Review: Martha in the Mirror (Public)
Doctor Who: Martha in the Mirror by Justin Richards. HC, 244 pages, BBC Books, 2008.
The Doctor and Martha have landed in Castle Extremis, the DMZ between two warring races, and currently host to two uneasy peace delegations. There's trouble afoot in this beautiful castle, and a young girl, a glass book, and an odd mirror all have their secrets.
*Warning: SPOILERS* This was pretty cool. I'm a big fantasy fan, so when Doctor Who manages to combine elements of traditional fantasy with its normal sci-fi themes, I'm positively inclined before I even start to read the book. In this case, the book definitely lived up to its potential. A unique fantasy/sci-fi setting, a well developed history to this world, a nice mystery, and some murder & mayhem that isn't too graphic. The ending fit nicely with the rest of the book and didn't seem contrived or last-minute the way some books in this series have left me.
Unlike the other books by Richards that I've read so far, I didn't find the characters difficult to remember, and I wasn't able to guess the entire plot midway through the book. Since I was neither annoyed nor bored, I was able to get into the mystery and try to figure out who was doing what. The idea of the mirror and the glass people, the boring historical tours of the castle, Anthium and Zerguma, "Miss Martha Mouse" and "Doctor Donald Duck", all of those nifty ideas finally coalesced into a good book. In some ways this just highlighted what bothered me so much about The Resurrection Casket and The Clockwise Man, because he has good ideas, this is just the first time I feel the execution has done the ideas justice. Go Justin!
This book makes reference to the Darksmiths of Karagula, who presumably return in the children's serial adventure The Darksmith Legacy. It's nice to know that series does have continuity with the rest of the new series adventures.
I had a lot of issues with Richards' last book in this series, so I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. It had a great blend of fantasy, mystery, and science fiction that reminded me of The Girl in the Fireplace, and I think it's one of my favorites in this line. Very well done, and I'm happy Richards found his feet with Martha and the Tenth Doctor.
The Doctor and Martha have landed in Castle Extremis, the DMZ between two warring races, and currently host to two uneasy peace delegations. There's trouble afoot in this beautiful castle, and a young girl, a glass book, and an odd mirror all have their secrets.
*Warning: SPOILERS* This was pretty cool. I'm a big fantasy fan, so when Doctor Who manages to combine elements of traditional fantasy with its normal sci-fi themes, I'm positively inclined before I even start to read the book. In this case, the book definitely lived up to its potential. A unique fantasy/sci-fi setting, a well developed history to this world, a nice mystery, and some murder & mayhem that isn't too graphic. The ending fit nicely with the rest of the book and didn't seem contrived or last-minute the way some books in this series have left me.
Unlike the other books by Richards that I've read so far, I didn't find the characters difficult to remember, and I wasn't able to guess the entire plot midway through the book. Since I was neither annoyed nor bored, I was able to get into the mystery and try to figure out who was doing what. The idea of the mirror and the glass people, the boring historical tours of the castle, Anthium and Zerguma, "Miss Martha Mouse" and "Doctor Donald Duck", all of those nifty ideas finally coalesced into a good book. In some ways this just highlighted what bothered me so much about The Resurrection Casket and The Clockwise Man, because he has good ideas, this is just the first time I feel the execution has done the ideas justice. Go Justin!
This book makes reference to the Darksmiths of Karagula, who presumably return in the children's serial adventure The Darksmith Legacy. It's nice to know that series does have continuity with the rest of the new series adventures.
I had a lot of issues with Richards' last book in this series, so I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. It had a great blend of fantasy, mystery, and science fiction that reminded me of The Girl in the Fireplace, and I think it's one of my favorites in this line. Very well done, and I'm happy Richards found his feet with Martha and the Tenth Doctor.