The Riyria Revelations: Heir of Novron by: Michael J. Sullivan

 

This review is going to be a little odd for me.  I am writing this rather late at night and have been reading this book for about a month now due to life getting in the way, not due to quality or lack thereof.  As it has taken so long to get through this book, this review will probably be more vague on plot details than normal and not go as in depth on the two halves of this novel.  Heir of Novron completes The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan, once again combining two shorter novels into one complete package, Wintertide and Percepliquis, with Percepliquis being over twice the length of Wintertide.  Both halves are perhaps the most different to one another that the trilogy has gotten, the first following the heist rules with an added race against the clock for Royce and Hadrian to rescue Degen Gaunt, the Heir of Novron, while the second is reestablsihing the empire of Novron and finding peace at last.  The second novel included is perhaps the most impactful with its many twists and turns keeping things interesting while the first has the largest emotional impact at its climax, even if there may be a slightly problematic example of fridgeing though a fridging of a character who at least has an impact.  Sullivan also includes quite a few more character deaths than I was expecting, though ones that manage to come at the end of fulfilled character arcs instead of tragically cutting them short.  There is time to breathe and deal with the fallout of deaths from several perspectives, the point of view continuing to shift throughout Heir of Novron between characters, often in the middle of chapters as well which feel a bit longer this time around adding to the epic scope of this concluding installment.

 

A lot of the worldbuilding on the elves who have had a decent amount of exposure, but it’s Percepliquis which actually includes elves as characters with an exploration of their culture.  Now this sadly doesn’t come until the back quarter of the book, though there is enough in depth from Sullivan as he explores how the bigotry can at least be pushed off and changed through systemic change.  This is still done through the lens of monarchy as there are still kings on thrones and struggles for thrones and empire, without the introspection on imperialism and all that can entail.  Royce and Hadrian also end up in interesting spots, with some of the twists becoming incredibly obvious in hindsight, one being so obvious it’s actually kind of a surprise that it wasn’t some sort of red herring Sullivan included to throw readers off the scent.  It all involves the true identity of the heir, who by this point it should be clear it isn’t Degen Gaunt as he hasn’t actually had a whole lot of development.  The final quarter of the novel is also a bit weird as the pacing somehow seems off, it seems to go off in a different direction for the wrap up without necessarily finishing everything to the fullest effect.  This is where Heir of Novron falls flat in the smallest way, keeping it from being one of the absolute best fantasy novels, however there’s still so much good it doesn’t impact it much.  Royce and Hadrian’s dynamic is somehow better here than the previous two novels which is already a surprise since they’re already a brilliant double act. This is in spite of sections where they don’t really appear, though Arista is perhaps the other character who feels just as important.  Overall, Heir of Novron is just a brilliant conclusion to the trilogy even if it goes on just a touch too long.  9/10.

The Dragon Reborn by: Robert Jordan: Inside the Tower (Chapters 13 to 15)

 

““I don’t understand, Mother,” Egwene said after a moment.  “I suppose you don’t, at that.  You are the only two in the Tower I can be absolutely sure are not Black Ajah.”  The Amyrlin’s mouth still twisted around those words.  “Liandrin and her twelve went, but did all of them go?  Or did they leave some of their number behind, like a stub in shallow water that you don’t see till it puts a hole in your boat?  It may be I’ll not find that out until it is too late, but I will not let Liandrin and the others get away with what they did.  Not the theft, and especially not the murders.  No one kills my people and walks away unscathed.  And I’ll not let thirteen trained Aes Sedai serve the Shadow.  I mean to find them and still them!”” – The Dragon Reborn, p. 178.

 

These essays, while slowing down unintentionally as life has interfered with the writing of these, have made mention of the White Tower politics, however, this section is really where they begin to effect Egwene and Nynaeve, brought back and initially confined to their rooms at this point.  There is this genuine fear that they are in trouble and when brought in front of the Amyrlin with Elayne, they essentially are.  They will be physically punished and socially ostracized due to fleeing the Tower, despite the fact (which Siuan acknowledges) that they were tricked by Liandrin and the Black Ajah. “You think so, do you child?  It may be your salvation that no on e in the Tower but Verin, Leane, and I even suspects you had anything to do with Liandrin.  If that were known, much less the little demonstration you put on for the Whitecloaks – no need to look so surprised; Verin told me everything – if it were known you had gone off with Liandrin the Hall might very well vote for stilling the three of you before you could take a breath.”” – The Dragon Reborn, p. 170.  This is all a game, the Aes Sedai as a group are all playing a game and Egwene especially gets a taste for what it is all about.  As soon as Elayne is dismissed, Siuan can actually acknowledge what they did as heroic and in secret task them with being the ones to find the Black Ajah.  They must endure the punishments, punishments that are degrading as this is the first time Robert Jordan essentially uses spanking in the plot and far from the last.  This is at least a form of switching from Sheriam which harkens back to strict private school, usually Catholic, nuns doing this to their students, however, it isn’t quite clear if it is meant to be seen as archaic.  Degrading, yes, but not archaic, after all Siuan is the one to give out this punishment and while not overtly sexist when a woman forces spanking on another woman, there are some hints of sexism underlying the idea of spanking as a punishment.  It is made more apparent when their punishment includes the task of scrubbing dishes in what is essentially a lowly position of a servant making the degradation that Jordan intends apparent.

 

The degradation is of course contrasted with the high honor bestowed upon Nynaeve and Egwene in being the ones to hunt down the Black Ajah.  The implication is that Egwene will be raised to Accepted, though not yet full Aes Sedai simply because of the trouble that would cause with the implications.  Siuan still has to play the game herself and contend with several enemies within and without the Tower.  ““For the most part…you must work within the limitations of the Accepted.  The ide ais for no one to suspect you.  But . . . .”  She opened the black box on her table, hesitated and looked at the other two women as if still unsure she wanted to do this t hen took out a number of stiff, folded papers…It held writing in a neat, round hand, and was sealed at the bottom with the White Flame of Tar Valon.  What the bearer is done at my order and by my authority. Obey, and keep silent, at my command.” – The Dragon Reborn, p. 181.  While limited as Accepted, they must learn to play the game, still accept their punishment, and Egwene must be raised, they still have power.

 

The game is also played almost immediately, with Suian not being specific on which sisters to trust, though Verin and Moiraine are mentioned as most likely trustworthy (Moiraine especially), however, as soon as they leave, still fearful for Mat who has not been healed, and upon arrival in Elayne’s room there is something there. A creature they cannot see, something that moves too fast, something that forces them to embrace saidar: “He was an average-appearing man, of average height and average build, with features so ordinary Egwene did not thing she could have noticed him in a group of three.” – The Dragon Reborn, p. 187.  This is a Grey Man, perfectly named and built by the Shadow to camouflage in crowds, moving too quickly but killed with a dagger from someone and a crossbow bolt presumably fired by the same person.  It is what occurs after that plays the game, Sheriam arrives, the Mistress of Novices, who builds a cover story out of the truth that there is a death that they happened upon, though Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne still can tell lies, a small one being included here.  There is the question of why Sheriam is there, something she refuses to tell them point blank as they are Accepted and not full Aes Sedai, and it is important to note that she does not question how the Grey Man was killed.  While they do not have any skill at the game, they still have to play it, even if here there is no clear way of them gaining information.  They are stuck in the tower and have to learn before their mission can truly begin.

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy by: Stephen Wyatt

 

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy was written by Stephen Wyatt, based on his story of the same name.  It was the 150^th story to be novelized by Target Books.

 

The novelization of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is kind of a sad coincidence, being the first novelization to be published after the airing of Survival and the ending of the show.  After this book was published while there would be twelve more novelizations, nine before the beginning of the Virgin New Adventures in 1991, the final three being longer novelizations from John Peel of the Patrick Troughton Dalek stories and Barry Letts novelizing The Paradise of Death.  Stephen Wyatt’s The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is almost fitting to be the first post-Survival novelization as it is a meta-commentary on the state of Doctor Who in the late 1980s, taking place in a setting which essentially represents the show as a whole and its translated somehow more starkly when in novel form.  Wyatt did not get the luxury of Ben Aaronovitch’s Remembrance of the Daleks novelization with an increased word count and was still working with the basic 120-140 pages of text, yet he manages to pack so many things into this small novelization.  Wyatt as a writer writes a genuinely surreal experience in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy due to the story’s meta commentary and Wyatt’s prose essentially building upon the emotions of fear that mount throughout the story. 

 

For instance, there is a sense of maliciousness from Captain Cook and the circus itself from the very beginning, with this great description of how dark and cramped the tent feels when the Doctor and Ace first enter.  It’s also a slow burn to get the Doctor and Ace to the circus itself, allowing a lot of the dread to set in with some added scenes outside of the Doctor and Ace getting the junk mail to Segonax.  The book opens with a description of the Ringmaster’s rap which in the audiobook is attempted by Sophie Aldred which kind of makes it hilarious.  There is this fear and more run down idea to the Psychic Circus throughout where the characters have almost more tension while the final confrontation with the Gods of Ragnarok and the Doctor creates almost more tension.  The book ends with the explosion, beautifully described and an actual final few moments between the Doctor and Ace leaving which feels like a thesis statement, which helps especially since this was published immediately after the show ended.  It’s almost a statement from Wyatt, unintentionally that the show will somehow still go on though in a different form.  It becomes an interesting prelude to what would become the Virgin New Adventures, not because of some added content, but because of translating as story into prose with some occasional pieces of darkness sprinkled throughout that play more on the cosmic horror elements of the premise that the show could never do.  The book is reflective on where the show could have been going, especially if Wyatt was given a third serial in Season 26.

 

Overall, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is a perfect example of how to adapt a television story in an era where VHS releases were picking up steam (several serials would have been released and the first Seventh Doctor VHS release would only release two years after this in the UK).  It doesn’t change things, but provides quite a lot of depth to an already well regarded story.  Wyatt’s writing style is also perfect making it a genuine shame he wouldn’t write for Doctor Who again in any form until 2021’s The Psychic Circus.  10/10.

Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive by: David Fisher

 

Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive was written by David Fisher, based on his story The Leisure Hive.  It was the 69^th story to be novelized by Target Books.

 

This is a book which I listened to the audiobook reading immediately after the horror inspired Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius, which created for an interesting mood as on television, The Leisure Hive is not a horror story, but a comedy with most of the jokes surgically removed by script editor Christopher H. Bidmead in an attempt to make Doctor Who a more serious science fiction program.  That of course doesn’t work when David Fisher had already contributed three heavily comedic scripts with The Stones of Blood, The Androids of Tara, and The Creature from the Pit as well as contributing the original idea to what would become City of Death.  Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive as a novelization immediately reinserts much of the dry humor due to David Fisher being tapped to write the book himself, two years after airing and enough time to move past the Bidmead style of Doctor Who.  The first few chapters are extended sequences detailing the opening shots and the history of the Argolin/Foamasi conflict, done in tribute to Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

 

The backstory for the conflict is actually a gift, it allows the reader to understand the conflict and a lot of the motivation for the side characters who on television never really got enough time to develop naturally with Lovett Bickford’s rather odd direction.  This does cause an interesting pacing issue as there are stretches of this book where the Doctor and Romana do not appear while the final three chapters, which are less than one-third of the book, encompass all of Part Three and Four, which makes me wonder if Fisher knew that his story wasn’t highly regarded so attempted to build a comedy heavy first half to offset the rather bland second half which involves a takeover, mistaken identity, and the same weak conclusion that we saw on television.  Luckily Fisher does make the story in general more interesting, with some of the intrigue of Mina’s dealings appearing on a scene on a futuristic Earth instead of confining most of the action to the actual Leisure Hive, and the buildup towards the Foamasi’s appearance being done with more flair than them essentially showing up right at the end.  There’s also some genuinely horrifying moments when the tachyonics generator malfunctions, killing its volunteer while Fisher describes the blood, guts, and pain the man experiences.  It hits the reader like a brick which is incredibly important for setting up the actual danger of the situation and is followed up on when the Doctor is aged with some genuine existential dread brought in.

 

Overall, Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive is a good example of a Doctor Who author taking the chance to improve on aspects of a television story, however, not enough to make this an amazing story.  There are still the flaws inherent in The Leisure Hive even if the tone has changed to a more dark, absurdist comedy as it still reflects the issues of a slow moving plot with a back half compressed far too much.  6/10.

Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius by: Terrance Dicks

 

Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius was written by Terrance Dicks, based on The Brain of Morbius by Robin Bland (a pseudonym for Terrance Dicks and Robert Holmes).  It was the 33^rd story to be novelized by Target Books.

 

This is an interesting book considering The Brain of Morbius was originally commissioned to be a serial by Terrance Dicks, but it was rewritten by Robert Holmes enough that Dicks requested his name be pulled.  With Dicks coming back to do the novelization you would think that an opportunity would arise to bring some of the ideas the original script had, such as the surgeon Solon being a robot and the planet of Karn being markedly different from what was on television.  Dicks does not do that, however, electing to make Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius a near one to one translation of the television story to prose with his usual style.  As this is a Terrance Dicks book, it is incredibly easy to read, though not the easiest as this was further abridged to a second novelization as the short lived Junior Doctor Who range.  The biggest change to the story in terms of plot is the first chapter fleshing out the establishing shots of The Brain of Morbius where a Mutant from The Mutants is killed by Condo and its head taken to Solon.  Much of that is from the Mutant’s perspective, here described just as a crustacean alien, which is horrific, one of the few pieces of horror from the story properly translated to prose, as Dicks’ writing style doesn’t exactly translate to horror incredibly well.

 

Despite the episode being translated incredibly well, without the direction of Christopher Barry, the dark corners just don’t hit the same way.  Somehow the stakes feel less, for instance when Sarah Jane is struck blind by the Sisterhood of Karn in an accident, here it feels like almost immediately the Doctor is there to fix things and not the genuine fear in the performance and direction of Sarah Jane possibly now being disabled.  In another example, Condo’s death at the hands of Solon also feels somehow less horrific.  On television, there is a blood splatter and the viewer really has found something to like in Condo, but in print he just dies.  He is shot and dies in about a sentence, so the visceral reaction and genuinely envelope pushing scene (for what Doctor Who could get away with as a show primarily aimed at children) just goes by with little fanfare.  There are a couple of interesting expansions, especially involving the history of Morbius and a more outward insanity to Solon from the start, having destroyed several busts of Morbius before the one he has standing at the start of the story.  It’s still an adaptation of an already good story that captures some of what makes the story work, despite the elements not bringing everything together into a perfect picture or really improving on any of the (very minor) flaws of the television story.  8/10.

Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon by: Brian Hayles

 

Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon was written by Brian Hayles, based on his story The Curse of Peladon.  It was the 11^th story to be novelized by Target Books.

 

The early and late Target novelizations have an interesting trend in common, mainly the fact that television writers and production teams were the ones primarily adapting their serials.  While Terrance Dicks would become the one most prominently adapting books, Malcolm Hulke, Gerry Davis, Barry Letts, and important for today’s review, Brian Hayles, took the time to adapt at least some of their stories.  Hulke paved the way with Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters and Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon, and Barry Letts followed with Doctor Who and the Daemons in the second year with Brian Hayles’ Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon.  Upon its release, of the eleven novelizations Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon was the most recent serial to be adapted, only being two years old, tied with The Sea Devils.  Brian Hayles would have also recently revisited Peladon in The Monster of Peladon which would not be adapted for another five years by Terrance Dicks.

 

Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon is an interesting novelization, simply because Brian Hayles was given a chance to fully take his scripts outside of the studio bound television production of The Curse of Peladon along with the costumed budgetary descriptions.  Hayles fills the novel with vivid imagery giving the reader a chance to understand the culture of Peladon and a lot of the fear.  The plot is a beat for beat recreation of the television story with the alterations made to be adding a depth of character which was missing from the television story.  For instance, King Peladon on television has this romance with Jo Grant throughout, but you never get an explanation as to why, but here Hayles expands adding this element that she reminds him of his mother and the fact that Jo is a human being is what brings the attraction.  There are also descriptors in the prose that do an excellent job of translating the performances of David Troughton and Katy Manning.  The imagery doesn’t end there, with Alpha Centauri and Arcturus having more lively descriptors than what their costumes.  Centauri as a character changes color like a mood ring throughout the novel which is used to help build up tension and fear while Arcturus comes across much slimier than on television.  If there was one alien that doesn’t work as well in this example of prose, it would be the Ice Warriors, who while the plotline with the Doctor judging them is there, that red herring feels accented which worked better in a visual medium than the novel form, especially since neither of the previous Ice Warrior stories had been adapted at this point.

 

Overall, Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon doesn’t change the quality of the television story, offering an alternative take with some different, more vivid imagery making it work with some almost lyrical prose from Hayles in the first of two novelizations he would provide to the Target books range.  9/10.

Mean Streets by: Terrance Dicks

 

Mean Streets is a breath of fresh air after Ghost Devices.  Terrance Dicks as a writer can be summed up as incredibly readable; his prose isn’t particularly special, the style doesn’t stand out in a line up of some of the greats, but it is one that gets the point across quick enough for whatever effect Dicks is going for.  Mean Streets is Dicks’ homage to noir style detective stories, the title coming from an already cliché about private eyes travelling mean streets full of criminals.  There’s a noir detective who splits the perspective with Benny in the form of Garshak, the intelligent Ogron from Shakedown, and the plot involving a series of grisly murders on Megacity.  The perpetrators are seemingly Wolverines, an alien animal like gang with several descriptions of red eyes associated with a mysterious drug on the street.  Meanwhile Bernice Summerfield has been chased off Dellah and charged with fraud in the company of “murderer” Chris Cwej, leading them both to Megacity to find a way to clear their names while Irving Braxiatel behind the scenes on Dellah attempts to stall the authorities finding them.  This plot is two pronged, but simple with both parties essentially looking for the same thing and eventually intersecting.  Benny and Chirs are looking for a mysterious Project and Garshak is trying to discover what has been causing these murders (and attempted murders).  The simplicity of the plot is also a hallmark of what makes Terrance Dicks stories work, they aren’t trying to be universe spanning and the stakes are personal to Benny, Chris, and the people of Megacity (through the eyes of Garshak) which immediately hits the reader.

 

Chris and Benny also have amazing chemistry, with Dicks using the prologue to recount an unseen adventure where Chris and Roz were on Megacity.  This was already a pleasant surprise, does a really good job of setting up the novel (and the eventual reveal), and actually felt integrated between the Doctor Who New Adventures and the Bernice Summerfield New Adventures without having to file serial numbers off a Seventh Doctor appearance.  Terrance Dicks clearly understands how to characterize Chris, including his growth from his time with the Doctor without losing the brightness to his personality.  Chris is one of those Doctor Who companions that fits the archetype of a himbo without making him too dumb, he’s the one to initiate the plot with Benny after all and the one who eventually puts things together.  It’s also a really nice parallel to his relationship with Jason Kane in Deadfall that despite Benny and Jason’s messy divorce and that whole situation, there’s no side for Chris to take.  He cares about both of them and would trust Benny with his life because of their mutual experience.  With the two of them Benny is the one whose point of view is prominent, so everything of Chris outside of the prologue is seen through her eyes.  Benny is also put in the position of private investigator, putting many of the bigger plot points together and not looking at things from a surface level.  For instance there’s a character called Lucifer, a demonic alien mobster from a planet which has appropriated Christian theology into their culture for power, who is immediately a red herring of the culprit, but that is a very red red herring as he is immediately attacked after Benny negotiates a semi-working relationship that Chris strengthens by saving him.

 

Megacity is a setting which feels alive, Lucifer has his own operations and while Dicks does homage The Godfather occasionally because who wouldn’t in this situation, its gangs feel alive.  The prologue establishes what it was which Dicks uses as a springboard to have evolved and fallen apart with Garshak losing his position of chief of police along with his Ogron comrades who have left policing together and moved into security, often at nightclubs.  Garshak is the fascinating Ogron because of his intelligence yet his perspective isn’t just a human with silly Star Trek head bumps.  Dicks makes an important distinction in his point of view chapters, being in first person while Benny’s are in third person, and a slight stylistic shift makes things feel off from the normal human perspective.  It also helps that Garshak doesn’t enter the novel until about one third of the way through the book: he is spoken of quite a bit along with people who knew him which builds him up as an unknown entity.  It’s played with that he could be a threat for Benny and Chris, which is easily sold because he is an Ogron and the cover casts him in shadows.  The subversion of course comes and that makes their eventual team up all the more interesting.  Garshak actually cares about the people of the city, it’s why he went to become a private detective.

 

Overall, Mean Streets is a triumph for the New Adventures, with Terrance Dicks writing one of his best Doctor Who stories all without including the Doctor.  A friend of mine remarked only he would be able to get away with using the word Dalek, and that’s somehow an apt description for the book.  Brilliantly steeping itself in Doctor Who and that fictional universe while telling its own story with its own small cast of characters wrapped up in an homage to film noir.  Endlessly readable and one I will be coming back to.  10/10.