The plot itself has a
straightforward plot, after the events of Eternity
Weeps Benny is back at the house on Allen Road where the Doctor has asked
her to meet him. Like a bad boyfriend he
is late and when she sees the TARDIS arrive, but it isn’t the Doctor she’s used
to at the helm of the ship. This one
isn’t a master manipulator so when he returns to Earth just before an Ice
Warrior invasion he doesn’t have a plan to defeat them so goes back to relying
on the forces of UNIT to dispel the attacks.
The story is just as much a pilot for the Bernice Summrfield novels as
well as a Pertwee story as it’s got the UNIT team working against government
corruption and an invasion that’s only affecting the United Kingdom. Lord Greyhaven is the human villain who has
been working with the Ice Warriors to gain power under them after the many Mars
missions have accidentally declared war on the Martians. He’s a character wrapped up in government
conspiracy and is a representation of the corruption that comes with
power. I could easily imagine him being
played by Geoffrey Beevers or Terry Malloy if this novel was adapted into an
audio drama. He’s just a fascinating
character and the embodiment of greed.
The already captivating
style of Lance Parkin’s Just War and Cold Fusion bleeds through to this novel
in some interesting ways. Now first he
makes you really feel the threat of the Ice Warriors even if there are only
three of them present with one spaceship total.
It’s something completely manageable to the television movie’s
budget. He also allows you to really see
when there is perspective from the Ice Warriors or humans as the Ice Warriors
spell human names as if they were Ice Warriors, humans as humans, and the
Doctor and Benny as they are. The Ice
Warriors in the novel are also a credible threat as they are ready to kill all
resistance with the Red Death, a gas weapon that tracks down and suffocates
people. It’s a great way of creating a
threat. The fact that one of them is
crowned the King of England which allows for scenes of some questionable to
well executed humor. They just slip in
very well to the roles of governors and ministers which allows Benny to flex
her specialty in Martian history. The
prose just flows off the page.
The two Brigadiers make a
central appearance to the plot as Lethebridge-Stewart comes out of retirement
to deal with the Martian threat. One of
his old military buddies who seemed to turn into a traitor, Lex Christian,
escapes prison and takes his old friend under his wing to reveal the
corruption. The two of them really share
a close friendship with each other and Lethebridge-Stewart doesn’t want to let
his old friend down. He also works much
better with Winifred Bambera than they did in Battlefield. This time
around they know that it’s Bambera who is in charge of UNIT and he’s just there
to help which allows for a really interesting working relationship.
Benny and the Eighth
Doctor are the only point of contention that I have with this novel outside of
a very slow pace. The Eighth Doctor is
portrayed well enough as the breathless romantic that he was in The TV Movie and you can see Paul McGann
through the prose excellently. He has an
active role in the proceedings overall but there is one event at the very end
of the novel that makes me stop and pause for just a moment and get a bit
angry. The same can be said about
Bernice Summerfield who is just the absolute best character and perfect for the
role of leading her own series of novels.
The Dying Days really has
Benny as the main character with the Doctor acting in the role of the
companion. The events end with Benny
passionately kissing the Eighth Doctor and pushing him onto a bed. Then we fade to black and the novel ends
which is something I really don’t like.
It might just be because Lungbarrow
was the previous Virgin New Adventure, but the story really doesn’t work
with these events.
To summarize, The Dying Days is an excellent way to
end the Virgin New Adventures with a real band.
It keeps the story interesting with a traditional story as a way to
introduce audiences to a New Doctor and a new era of adventures with a different
style in comparison to the rest. The
characterization is top notch and the prose, while slow in places, is very
engaging with a lot of the workings feeling like an old fashioned Jon Pertwee
story. It isn’t perfect by any means but
it is a lot of fun to read through.
90/100.
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