Product Description

The sixth Doctor novel with Peri Brown. Interstellar tyrant Glavis Judd has usurped the world-kingdom Esselven; however, his plans for total conquest are thwarted. The royal family have escaped the planet, taking with them the keys to vital archives and systems essential to Esselven's governance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #114880 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Great!
This is another good book from Chris Bulis, one of the most prolific authors of the Doctor Who range. Being the worst represented on television, it's always good to see the Sixth Doctor making an appearance, and he's characterised very well here, as is his companion Peri. The regulars are separated quite early on, and so both get plenty to do. As with most of Bulis' books, the plot centres around a strong mystery - at the start, there are lots of strange events occuring, the explanations for which are revealed in a very clever series of plot twists at the end. Characterisation is also strong: Judd is far from the typical cardboard tyrant, and Oralissa also comes across as a strong character struggling to work out the mysteries of a world she fails to understand. The setting of a never-ending series of gardens has never been done before in Doctor Who, and it's brought to life with magnificent realism and imagery. The book is hardly earth-shattering, and there's never a huge sense of threat, but it's a good, strong novel and that's all that really matters.

Planetary Mysteries
An intriguing, captivating mystery for the Doctor to solve as he finds himself on a planet where the TARDIS cannot find their location and the rules of the society they have encountered make no sense...

Even without the BRILLIANT backing characters- the return of the ever-frustrating Dexel Dynes, the intriguing complexity of the self-proclaimed 'Protector' Glavis Judd, the Princess Oralissa trapped in a world where only she sees anything strange, the sentient robot Green-8 seeking to find his place-, the mystery of the society presented here was MORE than enough to capture my interest.

Add in the great characterisation of the Sixth Doctor- as prone to making fine speeches as ever while retaining his clear compassion- and Peri- constantly demonstrating the strength of spirit that allowed her to stand up to the Master on her first trip-, and you have a great novel that has far too often been understated by critics.

Palace of the Red Sun
The Sixth Doctor and Peri are characterised well and the planet is a nice idea but this book is SO slooooooooowwwwww, that by the time the answers to the mystery arrive, you've lost interest. I think this would have worked better as a novella, but as a full-length novel the pace kills it.