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Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures #25
Doctor Who: Legacy
'So, that's an Ice Warrior. Brings a whole new meaning to the concept of shell suits.'
The Doctor is pursuing a master criminal. The trail leads to Peladon: a desolate world once home to a barbaric, feudal society. Now the Galactic Federation is attempting to bring prosperity and civilization to the planet. But not all Peladonians support the changes, and when ancient relics are stolen from their Citadel, the representatives of the Federation are blamed. The Doctor suspects the Ice Warrior delegation, but before long the Time Lord himself is arrested for the crime -- and sentenced to death.
Elsewhere, interplanetary mercenaries are bringing one of the galaxy's most evil artifacts to Peladon, apparently on the Doctor's instruction. Ace is pursuing a dangerous mission on another world and Bernice is getting friendly -- perhaps too friendly -- with the Ice Warriors she has studied for so long.
The players are making the final moves in a devious and lethal plan -- but for once it isn't the Doctor's.
The Doctor is pursuing a master criminal. The trail leads to Peladon: a desolate world once home to a barbaric, feudal society. Now the Galactic Federation is attempting to bring prosperity and civilization to the planet. But not all Peladonians support the changes, and when ancient relics are stolen from their Citadel, the representatives of the Federation are blamed. The Doctor suspects the Ice Warrior delegation, but before long the Time Lord himself is arrested for the crime -- and sentenced to death.
Elsewhere, interplanetary mercenaries are bringing one of the galaxy's most evil artifacts to Peladon, apparently on the Doctor's instruction. Ace is pursuing a dangerous mission on another world and Bernice is getting friendly -- perhaps too friendly -- with the Ice Warriors she has studied for so long.
The players are making the final moves in a devious and lethal plan -- but for once it isn't the Doctor's.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 1994
2 people are currently reading
255 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 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 29, 2014
My word, Gary Russell liked continuity, didn’t he? What’s intriguing, from re-reading his first novel, is how his view on such matters has changed over 20 years. This is the man who went from this, to trying to tie up the Eighth Doctor’s adventures into one coherent narrative, to firmly and explicitly stating that the Big Finish stories were not connected to the BBC Books range. He certainly wouldn’t write a novel like ‘Legacy’ today. Mind you, neither would anyone else. Like the Peladon the story recreates so faithfully, this is a book that stands as a relic of the past. More so than any of the New Adventures I’ve re-read over the last few months, this is a product of its time. It’s a traditional tale, as opposed to the boundary-shifting works that formed its stable-mates, but the editorial decision to allow all the references Russell wanted to bring in to stay – apparently – unchanged really doesn’t work in its favour.
The cover is a metaphor for the book as a whole. Here, we see a Martian lord preparing to behead the seventh Doctor against a backdrop which is unmistakeably the Peladon of two well (if not entirely fondly) remembered Jon Pertwee TV serials. The Doctor is wearing the question mark pullover which defined the character on television, despite the publishing house, Virgin Books, having got rid of the thing some time before. This was, allegedly, an error on behalf of the artist, leaving the author, Gary Russell, to insert a line acknowledging but not really explaining this within the text. It’s jarring, as it goes against the grain of what Virgin Books were trying to do – whatever your position on the “Radical vs Traditional” debate, there’s no denying that an unexpected glut of immersions into the history of the show comes as a bit of a shock.
It’s rare that I find myself agreeing with the negative reviews of a book in equal measure to the positive ones, but I do sympathise with both views. This is an enjoyable book to read, there’s no doubt about that, but I must admit to finding the excessive continuity references a little trying. He’d go on to handle this much better as the years went on, even before his reversal of opinion. The unholy trinity of ‘The Scales of Injustice’, ‘Business Unusual’ and ‘Instruments of Darkness’ work well as a means of using established history to develop your own narrative, but that isn’t the case here.
However… I enjoyed this book on re-reading it. Not as much as I did when it first came out, but at the age of 13, with a wide-eyed adoration of the TV series that inspired it, this was exactly what I wanted in a spin-off novel. At the time, I was genuinely gripped by the murder mystery aspect, even to the point of believing I’d misremembered the plot when I picked the novel up again a few months after my first reading! If I’m more cynical now, that’s because of my age as much as anything else.
Some people commented that the murderer’s identity is too obvious. I think, in fact, this may have been the intention. This is a homage to the two Peladon tales on TV, after all, where no one could suggest that the villains of the piece were exactly hidden from the viewer’s consideration. Here – as there – we are left unsure of the Martians’ involvement in the plot, and Russell writes for these reptilians very well, imbuing them with distinct personalities in a way the TV series – Alan Bennion’s performances aside – never quite managed. And I include the recent TV episode, Cold War, in that, too.
So, in summary… I’m still not sure. There are so many good points to this book, balanced almost exactly by a number of failings. Gary Russell did *so* much, superb work keep Doctor Who alive in peoples’ minds between the series ending in 1989 and returning in 2005. It’s just a shame that this doesn’t compare with the best of his offerings. If I seem unduly critical, I don’t mean to be. It’s probably my own disappointment that childhood memories don’t reflect a 30-something reading of the book. There’s every chance I’ll revise my opinion on coming back to it in another 20 years, which I fully intend to do – and that certainly doesn’t stand for some of the books I’ve come back to recently!
I think I’m wrong, but will allow hindsight to let me know…
The cover is a metaphor for the book as a whole. Here, we see a Martian lord preparing to behead the seventh Doctor against a backdrop which is unmistakeably the Peladon of two well (if not entirely fondly) remembered Jon Pertwee TV serials. The Doctor is wearing the question mark pullover which defined the character on television, despite the publishing house, Virgin Books, having got rid of the thing some time before. This was, allegedly, an error on behalf of the artist, leaving the author, Gary Russell, to insert a line acknowledging but not really explaining this within the text. It’s jarring, as it goes against the grain of what Virgin Books were trying to do – whatever your position on the “Radical vs Traditional” debate, there’s no denying that an unexpected glut of immersions into the history of the show comes as a bit of a shock.
It’s rare that I find myself agreeing with the negative reviews of a book in equal measure to the positive ones, but I do sympathise with both views. This is an enjoyable book to read, there’s no doubt about that, but I must admit to finding the excessive continuity references a little trying. He’d go on to handle this much better as the years went on, even before his reversal of opinion. The unholy trinity of ‘The Scales of Injustice’, ‘Business Unusual’ and ‘Instruments of Darkness’ work well as a means of using established history to develop your own narrative, but that isn’t the case here.
However… I enjoyed this book on re-reading it. Not as much as I did when it first came out, but at the age of 13, with a wide-eyed adoration of the TV series that inspired it, this was exactly what I wanted in a spin-off novel. At the time, I was genuinely gripped by the murder mystery aspect, even to the point of believing I’d misremembered the plot when I picked the novel up again a few months after my first reading! If I’m more cynical now, that’s because of my age as much as anything else.
Some people commented that the murderer’s identity is too obvious. I think, in fact, this may have been the intention. This is a homage to the two Peladon tales on TV, after all, where no one could suggest that the villains of the piece were exactly hidden from the viewer’s consideration. Here – as there – we are left unsure of the Martians’ involvement in the plot, and Russell writes for these reptilians very well, imbuing them with distinct personalities in a way the TV series – Alan Bennion’s performances aside – never quite managed. And I include the recent TV episode, Cold War, in that, too.
So, in summary… I’m still not sure. There are so many good points to this book, balanced almost exactly by a number of failings. Gary Russell did *so* much, superb work keep Doctor Who alive in peoples’ minds between the series ending in 1989 and returning in 2005. It’s just a shame that this doesn’t compare with the best of his offerings. If I seem unduly critical, I don’t mean to be. It’s probably my own disappointment that childhood memories don’t reflect a 30-something reading of the book. There’s every chance I’ll revise my opinion on coming back to it in another 20 years, which I fully intend to do – and that certainly doesn’t stand for some of the books I’ve come back to recently!
I think I’m wrong, but will allow hindsight to let me know…
July 29, 2020
I was really excited at the prospect of another Peladon tale, because I'd enjoyed the original ones from the TV show. I've even tried writing Peladon fanfiction, but I digress ...
I had high hopes for this story. It got off to a promising start, taking details from the show and building a whole history about how Aggedor came to be the saviour of Peladon.
Sadly it degenerated from there. A mish-mash of competing plots, some of which were re-hashed from the TV show, spoiled the good start. Many of the guest characters were annoying. I can accept a few annoying characters and in some cases it's the mark of a good author that they deliberately make their characters in that way. I don't know if that was the intention here, but most of the guest cast annoyed me.
Ace was sidelined, apparently because she couldn't be trusted to behave properly on a diplomatic mission. So she only gets to be in a few scenes.
Bernice, who I've never liked, was treated like royalty and given a high profile. I'd even venture to say she had more of the action than the Doctor.
I'm not a huge fan of the Martians (Ice Warriors) in general but I have to say the ones who appeared in this story were among the least annoying of the guest characters.
The idea was good and I did enjoy trying to work out the identity of the main villain amongst a cast of extremely dodgy and untrustworthy characters.
I had high hopes for this story. It got off to a promising start, taking details from the show and building a whole history about how Aggedor came to be the saviour of Peladon.
Sadly it degenerated from there. A mish-mash of competing plots, some of which were re-hashed from the TV show, spoiled the good start. Many of the guest characters were annoying. I can accept a few annoying characters and in some cases it's the mark of a good author that they deliberately make their characters in that way. I don't know if that was the intention here, but most of the guest cast annoyed me.
Ace was sidelined, apparently because she couldn't be trusted to behave properly on a diplomatic mission. So she only gets to be in a few scenes.
Bernice, who I've never liked, was treated like royalty and given a high profile. I'd even venture to say she had more of the action than the Doctor.
I'm not a huge fan of the Martians (Ice Warriors) in general but I have to say the ones who appeared in this story were among the least annoying of the guest characters.
The idea was good and I did enjoy trying to work out the identity of the main villain amongst a cast of extremely dodgy and untrustworthy characters.
January 16, 2011
My own personal choice for most under-rated of the 7th Doctor New Adventure novels. "Legacy" is the ultimate comfort food: a warm, nostalgic revisit to a fondly-remembered alien world from the early 1970s, with some lovely enhancements along the way. It's far from being a dark & challenging novel, but it pays off 100% in the contentment department. Something to read when life seems very grey, and you need a hit of that wonderful Doctor Who magic to lift your spirits.
March 2, 2024
A sequel to the two almost identical Peladon stories from the Pertwee era and yes, if you enjoyed those, here it is for a third time! To be fair, it's a pacy read and, despite some violence, much more upbeat than the rest of the series so far. Ace is strangely sidelined, and there are near fatal levels of continuity/fan service that come across as incongruous and lift you out of the plot as the series itself didn't give two hoots about such things in those days, but worse things happen in the TARDIS!
August 16, 2024
Disappointingly mediocre stuff. Russell may have been better off waiting a few months and pitching this as a Missing Adventure, since he can't write the Seventh Doctor for toffee. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
March 15, 2015
A Doctor Who story about the Ice Warriors
19 February 2012
This is probably the last Doctor Who book that I ever read. It was given to me at a birthday party a while ago and pretty much sat on my shelf until such a time that I felt like reading it. I guess by the time that I had got around to reading it I was a little over the Doctor Who books and had moved onto books that I had found somewhat more interesting. It is not that this book was bad in a way, but it was more because I had probably grown out of the Doctor Who books by that time.
This book is about the Ice Warriors and I believe that it follows on from the two Peladon adventures from the third Doctor. The Ice Warriors originally came from Mars and first appeared in one of the second Doctors adventures, but then for some strange reason they introduced them in the Peladon adventures. Now, my memory is very vague on the Peladon adventures, but I do clearly remember the Ice Warriors being involved. One of them they were the central antagonists and the other they were protagonists (I believe, but as I mentioned it has been quite a while since I have seen them).
Peladon appears on the face of it to be a medieval planet, though they seem to have space travel, which is why representatives from other planets have arrived. I remember them because I really enjoyed them, particularly with the Doctor running around the caverns underneath the castle. I also remember the castle sitting atop a windswept rock.
There is really nothing much else that I feel that I can say about the book. As mentioned, it involved Ice Warriors and was set on the planet of Peladon, however that is pretty much all I can remember of it. By this time I had pretty much gotten over the New Doctor Who adventures and had moved onto something else entirely.
19 February 2012
This is probably the last Doctor Who book that I ever read. It was given to me at a birthday party a while ago and pretty much sat on my shelf until such a time that I felt like reading it. I guess by the time that I had got around to reading it I was a little over the Doctor Who books and had moved onto books that I had found somewhat more interesting. It is not that this book was bad in a way, but it was more because I had probably grown out of the Doctor Who books by that time.
This book is about the Ice Warriors and I believe that it follows on from the two Peladon adventures from the third Doctor. The Ice Warriors originally came from Mars and first appeared in one of the second Doctors adventures, but then for some strange reason they introduced them in the Peladon adventures. Now, my memory is very vague on the Peladon adventures, but I do clearly remember the Ice Warriors being involved. One of them they were the central antagonists and the other they were protagonists (I believe, but as I mentioned it has been quite a while since I have seen them).
Peladon appears on the face of it to be a medieval planet, though they seem to have space travel, which is why representatives from other planets have arrived. I remember them because I really enjoyed them, particularly with the Doctor running around the caverns underneath the castle. I also remember the castle sitting atop a windswept rock.
There is really nothing much else that I feel that I can say about the book. As mentioned, it involved Ice Warriors and was set on the planet of Peladon, however that is pretty much all I can remember of it. By this time I had pretty much gotten over the New Doctor Who adventures and had moved onto something else entirely.
June 23, 2020
3.5/5
I liked this, partly at least because I have a soft spot for Peladon stories (and the Ice Warriors) in general, but I couldn't help but feel it was just a bit overcrowded. For example Kort does maybe one plot relevant thing in the entire story. In terms of other things that bothered me: I get that referring to Alpha Centauri as 'he' probably comes from a place of 'it is dehumanising' and yeah, giant one-eyed space pea from a 70s sci-fi serial isn't exactly peak non-binary representation, but it still makes me uncomfortable that the narrative seems so insistent on gendering a character who explicitly does not have a human (Western) conception of gender and doesn't use he or she to refer to itself. Also I don't think we needed to know that the villain had been in a mental institution; that felt like it was unnecessarily playing into unfortunate tropes about mental illness and criminality. Just once I'd like to see the word psychotic used accurately instead of as a short-hand for violence!
That being said, I did enjoy this book. It had some ideas I found pretty interesting, plus as I said above I do quite like the Peladon aesthetic and it's probable I'd appreciate most stories set there.
I liked this, partly at least because I have a soft spot for Peladon stories (and the Ice Warriors) in general, but I couldn't help but feel it was just a bit overcrowded. For example Kort does maybe one plot relevant thing in the entire story. In terms of other things that bothered me: I get that referring to Alpha Centauri as 'he' probably comes from a place of 'it is dehumanising' and yeah, giant one-eyed space pea from a 70s sci-fi serial isn't exactly peak non-binary representation, but it still makes me uncomfortable that the narrative seems so insistent on gendering a character who explicitly does not have a human (Western) conception of gender and doesn't use he or she to refer to itself. Also I don't think we needed to know that the villain had been in a mental institution; that felt like it was unnecessarily playing into unfortunate tropes about mental illness and criminality. Just once I'd like to see the word psychotic used accurately instead of as a short-hand for violence!
That being said, I did enjoy this book. It had some ideas I found pretty interesting, plus as I said above I do quite like the Peladon aesthetic and it's probable I'd appreciate most stories set there.
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August 20, 2021One of the "New Adventures" series released in the wilderness years between the cancellation of classic Who and the release of the TV movie. The series is a bit of a mixed bag: some good, some bad; some trying out new ideas, some trying to stick to what they perceived as the Who vibe/formula.
This one falls somewhere in the middle. It tries to pitch a larger scale story and with a little extra sex, violence and offensive language. At the same time, it returns to a planet and alien combo featured in two Jon Pertwee stories, references a bunch of old companions and adventures, and drops in the name of one Ice Warrior actor as an in joke.
The Ice Warriors have always been one of my favourite Doctor Who monsters, and the story is a fairly competent mix of 'whodunnit' and 'political intrigue', but a few story strands get wrapped up in a perfunctory way that doesn't seem entirely satisfying.
This one falls somewhere in the middle. It tries to pitch a larger scale story and with a little extra sex, violence and offensive language. At the same time, it returns to a planet and alien combo featured in two Jon Pertwee stories, references a bunch of old companions and adventures, and drops in the name of one Ice Warrior actor as an in joke.
The Ice Warriors have always been one of my favourite Doctor Who monsters, and the story is a fairly competent mix of 'whodunnit' and 'political intrigue', but a few story strands get wrapped up in a perfunctory way that doesn't seem entirely satisfying.
January 17, 2012
Or as I call it, Legacy of Peladon. Russell is well known for his obsession for continuity plug-ins, which at their worst turn out like Divided Loyalties, but here, I think it stands up. It's possibly the best Peladon story in any medium (ok, the bar isn't very high, I know). There are tons of winks to continuity, as well as inside jokes, only some of which I'm equipped to get. The history of Peladon, the Ice Warriors and Bernice are all very well used, but then there are more gratuitous references like the Ogri, Goth and the Cybermen. Still, a cracking story not very much hampered by the over-obvious villain or Ace's side-lining. (It strikes me that she has become a difficult character to integrate into the action of the NAs - too competent and combat happy.) So... a 6.5 out of 10?
July 28, 2014
When I read this I didn't realise it was Gary Russell's first novel. I liked it quite a lot. Peladon was always one of my favourite storylines and I thought he did a great job with carrying on the setting and the feeling of the television episodes. It had a very strong feeling of being half way between a Bernice Summerfield adventure and a Doctor Who adventure. (But that might just be because of the Pakhar which I'd only come across in the Benny audios before). But she really shone in this, particularly with her relationships with the "Ice Warriors". I have to say the little scene with Pertwee and Jo really stood out and I definitely want to read the book that Gary wrote about those two now.
October 10, 2020
Although it took me a while to finish this because of my slump, I really enjoyed this book!
It is Gary Russell's first novel so there were a few spelling and grammar mistakes in but they were hardly noticeable unless you really looked for them. A good who dun it a mystery with a lot of continuity references from the third doctor serial story where he went to visit Peladon.
Also, IRVING BRAXIATEL!! BEING SYMPATHETIC! BENNY HANGING OUT WITH ICE WARRIORS.
It is Gary Russell's first novel so there were a few spelling and grammar mistakes in but they were hardly noticeable unless you really looked for them. A good who dun it a mystery with a lot of continuity references from the third doctor serial story where he went to visit Peladon.
Also, IRVING BRAXIATEL!! BEING SYMPATHETIC! BENNY HANGING OUT WITH ICE WARRIORS.
March 13, 2012
The story was decent, but the writing was horribly sloppy.
August 30, 2021
Probably a solid 3, an interesting story, with some good points and bad points - but certainly I found the last 100 pages a pretty good read. It is unfortunate that the preceding 200 pages really felt like just build up, but given it seems to take 200 pages to get to the point that the synopsis on the back describes, it felt quite overdone.
It has quite a lot of continuity references, but I'm not sure that they add well to the story, and instead make you wonder about the timeline and whether it does all tie together (it likely does, but so many different ones worked in do make it harder to be sure).
This is the first time I've read a story with Benny / Bernice Summerfield in it, following listening to a few audio stories from Big Finish with her in them, but it feels like she is similarly presented here as in the audio stories, which is good, though I tended to 'hear' her with Lisa Bowerman's voice as such :)
The Seventh Doctor in pretty good form, seems like his TV self, if on the manipulative side again, though perhaps a bit more xenophobic than I'd normally expect, though adds to the plot here.
Ace doesn't get as much screen time here, and has certainly changed a lot since last I saw her, definitely more mature character, not sure if I like that :)
A good mix of one off characters here, pretty well fleshed out, and one or two interesting returning characters, that all add to the story.
The plot itself seems to have a plot hole or two in it, especially when it comes to the Doctor's actions, and an interesting tone to the story as well, that put me in mind of Survival and made me look as to whether this was one of the last New Adventures, when it is quite far from it.
Overall, and enjoyable read, but with some drawbacks that pulled it back to a 3.
It has quite a lot of continuity references, but I'm not sure that they add well to the story, and instead make you wonder about the timeline and whether it does all tie together (it likely does, but so many different ones worked in do make it harder to be sure).
This is the first time I've read a story with Benny / Bernice Summerfield in it, following listening to a few audio stories from Big Finish with her in them, but it feels like she is similarly presented here as in the audio stories, which is good, though I tended to 'hear' her with Lisa Bowerman's voice as such :)
The Seventh Doctor in pretty good form, seems like his TV self, if on the manipulative side again, though perhaps a bit more xenophobic than I'd normally expect, though adds to the plot here.
Ace doesn't get as much screen time here, and has certainly changed a lot since last I saw her, definitely more mature character, not sure if I like that :)
A good mix of one off characters here, pretty well fleshed out, and one or two interesting returning characters, that all add to the story.
The plot itself seems to have a plot hole or two in it, especially when it comes to the Doctor's actions, and an interesting tone to the story as well, that put me in mind of Survival and made me look as to whether this was one of the last New Adventures, when it is quite far from it.
Overall, and enjoyable read, but with some drawbacks that pulled it back to a 3.
December 15, 2024
At the time of writing this review it has been a while since I’ve read a Virgin New Adventure so I decided to give Legacy a shot. As someone who likes a lot of Gary Russell’s books I was looking forward to this one but unfortunately, it just ended up being pretty mediocre but I did still enjoy it.
If you like the Doctor Who Peladon stories then you will I’m sure, get something out of this book. One main problems I had with this book is that some of the supporting characters are incredibly dull and not at all interesting and even annoying on occasions. One of the characters literally says “yeah” at the end of every sentence and that really got on my nerves.
I thought the plot was decent enough to keep me interested but one of its main issues is that Ace gets sidelined through out the majority of the book and has very little scenes. I enjoyed The Doctor and Bernice in this story as well as seeing the Ice Warriors and Alpha Centurai once again and that’s about it in terms of good characters.
It’s an okay story overall and it is one I would recommend for new comers to the VNA range but it is pretty damn average in my opinion. Nothing ground breaking but still a fairly enjoyable romp.
If you like the Doctor Who Peladon stories then you will I’m sure, get something out of this book. One main problems I had with this book is that some of the supporting characters are incredibly dull and not at all interesting and even annoying on occasions. One of the characters literally says “yeah” at the end of every sentence and that really got on my nerves.
I thought the plot was decent enough to keep me interested but one of its main issues is that Ace gets sidelined through out the majority of the book and has very little scenes. I enjoyed The Doctor and Bernice in this story as well as seeing the Ice Warriors and Alpha Centurai once again and that’s about it in terms of good characters.
It’s an okay story overall and it is one I would recommend for new comers to the VNA range but it is pretty damn average in my opinion. Nothing ground breaking but still a fairly enjoyable romp.
April 21, 2025
A good Peladon story which definitely matches up to the televised ones, if not outperforms them. There's even a little bit featuring the Third Doctor and Jo, as well as an overarching history of the Peladon monarchy. That context is great and even does favours to "Curse" and "Monster" looking back.
I quite liked it and I love the cover. My only real problem with it is that Gary Russell, desperate as ever to remind us all that he is a massive Whovian, couldn't help but force in continuity references almost every other page. It gets a bit jarring after a while, but he delivered an enjoyable read overall.
I quite liked it and I love the cover. My only real problem with it is that Gary Russell, desperate as ever to remind us all that he is a massive Whovian, couldn't help but force in continuity references almost every other page. It gets a bit jarring after a while, but he delivered an enjoyable read overall.
Read
January 12, 2022i read this back when it came out in the 90's. I remember being intrigued by the possibility of another chapter in the Peladon saga. all I recall now was a bicameral house of lords/house of commons type legislative body being suggested by one of the Doctor's companions to whoever the reigning monarch was in this. I've forgotten the rest of it, other than they (Alpha Centuari and the peladonians) accept the 7th doctor pretty easily as the same guy from curse/monster of peladon.
February 11, 2021
It's like Russell decided to rewrite one of the worst Doctor Who stories (The Monster of Peladon) and chuck in about a gajillion continuity references to show readers what a clever clogs he is. "Should Benny have an actual personality other than saying something sarcastic every other paragraph? Nah."
December 10, 2024
Of the authors who have contributed to The New Adventures so far, Gary Russell might have the best handle on incorporating Classic Who into his writing, but he also seems to despise the mission statement of the books as a whole.
June 17, 2021
Nice to have the Doctor revisit Peladon but I'm not overly impressed with the way Ace's character has been developed
August 28, 2023
I had a lot of fun with this! Really well written and very engaging, I got sucked in and finished a good 3/4 of it over the course of just two days.
August 27, 2025
Underrated. There's far too much continuity, Ace is wasted and the villain is a little weak, but Gary Russell's enthusiasm and no-nonsense prose and plotting make it an enjoyable read regardless.
September 30, 2015
I was so happy after Decalog, so sure I was going to be able to dive right back in and get the project going again!
Then I hit the first few pages of Legacy and the steam just left the engine. Wow. I began to refer to it in my imagination as "Lag-acy," because of the lag in posts. I finally forced myself to get through it, but I am now craving a really good one to be the next book.
It's not that there are no likeable characters at all. I actually enjoyed the Ice Warriors, and I could see so much wasted potential in so many others in the book. But I couldn't bring myself to really care about any of them, and that's a deep problem when you have the vast cast and numbers of races Russell brings to the table.
Maybe I would have liked it more if I'd been more familiar with Peladon, but I've never seen the TV episodes and by the time I was through the first chapter I didn't care. Pointless blood, beings pointlessly growling at one another, pointless. It did nothing, really, to illuminate the plot. Swords flash and people fall dead right after introduction, when the same points they are supposed to express are re-explained in later chapters.
At no point did I really feel like any of the Main Three characters were in danger. At no point did I feel like I had a handle on what made any of the other races different from humans.
It's not a horrible book. It's not like some of the others we've read that made me despair, and I can't honestly say I would have done better. But, as Opus says, "Lord, it wasn't good."
Then I hit the first few pages of Legacy and the steam just left the engine. Wow. I began to refer to it in my imagination as "Lag-acy," because of the lag in posts. I finally forced myself to get through it, but I am now craving a really good one to be the next book.
It's not that there are no likeable characters at all. I actually enjoyed the Ice Warriors, and I could see so much wasted potential in so many others in the book. But I couldn't bring myself to really care about any of them, and that's a deep problem when you have the vast cast and numbers of races Russell brings to the table.
Maybe I would have liked it more if I'd been more familiar with Peladon, but I've never seen the TV episodes and by the time I was through the first chapter I didn't care. Pointless blood, beings pointlessly growling at one another, pointless. It did nothing, really, to illuminate the plot. Swords flash and people fall dead right after introduction, when the same points they are supposed to express are re-explained in later chapters.
At no point did I really feel like any of the Main Three characters were in danger. At no point did I feel like I had a handle on what made any of the other races different from humans.
It's not a horrible book. It's not like some of the others we've read that made me despair, and I can't honestly say I would have done better. But, as Opus says, "Lord, it wasn't good."
February 19, 2019
This was among the first VNAs I read. I had read a couple of others I liked and loved the Peldon stories so seemed an obvious choice. Thankfully this wasn't the very first I had read or I might have given up completely.
Rereading now I actually think it is worse than I remembered. Firstly it barely has a plot. Mostly some warmed over leftovers from the previous Peladon stories. Instead most of the book is long info-dumps either recapping old stories, absurdly long descriptions or trying to construct a single chronology to early 70s stories.
Secondly, Ace is shoved off to a side plot barely appearing in the story.
Thirdly, The Doctor acts oddly throughout the book. I do not really recognise the character at all. They also have him manipulate Benny for no really good reason.
Finally, there is a lot of problematic content in this story. Worst is probably the decision to explicitly misgender Alpha Centauri as he, including having both the narrator and The Doctor.
There are a couple of nice moments which makes it better than the creepy Timewyrm Genesys and it is not as badly written as The Pit. But that is about as much positive I can say about it.
Rereading now I actually think it is worse than I remembered. Firstly it barely has a plot. Mostly some warmed over leftovers from the previous Peladon stories. Instead most of the book is long info-dumps either recapping old stories, absurdly long descriptions or trying to construct a single chronology to early 70s stories.
Secondly, Ace is shoved off to a side plot barely appearing in the story.
Thirdly, The Doctor acts oddly throughout the book. I do not really recognise the character at all. They also have him manipulate Benny for no really good reason.
Finally, there is a lot of problematic content in this story. Worst is probably the decision to explicitly misgender Alpha Centauri as he, including having both the narrator and The Doctor.
There are a couple of nice moments which makes it better than the creepy Timewyrm Genesys and it is not as badly written as The Pit. But that is about as much positive I can say about it.
January 9, 2012
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1837337...
Peladon is one of a surprisingly small number of planets to figure in more than one televised Who story, and though Big Finish have visited it twice I think this is the only spinoff novel set there. Gary Russell starts with the story of how the planet lifted itself from barbarism, and the stranded human astronaut who married the king; we then get folded into a fairly complex tale of an ancient off-world relic with Ice Warriors, Alpha Centauri, Peladonian factions and the rodent-like Pakhar aliens, with lots for Benny and the Seventh Doctor to do (but rather less for Ace who gets politely shuffled off-scene at a fairly early stage). It's also rather gory with many characters meeting untimely ends. Generally good stuff though I felt the climax was not quite under control (but I did like the political twist at the end).
Peladon is one of a surprisingly small number of planets to figure in more than one televised Who story, and though Big Finish have visited it twice I think this is the only spinoff novel set there. Gary Russell starts with the story of how the planet lifted itself from barbarism, and the stranded human astronaut who married the king; we then get folded into a fairly complex tale of an ancient off-world relic with Ice Warriors, Alpha Centauri, Peladonian factions and the rodent-like Pakhar aliens, with lots for Benny and the Seventh Doctor to do (but rather less for Ace who gets politely shuffled off-scene at a fairly early stage). It's also rather gory with many characters meeting untimely ends. Generally good stuff though I felt the climax was not quite under control (but I did like the political twist at the end).
January 4, 2016
The maturation of the Ice Warriors, from stock baddies to honorable soldiers, has been very good to see. Treatment of aliens as intelligent and reasonable is one of the reasons that Doctor Who is so far superior to most American TV science fiction. Russell has kept Brian Hayles' creations intact, from the Ice Warriors to Alpha Centauri to the Peladonians. His own additions, the rat-like Pakha, and a complicated plot involving galactic politics and a lost icon, make the story eminently enjoyable. I am not sure that Benny's snogging an Ice Warrior was wholly necessary.
May 17, 2008
I love the Peladon TV episodes so was really looking forward to this book. The stuff about Peladon is well done and builds on the history established on the show nicely.
Always nice to see the Ice Warriors.
All the plots and counter plots and everybody being up to something wore a bit thin, as a lot of the cast wasn't that interesting.
All in all one of the better, non-grim and gritty New Adventures.
Always nice to see the Ice Warriors.
All the plots and counter plots and everybody being up to something wore a bit thin, as a lot of the cast wasn't that interesting.
All in all one of the better, non-grim and gritty New Adventures.
July 30, 2012
Russell's inexperience occasionally shows through, and the book has definite pacing problems, but still this is a fun third return to Peladon that nicely balances the others.
February 28, 2016
Ya know - I wasted enough time actually reading this mess - I'm not going to waste even more time writing about it.
Gary Russell shouldn't be allowed to write books.
Gary Russell shouldn't be allowed to write books.
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