep this a secret? I suppose that's why Jae Collins (the space-racing gambler) was killed off early.
There were also some questions as to what exactly happened with the earlier ship, that was never fully explained (unless it was and I missed it). Makes me nostalgic for the way Justin Richards is far too obvious in some of his books. Not that this one didn't have a few obvious plot moves, but there were enough things I hadn't thought about to keep me going.
This didn't blow me away, but was a quick read and an interesting idea. If I'm a bit harsh on it, it's because I felt that the idea and characters, more properly explored, could have made a novel I'd greatly enjoy. As is, it is entirely readable but doesn't really stick in the mind.