Torchwood novel review: The Undertaker's Gift
The Undertaker's Gift
By Trevor Baxendale
The Undertaker's Gift is successful as a spooky action/horror novel, but I have complaints about it as a Torchwood novel. I've never read anything by this author before, so I want to mention that I was impressed with the atmosphere and the gravity of the writing. The story was engaging, and there were a few original characters that were memorable despite the minor roles they played. (Mind, I am not talking about the civillians; they were merely annoying.) There was one truly startling and baffling plot development at the end. I won't give it away, but if you read this book and come to a line that makes you howl in confusion and outrage, then you will know what I am referring to.
This book was surprisingly heavy on Jack/Gwen shippiness for such a late novel in the line, making it inconsistent with some of the previous novels, which I found a little annoying, but only enough to roll my eyes. Clearly that's down to author preference. This seems to be why Rhys has sadly been shipped out of the country, and doesn't make any appearances.
If you enjoy horror stories, I think you will enjoy this. If, like me, the aspects of Torchwood you cherish are cheesy heroics and cracky character-based comedy, you'll probably close this book feeling a little dissatisfied. But only a little.
On to the important stuff.
Continuity
Read this one very last, after Risk Assessment and Consequences.
Stats
Appearance of Jack's past lovers: 0
Mentions of Jack's past lovers: 0
Irritatingly Irrelevant Civillians: 4
Naked Torchwood Officers: 2
Ratings
Jack/Ianto: **
Jack/Gwen: ****
Woobie Ianto: **
Action Gwen: ***
Enigmatic Jack: **
Spookiness: ****
Gore: ****
Cracktasticness: ** (Ups drastically right at the end.)
Timey-wimey-ness: **