Very short review of Torchwood: The Twilight Streets

[neadods]

I've finished Torchwood: The Twilight Streets, finally. I've been holding it back because it seemed very Iantolicious. In the long run, though, the best that can be said is that if you're really, really into Jack/Ianto, this book is well worth the price.

If you're really, really into excellent books, not quite so much. And if you're really, really into the idea of an effective Torchwood, you're really, really screwed.

Okay, I'm going to stop using the "r" word. Really.

Something evil and supernatural came through the rift (again) screws up/ends a bunch of lives (again), Torchwood means well, throws itself headlong at the problem, falls over, screws up, and is saved by Jack. Again. In other words, your bog-standard episode of Torchwood. Oh, there's something about Bilis, and a bit that's slightly ripped off from Something Wicked This Way Comes (*sigh* I have to type "again" again), and an area of Cardiff that Jack can't go into, but they're just the trappings on the inevitable progression of A - A monster appears; B - Believing they can do something, Torchwood goes off-half cocked being C - completely incompetent as usual so that D - Dashing Jack can dash in again to save them from the E - evil (even though the original show was very skeptical about the supernatural... Oh, wait, silly me, I'm talking about Torchwood, whose original show is Angel), while he F) flirts all the way with quite a few men.

All in all, I'm feeling pretty "meh" about it. But there are a couple of major OTP moments between Jack and Ianto. And it starts with Ianto getting a fair amount of plot time. For that alone, it is elevated from the "total snoozer" category.

Comments

[kradical.livejournal.com]

Oh, wait, silly me, I'm talking about Torchwood, whose original show is Angel

Which season of Angel? One of my (many) issues with Angel is that it couldn't make up its mind what show it was, and when it did, it changed everything. Whatever Torchwood's (many) flaws, it's fairly consistent about what it is.

What Torchwood honestly, really is? Men in Black. Torchwood and MIB are the same organization, and the plot of "Everything Changes" is the exact same plot as Men in Black.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

But the men in black were funny. Also, very effective. Torchwood is lacking in both areas, as a whole.

[kradical.livejournal.com]

I was thinking more structurally than in details like that: secret organization, deals with alien threats, not really answerable to anyone, erase the memories of people who get too close.

And, again, "Everything Changes" really does have the exact same plot as the first MIB film....

[neadods.livejournal.com]

With the exception of the memory-erasing, that's a trope that goes way back, with "supernatural" sometimes in place of "alien."

Although now you're giving me ideas for a crossover...

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

Ha! You've summed up exactly what I felt about the book. Good idea, the prospect of lots of Ianto, Bilis Manger back (thought he had lots of possibilities for being used again) and maybe something more about Jack's past. But the book felt kind of flabby and confused and in need of a good edit. Meh indeed :o)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that sums it up. Might have been... well, not a diamond, but at least a rhinestone had it been more polished.

[phineyj.livejournal.com]

I have to agree completely! I felt kind of disgusted with myself by the time I'd finished 'Twilight Streets' - writing fic would have been a better use of the time, really. If I'd realised how heavily it borrowed from the MegaMelodramaOfDoom from the end of S1 I'm not sure I'd have bought it. However, I did think the author did a good job with the Jack/Ianto parts and I was rather charmed by Idris (not realising he was a DW character till someone pointed it out).

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I liked seeing Idris again, actually. That was the best part for me.

(Okay, I'm a Jackanto fan. Second best part for me.)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Enjoyed your comments, with which I pretty much agree. I liked some of the dialogue with Jack - in fact, I particularly liked the first chapter and the parts of the books that have Jack interacting with people other than the Torchwood team. And Ianto was good.

And I have a soft spot for Bilis; I liked his ambiguity here.

But I thought it was weaker than the other Torchwood novels I've read. (This was #4 for me.)