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Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #29
Beautiful Chaos
A tenth Doctor adventure, featuring the Doctor as played by David Tennant and his companion Donna. Wilfred Mott is very happy: his granddaughter, Donna, is back home, catching up with family and gossiping about her journeys, and he has just discovered a new star and had it named after him. He takes the Doctor with him to the naming ceremony. But the Doctor soon discovers something else new, and worryingly bright, in the heavens — something that is heading for Earth. It's an ancient force from the Dark Times. And it is very, very angry.
242 pages, Paperback
First published December 26, 2008
92 people are currently reading
3462 people want to read
About the author
Gary Russell
197 books171 followersGary 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
December 18, 2018
Wishing to spend time with her family on the first anniversary of her fathers death, The Doctor and Donna arrive back in Chiswick to learn that Wilf has discovered a new star and had it named after him.
Something from The Doctor’s past is wishing to seek revenge.
This is truly one of the best Tenth Doctor novels, it fits in seamlessly into the second half of Series 4 with mentions of the adipose and ATMOS.
But more importantly it tackles the death of Geoff Nobel. I really felt for Sylvia as she’s still grieving for her husband.
With the inclusion of a Classic series monster, it really adds an extra layer to a well written and brilliantly plotted story.
Something from The Doctor’s past is wishing to seek revenge.
This is truly one of the best Tenth Doctor novels, it fits in seamlessly into the second half of Series 4 with mentions of the adipose and ATMOS.
But more importantly it tackles the death of Geoff Nobel. I really felt for Sylvia as she’s still grieving for her husband.
With the inclusion of a Classic series monster, it really adds an extra layer to a well written and brilliantly plotted story.
August 23, 2012
Huge fan as I am of the regenerated Doctor Who television series, I've never put that much stock in the official line of accompanying novels put out by the BBC. Partly because they seem like an attempt to get obsessive-compulsive sci-fi nerds to cough up more money for any merchandise related to the franchise, and also... well, speaking as one of those self-same nerds, I've had enough experience with the three books I read prior to Beautiful Chaos (all involving the Doctor and Donna Noble as played by David Tennant and Catherine Tate respectively) to know that the books simply aren't that well-written. I felt the three I had read covered the gamut of possibilities the book range could offer: dreadful, with characters that barely resembled their onscreen counterparts (The Doctor Trap); competent but not particularly exciting or memorable (Ghosts Of India); and fun, rather well-developed with recognisable characters and banter but not good enough to make it on TV (Shining Darkness).
Fortunately, then, that I held out for Gary Russell's Beautiful Chaos, which tells an unexpectedly poignant tale about growing up, the importance of family and how you can still live - with pride and dignity and hope - whatever life has been left to you. On the one-year anniversary of her father's death, Donna Noble returns to Chiswick, Earth with the Doctor... and discovers how her overbearingly prickly mother Sylvia and lovably cantankerous grandfather Wilfred have got on with life without her. They meet Wilf's paramour, the charmingly scatty Netty Goodhart, who is slowly losing her mind, personality and memories to the Alzheimer's Disease she refuses to allow to bring her to her proverbial knees. Unbeknownst to the Doctor and Donna, an old enemy from the skies is at the exact same moment tightening control on the web of influence it has woven all over the world and is about to claim humanity for its very own.
What Russell's novel lacks in lyrical prose, he more than makes up for with a deep, profound love for the series, its characters and its continuity. I have learned that this is something that one should expect from Russell, who is something of a Doctor Who aficionado (to understate matters rather a lot). So he not only brings to vivid life the sparky relationship shared by the Doctor and Donna onscreen, he also harks back to the series' history - the Doctor first encountered the malignant force in Chaos way back when he was played by Tom Baker and accompanied by Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). Russell peppers his text with references that would delight any long-time fan (taking very clearly to heart the promise given way back in the late 1400s that the villain would emerge again near the end of the twentieth century), as well as anyone who has just watched the show since its 2005 reincarnation.
One of the problems with the other Doctor Who novels I've read is that they feel almost like they exist in a vacuum - their characters share the names and the broader, easily identifiable characteristics of their television counterparts, but the stories hardly dovetail with the show's narrative, nor is there much attempt to furnish character development or insight beyond what has already been depicted onscreen. To be fair, this is probably due to the fact that the BBC novels are frequently published while the show is being aired, so the writers have to ensure that their stories don't contradict what's playing out in living rooms across the world every week.
Russell, however, seems to have been given free rein to very firmly locate his novel within the context of the television series - possibly because he was writing and delivering his book during the fairly long hiatus between the end of Series Four and the Specials (in which Donna returns... but unfortunately not to the TARDIS). This means that Russell manages to provide us with a far more emotionally insightful book than you'd expect from a BBC novel. The Donna you see here is the Donna who had her eyes opened by her friendship and travels with the Doctor. She's every bit as brave, wonderful, silly and alive as she is in the television programme, and it was the first time in reading all the BBC novels that I really felt I had Donna Noble back in my life again. Her beautiful relationship with the Doctor - one of my favourite fictional friendships of all time - takes centre stage in a completely refreshing way as well. Rather than keeping them apart for the majority of the novel (see all the other BBC books featuring Donna), Chaos sees them battling shoulder to shoulder and serving unequivocally as each other's strength and support - Donna isn't left languishing anywhere waiting for the Doctor to rescue her; in fact, in a frankly delightful section of the novel, she has to rescue his skinny spaceman ass. The two of them are every bit as quarrelsome and charming as they are on TV, providing comedy and pathos in equal measure whether he's analysing the thousand and one ways in which she can say the word 'OI!' or she's trying to tie his bow-tie (his hated bow-tie!!) for him.
The extended peek Russell affords us into the Noble family dynamic and backstory is similarly wonderful: Sylvia is a tough character to like onscreen, all prickles and put-downs, and to Russell's credit, he doesn't water her down and miraculously rehabilitate her as the picture of a Stepford Wife. Rather, he gives her a compelling inner life and pain that is barely hinted at in the TV series, but fits perfectly with the scant facts we know - chiefly, that Donna's father Geoff Noble passed away in between her first adventure (Runaway Bride) and subsequent reunion with the Doctor (Partners In Crime). Wilf is also allowed to shine with his fierce, devoted love of the women in his life, be they Donna, his daughter Sylvia, or Netty, the lady he's come to love in the twilight of their years. It's fantastic to have a book that places as much premium on character and family as it does the imminent alien invasion that the Doctor has to somehow stop.
For anyone whose emotional wellbeing and tear-ducts were utterly destroyed by Donna's departure from the TARDIS in Journey's End... well, bring more tissues for Chaos, which is bookended by a pair of heartbreaking codas that tie Russell's story very firmly to what happened on the series. It will kill you but will also provide a measure of closure that you're unlikely to get from the television series. The way the Doctor interacts with Netty is itself a heartwrenching parallel with how he must leave his best friend, and the forgiveness you might seek from Donna for her Martian boy is folded into Russell's narrative in a way that doesn't make it hurt any less (in fact it hurts more), but it does help. Somewhat.
My only quibble with Russell's novel is that, through no fault of his own, the close attention he pays to continuity unravels a little with Donna and Wilf's returns to the Doctor's life in the End Of Time Specials after seemingly saying farewell to him for good in Journey's End. Chaos was clearly written in the intervening year, and contains such a rich, emotional story that it's a bit hard to fit it into the onscreen narrative when Wilf suddenly finds himself catapulted into the role his Donna used to play as the Doctor's companion. The unfortunate side-effect is that, having read this after watching End Of Time, Russell's tale feels a little more like well-written fanfiction than a properly canonical entry in the adventures of the Doctor and Donna. (That being said: apparently there's a small reference made to Netty in End Of Time? In which case I need to revisit those episodes pronto.)
All in all, and in case I haven't already made this amply clear, Chaos is absolutely the best of the bunch of BBC novels featuring Donna Noble. It's packed with character development and continuity - all of my favourite things! - and though I haven't discussed it much, it has a genuinely menacing, properly evil villain for the Doctor and Donna to square off against. (I feel that the death count in this novel must be higher than the previous three combined!) This adventure, with its deep, abiding love and respect for its universe and characters, could easily have made that leap from page to screen, and served as a good, juicy episode during Series Four - which is honestly the highest praise I can think of to give when appraising one of these books.
Fortunately, then, that I held out for Gary Russell's Beautiful Chaos, which tells an unexpectedly poignant tale about growing up, the importance of family and how you can still live - with pride and dignity and hope - whatever life has been left to you. On the one-year anniversary of her father's death, Donna Noble returns to Chiswick, Earth with the Doctor... and discovers how her overbearingly prickly mother Sylvia and lovably cantankerous grandfather Wilfred have got on with life without her. They meet Wilf's paramour, the charmingly scatty Netty Goodhart, who is slowly losing her mind, personality and memories to the Alzheimer's Disease she refuses to allow to bring her to her proverbial knees. Unbeknownst to the Doctor and Donna, an old enemy from the skies is at the exact same moment tightening control on the web of influence it has woven all over the world and is about to claim humanity for its very own.
What Russell's novel lacks in lyrical prose, he more than makes up for with a deep, profound love for the series, its characters and its continuity. I have learned that this is something that one should expect from Russell, who is something of a Doctor Who aficionado (to understate matters rather a lot). So he not only brings to vivid life the sparky relationship shared by the Doctor and Donna onscreen, he also harks back to the series' history - the Doctor first encountered the malignant force in Chaos way back when he was played by Tom Baker and accompanied by Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). Russell peppers his text with references that would delight any long-time fan (taking very clearly to heart the promise given way back in the late 1400s that the villain would emerge again near the end of the twentieth century), as well as anyone who has just watched the show since its 2005 reincarnation.
One of the problems with the other Doctor Who novels I've read is that they feel almost like they exist in a vacuum - their characters share the names and the broader, easily identifiable characteristics of their television counterparts, but the stories hardly dovetail with the show's narrative, nor is there much attempt to furnish character development or insight beyond what has already been depicted onscreen. To be fair, this is probably due to the fact that the BBC novels are frequently published while the show is being aired, so the writers have to ensure that their stories don't contradict what's playing out in living rooms across the world every week.
Russell, however, seems to have been given free rein to very firmly locate his novel within the context of the television series - possibly because he was writing and delivering his book during the fairly long hiatus between the end of Series Four and the Specials (in which Donna returns... but unfortunately not to the TARDIS). This means that Russell manages to provide us with a far more emotionally insightful book than you'd expect from a BBC novel. The Donna you see here is the Donna who had her eyes opened by her friendship and travels with the Doctor. She's every bit as brave, wonderful, silly and alive as she is in the television programme, and it was the first time in reading all the BBC novels that I really felt I had Donna Noble back in my life again. Her beautiful relationship with the Doctor - one of my favourite fictional friendships of all time - takes centre stage in a completely refreshing way as well. Rather than keeping them apart for the majority of the novel (see all the other BBC books featuring Donna), Chaos sees them battling shoulder to shoulder and serving unequivocally as each other's strength and support - Donna isn't left languishing anywhere waiting for the Doctor to rescue her; in fact, in a frankly delightful section of the novel, she has to rescue his skinny spaceman ass. The two of them are every bit as quarrelsome and charming as they are on TV, providing comedy and pathos in equal measure whether he's analysing the thousand and one ways in which she can say the word 'OI!' or she's trying to tie his bow-tie (his hated bow-tie!!) for him.
The extended peek Russell affords us into the Noble family dynamic and backstory is similarly wonderful: Sylvia is a tough character to like onscreen, all prickles and put-downs, and to Russell's credit, he doesn't water her down and miraculously rehabilitate her as the picture of a Stepford Wife. Rather, he gives her a compelling inner life and pain that is barely hinted at in the TV series, but fits perfectly with the scant facts we know - chiefly, that Donna's father Geoff Noble passed away in between her first adventure (Runaway Bride) and subsequent reunion with the Doctor (Partners In Crime). Wilf is also allowed to shine with his fierce, devoted love of the women in his life, be they Donna, his daughter Sylvia, or Netty, the lady he's come to love in the twilight of their years. It's fantastic to have a book that places as much premium on character and family as it does the imminent alien invasion that the Doctor has to somehow stop.
For anyone whose emotional wellbeing and tear-ducts were utterly destroyed by Donna's departure from the TARDIS in Journey's End... well, bring more tissues for Chaos, which is bookended by a pair of heartbreaking codas that tie Russell's story very firmly to what happened on the series. It will kill you but will also provide a measure of closure that you're unlikely to get from the television series. The way the Doctor interacts with Netty is itself a heartwrenching parallel with how he must leave his best friend, and the forgiveness you might seek from Donna for her Martian boy is folded into Russell's narrative in a way that doesn't make it hurt any less (in fact it hurts more), but it does help. Somewhat.
My only quibble with Russell's novel is that, through no fault of his own, the close attention he pays to continuity unravels a little with Donna and Wilf's returns to the Doctor's life in the End Of Time Specials after seemingly saying farewell to him for good in Journey's End. Chaos was clearly written in the intervening year, and contains such a rich, emotional story that it's a bit hard to fit it into the onscreen narrative when Wilf suddenly finds himself catapulted into the role his Donna used to play as the Doctor's companion. The unfortunate side-effect is that, having read this after watching End Of Time, Russell's tale feels a little more like well-written fanfiction than a properly canonical entry in the adventures of the Doctor and Donna. (That being said: apparently there's a small reference made to Netty in End Of Time? In which case I need to revisit those episodes pronto.)
All in all, and in case I haven't already made this amply clear, Chaos is absolutely the best of the bunch of BBC novels featuring Donna Noble. It's packed with character development and continuity - all of my favourite things! - and though I haven't discussed it much, it has a genuinely menacing, properly evil villain for the Doctor and Donna to square off against. (I feel that the death count in this novel must be higher than the previous three combined!) This adventure, with its deep, abiding love and respect for its universe and characters, could easily have made that leap from page to screen, and served as a good, juicy episode during Series Four - which is honestly the highest praise I can think of to give when appraising one of these books.
November 13, 2014
"I wish you could see what I see. We've been to places, to worlds, to futures and pasts you could only dream about. I think half of them I dreamed up because they can't be real. But they are. And everywhere we go, we make a difference. We put things right, we make people happier. That's what the Doctor is all about. He finds a way for the universe to make sense. And I love him for it."
When space enthusiast Wilfred Mott discovers a new star and has it named after him, there is no one he is more excited to tell than the Doctor. He invites the Doctor along with his granddaughter Donna to the naming ceremony. And while the Doctor is happy for Wilf, he is also uneasy. Because the new star that he has discovered is not just any old star. It's malevolent, it's intelligent, it's vengeful...and it's coming to Earth.
This just might be the most beautiful and heartfelt Doctor Who book ever written. The story behind the star and the Chaos bodies was very clever and interesting, but the even more intriguing aspect to me was watching the antics between the Doctor and his best friend, Donna. There is just something so special about their relationship that is very difficult to put into words but is present throughout this entire novel, so much so that it is truly such a joy to read. I absolutely loved this book and cried really hard at the end!
"He's good like that. He's the Doctor and when we need him, he'll be there. It's what he does."
When space enthusiast Wilfred Mott discovers a new star and has it named after him, there is no one he is more excited to tell than the Doctor. He invites the Doctor along with his granddaughter Donna to the naming ceremony. And while the Doctor is happy for Wilf, he is also uneasy. Because the new star that he has discovered is not just any old star. It's malevolent, it's intelligent, it's vengeful...and it's coming to Earth.
This just might be the most beautiful and heartfelt Doctor Who book ever written. The story behind the star and the Chaos bodies was very clever and interesting, but the even more intriguing aspect to me was watching the antics between the Doctor and his best friend, Donna. There is just something so special about their relationship that is very difficult to put into words but is present throughout this entire novel, so much so that it is truly such a joy to read. I absolutely loved this book and cried really hard at the end!
"He's good like that. He's the Doctor and when we need him, he'll be there. It's what he does."
May 31, 2013
The story is framed by the ending of Season 4 and Donna's memory loss, but most of it actually takes place soon after "The Sontaran Stratagem." This novel touchingly focuses on the Doctor's friendship with Donna and the relationships between Donna and her mother and grandfather. While Donna's mum, Sylvia comes off pretty tetchy and unsympathetic in the TV show most times, this story gives her more heart and background, especially with the death of Donna's dad. I really enjoyed reading more about the Noble family and how they are not perfect, but they do love each other and support each other even if one doesn't actually believe in what the other is doing. I think the highlight of this book is the family aspect, especially because it draws the Doctor into it and it's always interesting to see him out of his element.
The evil from the Dark Times is a much updated (upgraded?) version of a villain from the Classic series (first seen in an adventure with the Fourth Doctor) and because the villain uses our new technologically savvy world as the means to take over the planet, the danger feels very real, and is used to good effect. But the evil is so very powerful, that the Doctor's solution felt a little rushed over and confusing and it was easiest to just take the Doctor's plan for granted that it worked. It's really not that big of a deal, because the story is so engaging from the start, and the focus on character development - with the Noble family, and the side characters that Gary Russell so deftly paints in a few scenes - made this such a fun adventure. I am also really impressed by how well Gary captured Donna's sarcastic teasing, Wilf's general adorableness and the beauty and pathos in Wilf's love interest, Netty. And it is lovely that this book provides closure (now somewhat unnecessarily) to Donna's ending in Season 4.
The evil from the Dark Times is a much updated (upgraded?) version of a villain from the Classic series (first seen in an adventure with the Fourth Doctor) and because the villain uses our new technologically savvy world as the means to take over the planet, the danger feels very real, and is used to good effect. But the evil is so very powerful, that the Doctor's solution felt a little rushed over and confusing and it was easiest to just take the Doctor's plan for granted that it worked. It's really not that big of a deal, because the story is so engaging from the start, and the focus on character development - with the Noble family, and the side characters that Gary Russell so deftly paints in a few scenes - made this such a fun adventure. I am also really impressed by how well Gary captured Donna's sarcastic teasing, Wilf's general adorableness and the beauty and pathos in Wilf's love interest, Netty. And it is lovely that this book provides closure (now somewhat unnecessarily) to Donna's ending in Season 4.
November 20, 2013
*Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance during I ♥ ♥ The Doctor (October-December 2013)
Donna has asked The Doctor to take her home so that she can be with her mother for the anniversary of her father's death. The Doctor doesn't really do families well so he tries to stay out of the way of the bickering that ensues once the Nobles gather together. Plus, The Doctor has always gotten on well with Donna's granddad, Wilf, so it's easier to just spend time out with him in the allotment looking up at the stars. In fact there's a few new stars in the sky. Wilf was the first to find one of them and he's getting a dinner in his honor which he hopes The Doctor will attend. The Doctor doesn't seem so fussed about the dinner, but the other new stars, the ones that seem to be coming into alignment, well, they worry him.
At the dinner the other astronomers are grating and Donna is actually a little relieved when Wilf's lady friend, Netty, has an episode. Netty is dealing with Alzheimer's, which means that Wilf and Donna's mom are also dealing with it. Yet when The Doctor fully realizes the impact of the alignment, he has an even better excuse to leave the dinner, Donna in tow. With a cunning use of computers, astrology, genealogy, and astronomy, an old evil that The Doctor has faced before is going to use the human race to launch it's empire across the stars. Something The Doctor seriously wants to avoid happening.
I don't like to read about illness and despair, I have enough of that in my own life, thank you. This isn't the place to talk about it really, but I must touch on the issue so that you'll understand why this book made me want to get up in the author's face and explain a few facts to him, possibly with my fists. When I was in grade school my mom had two bouts of Cancer, which she survived. Though surviving took a toll. The chemo and other therapies sped things up so that while she is only thirty years older than me, her body thinks it's really fifty years older than me, which makes her the same "age" as when her mother got Parkinson's. My mom has Parkinson's. This is a daily struggle. Therefore, I think you can see why I use reading as an escape. I want to be anywhere and anywhen then here, and a book that dwells on these issues, no thank you.
While Russell's use of an incurable illness, in this case Alzheimer's, as the real evil is apt, he goes too far into the braveness of the battle. Netty dealing with her chronic illness bravely and nobly (sorry, I HAD to use that pun) just felt like some sort of propaganda for dealing with this kind of crisis in a stiff upper lip, keeping up appearances way. The message was heavy handed. People who talk about fighting this kind of battle as "brave" or "courageous" just make me want to scream. These are platitudes designed to make you, yeah, you, the one who doesn't have to deal with this shit better. To people in my position, well, it makes me want to punch you. Do you all not understand that there's your public face and your private face? That there's what you should to the world, what you show to the patient, and what you show to yourself? Yes, sure, I guess we could say that at least Donna's mom deals more with the reality of all this, but in the end, no, she doesn't because Netty joyously declares that she wants to go into a nursing home. Please (insert me rolling my eyes)! Show me one person out there who's like, "Nursing Home, SIGN ME UP!" No one will even want this, even if they know they can't handle their life in their current environment. My great aunt, she's 89, and she's steadfastly vetoing any kind of help or assisted living. And she's just the most recent of my family members to do this.
I had such hopes for this book because Donna Noble is my favorite companion in the new series, hands down, perhaps even in all the series. When The Doctor lost Donna, that was really the end of this Doctor. His life after that was filled with sadness and loneliness. The heartbreaking scene when Donna has to have her memory removed has taken on a fuller life her and made into a staggeringly heartbreaking novel. By bookending a story about Altzheimer's with Donna's own memory lose, it's a punch to the gut, that's what it is. But more then that, by showing the struggles that Donna's mother and grandfather are going through, it makes Donna's decision to travel in the TARDIS seem callous. Russell has taken my favorite character and put a spin on her that I don't like one bit. If I where just to say, fuck it and up and leave, well, I don't know what would happen, and that's a fear that I live with all the time. I admired Donna before, now... now I see someone in my position being heartless and unfeeling. Ug, just someone, remove this book from my mind, I want my Donna back.
As for the "plot," well, take out the struggle with family and illness and do we really even have much of a plot? No we don't. The author has made a flimsy story about Mandragora returning, which, for those of you not inculcated into every medium The Doctor appears in, television, written, and audio, well, you might be more then a little lost, but Russell doesn't seem to care or even want to explain for those new to this evil. Not every reader knows everything Doctor Who! A book like these needs to be written for all levels of readers. Also the evil computer/world domination bid with some little kids helping out, well, it made it more like a saccharine episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures if it had be touched up by Michael Crichton. Also, the Doctor is more then a bit bitchy and down on humans, oh, and, seriously, authors, don't have the title of your book used like fifty times throughout the story, it's annoying. Ok... I think my rant is over... can't be sure, these episodes are unexpected, much like Netty's... gaw, Netty...
Donna has asked The Doctor to take her home so that she can be with her mother for the anniversary of her father's death. The Doctor doesn't really do families well so he tries to stay out of the way of the bickering that ensues once the Nobles gather together. Plus, The Doctor has always gotten on well with Donna's granddad, Wilf, so it's easier to just spend time out with him in the allotment looking up at the stars. In fact there's a few new stars in the sky. Wilf was the first to find one of them and he's getting a dinner in his honor which he hopes The Doctor will attend. The Doctor doesn't seem so fussed about the dinner, but the other new stars, the ones that seem to be coming into alignment, well, they worry him.
At the dinner the other astronomers are grating and Donna is actually a little relieved when Wilf's lady friend, Netty, has an episode. Netty is dealing with Alzheimer's, which means that Wilf and Donna's mom are also dealing with it. Yet when The Doctor fully realizes the impact of the alignment, he has an even better excuse to leave the dinner, Donna in tow. With a cunning use of computers, astrology, genealogy, and astronomy, an old evil that The Doctor has faced before is going to use the human race to launch it's empire across the stars. Something The Doctor seriously wants to avoid happening.
I don't like to read about illness and despair, I have enough of that in my own life, thank you. This isn't the place to talk about it really, but I must touch on the issue so that you'll understand why this book made me want to get up in the author's face and explain a few facts to him, possibly with my fists. When I was in grade school my mom had two bouts of Cancer, which she survived. Though surviving took a toll. The chemo and other therapies sped things up so that while she is only thirty years older than me, her body thinks it's really fifty years older than me, which makes her the same "age" as when her mother got Parkinson's. My mom has Parkinson's. This is a daily struggle. Therefore, I think you can see why I use reading as an escape. I want to be anywhere and anywhen then here, and a book that dwells on these issues, no thank you.
While Russell's use of an incurable illness, in this case Alzheimer's, as the real evil is apt, he goes too far into the braveness of the battle. Netty dealing with her chronic illness bravely and nobly (sorry, I HAD to use that pun) just felt like some sort of propaganda for dealing with this kind of crisis in a stiff upper lip, keeping up appearances way. The message was heavy handed. People who talk about fighting this kind of battle as "brave" or "courageous" just make me want to scream. These are platitudes designed to make you, yeah, you, the one who doesn't have to deal with this shit better. To people in my position, well, it makes me want to punch you. Do you all not understand that there's your public face and your private face? That there's what you should to the world, what you show to the patient, and what you show to yourself? Yes, sure, I guess we could say that at least Donna's mom deals more with the reality of all this, but in the end, no, she doesn't because Netty joyously declares that she wants to go into a nursing home. Please (insert me rolling my eyes)! Show me one person out there who's like, "Nursing Home, SIGN ME UP!" No one will even want this, even if they know they can't handle their life in their current environment. My great aunt, she's 89, and she's steadfastly vetoing any kind of help or assisted living. And she's just the most recent of my family members to do this.
I had such hopes for this book because Donna Noble is my favorite companion in the new series, hands down, perhaps even in all the series. When The Doctor lost Donna, that was really the end of this Doctor. His life after that was filled with sadness and loneliness. The heartbreaking scene when Donna has to have her memory removed has taken on a fuller life her and made into a staggeringly heartbreaking novel. By bookending a story about Altzheimer's with Donna's own memory lose, it's a punch to the gut, that's what it is. But more then that, by showing the struggles that Donna's mother and grandfather are going through, it makes Donna's decision to travel in the TARDIS seem callous. Russell has taken my favorite character and put a spin on her that I don't like one bit. If I where just to say, fuck it and up and leave, well, I don't know what would happen, and that's a fear that I live with all the time. I admired Donna before, now... now I see someone in my position being heartless and unfeeling. Ug, just someone, remove this book from my mind, I want my Donna back.
As for the "plot," well, take out the struggle with family and illness and do we really even have much of a plot? No we don't. The author has made a flimsy story about Mandragora returning, which, for those of you not inculcated into every medium The Doctor appears in, television, written, and audio, well, you might be more then a little lost, but Russell doesn't seem to care or even want to explain for those new to this evil. Not every reader knows everything Doctor Who! A book like these needs to be written for all levels of readers. Also the evil computer/world domination bid with some little kids helping out, well, it made it more like a saccharine episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures if it had be touched up by Michael Crichton. Also, the Doctor is more then a bit bitchy and down on humans, oh, and, seriously, authors, don't have the title of your book used like fifty times throughout the story, it's annoying. Ok... I think my rant is over... can't be sure, these episodes are unexpected, much like Netty's... gaw, Netty...
June 9, 2013
This is the first book I've read based off TV. "Glorified Fanfiction" as I call it. Bought this while in London. (I'm at the largest bookstore in Europe for the first and possibly last time. I have to buy a book. Hello Doctor Who shelf) I picked Ten's book because he's my favorite Doctor, and Donna is my favorite companion. That aside, i didn't think I'd like it that much.
I was wrong. I'm pretty sure I cried multiple times. It was beautiful, accurate, and real to the show.
It was perfect.
I was wrong. I'm pretty sure I cried multiple times. It was beautiful, accurate, and real to the show.
It was perfect.
May 14, 2021
“He’s my friend. He’s my best friend.”
July 22, 2014
Maybe I should stop comparing the latest Doctor Who novel to the one I’ve just read, as there are so many versions of ‘Doctor Who’ and extreme variations within the format of Doctor Who that it frequently ends up like comparing Daleks to Skarasens.
In this instance it’s particularly futile. Whereas ‘The Scarlet Empress’ was pushing the whole form of ‘Doctor Who’ as far as it could go in a literary format, ‘Beautiful Chaos’ is your very basic romp where characters and plot dash around together for a while and try not to hit the furniture. Actually the better comparison of the Doctor Who books I’ve recently read would be ‘Festival of Death’, but even that comparison isn’t favourable to ‘Beautiful Chaos’. Both are romps, which because they take place in an existing and well mapped era of the TV show, aren’t allowed to do anything too huge, dramatic or format changing. And yet while ‘Festival of Death’ tried to do something ambitious and fun within that, ‘Beautiful Chaos’ is quite content to have a beginning, a middle and an end and to be a ‘Doctor Who’ story. There is no higher aim here.
The Doctor and Donna find themselves battling the mandragora helix in modern day London (this is the return of a one-off villain from the Tom Baker era). The arrival of the mandragora creates worldwide chaos and sees the death of lots of supporting characters (this book loves the brief trip inside the head of someone who is about to die shortly). It’s up to The Doctor, Donna and Donna’s grandfather Wilf to save the day.
Interestingly computers are the danger here, while horoscopes are both dismissed and allowed to stand as having something to them. Apparently every civilisation in the galaxy has its own form of horoscopes so there might just be something in them. So ‘Beautiful Chaos’ finds itself falling into some ambivalence on the science vs superstition debate. That does perhaps inch it closer in spirit to science fantasy than science fiction (and creates a small thematic link at least to ‘The Scarlet Empress’). But beyond that, it stays very much within the bounds of reality (or the show’s version of reality) and just gives us a rational, logical world where strange, mad stuff happens. But then I suppose that is ‘Doctor Who’.
The characters are captured well (and it’s nice to see Wilf have a run out and be there and important at the denouement), the prose is serviceable, the plot moves along at a fair lick and there are a few exciting moments, but really this isn’t a book to get too excited about.
In this instance it’s particularly futile. Whereas ‘The Scarlet Empress’ was pushing the whole form of ‘Doctor Who’ as far as it could go in a literary format, ‘Beautiful Chaos’ is your very basic romp where characters and plot dash around together for a while and try not to hit the furniture. Actually the better comparison of the Doctor Who books I’ve recently read would be ‘Festival of Death’, but even that comparison isn’t favourable to ‘Beautiful Chaos’. Both are romps, which because they take place in an existing and well mapped era of the TV show, aren’t allowed to do anything too huge, dramatic or format changing. And yet while ‘Festival of Death’ tried to do something ambitious and fun within that, ‘Beautiful Chaos’ is quite content to have a beginning, a middle and an end and to be a ‘Doctor Who’ story. There is no higher aim here.
The Doctor and Donna find themselves battling the mandragora helix in modern day London (this is the return of a one-off villain from the Tom Baker era). The arrival of the mandragora creates worldwide chaos and sees the death of lots of supporting characters (this book loves the brief trip inside the head of someone who is about to die shortly). It’s up to The Doctor, Donna and Donna’s grandfather Wilf to save the day.
Interestingly computers are the danger here, while horoscopes are both dismissed and allowed to stand as having something to them. Apparently every civilisation in the galaxy has its own form of horoscopes so there might just be something in them. So ‘Beautiful Chaos’ finds itself falling into some ambivalence on the science vs superstition debate. That does perhaps inch it closer in spirit to science fantasy than science fiction (and creates a small thematic link at least to ‘The Scarlet Empress’). But beyond that, it stays very much within the bounds of reality (or the show’s version of reality) and just gives us a rational, logical world where strange, mad stuff happens. But then I suppose that is ‘Doctor Who’.
The characters are captured well (and it’s nice to see Wilf have a run out and be there and important at the denouement), the prose is serviceable, the plot moves along at a fair lick and there are a few exciting moments, but really this isn’t a book to get too excited about.
December 23, 2011
This book has serious chapter!fail which makes it difficult to get lost in when reading.
April 30, 2020
donna and the doctor are the wholesome friends of my dreams, that's it, that's the review
November 14, 2021
Beautiful Chaos (Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #29) by Gary Russell really captures David Tennant's Tenth Doctor and Catherine Tate's Donna Noble really well. I love that it really focuses on the Doctor and Donna's friendship since they're a couple of my favorites, but the I'm glad it also gave Sylvia, Donna's mother, a chance to shine as well. As always, I was especially happy to see Wilf - he's another favorite of mine. Otherwise, this story was quite moving and emotional given it's framing of Donna's fate at the end of the series four of the tv show. Be sure to have a tissue on hand once you get to the end of this story.
April 3, 2025
2024 52 Book Challenge - October Mini Challenge - 3) A Cozy Read
This book has a bit of a soft spot to me because the book starts on the one year anniversary of Geoff Noble's death, and I first read it on the one year anniversary of my mother's death, so the emotions in the book especially from Sylvia, Wilf and Donna really resonated with me, and gave me a connection to this book that I haven't really had with any of the other Doctor Who tie in novels. I did really like the family relationships between Sylvia, Wilfred and Donna, and it was just a beautiful novel.
This book has a bit of a soft spot to me because the book starts on the one year anniversary of Geoff Noble's death, and I first read it on the one year anniversary of my mother's death, so the emotions in the book especially from Sylvia, Wilf and Donna really resonated with me, and gave me a connection to this book that I haven't really had with any of the other Doctor Who tie in novels. I did really like the family relationships between Sylvia, Wilfred and Donna, and it was just a beautiful novel.
December 16, 2013
This book takes place in London , well Cheswick London. One month after the skies had burned. Its around the time of Donna Noble's run on Doctor who during the Fourth season. This was kind of confusing to me because this is around the time that Donna becomes Doctor/Donna "spoilers" then at the end of the episode of "Journey's End" The Doctor wipes Donna's memory completely and he tells Wilfred if he mentions anything to her then Donna's mind would burn and she could die. This is an exact quote from the book ("Are you sorry " that you didn't hear me? 'sorry" that you locked me inside your alien spaceship? Or 'sorry" that you haven't even noticed I wasn't with you?") But I'm here to start anything , Gary Russell did a fantastic job creating this book and I honestly would read this book over and over again . I highly suggest this book to anyone who is a Whovain , or to just anyone in general who loves science-fiction . Anyways I digress. Donna and the Doctor return to Sylvia and Wilfred. Wilfred Mott is absolutely ecstatic over the return of his granddaughter. One the other hand Sylvia Noble is not so happy with Donna. She's the type of mother that is constantly worried about Donna's well being . Like any good mother would be. Sylvia still doesn't trust the Doctor after all this time ,and she's not shy to say it. There's a slight focuses on the conflict between Donna and her Mother. Donna comes back the day of the anniversary of her dad's death . So there's a huge fuss between the two and this just leads to more anger towards the Doctor . This book leaves you in awe constantly and a couple clever jokes. Unfortunately the Doctor doesn't really use the TARDIS as much as expected. As Donna settles back with her family , the Doctor strolls into town he notices a gathering of people at a shop for the Demo unveiling of a new piece of technology called the M-TEK. The M-TEK is basically a modern IPhone created by a Company called MorganTech. The owner of this company is named Dara Morgan which later is reveled a man named Callum Fitznausn who is taken over by an alien race of energy known as the Mandragora. The Mandragora has existed since the dawn of time and has always tried concurring lesser spices . Dara Morgan dies the most saddest ways. He gets shot in the head by his EX girlfriend . When the Doctor arrives at the Demo he meets Joe and Lukas Carnes (half brothers). The main importance of the story plot is Joe Carnes because of his father. His fathers heritage is from San Martino Italy. During the fifteenth century in 1492 The Doctor traveled back in time accidently brought back a fragment known as (Helix energy). He defeats it , but what actually happens is that the energy seeps into the water supplies in San Martino and ultimately into people. So this energy stays dormant for century and the people that have had any ancestry from this village become hypnotized in by the M-TEK instantly . Leading into where the Mandragora want to take over the world. Before this whole climax of excitement Of Mangragora's taking over the world with technology . Wilfred announces that he has discovered a star called a Chaos Body , and in his honor The RPS(Royal Planetary Society) was going to throw a dinner party for him. The star was named after Wilfred (7432MOTT). Like a good fiend that the Doctor is , he's very proud of his friends accomplishment. So Wilfred needs transportation to the Vauxhall and asks the Doctor if they could travel be TARDIS. Unfortunately that doesn't happen so instead they all travel by Taxi invites The Doctor, Donna , and Netty Wilfred's girlfriend I should mention that Netty has mild condition of Alzheimer's in which leads the most difficult decision that Wilfred Mott must endure. To be honest towards the end I thought that Netty might die because the Mandragora energy left the computer after there was a slight delay of the M-TEK's nearly taking over the world. The Energy found a different host trying to get into the Doctor's body because he's a Time Lord and a Time Lord's body is fantastic and what not . But instead went into Netty and Wilfred was trying to save her saying " It's me . I love you " etc. The Doctor tells Wilfred that Netty knew what she was doing and that she agreed to do this and possible take her own life if it comes to it. The Doctor and Donna provoke the Mandragora as they could because This energy went form a super computer to a little old woman trying to repair the neuron's in the brain , but each time it does that the energy ends up destroying more of this poor woman's brain. Wilfred is the last resort to save humanity. Eventually Netty's mind becomes so corrupted that the energy leaves and thus the world is saved again by the Doctor and Wilfred! A week passes. The M-TEK's recalled I think and the company isn't heard from again. Six weeks later Donna and the Doctor are on another misadventure. Sylvia gets a letter from Donna explaining that She shouldn't be ,mad at the Doctor from taking her away , He shows her things that the human mind couldn't possibly comprehend and that she's sorry and misses her greatly. If you want to find this book , your best bet is Barns &Nobles in the science fiction section. thank you for reading this review.
October 4, 2025
Really, really enjoyed this - and no, it isn’t just because David Tennant’s on the cover. I could have easily sat down and read this in one sitting if I’d had the time this week. It takes about 40 pages to get going, but once all the various pieces are in motion, it’s peak original RTD era. Russell writes all the characters brilliantly, the plot is engaging but also a bit ‘slice of life’ (something I love), the themes are pertinent and moving, the Nobles are developed really nicely - overall just a great cozy nostalgia hit. It stands on its own perfectly well but also fits nicely into the canon. Thank you for reminding me why I love Doctor Who so much.
April 19, 2023
I'm enjoying rereading some Doctor Who books, but this time listening to the audio versions. I choose this one because it's narrated by Bernard Cribbins, who played Wilf. Again, I didn't remember much about it...I read it the first time 10 years ago.
This book has Donna Noble and her family in it. Donna's possibly my favorite companion, I loved her friendship with the Doctor and this book captures that well. The last scene was very moving!
This book has Donna Noble and her family in it. Donna's possibly my favorite companion, I loved her friendship with the Doctor and this book captures that well. The last scene was very moving!
October 30, 2014
I wasn't going to give this 4 stars initially. Although I enjoyed it, I didn't feel like it deserved as much as some other, more memorable books.
But then I realized: I don't necessarily need to rate it in comparison with other books, I should rate it according to what *THIS* book sets out to be.
What it tries to be is a fun, light read with a moving story that ties into the Doctor Who timeline and lets us share one more adventure with the Tenth Doctor and his bestest friend in the universe. And it did it very well!
Unlike some other derived books, the author of Beautiful Chaos has actually worked on Doctor Who - as a script editor - and it shows. The Doctor and Donna are very in-character, so much so that I caught myself reading most of their lines in their voices. Okay, Gary Russell may have gone a bit overboard with the use of "Oi!" but I'm not gonna hold it against him. It definitely helped picture Donna.
I'll say that it did take me a while to get into the story and it's not nearly as fun reading it as watching an episode, but hey, that's normal. Nothing can replace the pleasure of watching David Tennant and Catherine Tate on screen. Doctor Who is a TV show, with actors, music and crappy FX. It's just the right format for it. Books just aren't the same.
Overall, I really enjoyed Beautiful Chaos. Gary Russell is certainly right to be proud of it! I smiled a lot, chuckled a couple of times and almost teared up at the Doctor/Donna parts. The last 60 pages or so had me on the edge of my seat.
But then I realized: I don't necessarily need to rate it in comparison with other books, I should rate it according to what *THIS* book sets out to be.
What it tries to be is a fun, light read with a moving story that ties into the Doctor Who timeline and lets us share one more adventure with the Tenth Doctor and his bestest friend in the universe. And it did it very well!
Unlike some other derived books, the author of Beautiful Chaos has actually worked on Doctor Who - as a script editor - and it shows. The Doctor and Donna are very in-character, so much so that I caught myself reading most of their lines in their voices. Okay, Gary Russell may have gone a bit overboard with the use of "Oi!" but I'm not gonna hold it against him. It definitely helped picture Donna.
I'll say that it did take me a while to get into the story and it's not nearly as fun reading it as watching an episode, but hey, that's normal. Nothing can replace the pleasure of watching David Tennant and Catherine Tate on screen. Doctor Who is a TV show, with actors, music and crappy FX. It's just the right format for it. Books just aren't the same.
Overall, I really enjoyed Beautiful Chaos. Gary Russell is certainly right to be proud of it! I smiled a lot, chuckled a couple of times and almost teared up at the Doctor/Donna parts. The last 60 pages or so had me on the edge of my seat.
October 21, 2013
So, this is the final appearance of Donna Noble as the Doctor's Companion. Yes, we've been given only four books with her. NOT ENOUGH.
But at least this is a proper good-bye to her. She's in her best, formidable, brave, resilient. We got more backstory of Sylvia and Wilf and what happened to Donna's father.
I like all those short glimpses to secondary (and tertiary) characters' lives, too, as it makes them closer, more alive - and their death (if there's any) is not treated just like a plot device. No "red uniforms" being killed. Real people die!
And there's humour. I laughed out loud many times.
But, there's always "but". In this case, it's the story itself. It's just another take on "The Idiot's Lantern" (TV episode), completely with incorporeal villain taking more or less feminine form, bursts of purple energy and so on.
November 27, 2019
It’s safe to say that I have read a lot of Doctor Who books over the past 5 and a half years now. As such, there has been a lot of different authors that I have been exposed to and ones that I have greatly enjoyed exploring with regards to their output, and one of the most prominent ones of all of the ranges has been Gary Russel, who’s contributions range to all 4 of the main line of Doctor Who books (whether it be the Virgin New Adventure; “Legacy”, the popular Virgin Missing Adventure; “The Scales of Injustice” to the Sixth Doctor conclusive; “Spiral Scratch” from the Past Doctor Adventures).
So far; I have been very impressed with what this chap has contributed to the vast world of “Doctor Who” books. “Placebo Effect” was a bit of an average effort in my opinion, had a lot of great ideas to it such as the Space Security Service from “Mission to the Unknown” and “The Daleks Master Plan” returning along with the Wirrin from “The Ark in Space, but it is a read that I found pretty flawed overall.
His two contributions to the Past Doctor Adventures that I have read with the Sixth Doctor have been great however, namely “Business Unusual” and “Spiral Scratch”. One of which is a favourite of mine from the line of Past Doctor Adventures, and the other is simply a pretty amazing (albeit very psychedelic and mad) novel bookend to Colin Baker’s Doctor’s era.
So given what I have read by him so far, I was pretty damn excited to read this book as I had heard that it was an amazing new series novel and also because Gary has been a pretty excellent writer for the “Doctor Who” books.
And I’ve got to say that (overall) this was another extremely impressive novel by him here. Whereas I don’t think I’ll go as far to say that this is one of my absolute all time favourite “Doctor Who” books, it is most definitely one of the most beautiful that I have read.
****
The revival of “Doctor Who” has been going since 2005 and has (I would say) a slowly declining appreciation with regards to what has recently emerged of it.
The golden age of this revival in my opinion was roughly the first 5 years of it, in other words up until (and including) Matt Smith’s first series.
One of the more popular ones with regards to this revival, is definitely series 4 and is one that I do hold with pretty high regards (particularly the second half, with some of my favourite Doctor Who stories being “Midnight” and “Turn Left”).
Now to tie in with the new episodes being broadcast, the BBC have released in batches (roughly all at the same time) novels with these new Doctors and Companions that would fall in line with the timeline of these series.
For me it is important to note that this is most definitely applicable to “Beautiful Chaos”, as Gary Russel here has created not only a new and exciting story to fall within the timeline of Series 4 but a powerful and beautiful examination of the main characters of this story.
This book more than succeeds overall with regards to the character chemistry and characterisation particularly with regards to the noble family and how The Doctor has intervened and changed their lives which is being debated as to if that is a good thing or not by Sylvia and Wilf for a lot in this book which leads to some truly powerful scenes between them, Donna and The Doctor.
I’ll say right now; if you love series 4 and the main characters of it (the noble family in particular as well as the 10th Doctor) this book is a most read as it so perfectly showcases and explores these characters.
As I’ve just mentioned this book magnificently explores the Noble family but what really took me back and made me love this book was how unbelievably well that the 10th Doctor is characterised and explored. I can easily imagine David Tennant slipping into the role here if this was a TV episode and his portrayal here is so of the essence of him and so perfectly recaptured. His moralistic rationale that was prevalent in the TV episodes is most definitely here and this leads to one of the most powerful dialogue exchange sequences I have ever read in a book.
Page 224 and 225 quote;
‘It’s at least second-stage Alzhiemer’s, Donna. That’s
decay,’ he replied quietly. ‘It Doesn’t get better, it mostly
gets worse. There’s no miracle cure, I’m afraid, no magic
solution for Netty. Her mind is a bit like a car windscreen.
In some respects, the Mandragora Helix was the carwash,
cleaning it up for a while. But it won’t be long before all
the dirt and insects and dust and scratches come back. I’m
sorry.’
‘It’s so wrong.’
‘Yup, it is. But life is never as convenient as we’d like.
There’s a million ailments, illnesses and diseases in the
universe. If I believed something as malign as Mandragora
could erase just one of them, I’d let it. I’d have allowed
it to remain, doing some good. But there’s never any
miracle cures for things like that. Life’s not like that. But it
shouldn’t stop people looking because one day, they will
find an answer.’
****
Overall “Beautiful Chaos” is a book that I would highly recommend especially if you are a fan of the 4th series of the “Doctor Who” revival. Not only does it provide a great adventure with the return of The Mandragora Helix, but it overall provides a truly incredible character study of The Doctor, Donna, Sylvia, and Wilf.
It is one that overall is heart warming and extremely beautiful. If you haven’t checked this one out yet I would highly recommend doing so as it is one of the strongest entries and contributions to “Doctor Who” books by Gary Russel yet.
I would overall rate “Beautiful Chaos” a 9/10 or a 4.5/5.
So far; I have been very impressed with what this chap has contributed to the vast world of “Doctor Who” books. “Placebo Effect” was a bit of an average effort in my opinion, had a lot of great ideas to it such as the Space Security Service from “Mission to the Unknown” and “The Daleks Master Plan” returning along with the Wirrin from “The Ark in Space, but it is a read that I found pretty flawed overall.
His two contributions to the Past Doctor Adventures that I have read with the Sixth Doctor have been great however, namely “Business Unusual” and “Spiral Scratch”. One of which is a favourite of mine from the line of Past Doctor Adventures, and the other is simply a pretty amazing (albeit very psychedelic and mad) novel bookend to Colin Baker’s Doctor’s era.
So given what I have read by him so far, I was pretty damn excited to read this book as I had heard that it was an amazing new series novel and also because Gary has been a pretty excellent writer for the “Doctor Who” books.
And I’ve got to say that (overall) this was another extremely impressive novel by him here. Whereas I don’t think I’ll go as far to say that this is one of my absolute all time favourite “Doctor Who” books, it is most definitely one of the most beautiful that I have read.
****
The revival of “Doctor Who” has been going since 2005 and has (I would say) a slowly declining appreciation with regards to what has recently emerged of it.
The golden age of this revival in my opinion was roughly the first 5 years of it, in other words up until (and including) Matt Smith’s first series.
One of the more popular ones with regards to this revival, is definitely series 4 and is one that I do hold with pretty high regards (particularly the second half, with some of my favourite Doctor Who stories being “Midnight” and “Turn Left”).
Now to tie in with the new episodes being broadcast, the BBC have released in batches (roughly all at the same time) novels with these new Doctors and Companions that would fall in line with the timeline of these series.
For me it is important to note that this is most definitely applicable to “Beautiful Chaos”, as Gary Russel here has created not only a new and exciting story to fall within the timeline of Series 4 but a powerful and beautiful examination of the main characters of this story.
This book more than succeeds overall with regards to the character chemistry and characterisation particularly with regards to the noble family and how The Doctor has intervened and changed their lives which is being debated as to if that is a good thing or not by Sylvia and Wilf for a lot in this book which leads to some truly powerful scenes between them, Donna and The Doctor.
I’ll say right now; if you love series 4 and the main characters of it (the noble family in particular as well as the 10th Doctor) this book is a most read as it so perfectly showcases and explores these characters.
As I’ve just mentioned this book magnificently explores the Noble family but what really took me back and made me love this book was how unbelievably well that the 10th Doctor is characterised and explored. I can easily imagine David Tennant slipping into the role here if this was a TV episode and his portrayal here is so of the essence of him and so perfectly recaptured. His moralistic rationale that was prevalent in the TV episodes is most definitely here and this leads to one of the most powerful dialogue exchange sequences I have ever read in a book.
Page 224 and 225 quote;
‘It’s at least second-stage Alzhiemer’s, Donna. That’s
decay,’ he replied quietly. ‘It Doesn’t get better, it mostly
gets worse. There’s no miracle cure, I’m afraid, no magic
solution for Netty. Her mind is a bit like a car windscreen.
In some respects, the Mandragora Helix was the carwash,
cleaning it up for a while. But it won’t be long before all
the dirt and insects and dust and scratches come back. I’m
sorry.’
‘It’s so wrong.’
‘Yup, it is. But life is never as convenient as we’d like.
There’s a million ailments, illnesses and diseases in the
universe. If I believed something as malign as Mandragora
could erase just one of them, I’d let it. I’d have allowed
it to remain, doing some good. But there’s never any
miracle cures for things like that. Life’s not like that. But it
shouldn’t stop people looking because one day, they will
find an answer.’
****
Overall “Beautiful Chaos” is a book that I would highly recommend especially if you are a fan of the 4th series of the “Doctor Who” revival. Not only does it provide a great adventure with the return of The Mandragora Helix, but it overall provides a truly incredible character study of The Doctor, Donna, Sylvia, and Wilf.
It is one that overall is heart warming and extremely beautiful. If you haven’t checked this one out yet I would highly recommend doing so as it is one of the strongest entries and contributions to “Doctor Who” books by Gary Russel yet.
I would overall rate “Beautiful Chaos” a 9/10 or a 4.5/5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2012
Donna's story in Doctor Who was the most heartbreaking of all the companions, and this book adds so much depth. Donna's letter to her mum at the end really got me. My only complaint here, and why 4 stars instead of 5, is that I thought some elements of the story should have been developed further. The characters of the two boys and even our villain, Dara Morgan, seemed to need some "fleshing out." Minor niggle, which doesn't detract from this fun read.
March 28, 2011
This may be Gary Russell's best-ever Doctor Who novel. A beautiful, poignant post-script to the 10th Doctor/Donna era of the program...and it makes her near-tragic departure all the more heartbreaking.
November 8, 2023
When Doctor Who returned to TV in 2005, it marked the end of an era as much as the start of a new one. After a decade and a half of portraying the Doctor’s ongoing adventures (for some, at least), novels based on the series were now acting as tie-ins once more, a series of “off screen adventures,” as it were. What was a curse for some was a blessing for others. In the case of Gary Russell, it might well have given him his best piece of Doctor Who writing in prose in the form of 2009’s Beautiful Chaos.
Having been writing for licensed spin-off media since the early 1990s (and working on fan works well before that), Russell’s work has sometimes felt out of place with the likes of the Virgin and BBC novel ranges. Russell’s prose, meant to be more readable than literary, has felt like something of a successor style wise to that of Terrance Dicks. That Russell liked to write traditional tales that wouldn’t be out of place for Doctor Who has also been clear, perhaps to the detriment of his reputation among fans (not unlike what happened with Dicks later writing for the series). And, as anyone who has read Russell’s Past Doctor Adventures or heard his “What if the Valeyard won?” Doctor Who Unbound audio He Jests at Scars… from Big Finish will know, he’s also fond of his continuity. Perhaps far more than he needs to be.
There come times, however, when the stars align right, where author and style meet a subject matter. With Beautiful Chaos, Russell had that moment. In fact, you might say that the stars aligned for it.
Set late in Series Four’s run, the novel handed Russell with a TARDIS team in their prime for him to latch onto. Not only the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble but the extended Noble clan, including mum Sylvia and granddad Wilf. All of whom are pleasant and correct, even expanded upon from their TV characterizations. As someone who took a very long time to warm up to them on TV when they were appearing, I never thought I’d see the day that I’d want to know more about them.
Yet that’s one of the gifts that this book has to offer. The first Russell T Davies era hit upon a companion backstory formula (absent dad, mothers with distrust of the Doctor, a friend or family member who would come to trust the Doctor in time) and stayed with it, for better and worse. The Noble’s got better characterizations than the Jones family, sure, but Sylvia especially remained largely unchanged and borderline unlikable right through to the last time we saw her in The End of Time (whether that will change with the 2023 specials is still some weeks away at writing). In prose, Gary Russell has a chance to explore the family dynamics more and to flesh everyone out. What lurks behind Sylvia’s attitude is more clear, as is Wilf’s mix of worry about his granddaughter but also encouraging to wander the cosmos at the Doctor’s side. That Wilf gets a love interest is a nice touch, as well, with Netty Goodheart more than living up to her name. For fans of the Noble’s or those who’ve simply warmed up to them, this is a novel that is something of a must-read.
Would it be a Gary Russell book without continuity?
Of all the returning foes of Classic Who that have returned to screens since 2005, it’s perhaps surprising that the Mandragora Helix hasn’t been among them. Masque of Mandragora ended, after all, with the possibility for a rematch between the Doctor and this force of energy and intelligence. True, there had been such occasions in prose and in comics, and even something of a sequel in the second season of Big Finish’s Sarah Jane Smith series. But a rematch with a Modern Doctor seemed like an opportunity that was too good to pass up. And it happened, in prose.
What Beautiful Chaos offers is a Modern Who sequel to a Classic Who story. It’s traditional fare, yes, and exactly the kind of thing that Russell has proven adept at writing. It a story in the vein of, say, The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky. Except, on the page at least, better. Because Russell’s breezy, readable about all else prose style utterly suits that kind of storytelling. One that whips the reader up, getting them to turn the page to find out what’s going to happen next. There’s plenty of action and suspense, a variety of locations, and letting the Doctor reference those encounters with Mandragora in other media to let Russell tie it all back together. Add on the character elements, seeing him pastiche Russell T Davies so well that Bernard Cribbins thought when he came in to read the audiobook that Davies himself had written the novel, and you get the best of both worlds.
Beautiful Chaos never tries to be the more literary New Series Adventure. Yet in playing to Russell’s strengths and building up the TV characters at his disposal, it’s a small novel that succeeds wonderfully at what it does. The result? Quite possibly the best piece of Doctor Who prose that Gary Russell has ever written.
Having been writing for licensed spin-off media since the early 1990s (and working on fan works well before that), Russell’s work has sometimes felt out of place with the likes of the Virgin and BBC novel ranges. Russell’s prose, meant to be more readable than literary, has felt like something of a successor style wise to that of Terrance Dicks. That Russell liked to write traditional tales that wouldn’t be out of place for Doctor Who has also been clear, perhaps to the detriment of his reputation among fans (not unlike what happened with Dicks later writing for the series). And, as anyone who has read Russell’s Past Doctor Adventures or heard his “What if the Valeyard won?” Doctor Who Unbound audio He Jests at Scars… from Big Finish will know, he’s also fond of his continuity. Perhaps far more than he needs to be.
There come times, however, when the stars align right, where author and style meet a subject matter. With Beautiful Chaos, Russell had that moment. In fact, you might say that the stars aligned for it.
Set late in Series Four’s run, the novel handed Russell with a TARDIS team in their prime for him to latch onto. Not only the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble but the extended Noble clan, including mum Sylvia and granddad Wilf. All of whom are pleasant and correct, even expanded upon from their TV characterizations. As someone who took a very long time to warm up to them on TV when they were appearing, I never thought I’d see the day that I’d want to know more about them.
Yet that’s one of the gifts that this book has to offer. The first Russell T Davies era hit upon a companion backstory formula (absent dad, mothers with distrust of the Doctor, a friend or family member who would come to trust the Doctor in time) and stayed with it, for better and worse. The Noble’s got better characterizations than the Jones family, sure, but Sylvia especially remained largely unchanged and borderline unlikable right through to the last time we saw her in The End of Time (whether that will change with the 2023 specials is still some weeks away at writing). In prose, Gary Russell has a chance to explore the family dynamics more and to flesh everyone out. What lurks behind Sylvia’s attitude is more clear, as is Wilf’s mix of worry about his granddaughter but also encouraging to wander the cosmos at the Doctor’s side. That Wilf gets a love interest is a nice touch, as well, with Netty Goodheart more than living up to her name. For fans of the Noble’s or those who’ve simply warmed up to them, this is a novel that is something of a must-read.
Would it be a Gary Russell book without continuity?
Of all the returning foes of Classic Who that have returned to screens since 2005, it’s perhaps surprising that the Mandragora Helix hasn’t been among them. Masque of Mandragora ended, after all, with the possibility for a rematch between the Doctor and this force of energy and intelligence. True, there had been such occasions in prose and in comics, and even something of a sequel in the second season of Big Finish’s Sarah Jane Smith series. But a rematch with a Modern Doctor seemed like an opportunity that was too good to pass up. And it happened, in prose.
What Beautiful Chaos offers is a Modern Who sequel to a Classic Who story. It’s traditional fare, yes, and exactly the kind of thing that Russell has proven adept at writing. It a story in the vein of, say, The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky. Except, on the page at least, better. Because Russell’s breezy, readable about all else prose style utterly suits that kind of storytelling. One that whips the reader up, getting them to turn the page to find out what’s going to happen next. There’s plenty of action and suspense, a variety of locations, and letting the Doctor reference those encounters with Mandragora in other media to let Russell tie it all back together. Add on the character elements, seeing him pastiche Russell T Davies so well that Bernard Cribbins thought when he came in to read the audiobook that Davies himself had written the novel, and you get the best of both worlds.
Beautiful Chaos never tries to be the more literary New Series Adventure. Yet in playing to Russell’s strengths and building up the TV characters at his disposal, it’s a small novel that succeeds wonderfully at what it does. The result? Quite possibly the best piece of Doctor Who prose that Gary Russell has ever written.
June 27, 2020
Donna Noble had saved the entire universe...every single star...every planet...and life that still went through their days without knowing. But it came at a huge sacrifice and now Donna is back home with her family with no memory of the Doctor or the amazing adventures that they had shared together. But that was for the best for, if she ever did remember, her brain would burn and her life would be gone.
But it wasn't always that way...
Taking a break from their journeys, the Doctor brings Donna home to her family on a particularly sad day. One year ago to the day they had lost her father and she wanted to be with her mother Sylvia and her grandfather Wilf to celebrate and remember his life.
Unfortunately, as is always the way with the Doctor, life gets in the way. A threat to mankind has raised its head and it's one that the Doctor has dealt with in the past... 500 years in the past!!! Sadly, the Doctor, in a moment of...weakness?...compassion?...failed to deal with it as he should and now it has returned stronger and more powerful than ever before. Donna and the Doctor have to leave the day of remembrance behind and answer the threat or it might be the day that changed ALL life on the planet.
Gary Russell is a repeat offender when it comes to Doctor Who. He has been a script writer on the TV production as well as having written over 20 books set in the Doctor's Universe. So, to say that he is familiar with all things the Doctor would be an understatement. And, that all comes through as he crafts another story that has the feel and atmosphere of the series and feels as if it was taken directly from the small screen. This story could actually be considered a direct - well 500 years later direct - sequel to one of the amazing Tom Baker's Doctor episodes (no spoilers...but if you're a Who fan you'll figure it out fairly quickly).
Enjoy the story...and the journey again with the Doctor and Donna. Nothing lasts forever!!!
But it wasn't always that way...
Taking a break from their journeys, the Doctor brings Donna home to her family on a particularly sad day. One year ago to the day they had lost her father and she wanted to be with her mother Sylvia and her grandfather Wilf to celebrate and remember his life.
Unfortunately, as is always the way with the Doctor, life gets in the way. A threat to mankind has raised its head and it's one that the Doctor has dealt with in the past... 500 years in the past!!! Sadly, the Doctor, in a moment of...weakness?...compassion?...failed to deal with it as he should and now it has returned stronger and more powerful than ever before. Donna and the Doctor have to leave the day of remembrance behind and answer the threat or it might be the day that changed ALL life on the planet.
Gary Russell is a repeat offender when it comes to Doctor Who. He has been a script writer on the TV production as well as having written over 20 books set in the Doctor's Universe. So, to say that he is familiar with all things the Doctor would be an understatement. And, that all comes through as he crafts another story that has the feel and atmosphere of the series and feels as if it was taken directly from the small screen. This story could actually be considered a direct - well 500 years later direct - sequel to one of the amazing Tom Baker's Doctor episodes (no spoilers...but if you're a Who fan you'll figure it out fairly quickly).
Enjoy the story...and the journey again with the Doctor and Donna. Nothing lasts forever!!!
March 17, 2021
Insgesamt "meh". Nicht wirklich gut, aber auch nicht wirklich schlecht. Super ausgelutschte Story, sogar für Doctor Who, aber auch Scifi im Allgemeinen, nur in nem anderen Hemd.
Der Fokus liegt stark auf den Charakteren, von denen es leider gleich ne ganze Menge gibt, die alle nicht wirklich mehrdimensioniert sind. Viele Charaktere, die sehr kurz erwähnt werden und nie wieder relevant werden. Auch Charaktere, die permanent anwesend sind, wirken leider leblos und flach.
Die schon bekannten Charaktere sind gut getroffen und angenehm zu lesen.
In dem Buch wird leider sehr viel erklärt statt es über die Geschichte zu transportieren. Viel Augenrollen beim Lesen.
Wenn man die Noble Familie nicht mag, wird man mit dem Buch nicht glücklich. Es ist die typische "Noble-Story" und bei vielen Momenten dachte ich mir "urgh, schon wieder das Thema".
Sehr genervt hat mich das konstante "falsch benutzen" von Begriffen aus Technik, aber auch dem Whoniverse.
Vielleicht lag es an meiner Version, aber die Übersetzung war grausam. Empfehle das Original auf Englisch zu lesen.
Hab's nicht bereut gelesen zu haben, aber nochmal würde ich es nicht lesen.
Der Fokus liegt stark auf den Charakteren, von denen es leider gleich ne ganze Menge gibt, die alle nicht wirklich mehrdimensioniert sind. Viele Charaktere, die sehr kurz erwähnt werden und nie wieder relevant werden. Auch Charaktere, die permanent anwesend sind, wirken leider leblos und flach.
Die schon bekannten Charaktere sind gut getroffen und angenehm zu lesen.
In dem Buch wird leider sehr viel erklärt statt es über die Geschichte zu transportieren. Viel Augenrollen beim Lesen.
Wenn man die Noble Familie nicht mag, wird man mit dem Buch nicht glücklich. Es ist die typische "Noble-Story" und bei vielen Momenten dachte ich mir "urgh, schon wieder das Thema".
Sehr genervt hat mich das konstante "falsch benutzen" von Begriffen aus Technik, aber auch dem Whoniverse.
Vielleicht lag es an meiner Version, aber die Übersetzung war grausam. Empfehle das Original auf Englisch zu lesen.
Hab's nicht bereut gelesen zu haben, aber nochmal würde ich es nicht lesen.
September 4, 2019
I picked Beautiful Chaos up because it was part of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary collection, and I do not regret it!
Beautiful Chaos ranks high on my list for a few reasons:
1. Wilf
2. Donna
3. A malevolent force from Classic Doctor Who comes back to destroy the universe.
Look, I’m not going to lie, I was practically bawling by the end of the book. Donna is one of my favorite “New Who” companions, and her ending in the television show breaks my heart. Beautiful Chaos takes place before this, of course, but the ending of this novel about nearly broke my heart all over.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoyed the episode Masque of the Mandragora from the Fourth Doctor’s run.
Beautiful Chaos ranks high on my list for a few reasons:
1. Wilf
2. Donna
3. A malevolent force from Classic Doctor Who comes back to destroy the universe.
Look, I’m not going to lie, I was practically bawling by the end of the book. Donna is one of my favorite “New Who” companions, and her ending in the television show breaks my heart. Beautiful Chaos takes place before this, of course, but the ending of this novel about nearly broke my heart all over.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoyed the episode Masque of the Mandragora from the Fourth Doctor’s run.
September 6, 2020
This is easily one of the best Doctor Who novels I have read so far. I absolutely adore how the characters and their relationships are written in this. I thought especially the discussion on Sylvia and her attitude towards Donna and also the Doctor was so well done. Gary Russell praises Russell T Davies' writing in the introduction to this edition and for me, this novel encapsulates exactly those things I love from the first four seasons of the show. Regarding the plot I would have liked some little things to be more elaborated on, but it was still an intriguing story and for me, it's really everything about how the characters are written that makes this book for me.
April 26, 2020
I love Wilfred Mott as a character (and Bernard Cribbins as an actor). So I'm always going to favour books that feature him. Real life interruptions meant that this one took a long time to read, and it suffered a little for me because of that, but over all I really enjoyed it.
July 30, 2022
Read by Bernard Cribbins, his acting for all the various characters is phenomenal.
April 11, 2023
This has got to be my favorite novel of the Doctor Who series. The story is riveting with touches of sweetness, humor, and nostalgia. Such a great read. And, who doesn't love a Wilfred Mott story?
June 1, 2021
Not bad but also not brilliant (!) Wilf, Donna d Sylvia seemed to be just about spot on, but I felt the doctor didn't really capture the David Tennant Doctor properly. It also felt a bit like the Doctor didn't actually do much to stop the threat either. I did enjoy it though, but felt it could have been better.
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