Doctor Who: Unnatural History

Eighth Doctor Adventures #23

by Kate Orman, Jonathan Blum

The Doctor regenerated in San Francisco at the turn of the millennium. When he returns there a few years later, it seems the catastrophic events that nearly sent the whole of Earth into cosmic oblivion have taken their toll. San Francisco was the anchor point, and a breach between dimensions has sprung up. All sorts of weird and wonderful creatures have turned up -- griffins, unicorns -- and things more sinister.The Doctor's companion Sam is exposed and becomes a changed person -- literally. Her hair is dark, she has never met the Doctor in her life. With Fitz, he is able to convince her to help them put things right -- to sacrifice herself so that the old Sam may return. For stalking the turbulent streets is the sinister Unnaturalist -- a collector of genetic curios whose private collection will be much enriched by the Time Travelers.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Time Travel, Ebooks, British Literature

279 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

Kate Orman studied biology at Sydney University and worked in science before becoming a professional author. Orman is known for her sci-fi work, and especially her frequent collaborations in the "Doctor Who" universe. For Virgin Publishing and BBC, she wrote more than a dozen full-length novels, as well as numerous short stories and non-fiction pieces related to "Doctor Who". She was the only woman and only Australian to write for the initial range of novels, the Virgin New Adventures.

As of 2022, Orman lives in Sydney and is married to fellow author Jonathan Blum.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst trying to tie up continuity from both The TV Movie and earlier books in the series, Unnatural History does feel slightly convoluted at times.

I practically liked the ‘Dark Sam’ storyline, it was interesting to see how different her life would have been if she hadn’t met The Doctor.

[Alex Sarll]

Annoying that this comes up as 'by Jonathan Blum' - it may be mere alphabetical order, but Kate Orman is the attraction here, the one with the pedigree. A brilliantly messy account of why the Doctor is so brilliantly messy, this ties up the loose ends from the semi-coherent Paul McGann TV movie, while also making a plausible case that it's precisely the loose ends and plot holes which make Doctor Who so compelling. If only the new series had similarly learned that, while a given sentence may be nonsense if you talk about DNA, it'll become legitimate Doctor Who nonsense the second you substitute the term 'biodata'. Even if that concept is here stretched to breaking point, sometimes literally.
It's also amusing, as always, to note the overlap between a book using time-terrorists Faction Paradox (created by Lawrence Miles) and the new series (hated by Lawrence Miles). Such as, the Doctor saying "No spoilers" to a character who knows his future. Such as, a story based around a hole in space and time which causes the flotsam of a thousand dimensions to wash up in a modern city which sits on a bay. There's also a line - and this in a book written in 1999 - where the eighth Doctor, the last before the mainstream relaunch, is told by that same character who knows his future that this is him before he's cool. The authors couldn't have known, of course. But the story did.

[Jacob Ryans · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite Doctor Who books, learning more about Sam Jones's timelines, which are coming together. Really enjoyed.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE love loved this book, its random, strange, and weird (many things I like) and it takes the continuity of Doctor Who and allows it to be whatever you want it to be. Continuity of the franchise is almost the main focus of the novel, its interesting to be told that all potential origins of The Doctor are true, maybe he is half human on his mothers side, or maybe he was born out of a loom, or maybe he's from the 45th century... It could all be true depending on where you look. Kate Orman is a legendary Doctor Who writer and Jonathan Blum does a great job on the book as well, together they create a mess of a masterpiece for the Doctor Who universe, but is this book cannon? It's up to you to decide.
The final line of the acknowledgments page thanks "Special K" and after reading that everything beforehand started making sense.

[Trin · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are making me feel insane. How did they get away with this stuff in '90s officially licensed media?

Fitz spread out his map of the city, turned the pages of his notebook. "The plants in Golden Gate Park are growing at five times the normal rate -- it's closed to the public. Lots of unconfirmed cryptozoological sightings, including an alleged vehicle theft by Bigfoot. Oh, and would you believe Lombard Street has gone straight?"

"Well," laughed the Doctor, "as long as Castro Street hasn't gone straight..."

PERFECTION.

This book is also just smart an imaginative and richly characterized and heartbreaking and intriguing and good. Wow.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writers Blum & Orman delivered a third and final book for the Eighth Doctor, and it’s another triumph of characterisation for Sam Jones in particular — which is quite a feat since, technically, she is hardly in this one. The plot concerns the fallout from the TV Movie, which takes the form of a lot of weird and wonderful alterations to San Francisco. Naturally, time is running out before it gets worse.

The plot is decent and the link to the TV Movie is an unexpected bonus, but it’s the character work that propels this one, showing us Sam, the Doctor and Fitz in interesting lights. It’s a highlight of the range.

[Akiva ꙮ · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE IT. Love it. They made me care so much about all the Sams; it's heart-wrenching. The hints at addict!Sam's chronology are horribly chilling; I want to read about how that went down and how her version of the Doctor and Fitz coped, but I don't think I could handle it.

I think Blum and Orman might be my favorite 8DA writers so far. I highlighted some idea or phrasing I loved about every five pages.

[said · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unnatural History encapsulates everything that I love about this series in its entirety—incredibly high stakes with dimensions upon dimensions in the risk of withering away, exploring the Doctor's loss of responsibility and selfish nature, and fleshing out what is the best groundwork done for any antagonistic force I've ever seen in, The Faction Paradox. Paradox upon paradox, reality and fantasy in absolute turmoil, this novel challenges every single preconceived notion one has ever had about the Doctor's actions and desires—every deliberate move is in order to further what he wants most of all, his one and only companion, the Tardis. Recalling a lot of the feelings that the 3rd Doctor had in his exile to Earth, nothing is worse for a travelling entity than to be stranded in the place he or she never intended to happen, and therefore the continuity of these storylines comes to fruition by implementing sections of his past and future as well, hence the involvement of the Faction Paradox in the picture.


Time's Champion, the Warrior, and the Bringer of Darkness—wherever the Doctor goes, chaos follows in his wake, which has devastating implications for Sam, who essentially is the missing piece to everything meshed into his biodata. Kate Orman manages to follow the threads laid by Lawrence Miles ever since 'Alien Bodies' and utilizes them to their fullest potential by writing both the Faction Paradox, Doctor, Sam, and Fitz to the best, not only in these Eight Doctor Adventures so far, but how they were always designed to be—ridiculously metaphysical and creative at its apex. This being a 'companion sorta focused' story, it has such nuanced attention to not only the companion in focus, Sam, but also Fitz as well—giving them both a wonderful character arc. Sam is gearing up to be one of my favorite companions ever, and this, being mostly focused on her, gave all the desired effect that I most definitely wanted to see. Grasping all the details with fastidious care is somewhat intended not only for this story alone but also heading into another major story arc in 'Interference,' with the Faction in the limelight.


Amidst all the chaos and imbalance in the novel, it was so endearing to see the little romantic fling surrounding Sam and Fitz and how it affected their relationship after several books where they were in and out of either trust and understanding, to now being closer than ever moving forward to Sam's final story. Again, the link between all these chaotic events unfolding resulted in an emotional and character-defining piece by Orman that cemented itself as some of the best things DW has to offer.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟏𝟎/𝟏𝟎

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely mad, fascinating, and in the end, pretty intense book. I feel a bit emotionally washed out at the end of it all.

It’s half this real complex, sci fi heavy intricate time travel story, and half a massively rich character exploration of an alternate version of Sam, with some absolutely wild, bold character interactions that I will never quite get over (some of which are pretty hilariously out there - I mean having one of the companions give the Doctor a back massage and then try to sleep with him, is always going to create a bit of a stir..)

Very ambitious and almost entirely successful, this is one I won’t forget in a while.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Lo chiamavano l'Effetto del Millennio", disse il Dottore. "Ma il millennio era solo all'inizio."
San Francisco è cambiata dall'inizio del 2000. Le leggi della fisica continuano ad avere flashback acidi. Ci sono avvistamenti di creature al di fuori delle nostre dimensioni, alieni arenati e artisti di strada surrealisti. La città è diventata una mecca per coloro che si divertono in creature impossibili - e coloro che vogliono vederle spillate e messe via.
Il passato di Sam la sta raggiungendo - un passato che non sapeva di avere. Il Dottore rischia di diventare la pièce de résistance di una collezione contorta di creature. E sotto le acque della baia, c'è qualcosa di enorme che aspetta.
Con il tempo che si esaurisce, il Dottore deve scegliere cosa sacrificare - una città delle meraviglie, o la vita di una vecchia e cara amica.
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RECENSIONE (piccoli spoiler)
Una ragazza, due vite diverse. Sam, bionda, attivista e salutista, ha lasciato la sua casa a diciassette anni per viaggiare con il Dottore. Insieme hanno esplorato l'universo per anni, correggendo torti e salvando mondi. Sam, mora, con un passato di droga e senza ambizioni, ha lasciato la sua casa a diciassette anni per andare a vivere da sola a Londra, trovandosi lavoro in un videonoleggio. Il paradosso della sua duplice esistenza era già stato accennato in precedenza, in particolare in “Alien Bodies” e “Seeing, I”, ma nessuna spiegazione era stata data a questo fenomeno. Ma ora un'anomalia temporale a San Francisco ha portato via la Sam bionda, lasciando dietro di sé l'altra. Il Dottore deve trovare il modo di far tornare la “vera” Sam... ma quale delle due è davvero l'originale?
Nel terzo libro di Blum e Orman per questa serie, ritorniamo a San Francisco dove tutto ha avuto inizio (non solo per il film, ma anche per via di “Vampire Science”, prima vera avventura di Sam scritta dagli stessi autori). La rigenerazione del Dottore ha lasciato una cicatrice spaziotemporale nella città, esponendo il suo biodata e attirando creature impossibili da tutte le altre dimensioni. Creature che non dovrebbero esistere come chimere, unicorni e kraken, che diventano le prede perfette per un “innaturalista” che vuole collezionarle e catalogarle secondo i suoi standard. Come se tutto ciò non bastasse, la Fazione del Paradosso ha mandato un suo inviato, e sembrano particolarmente interessati a Sam e al Dottore...
I due autori inseriscono qui moltissimi elementi, uno più stravagante dell'altro, che si vanno ad inserire negli archi narrativi di Sam e della Guerra in Paradiso, qui appena preannunciata. Inoltre pongono l'accento sull'ambiguità e sulle contraddizioni delle origini del Dottore (di cui parlerò meglio nell'approfondimento).
Tuttavia è anche presente una storia autoconclusiva, quella dell'Innaturalista, un villain affascinante e temibile che trascende lo spazio a tre dimensioni. I concetti geometrici di uno spazio n-dimensionale vengono brillantemente impiegati per creare creature e oggetti che la nostra mente non può nemmeno immaginare, come se fossimo dei cerchi in un mondo bidimensionale che cercano di visualizzare una sfera. Certi livelli di astrattismo non sarebbero possibili visivamente, rendendo il romanzo il medium ideale per raccontare una storia del genere.
Partendo da una narrazione tranquilla che permette di indagare con calma i fenomeni che si stanno formando e garantiscono un approfondimento psicologico dei personaggi, si passa ad una escalation di eventi che alzano sempre di più la posta in gioco, sia per la città, sia per il Dottore a livello personale. Se però devo fare un appunto alla struttura, trovo che la continua ripetizione del ciclo cattura-fuga-cattura-fuga sia un po' ridondante.
Questo libro non è però importante solo a livello di trama, ma anche per i personaggi. Dopo quattro storie, Fitz è già molto più strutturato e indipendente, tanto da indagare in autonomia sulle anomalie temporali. (Davvero mi dispiace saltare dei libri, anche perché la scena in cui la Sam bionda scompare è in quello precedente a questo, ma davvero non avrei il tempo di leggerli tutti.) Comunque, dopo aver passato alcune avventure, tra cui anche delle esperienze traumatiche, ha raggiunto una maggiore complessità. È interessante come si relaziona con la nuova Sam, cercando quasi di compensare i cambiamenti avvenuti in lei atteggiandosi maggiormente come “bravo ragazzo”. Ciò porta non solo a delle sentite confidenze tra i due (e qualcosa di più), ma anche a delle altruistiche dimostrazioni di eroismo da parte di lui. Purtroppo tra una cosa e l'altra viene un po' messo da parte verso la fine.
Se ora Fitz ha acquisito esperienze, è vero il contrario per Sam, che da novizia deve rimparare tutto da capo. Lungi dall'essere ridondante, va invece a colmare la lacuna che si era creata tra “The Eight Doctors” e “Vampire Science”, dove tutte le prime esperienze della Sam Bionda erano state saltate. Ma la Sam Mora è molto diversa dalla sua alter-ego: lei è una versione che nella vita ha fatto le scelte sbagliate, finendo in posti molto bui, e che solo di recente ha iniziato a rialzarsi. È quindi interessante vederla con una personalità diversa, con dei demoni da affrontare, ma piano piano acquistando un po' dello spirito avventuriero dell'altra. E se all'inizio si è spiazzati dalla perdita della bionda, alla fine si realizza che anche la mora ci mancherà dopo aver iniziato a conoscerla, sentimento condiviso anche dai personaggi stessi.
Per quanto riguarda il Dottore, lo vediamo qui inizialmente risoluto nel cercare una soluzione ai molteplici problemi che gli vengono tirati addosso, per poi diventare sempre più disperato a mano a mano che la situazione diventa più critica, ad un passo dal perdere ciò che ha di più caro, per poi prendere una decisione pericolosa e irresponsabile che mi ha ricordato i momenti bui di certe altre incarnazioni. Nonostante questo, resiste ai dubbi che vengono posti sul suo passato, anche se credo che questo sia solo l'inizio...
Devo quindi concludere che questo è un libro meravigliosamente scritto, sia a livello di trama che di caratterizzazione dei personaggi, ed è una delle tappe fondamentali nella lore non solo dell'Ottavo, ma anche di Doctor Who in generale.
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RIFLESSIONI (Grandi spoiler)
IL DOTTORE: UN'ORIGINE A SCELTA MULTIPLA.
Mai come in questi ultimi tempi si sta sollevando un grande polverone sulla scelta di Chibnall di stravolgere tutto quello che pensavamo di sapere sul Dottore, andando ad aggiungere informazioni sulle sue origini e al contempo introducendo nuove domande.
Come quando ho recensito "Lungbarrow", non posso fare a meno di sottolineare quanto questa non sia una cosa nuova né unica nel suo genere. Doctor Who ha infatti subito retcon su retcon fin dai suoi albori, e in particolare durante i “Wilderness Years” gli autori hanno raggiunto livelli di sperimentazione mai visti prima.
Se ai tempi di Hartnell non c'era nulla che facesse pensare che il Dottore non fosse umano (perfino la prima rigenerazione era stata inizialmente attribuita a una proprietà del Tardis piuttosto che della sua biologia) e i Signori del Tempo sono stati inseriti solo in seguito, aggiungendo strati alla loro mitologia di volta in volta, è durante la tenuta di McCoy che sono stati posti i primi dubbi sulle sue vere origini con il “piano Cartmel”, mai portato a termine in TV ma che ha raggiunto il suo compimento proprio in “Lungbarrow”. L'idea generale era che il Dottore non fosse un Signore del Tempo qualsiasi, bensì fosse una sorta di reincarnazione dell'Altro, uno dei tre padri fondatori di Gallifrey (vi rimando alla recensione per i dettagli). Tuttavia anche all'interno delle Virgin Adventures c'erano disaccordi e incongruenze su questa visione. Lance Parkin era più intenzionato a dare al Dottore una vera famiglia, con genitori, una moglie, figli e nipoti (approfondirò meglio quando leggerò “Cold Fusion”), mentre Justin Richards gli ha dato un fratello, Braxiatel (e di questo lo ringrazio). Tutto questo più o meno in contemporanea con l'uscita del film, che di punto in bianco se ne esce con la controversa affermazione che il Dottore è per metà umano da parte di madre. Come conciliare tutto ciò? Be', in questo libro Blum e Orman cercano di dare una spiegazione, senza per forza prendere una posizione piuttosto che un'altra. In pratica, tutto dipende dalle manipolazioni al biodata del Dottore. Il biodata contiene sia le informazioni genetiche sia quelle temporali di un individuo, tutto quello che è andato o andrà a formarlo nella sua interezza. Così come Sam contiene due diversi set di biodata, che l'hanno fatta scindere in quella bionda e quella mora, così il Dottore è stato più volte soggetto a modifiche retroattive della sua timeline e della sua biologia. Nel libro è stata paragonata a una corda che, fissata nel momento presente, oscilla vertiginosamente all'altra estremità, cambiando le origini sostanzialmente. Ancora non è chiaro cosa abbia provocato tutto questo, ma probabilmente avrà a che fare con la Fazione del Paradosso e la Guerra in Paradiso (una guerra del tempo tra i Signori del Tempo e il “Nemico”), quindi non resta che vedere. Sta di fatto che la Fazione del Paradosso si diverte a instillare il dubbio nel Dottore, a tormentarlo mettendo in evidenza l'incongruenza del suo passato e cercando di destabilizzalo facendogli domandare chi sia in realtà (ricorda qualcosa?). “Forse una volta non eri mezzo umano, ma ora lo sei. Forse una volta non eri neanche un Signore del Tempo”. L'Ottavo in realtà reagisce poco alle provocazioni, affermando di conoscere chi è nel presente, l'unica cosa che conta, ma è comunque un tarlo nell'orecchio.
In questo momento il Dottore è assolutamente certo di avere avuto dei genitori, tanto da ricordarsi quando da piccolo sedeva al tavolo con suo padre. Viene pure inserito un personaggio ambiguo che potrebbe essere visto come il padre del Dottore, ritiratosi a Berkley a fare il professore, ma l'interpretazione è qui lasciata aperta (un po' come la donna misteriosa in “The End of Time”).
Inoltre, molto tra le righe, viene insinuato che qualcuno, forse Rassilon, abbia riscritto gli eventi di Lungbarrow in una maniera che fosse a lui più favorevole.
Comunque il succo è che con questa mossa ogni incongruenza può essere spiegata come un passato instabile in continuo mutamento. Ad alcuni può sembrare un escamotage per salvare capra e cavoli, e forse lo è, ma personalmente a me piace questo concetto indeterministico in cui tutte le versioni possibili sono vere e allo stesso tempo false. Ciò significa che non devo costantemente essere turbata se qualcosa “non rientra nel canon”, perché tutto potenzialmente può rientrarci, permettendomi di godermi una storia a prescindere.
Se ad altri questo approccio non piace, va benissimo: possono sempre scegliere una sola di queste spiegazioni e attenercisi, oppure che nessuna di queste sia vera. A ognuno quello che preferisce.

[Macey · Rating 5 out of 5]

yay ^_^ i like this one ♡ lots of really cool time stuff & generally vibes & super interesting to have all the alternate universe sam joneses. another w for jon blum & kate orman honestly

[Ndidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unnatural History is the sort of Doctor Who story that has talking unicorns in it 🤮 There's just too much silliness for me to be able to suspend my disbelief. A pity, because I did like the Sam Jones storyline.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum have been an absolute blessing when it comes to the 8th Doctor books, thanks to them and Lawrence Miles the range became what it was. It's a beloved series and despite its bumpy start, it's adored by fans for how complex and consistent it is overall. Unnatural History is a very hit-and-miss contribution by these two. It's time to dive in and see what Faction Paradox is up to!

San Francisco is caught up in a whirlpool of a paradox that is bringing other lifeforms from across the universe to the city. But when The Tardis arrives it isn't long before The Doctor's ship and his friend Sam are lost to time. However, dark-haired Sam is here and The Doctor needs her help to bring back his Sam. But how was she created and why? The Doctor, Fitz, and Sam have only a few days to save a doomed city. The Unnaturalist has arrived and to him, The Doctor and Sam are the most unique lifeforms on the planet.

Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman have written an incredible novel that is complex, insane, hilarious, and downright epic. It's full of action, charm, tension, crazy ideas, and heartfelt character drama. I can understand why this novel wouldn't be for everyone, but honestly, I adored this novel. It's hard to discuss this book without giving too much away, but I will say Unicorns show up in this...

Faction Paradox didn't appear in this story quite heavily as I would have expected but their inclusion is still really cool and quite frankly creepy in places. I'll also add Fitz is awesome in this story, he's come so far!

Overall: It's an incredible novel that gives us much-needed detail on Sam's character and arc, while also being a sequel to the TV Movie. 10/10

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1825086...

This year's Who has taken a lot of liberties with Amy and her personal timeine - more than I can remember being taken with any previous TV companion, apart from some of the things that happened to Sarah Jane Smith in the SJA - so it's interesting to read an earlier example of this approach, with Sam Jones, the Doctor's companion for most of the 22 previous EDAs, suddenly transformed into a dark-haired version of herself who never left London. Meanwhile in San Francisco the Doctor and Fitz are dealing with the mysterious Faction Paradox, helped by an enigmatic Time Lord calling himself Daniel Joyce, and trying to set things back on track. gorgeously written in places, and managed to keep me very intrigued as to how the authors could possibly resolve the story in a satisfactory way. (They did.)

[Nenya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Sam Sam Sam Sam! As the Doctor would say. I've always loved Sam Jones, and while it was heartbreaking to watch the more messed up versions of her in this book, I loved that we finally got something of an answer to the mystery of her dual (or more) timelines. (Also loved that, from what I can tell, blonde!Sam isn't any more or less 'fake' or 'alternate' than any other version, as I'd feared we were going to hear.) The Unnaturalist was scary (those collapsing boxes! those pin things agggh!), Faction Paradox is of course involved, and the backrub scene ("Defender of the Laws of Time, Protector of the Galaxy, and the biggest back-rub slut she’d ever seen"!) remains one of my all-time favourites.

And of course it's by Kate Orman: Kate Orman's id is my id, quite a lot of the time when it comes to Team TARDIS!

[Hidekisohma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it's been a while since i read an 8th doctor novel and...this one was...okay?

If i learned anything about these books is that kate orman/johnathan blunt REALLY like writing about Sam. the three they've written so far were VERY sam heavy (vampire science, seeing I, unnatural history) and this one is no exception. While Dominion had sam gone for half the book, this book is literally just a huge dissection of Sam's character. and all i can say is, thank god she's leaving in like 2-3 books.

I am SO OVER SAM. She really has overstayed her welcome. This one tries to switch it up a little by giving us "alternate universe same" but let's be for real here, it's just Sam with a different coat of paint.

This book took me a LONG time to get through and just like the 3rd doctor book, it's because i just didn't care. There were some nice references to the movie in this one and the writing style wasn't terrible, but i just didn't care about the plot. It was literally just talking about Sam and how dark haired sam (yes that's what they refer to her as) didn't want to get turned back into blonde sam (also what they call her) and it's basically just the doc dealing with the ramifications of it being a completely different sam.

That's really it. Sure there's a world ending problem here, but i really didn't care. it was nice that faction paradox came back (it's been what like... 18 novels?) but they just made the story even more confusing.

This book was a SCHLOG and took me forever to get through (almost a freaking month) and i just want to push through soon so i can just get to Sam leaving. i'm so excited for that.

Fitz was a little too Sam flirty in this one, but he still had a few okay scenes and the author didn't go TOO far off the main characters and it stayed with the main 3 most of the time, so that's good. But honestly, I think i'm just in Sam fatigue and was not in the mood to read ANOTHER book about Sam. Just let it end. PLEASE.

2.5 out of 5, rounded up to a 3.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This EDA was probably the most mind-bendingly, altered state bonkers book of the series so far, which is saying a lot. There was a ton here I was having trouble following, what with the ley lines, incantations, biodata streams, altered timelines, unicorns, 6 dimensional manipulations, alien collectors, Faction Paradox members, and rifts in time and space. This strange list is only part of what goes on here, including an alternate, darker version of Sam who keeps wigging out and changing into different people. Every chapter kept getting stranger and I had a hard time keeping up. There was a guy named Joyce who I feel like we were supposed to know, but I don't recall him from any other episode or EDA.
There were a few things I liked. The writers were attempting to explain the whole "half-human" nonsense from the movie, which I appreciated. There was fallout from the events of the TV movie, which are to be expected, so I liked that too. The Faction Paradox is back, which is great to see since we haven't read about them since Alien Bodies. Seeing an alternate version of Sam was interesting, since I don't particularly care for normal Sam very much.
Otherwise? It was fine, but it went on for too long, had way too many plot threads, and was overly confusing just for the sake of it. Here's hoping the next in the series will be much more straightforward.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can always count on Blum and Orman for a cracking, clever and literate Doctor Who story, but I didn't expect them to get to play with Faction Paradox and deliver a sequel to both the TV Movie AND Alien Bodies. Unnatural History reads like a catalog of idea that will be picked up in the Davies/Moffat era of the show (still 6 years away!) with such concepts as the Time War, the Doctor's naked timestream/biodata, cracks in the universe, an impossible girl, "spoilers", and a lot of timey-wimeyness besides. But what this frenetic novel, bursting with ideas, is really about is Doctor Who continuity. DC Comics fans may recognize the villain as a Superboy-Prime type, a super-fan who wants to make sense of the Doctor's conflicting histories (both in strict canon and outside it), fighting the authors contention that "it all counts" and their explanation of how it could. I'm into it. I also think this should have been the last word on Sam Jones. The use of "Dark Sam" here makes the somewhat generic companion much more interesting, and gives us an explanation for the generic-ness (if we needed one). I suppose it's part of being a "standard modern companion" that she should get a perfectly good "final story", only for it NOT to be so final. Rose, Martha, Amy & Rory, Ruby probably, they all got more than one goodbye, and the FINAL final one wasn't as good as the first. We'll see.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

サム・ジョーンスは黒髪でロンドンのビデオショップで働いている。奇妙なポストカードが届いたとサムの両親はサムに専門医に合うようにいう。その専門医とはドクターと名乗る男だった。

サンフランシスコに大きな次元の裂け目が開き、そこを通じてクラーケンが地球に現れようとしていた。ドクターはクラーケンが裂け目から現れる衝撃で地球が破壊されることを防ぐためにターディスを裂け目に止める。
しかし、一刻もはやく裂け目を塞ぐ方法を見つけないと、ドクターはターディスを失い、この地、この時間帯に永遠にとどまらなければいけない。
フィズが情報を探しにいっている間、ドクターは行方不明となったサムを探しにロンドンに向かった。しかし、サムにドクターやフィズに関する記憶はなく、髪の色も黒髪からブロンドに変わっている。共に行動していくうちに、サムは、次から次に生まれるパラレルワールドのサムにどんどんとスイッチしていってしまっているということだった。
ファクション・パラドックスの影響を感じながら、ドクターはさらに異次元に生息する”存在コレクター”グリフィンに狙われる。バイオデータを採取し、カテゴリーごとに分類することで社会的地位を得ようと考えている。
グリフィンはとにかくドクターのバイオデータに興味を持ち、執拗にねらってくる。
ドクターはギャリフレイに救援メッセージを送るが、待てど暮らせど返事はかえってこない。
グリフィンがタイムロードのバイオデータに何らかの作用を加えることはできないと確信していながらも、先手を打つことができないことに焦りを覚えるドクター。
いよいよターディスを犠牲にするしかないというところまで追い詰められた時、ドクターは「そんなことは許さない！」とターディスを全力で取り戻そうとする。


これまでドクターと旅をしていたブロンドのサムが、生まれるのはこの時生じたタイムパラドックスのためだった。黒髪のサムは、そのことを悟り、自分宛にポストカードを書く。「ためらわずにドクターと行け」と。

グリフィンを打ち破り、裂け目を閉じ地球を守ったと思ったが、ドクターは影を失っていた。


”パラドックス”ネタを巧みにいかしてあり、ややこしけれども読み終わった時にはなんともいえないカタルシスを得られる。
ラッセルさんやモファットさんは８thドクター小説からエッセンスを引っ張ってきているのではないかなと思われるふしが、そこここに。

リジェネレーションするときバイオデータが無防備になるのでインプリントされやすいとか、タイムロードの運命とか、ドクターがギャリフレイを滅ぼす存在になることとか。いろいろと。

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few months back I read a book called Silverweed Road and I promise this does have relevance. The main takeaway that stuck with me even until now was that it was clear the author really liked the horror genre. Every part of the story had this sense that the author was having the absolute time of his life playing around in this section of fiction he held in high regard.

Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum really like Doctor Who.

Unnatural History is just a joyful book. You can tell how much the authors enjoy these characters, this world, the whole 36 (I think, at the time UH was published) years of contradicting and overlapping storylines. Also, as an excellent bonus, this book is good. It's funny, the characters are well written, and best of all it is weird as hell

.

Sing the past to me, 'cause I'm the one who wrote the song,
I made it up next week, so all the words will come out wrong,
The past won't keep you warm tonight, the future's blown to bits,
And everything that you believe is really full of-

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's my least favourite of the Blum/Orman 8th Doctor novels.. No matter how hard they work, Sam isn't a character that lights much of a fire in the "Doctor Who" universe, and the paradox of two Sams isn't exactly the San Francisco-shattering event the authors hope it would be. But again, a lesser Blum/Orman work is lightyears ahead of the work of other Who writers, and their command of the 8th Doctor & Fitz (the main reason one can still enjoy this novel) is peerless. A bit less than the sum of its parts, but full of enough gems to keep one engaged.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a rollercoaster this one is. As I will say that this book does jump around a lot and with this book being Part of the Faction Paradox Arc,.. eh not so great, I mostly like the plot line with the Dark Hair Sam and the Dimension Tear along with Creatures from other dimensions just roam in San Francisco, what really makes me giving this book four stars is that this Book will give you the middle finger and say Fuck You and the Doctor Who continuities.

[Cara M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is the new Sam better than the old Sam?
Why is the Wild Hunt in San Francisco?
How many powerful and mysterious entities have a player in the game?
Is it better not to know?

[Julie Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Doctor Who story

[Christopher Hatch · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first and last thirds were very enjoyable. The middle third however was a bit of a drag and muddled.

[Axel Kloen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weer een goede! Beetje ala house of leaves, heel techno-bable allemaal

[Numa Parrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was fantastic--all talking unicorns aside.

The villain was super creepy, the mini villain was creepy, the minor characters were interesting, and main characters were well-written. The plot was a bit slow at times, but excusably so.
I'll admit that I spent several days just running around and telling everyone who would listen (and some who wouldn't) about the Doctor's dad. Very exciting.
The attempt to mend the canon inconsistency caused by the 1996 movie was admirable, but not quite adequate. Still, it's nice to have a wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey explanation about 'Biodata' to rattle off in times of need.
There were a few moments when I feel like the Doctor slipped out of character a bit, but given the nature of the story, perhaps it's meant to be that way.

If you love the Doctor, definitely read this one. There's a lot of good continuity/canon stuff.

[Adam Highway · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good. It really is.

It's just not as good as it should be.

Introducing Faction Paradox *properly*, some good Time Lord mythology, self reference, great story for Fitz, real love for the Doctor, a genuinely threatening and creepy nemesis, real feel for the locale .... it has everything.

But I still found it lacking something - I can't put my finger on it, quite, but I wanted more from this.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor has lost Sam, and finds a dark haired version that has never met him. Something is causing paradoxes in San Francisco, is it coincidence that that was were the Doctor regenerated. There's also a collector of strange beings collecting unicorns.

This is a great paradox story. If you thought the Clara idea was good, then wait until you read this, how a companion can be changed by having time lines messed up. Great characters, amazing plot and so engrossing. A very good read.

[Kerry]

I find I just don't care after all, even though I'm sure I liked it when I read it when it came out. I've got things I want to read more, so I'm DNFing this one. I shall go and read the summary of the rest of it on the TARDIS Library instead.