Product Description

There were the contracts, the agents, the local sponsors, the pay-per-view broadcasts, the independent verification of results, the laws which made murder legal in carefully defined circumstances...It had taken a long time for the system of freelance duellists to be established, and an even longer time to develop the league of interplanetary superstars the others fought to reach and to challenge. And just when it was all working satisfactorily and profitably someone or something started interfering with the set up. Famous fighters died in private duels. Up-and-coming professional fighters began to fall victim to casual, one-time challengers - the sort of psychos and testosterone-addled drunks who would themselves be expected to die quickly and routinely. When Leela is challenged to a duel to the death, the Doctor realizes that there is more to the situation than simple murder and mayhem. But before he can sort it out, he needs to save his client - Leela. How long can she survive on a planet where not to kill is an offence punishable by death?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #463409 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Dull runaround
Chris Boucher's Doctor Who scripts may have been fantastic, but unfortunately his 4th novel lives up to the standard of his recent books - its not very good.

The story concerns a society where mortal combat is the big sporting obsession, and Leela finds herself under threat of capitol punishment when she refuses to dispatch an opponent after blundering into a dual. The first third of the novel takes the form of a virtual courtroom drama, with the Doctor acting as Leela's defence lawyer, but it drags on a bit, and Leela's acquittal is rather arbitrary. Better is the story strand featuring duellist Keefer, who suddenly finds himself on the run after being marked for death by an unknown adversary. Eventually Keefer's story combines with that of Leela and the Doctor at the climax, but it's a real disappointment, with a flat and lifeless villain with poor motivation and a badly explained plan. Despite it's apparently exciting setting of mortal combat for the most part Match of the Day is a dull and boring read, with the Doctor and Leela wandering around in search of the plot. Disappointing.

When is it Right to Kill?
The Fourth Doctor and Leela arrived on a planet with the usual lack of control and, leaving the TARDIS, the pair made their way into the outside world. Once past the obligatory unobtrusive corridor they find themselves in an arena and when they are confronted by a security guard. For some bizarre reason, he challenged the Doctor to a duel, though he rapidly went off the idea when Leela hit him.
But the Doctor and Leela are the ones who found themselves in jail, apparently for the crime for refusing to kill the downed guard.
This is quite a fun book in a way, giving us a look at a Doctor confused at multiple levels; he could never get his head round the reasoning behind the duelling code and the strange dichotomy it enforced on the legal system. He had a plan to find out what was going on but it depended on Leela's unwillingness to kill for sport and she was being seduced by the surrounding atmosphere. Rather unusully, the Doctor never really gets a handle on the situation and he found himself in the role of the one being used rather than the one using others.
Another strand of the story follows Keefer as he attempts to find out who has declared open season on his own life. Keefer is an accomplished duelist and he might live long enough to find out who wanted him dead but would he like the answers.