Product Description

Far out in space, on the ragged edges of Earth's bloated empire, an elite unit of soldiers is on a training mission. But deep in the heart of the hollowed-out planetoid that forms their battleground, a chilling secret waits to be discovered: ten alien corpses, frozen in time at the moment of violent, bloody death. The bodies are those of the empire's most wanted terrorists, and their discovery could end a war of attrition devastating the galaxy. But is the same force that slaughtered them still lurking in the dark tunnels of the training ground? And what are its plans for the people of Earth? When the Doctor arrives on the planetoid with Ben and Polly, he soon scents a net tightening about them. And as the soldiers begin to disappear one by one, paranoia spreads; is the real enemy out there in the darkness, or somewhere among them?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #663761 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Agatha would be turning in her grave
Terrance Dicks is known for his simple and accessible prose, memorable characters, and engaging scripts. So why then is this latest effort such a disappointment? Is Terrance merely attempting to keep up with the new crop of Doctor Who writers; with their convoluted plotlines, numerous forgettable characters and obsession with Sci-fi jargon? If he is then he's succeeding; but not in a good way.

This book is a travesty; it is like a bad B-movie from the 70s or 80s. Basically a bunch of soldiers who go out on a (never properly explained) mission are all but entirely wiped-out by unknown forces. The troopers that survive are the uninteresting ones. Typically, The Doctor appears and is immediately suspected of being the killer; what do they think he killed them with, his flute? After winning them round with a complete lack of the wit and charm his TV version was famed for...well nothing much else happens really. Waste of time and money.

Tiresome
There is very little to this book at all. A group of soldiers on a training exercise make an assault on an asteroid interior. They find the bodies of some aliens and three travellers - the Doctor, Ben and Polly. Predictably the asteroid and the exercise are not what they seem and something begins to affect the soldiers.

This is a dreary book which comes across as part of a video game. The characters are dreary, the story is dreary, the writing is tedious. Why do people persist with the delusion that if you present a group of hard-nosed grunts, armed to teeth, and brimming with all sorts of technology (with lots of technobabble) that this makes for good storytelling? There isn't enough material for a short story, never mind a novel. It just plods along, never really drawing the reader in. There was nothing entertaining about this book at all - it was nothing more than an overblown comic strip inspired by too many shoot-em-up computer games.

The Dying Doctor
A VERY enjoyable read, to say the least.

The 'choose your own adventure'-style pages can be a bit confusing, but the plot concept is brilliant, placing the First Doctor in a situation where he faces a level of brutality and power like ntohing he has encountered before while still allowing him to retain the intellect that served him well at this point.

The imminence of his regeneration is also well-presented, as the effort the Doctor is forced to exert here clearly pushes his body ever closer to breaking-point, his spirit crippled even as his mind remains sharp and strong.

His companions are also given an enjoyable chance to shine, wtih Polly's compassion for the crippled members of the expedition neatly counterbalanced with the coldness of the military women who have been trained for war, while Ben's more light-heartened attitude provides some welcome humour in a story featuring references to child abuse and self-mutilation.

And as for the climax...

BRILLIANT twist, really, and an idea that perfectly reflects one of the Doctor's central beliefs; even machines can be alive when they have to be.

A superb novel for a very underused Doctor/Companion group; I whole-heartedly recommend it!