Timewyrm: Exodus by: Terrance Dicks: Heil Doctor!

Timewyrm: Exodus sees the return of Terrance Dicks to the world of Doctor Who, writing a story asking the question “What if Hitler won World War II?” with the Doctor and Ace arriving in an alternate 1951 Britain where the Nazis won the war.  While Dicks is most known for his Target novelizations of countless stories, his style in those translates better than it really should as the book is such an easy read.  Take note I say easy, but the novel is far from childish.  The story is extremely adult with the Doctor actually having to side with the Nazis and help Adolf Hitler while keeping the timeline intact.  It is much unlike Timewyrm: Genesys which elected to use sex as a way to be adult while here it is just pure adult themes.  There are also sacrificial cults reminiscent of The Stones of Blood and the villain is even from a certain classic Dicks script from 1969.  The twist is greatly well done on who is behind the interference as the Doctor says several times that it couldn’t be the Timewyrm because it is too subtle for her tastes.

 

On the topic of the Timewyrm, for the few scenes she’s in you get to see her vulnerable and in fear, as well as prideful.  This is in stark contrast to Timewyrm: Genesys where she was much more cool, calculating and manipulative.  The real villains of the piece aren’t revealed until the final act of the novel where we see the scope of their plans.

 

The characterization of the Doctor and Ace are great again here as we see Ace push her limits after actually killing Nazi soldiers and being a bit cold as they shouldn’t have been alive.  The Doctor is also great as he is being the chessmaster, but has to keep changing up his strategy as the situation keeps changing out of his control.  The Timewyrm seems to be a great villain for the Seventh Doctor because of how much she knows and she is connected to the Doctor and knows what he is going to do.  The stakes are raised here as if the Timewyrm dies the Doctor and the TARDIS will die as well.  What also is great is that there aren’t any negatives I can find in this novel as it feels like it could be an audio drama like The Chimes of Midnight or Spare Parts.  So all in all I give Timewyrm: Exodus 100/100 for being a great read that raises the stakes and gets ready for a climax in Timewyrm: Apocalypse and Timewyrm: Revelation.