Doctor Who: Revolution Man

Eighth Doctor Adventures #21

by Paul Leonard

1967: The Revolution has just started. All you need is love -- but the ability to bend space and time helps. An entity called the Revolution Man is writing his graffiti across the surface of the Earth, using a drug called Om-Tsor.

Trouble is, none of this was supposed to happen. The Doctor knows that the Revolution Man isn't for real, that he's part of the problem, not part of the solution. But how is he going to convince the flower children? How is he going to convince Sam? And he doesn't dare tell Fitz...

1968: The Chinese People's Army want to defeat the capitalists. Om-Tsor is the most powerful means available, and the source is on their doorstep. If half of India is immolated - well you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs...

1969: The Revolution Man has decided. Mankind is evil, not good. The only way forward is to destroy all of it. The Doctor and Sam struggle to find him but time is running out...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie In, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

251 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Paul J. Leonard Hinder, better known by his pseudonym of Paul Leonard and also originally published as PJL Hinder, is an author best known for his work on various spin-off fiction based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Leonard has acknowledged a debt to his friend and fellow Doctor Who author Jim Mortimore in his writing career, having turned to Mortimore for help and advice at the start of it. This advice led to his first novel, Venusian Lullaby being published as part of Virgin Publishing's Missing Adventures range in 1994. Virgin published three more of his novels before losing their licence to publish Doctor Who fiction: Dancing the Code (1995); Speed of Flight (1996) and (as part of their New Adventures range) Toy Soldiers (1995). Following the loss of their licence, Virgin also published the novel Dry Pilgrimage (co-written with Nick Walters) in 1998 as part of their Bernice Summerfield range of novels.

Leonard also wrote for the fourth volume of Virgin's Decalog short story collections. Following this, he was asked to co-edit the fifth volume of the collection with mentor Jim Mortimore.

Leonard's experience in writing for Doctor Who led to him being asked to write one of the first novels in BBC Books Eighth Doctor Adventures series, the novel Genocide. This led to four further novels for the range, of which The Turing Test received particular acclaim for its evocative use of real-life historical characters and first person narrative.

Leonard has also written short stories for the BBC Short Trips and Big Finish Short Trips collections.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor, Fitz and Sam arrive in 1960’s London to find a person known as The Revelation Man who’s using the drug Om-Tsor to alter Earth’s history.

Such a great idea for a story, though I struggled to enjoy it at times. It felt as if their was too many ideas, with the time jumps and globetrotting made it a very busy novel.

I really do like this TARDIS team and their characteristics are perfectly written by Leonard, especially for Fitz as he really grows as a person during this adventure.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

No I'm not even sure if 3 stars is accurate. Probably 3.5 for a plot that at least kept me mostly interested (Fitz being the character I wanted to spend the most time with) It is certainly darker at the end compared to the average Dr.Who story.

However it is hard to reconcile the author's misguided commentary throughout. If it is meant to be satirical commentary about peoples perceived notions of revolution and communism I'm not sure it lands, at least not with me. Though I don't think it was meant to be satire for the most part and that disappointed me further. The only way the PRC using an alien drug for brainwash can work is with well articulated satire, but it's just not here. As someone who has a deeper understanding of the Chinese revolutionary project and what was going on there in the 60s this all seems like a very odd choice to include them in this fashion.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably the most forgettable, pointless and overall below average book in the EDA range so far. The story didn't make any sense, there were no real stakes, the plot wasn't well described and the Doctor was completely out of character, especially for the last scene, which I won't give away here. Fitz was left to his own devices for two years, possibly to grow or mature before rejoining the Tardis crew. The Maguffin in the story, the Om-Tsor- the psychedelic flower-turned-powder-turned-drug is described as alien in origin by the Doctor, but is then never elaborated on further. How did this flower get here? Was it seeded by an alien race, if so, who and why? There is very little explanation given as to who this Revolution Man is, how they got started, what they want, why they want it, and what their end goal is. I spent the bulk of the story going "okay, and...?" Why is this important? You're telling me that the world is going to end, but you're not telling me why. I don't feel like any of these events are at all important, and I'm not invested in this story at all. It seems like the author doesn't care much about this story either because too many things are rushed by the end and plot threads are left dangling.
The only good parts about this book is the chapters were short, it was a fast read and I didn't actively hate it- I just didn't like much of anything about it. Here's hoping the next installment is better.

[Hidekisohma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this is my third paul leonard book and...yeah i'm still not impressed. In fact, this very well might be the worst one of the bunch.

So this the second full book with Fitz as a companion and while Fitz is interesting in it, his character definitely doesn't save it.

The story takes place over 3 years for some reason where the doc and crew have to find this "revolution man" as he has weird alien drugs that grant the user super telepathy and it's going to destroy the world. That sentence was far more interesting than the story actually was.

Sam goes off to rome at one point, Fitz goes to the Himalayas, and the doctor runs around and talks to people.

Oh and of course most of the story takes place in 60's London. Because of course it does.

I don't understand with these authors. you have ALL OF TIME AND SPACE and you keep picking modern day London. WHY? you're not limited to budget constraints when you're writing a book. it's a BOOK. i don't read sci-fi stories to hear about 1967 London. For the 22nd time.

While the book was on the shorter side and it read well enough, the story was just not one that needed to be told. it was dull, uninspired, and even though supposedly it had "the destruction of earth" as the stakes, i didn't really believe that. I didn't for one second go "oh no! this is so worrisome!" most of the time i just straight up didn't care.

I'm also not sure why they decided to do a two year time skip in the middle? that was unnecessary and weird as well. The whole story had a very odd framing device with the time skips, and the doctor's decision to not use the tardis that much because "he didn't want to" felt very forced and pad-centric.

I understand what they were trying to do with the whole "Sam is a greenpeace person who wants to change the world but this is how being a hippie can go horribly wrong" thing, but it was told in such a boring, dry way that i was never intrigued or excited the entire time i read this book.

This also doesn't even BEGIN to discuss the ending and how weird it was to see how the doctor resolved this one. I won't drop spoilers here, but i will say, that is the first time i saw the doctor do something like that....and i don't think i like it very much. It definitely altered my perception of the doctor in a fundamental way and not in a good way.

All in all, the story was unnecessary, i didn't care, and it was the definition of meh to bleh.

2 out of 5.

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Leonard is known for his alien creations, so Revolution Man is quite unusual, being set entirely on Earth and only featuring an alien drug. The threat here is a misuse of power, as people toy with telekinesis and become enormous astral kaijus stomping about. The visual imagination is fantastic, but there’s plenty going on with the characters as well, particularly Fitz who (surprisingly) opts to leave the TARDIS part way through. This choice, along with a few others, isn’t really supported by the book’s low page count and frenzied pace, and a few too many questions are left unanswered. However it’s still a rollicking read with daring ideas, something to be appreciated even if Leonard can’t entirely control it.

3.5

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1785455...

Fitz, Sam and the Doctor find themselves caught up in a peculiar Chinese plot to subvert flower power and Take Overr The Wurld by use of a drug grown only by oppressed Tibetan monks. The plot is slightly better than I make it sound, but only slightly. But there are a lot of good character moments for both Sam and Fitz (who briefly gets brainwashed by Maoist cadres but recovers, lucky man), which redeems it a bit.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Leonard is a very daring writer for the Doctor Who books, willing to take these adventures into a darker and stranger place than any other Doctor Who author would even dare to. His works are often mad bonkers insane, clever, dark, and gritty but full of life and character. I wasn't too keen on Genocide, but I did really get a kick out of Toy Soldiers, Dancing The Code, and Dreamstone Moon. So after reading the reviews of this one, I was really excited about it.

It's 1967 and the Earth is to be destroyed in two years time. The Doctor and Sam know that the world didn't end in 1969 so they must do something about it and investigate. But for some strange reason, The Doctor doesn't want Fitz to find out. However, this is the height of the hippie movement and people want things to change, they've had enough of politicians and greedy millionaires poisoning the planet and controlling the populace, so it's about time they did something about that. The Revolution Man may have the answer to all their problems and it's none other than a drug from an alien world. Time is running out, doomsday approaches, and nothing will be the same again.

Paul Leonard has written a very mature and bleak Doctor Who novel that brilliantly captures the atmosphere of the 60s and the troubles during those years. It is a novel filled with politics, psi-powered drugs, nuclear armageddon, anarchy, time travel, and depressing character development for this Tardis Team. Sam has truly matured by this point in the series, The Doctor is backed into a corner and Fitz is questioning whether or not he wants to be around them anymore.

There is so much to unpack with this novel and you can tell Paul Leonard was firing on all cylinders. It's a fast-paced and relentless read with terrific characters and a superb sense of atmosphere and unease. The ending of this one is brilliant in my opinion, aside from the fact The Doctor ends up doing something very controversial to save the day. I have mixed feelings on this conclusion, it does make sense in terms of the narrative, and I'll admit it is competently enough well-written. But it is a hard pill to swallow.

Overall: It's a brilliant novel that had me hooked. So much so, that I managed to read it all in a single day. Terrific stuff! 9/10

[said · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a couple of months break from any DW-related content, it definitely feels great to be back again with some beloved characters and environments once again. This entry was like a couple of the earlier ones, pretty standard with some interesting character moments with Sam and Fitz in the driver seat. A psychedelic-esque storyline with a bunch of not-so-interesting characters was the main gripe I had with it, and the overall characterization of the Doctor. It's always nice to have different outlooks on how authors view and decide to characterize him, but sadly this wasn't it for me, although he had some redeeming moments, but overall was pretty lackluster, to the point where I enjoyed Fitz and Sam a lot more in comparison. The exploration of Fitz's sense of alienation ever since he joined the team is being handled so delicately, and the closeness of the other two being highlighted right in front of him affects him to make poor and misguided choices, ultimately resulting in a life lost.


Life should be preserved, and this is yet another instance where the team failed in their task of doing so, and one can sense the repercussions these actions have and how it affects them, which makes these seemingly ‘poorer’ quality books offer some substance. The continuity of the novels is going smoothly as well, and now that it's headed towards a big resolution in the final couple of adventures with Sam, it is going to be very exciting, to say the least. The constant Easter eggs being dropped into these novels every now and then, alluding to the Faction Paradox ever since ‘Alien Bodies,’ have been such a treat, and they’re most assuredly gearing up for something riveting coming up. Overall, a decent filler book with some great Fitz moments, which is pretty much it. 

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟕/𝟏𝟎

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Leonard's Revolution Man is a pretty good Eight Doctor Adventures... until it reaches the end, which is a complete (and objectionable!) mess. Essentially, the TARDIS detects changes made to history in the late 1960s, caused by an alien flower that gives people telekinetic powers that work on a global scale. Leonard uses the tropes of the time - the music, world-wide protests, the hippie trail - as background, and makes Fitz a more heroic figure (of course there's a girl involved) and ages him a bit too (literally as this adventure takes place over a couple years). The TK stuff is pretty original too. So that ending is really unfortunate. In the span of a few dozen pages, the Doctor does something he should never ever do, Fitz's romantic interest goes off the rails (when I was essentially thinking she'd be a good companion), the climax happens off-stage, and the resolution doesn't explain a damn thing - in particular how this saves history. Are any of these events undone? Is this an alternate timeline? Leonard did it all much better in Genocide, 17 books ago. And it's not like he didn't have the space to explain himself, as this was a rather shorter read than others in the line.

[Macey · Rating 4 out of 5]

forgot to add this when i started it but this was actually a well written one again augh..... save me the sixties lol. some weird moments not with the space drugs but with how some of the side characters are shown idk. i do like though how cos a core part of sams character is her belief in protest & doing the right thing & how that has developed over the books which we get a chance to see because there are so so many books about revolutions & rebellions. this was a good particularly sixties take on that i think
although. fitz getting brainwashed (?) into joining (?) the chinese revolution was a bit strange not in that it necessarily happened in the first place but that he was like. chill & fine afterwards. & seemed only mildly thrown off when they send him back to the uk he was like. 'this is fine & all of these things are totally reasonable :) okay back to normal now' idk it was odd.

there were other bits as well but idk as a whole pretty good book

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Eighth Doctor novel that seems to be making a comment about how the counterculture of the 1960s lost its way, personified by the mighty Revolution Man and his effect on global events. And it tells an interesting story too. There may have been more globetrotting than needed, and too many timeskips, but they're fine in the end (though the developments with Fitz were rather unexpected). In any case, we get some good characterization for both Sam and Fitz as they tackle the crisis from various angles, and there are some decent twists throughout, so this is a solid read. The ending is a downer, though, and really didn't have to be. (B+)

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

1967年〜1969年にかけて、レボリューション・マンと呼ばれる存在が世界を変えようとしていた。戦争も差別も憎しみもない愛と自由と平和に満たされた世界。理想の世界感に感化された若者たちが世界中の各地でレボリューション・マンに賛同し、革命を起こそうとしていた。

一見歴史通りの出来事に見えたが、ドクターはそこに地球ではない異星からもたらされたドラッグの存在に気がつく。ドラッグは吸引した地球人に強大な超能力を与える。
革命家や政府がその力を手に入れ、世界を思うがままに動かそうと企むなか、ドクターはそれを阻止しようと奔走する。


サムとフィズがドクターに理想を見出そうとしすぎて、読見進めるのがだんだんとくたびれてくる。
まずフィズがドクターから離れていく。ドクターに関心をもたれていないのではないかという軽い嫉妬が根本原因なのだが、それがレボリューション・マンに洗脳されていく弱みとなる。サムはドクターを信じているのでドクターに命がけで協力するが、最後の最後でドクターとフィズが一人の若者の命を奪ったことを許すことができずにいる。
ドクターも別の手段をとろうと最後の最後まで平和的解決法を探っていたが、結局のところ、時間切れ。

どうにも後味の悪い話だった。

[Trin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grim and mostly unpleasant. Fitz is tortured and brainwashed, and the Doctor shoots someone?! You can't make an Edwardian twink do that!

Too dark for my tastes.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up, because whilst Paul Leonard can't write a woman he can write a dramatic ending

[Axel Kloen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een goed doctor who boek??

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor, Sam and Fitz again land in 1960s London. Something is messing with time, though they dont tell Fitz this. Fitz gets involved with a waitress who has experienced telekenesis with a drug. The Revolution Man also uses this drug, and it looks like the world is going to end.

This is well written, and you get the feel of the 60s movements. Fitz is majorly put through the ringer in this one by the Chinese government. I really felt sorry for him, as he always tries to do the right thing. A good read.

[Numa Parrott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too bad that I had to read this one out of order. It was good.
I've really missed Sam.
The historical commentary on the Hippies was very insightful and thought-provoking. I appreciated that. After my time spent in China, I was expecting to hear more from the Chinese, but they're actually not a huge part of the story.
Poor Fitz though, I mean really. The Doctor sucks at taking care of that boy. And poor Doctor, at the end.

If you love the Doctor, read it.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Leonard has written many Doctor Who novels, but this one is my personal favourite. Ideological insanity, mixed in with faded 1960s idealism and a terrifying alien threat lead to a suprisingly powerful and thrilling story, in a surprisingly compact package. Another under-rated gem.

[Arrocete · Rating 3 out of 5]

GODDDD the end of this book i'm going to be SICK