Yes this story splits up
the main cast into three main groups.
Barbara is captured by a Spaniard and taken to the lair of the titular
plotters, Ian is searching for Barbara with a pair of comedy cobblers, and the
Doctor and Vicki go to King James’s court to look on the translation of the
Bible into English. They’re all plots
that Roberts has to juggle in between and he does an excellent job on that
front of things. He’s obviously having
the most fun from the Doctor and Vicki whom he characterizes as mischievous
schoolchildren. The Doctor tricks Vicki
into dressing up as a boy because why not.
He thinks it will be funny and allow her to be passed off as his ward
Victor while he is a priest of all professions.
Really, the Doctor as a priest, that really would never work. It of course attracts the attention of King
James who falls for it and falls head over heels for her, which is a bit creepy
in places, but still a bit funny. The
Doctor also has to take a stance on religious arguments which is just hilarious
as he uses circular reasoning and avoids the questions like the plague. Also he misquotes the Bible which I find
quite humorous, as it feels like a classic Hartnell fluff that would have
happened on television.
The plotline with Barbara
is much simpler as it’s the basis for the background of the Gunpowder
Plot. She meets Guy Fawkes, and while of
course realizing her love for Ian, she can’t help but feel a bit attracted to
Fawkes after he is the one to be a gentleman to her after everyone treats her
horribly. Barbara is written not as a
screaming wreck, but someone who is at least good in a crisis which helps in
the believability of her character as she has to fend for herself in the
novel. Ian’s plotline, if you will
excuse these plot related puns as Gareth Roberts started them, is the weakest
of the three as while the comedy cobblers are good characters and examples of
how diverse early England was, there really isn’t much to say about them. The villains of the story, Robert Catesby and
Hay the Spaniard are both good however as they feel like villains of old
fashioned political drama. Of course
everything is written in a completely irreverent way for just about everything
in the novel.
To summarize, The Plotters manages of course to be
historically inaccurate and overall a comedy romp, but it emulates an era from
the television program to an almost perfect tee as you have characters who feel
as if they came from that era. The
Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki all get great characterization in the novel and
King James while a bit irreverent in just about every way for the monarch is
very enjoyable. Don’t read however if
you want historical accuracy. 90/100.
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