The Face-Eater by: Simon Messingham

Simon Messingham is an author whom I’ve had a bit of a storied history with.  I’ve reviewed two of his novels previously, the first being his Virgin New Adventure Strange England which to this day remains the weakest novel in the range, and his second being his first BBC Book Zeta Major which managed to be an engaging read.  While Zeta Major showed promise for the writer, he still only had a 50% success rate when it came to writing, and doing preliminary research into his debut Eighth Doctor Adventure, The Face-Eater, I found that it is a book often regarded as one of the last books before the range takes an increase in quality with the introduction of the range’s iconic companion.  This did not bode well for the quality of The Face-Eater, implying it’s one of the weaker entries in the Eighth Doctor Adventures range.  The book’s description also did not bode well as it described the story as a generic Doctor Who story set on a distant planet where the streets of a sprawling metropolis are being stalked and killed by a mysterious figure.  This is pretty much the description for a Doctor Who runaround that after experiencing you would forget in an instant, maybe with some focus on action.  Needless to say the combination of these elements lowered expectations considerably for the quality of The Face-Eater.



It then became incredibly surprising when The Face-Eater turned out to be a decent novel, albeit a novel that wasn’t properly marketed.  The book is marketed as an action/adventure story, which will convince you that Messingham had nothing to do with writing the description.  The genre that The Face-Eater fits in is horror.  It is fitting that I read this book in October as that really adds to the atmosphere due to Messingham’s style of writing horror in the style of H.P. Lovecraft.  Messingham sets The Face-Eater on Proxima II, the first permanent human colony, introducing an atmosphere of isolation.  This is a period of history where light speed travel is possible, but incredibly primitive and the colony of Proxima II became self-sufficient because without it, survival would not be possible.  Nobody can come to help them, so when the bodies start piling up there’s already the fear that situation implies.  Messingham also doesn’t use a typical Doctor Who villain, the face-eater of the title is a creature from the legends of the indigenous life of the planet and it absorbs the brains of it’s victims, consuming their face.  But how does that play into Lovecraftian horror? Well, the creature does not have a corporeal form, and those who survive encounters are driven insane.  Added in for extra measure, it is a shapeshifter building on the paranoia of the situation.  Messingham plays to full extent on the idea that nobody knows who this creature is which is excellent, allowing every supporting character to gradually be driven to insanity.  The point of view for The Face-Eater is shifted between the characters which assists in building the paranoia, including having some sections from the perspective of the monster.  This allows the monster to truly come across as an inhuman entity.



Bringing the Doctor into a situation like this obviously makes him and Sam the most likely suspects as the identity of the murderer.  When this trope is used in other Doctor Who stories it does not always come across naturally as to why the Doctor and companion are put under suspicion, but with this premise having them be the main suspects works.  Putting the Eighth Doctor into a story like this is also a stroke of genius.  His romantic nature works incredibly well for this story, as he tries to save everyone and wants to understand the villains instead of just finding a way to defeat it.  There is a sense, however, that Messingham, like myself and many fans who read the Eighth Doctor Adventures, does not have sympathies for the character of Samantha Jones.  Messingham just adds her most basic characteristics and keeps her to the sidelines for most of the runtime.  Let’s just keep it at the idea that the next Eighth Doctor Adventure for the introduction of a new companion.



Messingham is also weak in the characterization of the supporting characters.  Of the supporting characters, perhaps Jake Leary and Joan Betts are the most enjoyable as they descend into madness and Leary and the Doctor have a really fun standoff near the end of the novel as both think the other is the face-eater.  Overall, The Face-Eater has a great concept, great story, and a great antagonist, but is dragged down by a poor characterization of Sam Jones and supporting cast.  It’s laudable for doing something unique and is a great novel for the Halloween season, so give this one a try.  7/10.