Doctor Who: Instruments of Darkness

Past Doctor Adventures #48

by Gary Russell

The leaders on planet Earth think that the Magnate is a mysterious "shadow Government" that controls the world. It isn't. The leaders believe the Network to be a ramshackle, paranoid outfit of European anarchists who will eventually blow themselves up. They won't. The leaders believe that if there are humans who can control things with their minds — ESPnets — they're few and far between, and not worth worrying about. They're wrong. The leaders believe that one minute after midnight on 31 December 1993, a new year, full of promise, will begin. They're wrong.

The Doctor and Mel arrive on Earth just days before New Year. An old friend has been kidnapped and taken to France. And two murderous enemies are setting up a new life in the Peak District. Which of these threats should the Doctor deal with first? And why is his old travelling companion Evelyn Smythe using her knowledge of the future to make a fortune from chocolate cake recipes?

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction

287 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Gary Russell is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs in other media. As an actor, he is best known for playing Dick Kirrin in the British 1978 television series The Famous Five.

Reviews

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Need more books with Evelyn in them!

[Jacob Licklider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Instruments of Darkness is the final book in Gary Russell’s trilogy of Doctor Who novels dealing with the Pale Man and the Irish Twins. While not the most connected trilogy, there are ideas in all three novels of using alien technology to improve oneself and build power which are interesting but sadly, Instruments of Darkness is the weakest. This was a novel that was delayed when Russell suffered from writer’s block and was initially replaced in the Past Doctor Adventures schedule with The Shadow in the Glass at the last minute and honestly while the extra time allowed for the novel’s completion it didn’t entirely work with what Russell had done so well before. The Scales of Injustice and Business Unusual are classics and both I’d highly recommend to fans of their respective eras and Doctor Who in general. Instruments of Darkness, on the other hand, doesn’t quite come together, though that isn’t to say it isn’t at least worth one read though with tempered expectations. When the novel shines, it really does shine, but it’s more the connective tissue that doesn’t hold together as well as it really should. This is the first novel to really acknowledge Big Finish Productions, bringing in the character of Evelyn Smythe to meet the Doctor and Mel long after she’s finished traveling and that’s where one of the big issues of the novel occurs. The idea that the Sixth Doctor would abandon Evelyn over a decade before they initially met honestly feels wrong. Okay, at this point Big Finish had only released up to Bloodtide (though Russell would have had access to the upcoming audios) and there wasn’t a clear ending to her story in mind until at least 2004, but it feels wrong for the companion immediately after Peri whom the Doctor couldn’t save and Grant Markham who gets a mention here, would just be put into live isolated for a decade.

The characterization of the Sixth Doctor in the first third or so of the novel also feels off. Oddly enough it feels like the way Terrance Dicks mismanaged the character in The Eight Doctors, having him obsess over food and feel really annoyed at his companions existence which feels more flanderized than anything the television show did with the character at his worst. Luckily by the time things settle in Russell builds this great dynamic between the Doctor, Evelyn, and Mel and you’re able to really enjoy their time together (with the novel ending with the three of them travelling together which is sadly not really followed up on). Mel in particular is continually well characterized as she was in Business Unusual from the word go and her active role in the plot really shows how Russell understands the possibilities her character could have. The plot itself is a bit odd: there’s a being trapped that is being released back into the world by a mysterious John Doe on the orders of the Magnate, a shadow Government that seems to be connected with C19. This is a simplified version of the plot as Russell adds and removes elements and subplots on his own whims which is a shame as simplicity would have helped make the book flow. The identity of John Doe is also interesting, due to some of the implications of the character being an obscure companion given a genuinely horrific fate, though thankfully that is implications and not confirmed. The exploration of the Irish Twins, Ciara and Cellian, here is perhaps where the novel is at its best, allowing both of them to break away from their previous deeds and attempt a redemption. Sadly this is lost in the sheer number of characters and the fact that you really need context from The Scales of Injustice and Business Unusual for it to work.

Overall, Instruments of Darkness is a book that probably needed an editor if it was to reach the heights of the previous two in the trilogy, but in a lot of aspects managed to work while in many others it fell flat. The characterization of the regulars starts rocky but eventually comes together really nicely and deals with the ideas of the entire trilogy but there’s still that sense of things being held back to make the final experience just fine. 5/10.

[David Layton · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Instruments of Darkness" is a sequel to two Gary Russell novels - "Scales of Injustice" and "Business: Unusual." If you have not read these two close to reading "Instruments of Darkness," then much of what happens will not make sense. Russell tries to make this one independent with bits of backstory cast in through dialogue, but this runs counter to his wish to get you to buy the other two books. The story is rather thin, but, without giving away too much, two aliens seem to be dropping in on Earth at various times of history to recruit humans with ESP powers for something quasi-religious. One alien is an albino humanoid, a suave Bond-villain type, and another is a vaguely humanoid form hiding inside a blast of blue light. These both in some way have something to do with two secret organizations with vague ties to both UNIT and The Forge/C-19, one called The Magnate and another called The Network, although they might both be the same thing. Russell again exercises his penchant for scratching the Who fans' itches by bringing in Evelyn Smythe from Big Finish. Some other problems for me with this novel are that in the first fifty pages, the reader gets inundated with brief encounters of character after character, each given a detailed background that makes them seem terribly important to the story, but each of whom turns out not to be. The Doctor, Mel, and Evelyn are sidelined for about half of the story, with scene after scene devoted to pointless arguing between The Doctor and Evelyn, none of which moves the plot forward. When things finally do come to a head, Mel and Evelyn are again mainly sidelined, with their scenes having little effect on the total story. Mostly, they seem to be there so they can be attacked. There are numerous nods to the James Bond movies, with an elaborate underground complex for a nefarious secret organization, nearly indestructible assassins, and multiple international locations. The plot hinges on the idea of super-powerful mental abilities, the people having these abilities called ESPnets (just to get in an internet reference so it all seems up to date and techy). Mental powers of this kind are indistinguishable from magic, and when they are escalated to so much "power" that one being can destroy worlds and rewrite history with just a thought, then we are completely out of the realm of believability. To give him his due, Russell knows how to pace the story, and his dialogue for the main characters suits them fairly well.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Who Instruments of Darkness is one of the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventures which feature Doctors 1-7 and were published just after the 1996 TV movie (starring Paul McGann) and coherently with the Eighth Doctor Adventures starring McGann's Doctor (and with new Companions).

This particular story was only so-so. I liked seeing Evelyn in a novel (she's a companion from the Big Finish audio plays) and her interaction with Mel was great. But, on the other hand, unlike "Spiral Scratch" which had me liking Mel, even though I have never liked Mel as a Doctor Who companion, in Instruments of Darkness she's back to her old, boring, annoying self.

I must admit, I put this book down halfway through - and though I did pick it up again and finish it, the story really didn't stick with me. I think part of the problem is that it spends much too much time with characters other than the Doctor and his companions, especially at the beginning of the story. I'm willing to put up with that for a chapter or two (it almost seems to be part of the outline for this series of books) but not the majority of the first half. And it doesn't make me more sympathetic to the characters - because they all get killed anyway (or most of them do). And in this novel in particular, most of the characters specific to the novel are bad guys. Even the teens and young people with ESP powers, at the end, prove to be just as dangerous as the various forces that were holding them hostage.

Overall, I have to give this a three out of five rating. It's OK, and not extremely bad like some of the PDA Doctor Who adventures, but it's not extremely good either.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit I really loved this. The main plot was a bit strange but it was by far the most brilliant character writing I've ever seen in a Doctor Who novel. A novel that contained Evelyn Smythe one of the best companions ever was just wonderful. Even without Maggie Stables performance you could hear her very clearly reading all of Evelyn's words. The interactions between Mel and Evelyn were just brilliant. When Evelyn sat and explained to Mel that the doctor wasn't in love with her and she wasn't in love with him and that's not what travelling with the doctor was about was such a wonderful scene. I wish Evelyn would sit down and have that conversation with ALL the new companions. (Well except Donna I think Evelyn and Donna would have much better things to talk about). But she was just brilliant. Mel has always been one of my least favourite companions (despite sharing a name - and even sharing a middle name I discovered when I read this). But I found her much less offensive in this book. She got to use her skills and that while her constant nagging of the doctor was a bit tiresome I didn't want to hit her.

I'd not read the previous books that introduced some of the other minor characters and villains but I there was enough exposition to explain what happened before to make it not necessary to have read before this one. I found it a bit tragic at the end. WHY did the lovely boy pretend he'd forgotten when he hadn't?

I borrowed a copy of this from the library but enjoyed it so much I bought a copy from amazon before I'd finished.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2577191.html#cutid1

It's the last of three novels featuring the half-human Irish twins as possible villains; they first appear in The Scales of Injustice, and the story is taken further in Business Unusual which I read quite recently. It also features both Mel Bush and Evelyn Smythe, who had been introduced to the Whoniverse only the previous year by Big Finish, as portrayed so wonderfully by the lamented Maggie Stables. (The author was the producer of the Big Finish audios at the time.)

The plot is a fairly standard worldwide consipiracy to do something or other, and by the standards of such plots is pretty convoluted, and apparently involves another character from 1990s spinoff Who (I missed this but picked it up from online reviews afterwards). I confess I didn't completely follow it, but I enjoyed the Mel/Evelyn/Six interplay on the page (Mel is particularly well-served), and also felt that the Irish twins - apart from the Eighth Doctor's audio companion Molly O'Sullivan, the only Irish regular characters in Who as far as I know - got a decent ending to their story as well.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely don't come to this cold; this is a sequel to Gary Russell's previous Doctor Who novel "Business Unusual", as well as a sideways sequel to the Big Finish adventures featuring the 6th Doctor and Evelyn...if you're not really familiar with this scenario, this will leave you puzzled. That said, reading it as a story is...adequate. It's well written, but I can't say the story interested me very much. What is on offer to keen 6th Doctor fans is the meeting of Mel and Evelyn, and the contrasting attitudes to Colin Baker's incarnation of the Doctor. THIS is solely why this novel gets 3 stars...whenever the Doctor, Mel and Evelyn are the center of attention, this book shines...and I virtually skimmed the in-between sections to get back to this superb material. I would have preferred the entire novel to have dealt with nothing but their relationships.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A so-so story is saved by the fun/drama of spotlighting on the sixth Doctors companions, Mel ( from the TV show) and Evelyn( from the audio adventures) meeting and going through a bit of jealous rivalry.

Also a nice look at how traveling with the Doctor can effect your life.

While it was fun to see the return of the bad guys from 'Business Unusual', the writer never seems to know what to do with half of them and the story kind of stumbles along.

[Douglas Yannaghas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Companion/Doctor stuff? 10/10. I've never liked Mel Bush more. And Evelyn Smythe is one of the great creations of The Wilderness Years.
The rest of this book however? It's a bit much. A bit busy. Hard to invest in anything with so many moving parts being left undeveloped. Reads like overwritten sci-fi a lot of the time. Moderately fun but frustrating.

[Richard Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tons of continuity, as is the way with Gary Russell novels. Some really good character stuff for the Sixth Doctor and brilliant seeing Evelyn Smythe again. Let down by a convoluted plot that really barely needs the Doctor to resolve.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing to write home about. It was okay but nothing special f