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Mike Tucker having written the entertaining The Nightmare on Black Island, in which Doctor Who went back so satisfactorily to its gothic horror roots, I was expecting if not great things, then a solid read from that other sci-fi standard, "something nasty woke up from the Antarctic ice." Certainly that plotline has given me favorite episodes in The Real Ghostbusters as well as a personal Whovian favorite, "Seeds of Doom." So first up of the new trilogy was Snowglobe 7.
Unfortunately, my perspective on the overall plot (standard, readable, okay, but nothing to get too excited about) was warped by Tucker's handling of Martha. Although late in the book he writes the Doctor giving Martha an accolade given to very few companions, on the way there, he wrote her as being slightly bitchy and not very effective - even when handling her competency, a medical emergency.
And worst of all, there was yet another gratuitous Rose dig. I didn't like that much in Peacemaker; now, when we've seen Martha deliver the "I'm better than you ever made me feel" speech and go on to a good career in UNIT/Torchwood, it's like finding a cockroach in a chocolate cake. I don't care that the stories are set in the middle of her (first?) season, they add nothing to the plot, they detract from the character (in both cases Martha was not, as she was onscreen, being provoked by the Doctor, making those moments nothing but sheer cattiness) and at this point in the timeline, they serve absolutely no purpose. Not only have we seen Martha move on, but by the publish date of Snowglobe 7, the readers have already seen the Doctor move on to companion number3 6 25...
...And rejoin five people previously left behind for new adventures (Mickey, Jack, arguably Jackie, Sarah Jane, Donna)...
...And namecheck three other previous companions (Jamie, Tegan, Nyssa)...
...And invite three other people onboard (Lynda, Reinette, Astrid)...
...And fall in love with at least two women (Reinette, Joan, arguably Rose).
So frankly, when I see this Rose vs. Martha shit rise up again, I want to run in circles screaming we're not watching freakin' Highlander, people, there can NEVER be only one!!!. When the Doctor's happily traveling with Donna, isn't the argument that if he isn't going to travel with Martha he must travel with Rose a bit moot?
And thus two unnecessary throwaway lines on page 21 pretty much poisoned my view of the entire book.
The plot, if you still want to know about that, is near future, blah blah, global warming unchecked, blah blah, polar icecaps moved to a series of "Snowglobes" for preservation and study, blah blah, one has an unexpected previous occupant that has woken up hungry, blah blah, anthropomorphized robot, blah blah, the universe's most unbelievable biological makeup, blah blah, and Doctor and Martha there because the TARDIS is humorously off target. As always.
Go read The Nightmare of Black Island again. Or have Tony Head read it to you.
Next up, Martha in the Mirror. I'm fully expecting it to be generic - Justin Richards' books always are; with a quick search-and-replace you could talk about any incarnation or any companion - but frankly, that'll be preferable to watching the official authors refighting a shipwar that's already over.
Unfortunately, my perspective on the overall plot (standard, readable, okay, but nothing to get too excited about) was warped by Tucker's handling of Martha. Although late in the book he writes the Doctor giving Martha an accolade given to very few companions, on the way there, he wrote her as being slightly bitchy and not very effective - even when handling her competency, a medical emergency.
And worst of all, there was yet another gratuitous Rose dig. I didn't like that much in Peacemaker; now, when we've seen Martha deliver the "I'm better than you ever made me feel" speech and go on to a good career in UNIT/Torchwood, it's like finding a cockroach in a chocolate cake. I don't care that the stories are set in the middle of her (first?) season, they add nothing to the plot, they detract from the character (in both cases Martha was not, as she was onscreen, being provoked by the Doctor, making those moments nothing but sheer cattiness) and at this point in the timeline, they serve absolutely no purpose. Not only have we seen Martha move on, but by the publish date of Snowglobe 7, the readers have already seen the Doctor move on to companion number
...And rejoin five people previously left behind for new adventures (Mickey, Jack, arguably Jackie, Sarah Jane, Donna)...
...And namecheck three other previous companions (Jamie, Tegan, Nyssa)...
...And invite three other people onboard (Lynda, Reinette, Astrid)...
...And fall in love with at least two women (Reinette, Joan, arguably Rose).
So frankly, when I see this Rose vs. Martha shit rise up again, I want to run in circles screaming we're not watching freakin' Highlander, people, there can NEVER be only one!!!. When the Doctor's happily traveling with Donna, isn't the argument that if he isn't going to travel with Martha he must travel with Rose a bit moot?
And thus two unnecessary throwaway lines on page 21 pretty much poisoned my view of the entire book.
The plot, if you still want to know about that, is near future, blah blah, global warming unchecked, blah blah, polar icecaps moved to a series of "Snowglobes" for preservation and study, blah blah, one has an unexpected previous occupant that has woken up hungry, blah blah, anthropomorphized robot, blah blah, the universe's most unbelievable biological makeup, blah blah, and Doctor and Martha there because the TARDIS is humorously off target. As always.
Go read The Nightmare of Black Island again. Or have Tony Head read it to you.
Next up, Martha in the Mirror. I'm fully expecting it to be generic - Justin Richards' books always are; with a quick search-and-replace you could talk about any incarnation or any companion - but frankly, that'll be preferable to watching the official authors refighting a shipwar that's already over.
