Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91244 in Books
• Published on: 1995-11-16
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Synopsis
The Doctor has taken his companions to parad ise, or at least the closest thing he can find. A sun enclos ed by an artificial sphere where there is no want, poverty o r violence. But their peace is shattered by murder. '

Customer Reviews

More 'M People' than The 'Beatles'
As a long-term fan of Doctor Who I have sat down and read every novel in the now defunct Virgin New Adventures series. To be honest this effort struck me as 'New Adventures by numbers' - little occurs to grip the reader, and the characters, including Berniece, simply play out as anyone who'd read any of the range would expect. Worth reading for completists only, in my humble opinion..!

The Also People
Here we are at last, the final book I ordered of those I really wanted but couldn't afford when they came out.

Before I started, the first I read the opening pages of all of them just to get the feel of the book so I knew what to expect. I had to force myself to put this book down, it was just begging to be read. The best thing about the book is ....................... well, everything. This is not your typical NA however as the pace and style of the book are original in the series. Think of just laying back in a boat while Ben Aaronovitch rows you along into the story.

I can't put into words just how much this story impressed me, it has fast become one of my favorites. Ben has a lot of guts to turn around to the other authors in the range and say, 'You got it wrong, this is how you do it.' The thing that most people forget about the seventh Doctor (and arguably the second) is that they were both funny and dark, it was the ability to slip effortlessly between both characteristics that made the characters who they were. Thee Doctor is both funny and brooding in this book, his brooding over Kadiatu and his street performance are fantastic examples of these traits.

Every single character in here is marvelous, I'll also state this - It doesn't matter if I read any other Doctor Who that I haven't read, this is the best setting of any book ever. As a non religious cult follower God made me laugh out loud almost every time he appeared. SaRa!qava is a creation of comedy genius and all the characters sprang to life well.

For a relaxed book its surprisingly how much happens in here. Needless to say there are many sub-plots and they are all carried out with style. I haven't read Transit but Kadiatu and here backstory was told well and didn't get in the way of the story. Chris and Roz also worked very well in this book, I mention them briefly because this is only the third book with them in I have read (Godengine and Happy Endings being the others, still I plan to buy Sky Pirates soon and look forward to finding out a little more about them). I think this is the best performance I have seen of Benny (in book form), I always liked her and she made me laugh. I never thought she was strong enough to carry her own range but I may delve into them for one, just to have a look.

This is a classic book destined to become one of the great stories of Doctor Who. It has so much going on, some sadness and some fun. Such as how justice is carried out at the end to the secenes with the parachute and fish.

Dull, dull, dull
I found this incredibly dull and dry, and it took a real effort to get through it. The first 100 pages were never more than mildly interesting and intruiging and the rest was just pure boredom...yawn. And how exactly Kadiatu was supposed to fit relevantly into the plot is anyone's guess. Roz's character is developed with some feeling, but otherwise there's nothing worthy or exciting on offer at all. Very hard work.