Reading Classic Who: Evolution; A Device for Death; System Shock

May 15, 2008 09:36

Over the past year or so I've been given (or very occasionally bought second hand) a number of Classic Who novels, either novelisations of episodes or original novels. I've been steadily reading through my collection of late, so here are my thoughts on three of the Fourth Doctor original novels I've recently read.

Evolution - John Peel )

writer: john peel, character: harry sullivan, books, writer: justin richards, character: sarah jane smith, writer: christopher bulis, character: fourth doctor, dw: classic who

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Comments 12

brewsternorth May 15 2008, 15:16:07 UTC
If you liked "System Shock", you may also like "Millennial Rites". It's a Six & Mel MA, but it actually tries to make a good fist of characterization; it also blends technothriller with Lovecraftian mythos.

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persiflage_1 May 15 2008, 15:18:26 UTC
Oh sounds interesting. Don't know Lovecraft, except by reputation - but that's not likely to stop me !

I'll have to see if I can find a copy, thanks for the tip...

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erisinia May 15 2008, 15:47:37 UTC
the pair find themselves being pursued across the Devon moorland by an enormous feral hound.

How I first read it: "the pair find themselves being pursued across the Devon moorland by an AMOROUS feral hound." o_0

I think that would be a much better book.

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persiflage_1 May 15 2008, 15:50:37 UTC
LOL !!!

That's quite an awesome misreading - and I'm quite sure it would have been a much better book - not least since it was quite clear to me that the enormous dog-like creature was intended to be the inspiration for Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles.

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airie_fairy May 15 2008, 18:47:34 UTC
That characterization comment you made about Evolution is pretty worrying...yet I find myself wanting to read the thing anyway. o0

And the third one sounds really cool! The concept for the second, I like, but I don't really want to read a Doctor Who book without my characters in it...perhaps I'll give it a peek at some point, judge for myself...

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persiflage_1 May 15 2008, 18:52:05 UTC
That characterization comment you made about Evolution is pretty worrying...yet I find myself wanting to read the thing anyway. o0

Rubbernecker ! :D

And the third one sounds really cool!

I confess it was the one I enjoyed the most - although that wasn't too hard!

The concept for the second, I like, but I don't really want to read a Doctor Who book without my characters in it...perhaps I'll give it a peek at some point, judge for myself...

Well they're in it, they're just - wasted really, especially Sarah Jane... Harry is really the best drawn of the three...

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mulder200 May 15 2008, 19:04:12 UTC
System Shock sounds really interesting although it sounds like they borrowed the idea for TSS.

And the first two sound horrible.

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persiflage_1 May 15 2008, 19:06:09 UTC
The first two were not the best ever (I can understand now why they were being given away !)

"System Shock" is not terribly like "The Sontaran Stratagem".

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mulder200 May 15 2008, 20:38:27 UTC
LOL! When people give away books, that's usually a good sign it's bad.

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persiflage_1 May 16 2008, 05:05:06 UTC
Well not always. I'm getting another handful of books from the same chap who's given me quite a few in the past - and he's giving them away because he's got a growing young family and he needs the space since he can't afford to move...

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paranoidangel42 May 15 2008, 22:08:06 UTC
In System Shock it was interesting to see what had happened to Harry and how he had changed. But I wish there had been more of him and Sarah because there wasn't really that much of them reacting to each other. One of my favourite bits is done as reported speech! (when she's going to go undercover, he checks to make sure she's sure, and then backs her up completely)

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persiflage_1 May 16 2008, 05:00:18 UTC
It was interesting, and I agree that I wanted more of Sarah and Harry together... Drat Justin Richards for not giving us more !

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