Product Description

On an Earth of the not-so distant future, Anji is surprised by the way the world has developed. The EU and US have become rivals, and a situation in North Africa, in which they both have interests that they wish to protect, threatens to turn into full-scale war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #791168 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 249 pages

Customer Reviews

The Doctor gains a License to Thrill in a future dystopia.
Trading Futures is another novel featuring the Eighth Doctor. Set in a near (but easily recognisable) future, it is a pastiche of James Bond incorporating some wry comments about the world we live in today.

This world is seen mostly through the eyes of Anji Kapoor, the Doctor's female companion. With a background in finance (referred to very heavily in past novels) she is the obvious conduit for the author's message.

It is unfortunate that she is a dull, lifeless figure, unrecognisable as a human being. It is a cause of some wonder to this reader that the Doctor has not ejected her into space long before now.

The Time Lord himself is well portrayed here - frequently centre stage and in the thick of events, proof that a playful eccentric can function in an ever maddening world.

Trading Futures features a wide range of locations and the action scenes and supporting characters are recognisiable archetypes sketched in with skill. The relative brevity of the text is also refreshing.

It is unfortunate that the Doctor's other companion Fitz is sidelined into an unintersting sub-plot. He has been the shining light of the novels for three years now and the lack of interest some authors have for him is heart-breaking.

This is a delightful confection for the most part.

In a run of recent very good novels including Palace of the Red Sun and Amorality Tale, this may seem a trivial work, but it brought this reader several hours of delight.

Trading technobabble for fun
Trading Futures is a rare jewel in the battered crown of the BBC's range of original Doctor Who novels. Entertaining, accessible and action-filled, it's akin to a particularly light-hearted spy novel, and one can imagine it being made for TV in the early 1970s, with Jon Pertwee and The Brigadier to the fore.
Broad comedy is mixed with Sci-fi and surrealism - time travelling rhinos anyone? - and no we're not talking about the Judoon here.
Ultimately, Trading Futures is a fast, funny book, with flashes of sincerity and an awful lot of irony. Three different characters die seconds after proclaiming that bullets can't harm them. If you were expecting a hard espionage thriller in the mould of a Raymond Chandler novel... be thankful you were wrong.

An EDA must
I really enjoyed this book, I found it very easy to read which given the amount of charaters (some of whom assume each others identities) and the amount of different locations the story is set is by no means a small achievment.

If your an EDA fan there is a continuation (all be it a small one) to previous novels so definatly give it a go.