April Books 1) Amorality Tale, by David Bishop
This was Bishop's first professionally published Who book, a Past Doctor Adventure taking Three and Sarah Jane back to December 1952 where smog, East End gangsters and aliens form a deadly brew. I thought it was pretty poor. The East End gangsters talk like college students. The portrayal on the Church is anachronistic and unrealistic. There are some good desriptive moments and some elements of pathos, but it's really not great.
In particular, the aliens' evil plan is uncomfortably close to the Holocaust. As has been discussed at length by people better qualified than me, this is one of those topics that Who can never really do. Doctor Who, however seriously we may sometimes take it, is fundamentally entertainment; the Holocaust is not. The book has a gross error of taste and judgement at its core.
(I have enjoyed Bishop's later work - particularly the second series of Sarah Jane Smith audios - but this is a wobbly start to say the least.)
In particular, the aliens' evil plan is uncomfortably close to the Holocaust. As has been discussed at length by people better qualified than me, this is one of those topics that Who can never really do. Doctor Who, however seriously we may sometimes take it, is fundamentally entertainment; the Holocaust is not. The book has a gross error of taste and judgement at its core.
(I have enjoyed Bishop's later work - particularly the second series of Sarah Jane Smith audios - but this is a wobbly start to say the least.)