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Past Doctor Adventures #20
Doctor Who: Deep Blue
The Doctor and his companions arrive on a pleasure beach in the 1970's,hoping for time off after their recent adventures.But they do not get to relax for long,Violent incidents are at an all time high and people are going missing or else changing into something more than human. Featuring the Fifth Doctor,Tegan Turlough and Unit.
288 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
4 people are currently reading
322 people want to read
About the author
Mark Morris
133 books238 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Mark Morris became a full-time writer in 1988 on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and a year later saw the release of his first novel, Toady. He has since published a further sixteen novels, among which are Stitch, The Immaculate, The Secret of Anatomy, Fiddleback, The Deluge and four books in the popular Doctor Who range.
His short stories, novellas, articles and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines, and he is editor of the highly-acclaimed Cinema Macabre, a book of fifty horror movie essays by genre luminaries, for which he won the 2007 British Fantasy Award.
His most recently published or forthcoming work includes a novella entitled It Sustains for Earthling Publications, a Torchwood novel entitled Bay of the Dead, several Doctor Who audios for Big Finish Productions, a follow-up volume to Cinema Macabre entitled Cinema Futura and a new short story collection, Long Shadows, Nightmare Light.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Mark Morris became a full-time writer in 1988 on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and a year later saw the release of his first novel, Toady. He has since published a further sixteen novels, among which are Stitch, The Immaculate, The Secret of Anatomy, Fiddleback, The Deluge and four books in the popular Doctor Who range.
His short stories, novellas, articles and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines, and he is editor of the highly-acclaimed Cinema Macabre, a book of fifty horror movie essays by genre luminaries, for which he won the 2007 British Fantasy Award.
His most recently published or forthcoming work includes a novella entitled It Sustains for Earthling Publications, a Torchwood novel entitled Bay of the Dead, several Doctor Who audios for Big Finish Productions, a follow-up volume to Cinema Macabre entitled Cinema Futura and a new short story collection, Long Shadows, Nightmare Light.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 19, 2008
Clever idea, in that UNIT, the government agency that deals with aliens, calls the Doctor for help and the wrong Doctor answers. Instead of Doctor #3, Doctor #5 arrives on the scene.
Otherwise this is a pretty typical 'Doctor and UNIt save us from aliens' story. The aliens were interesting and I liked how Doctor #5, knowing a bit more about the UNIt regulars futures interacts a bit differently with them.
Otherwise this is a pretty typical 'Doctor and UNIt save us from aliens' story. The aliens were interesting and I liked how Doctor #5, knowing a bit more about the UNIt regulars futures interacts a bit differently with them.
October 15, 2018
In the aftermath of their experience on Seabase Four, the Doctor and his companions Tegan and Turlough arrive at a 1970s seaside town ready for a holiday. Instead they quickly find themselves entangled in an investigation into a gristly series of murders and violent episodes involving the local inhabitants. With UNIT on the scene, the Doctor joins their effort to unravel what is going on, quickly uncovering a fearsome new alien threat. But will the Doctor be able to figure out what is going on before the phenomenon overcomes the inhabitants of the town — and then, the world itself?
By inserting the fifth Doctor into an adventure set during the third Doctor's era, Mark Morris's novel offers something a little different from most of its counterparts in the Past Doctor Adventures series. In some respects it's a study in contrasts, with a different Doctor and set of companions mixing with the characters familiar from a previous era. It's a mix that Morris pulls off well, in part because of the situation facing them. As others have noted the franchise is never stronger than when it is showing its roots. Here the gruesomeness of the violence and the body horror theme owes more than a little to the works of H. P. Lovecraft, with the countervailing force of the Doctor added to ensure a happy ending. While everything is a little too tidily wrapped up in its final pages considering what preceded them, this is nonetheless a solid entry in the Past Doctor Adventures series, one that offers the sort of premise that justifies why such novels are written.
By inserting the fifth Doctor into an adventure set during the third Doctor's era, Mark Morris's novel offers something a little different from most of its counterparts in the Past Doctor Adventures series. In some respects it's a study in contrasts, with a different Doctor and set of companions mixing with the characters familiar from a previous era. It's a mix that Morris pulls off well, in part because of the situation facing them. As others have noted the franchise is never stronger than when it is showing its roots. Here the gruesomeness of the violence and the body horror theme owes more than a little to the works of H. P. Lovecraft, with the countervailing force of the Doctor added to ensure a happy ending. While everything is a little too tidily wrapped up in its final pages considering what preceded them, this is nonetheless a solid entry in the Past Doctor Adventures series, one that offers the sort of premise that justifies why such novels are written.
November 30, 2017
If you wanted to read a story involving one of the original 7 Doctors from Doctor Who, this would be a good book to start with.
The story is certainly very Doctor Whoish and I could imagine this being a tv episode. So, not an innovative story, but then most people don't read a past Doctor book for it's innovation they typically want a cozy book reminiscent of the series. Honestly, the 5th Doc and his companions are not my favorite but I really liked this Doctor interacting with the Brigadier and U.N.I.T. Interesting, good combination. The story was creepy and well told. Part sci fi part horror.
Really good, solid story. I recommend this book to DW fans of the old series or the new. If you were not a Doctor Who fan you could read this book I supposed but I feel you'd be missing out on too much, references in the book you just wouldn't get.
The story is certainly very Doctor Whoish and I could imagine this being a tv episode. So, not an innovative story, but then most people don't read a past Doctor book for it's innovation they typically want a cozy book reminiscent of the series. Honestly, the 5th Doc and his companions are not my favorite but I really liked this Doctor interacting with the Brigadier and U.N.I.T. Interesting, good combination. The story was creepy and well told. Part sci fi part horror.
Really good, solid story. I recommend this book to DW fans of the old series or the new. If you were not a Doctor Who fan you could read this book I supposed but I feel you'd be missing out on too much, references in the book you just wouldn't get.
September 7, 2023
One of my favourites in the PDA range, very gruesome too. The Doctor and his companions are captured very well, they feel authentic and relatable. The story is exceptional, scary and captivating. I found the alien threat very intimidating and a worthwhile foe too. I highly recommend this for Who fans.
December 30, 2024
The author of The Bodysnatchers returns with an equally grisly adventure set at the seaside, with mutant crab people on the rampage and UNIT powerless to stop them. A no-nonsense Fifth Doctor and a long-suffering Tegan are memorable highlights of this hardly envelope-pushing, but nonetheless very enjoyable monster mash.
3.5
3.5
May 16, 2021
Overall, I liked the plot, but the characterisation needed improvement. There's some leeway afforded to Yates, since the events of the book take place after we see his character in canon, so character growth/change is to be expected. The Doctor is always an interesting character to see portrayed, as there are many interpretations of him and each one is, if not good, at least interesting. So it is to Tegan and Turlough that the burden of mischaracterisation falls. And oh, does it fall.
The best thing I can say about their portrayal is that I believe that the author has watched the show. So at least there's that. However, this is perhaps part of the problem—the phrase "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" comes to mind, as it appears that the author took a cursory glance at the episodes and decided "ah, Tegan likes to whine, complain, and insult Turlough; and Turlough is a selfish coward who only cares about himself and annoying Tegan," and called it a day.
To be fair, this is not the most uncommon issue found in the depiction of Five's latter seasons. Even some of the episodes therein seem to have had screenwriters who reduced those characters to such superficial caricatures. Nevertheless, that's no excuse.
I would continue, except I already tried doing that and I had to take a break to go calm down and delete the denunciation that resulted, so suffice it to say that I am now, more than ever, firmly of the belief that only like three people ever should be allowed to write Turlough (Chris Chapman, Barbara Clegg, and, of course, the lovely Paul Magrs [if you have yet to listen to Ringpullworld, consider this your reminder to do so immediately]), and that Tegan deserves better.
Given the length and volume of my complaints, I understand that the four-star rating upon which I (after much deliberation) have decided may be confusing, but to be honest, this book was no more egregious in its characterisation than other books I've read have been; this is merely the only one I cared enough about to review, and so my ranting here is perhaps more of a reflection upon the general genre of fifth doctor books and less so an indictment of this one specifically.
As I mentioned at the beginning before derailing this review to go on an entirely-deserved but perhaps excessive diatribe, the plot was quite enjoyable, and the general writing quality was perfectly pleasant.
tl;dr (for which I couldn't blame you) it's a good book, save for its rather egregious characterisation of my favorite characters (I am self aware enough to know that if it had been Adric who had been so maligned I would barely mention it), so unless you are as sensitive as I am (and even if you are), give it a read.
The best thing I can say about their portrayal is that I believe that the author has watched the show. So at least there's that. However, this is perhaps part of the problem—the phrase "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" comes to mind, as it appears that the author took a cursory glance at the episodes and decided "ah, Tegan likes to whine, complain, and insult Turlough; and Turlough is a selfish coward who only cares about himself and annoying Tegan," and called it a day.
To be fair, this is not the most uncommon issue found in the depiction of Five's latter seasons. Even some of the episodes therein seem to have had screenwriters who reduced those characters to such superficial caricatures. Nevertheless, that's no excuse.
I would continue, except I already tried doing that and I had to take a break to go calm down and delete the denunciation that resulted, so suffice it to say that I am now, more than ever, firmly of the belief that only like three people ever should be allowed to write Turlough (Chris Chapman, Barbara Clegg, and, of course, the lovely Paul Magrs [if you have yet to listen to Ringpullworld, consider this your reminder to do so immediately]), and that Tegan deserves better.
Given the length and volume of my complaints, I understand that the four-star rating upon which I (after much deliberation) have decided may be confusing, but to be honest, this book was no more egregious in its characterisation than other books I've read have been; this is merely the only one I cared enough about to review, and so my ranting here is perhaps more of a reflection upon the general genre of fifth doctor books and less so an indictment of this one specifically.
As I mentioned at the beginning before derailing this review to go on an entirely-deserved but perhaps excessive diatribe, the plot was quite enjoyable, and the general writing quality was perfectly pleasant.
tl;dr (for which I couldn't blame you) it's a good book, save for its rather egregious characterisation of my favorite characters (I am self aware enough to know that if it had been Adric who had been so maligned I would barely mention it), so unless you are as sensitive as I am (and even if you are), give it a read.
April 12, 2020
A Past Doctor Adventure featuring the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and his companions Tegan and Turlough. Seeking respite from the trials of their recent adventures, the Doctor takes his companions to a British seaside town in the 1970s. However, rest is not an option as they and UNIT have to confront a horrifying alien infection.
This book definitely falls on the horror end of the spectrum of the Doctor's adventures, with elements that wouldn't be out of place in a Stephen King novel or in a sequel to John Carpenter's 'The Thing'. That alone may be enough to put some Who fans off and I often find that when the PDA try to go too adult they just fall flat, but it has to be said that this time around it worked for me.
I often find the Fifth Doctor to be a bit dull and unengaging, but giving him a truly horrific situation to deal with actually brings out the best of this incarnation. Similarly, Tegan and Turlough, two companions I'm not a fan of, both have storylines which really play to their character traits and to their relationship with the Doctor.
The big downside to this book is the conclusion. It's all a bit rushed, a bit too convenient and a over a bit too quickly, as if, after unleashing hell on the seaside town of Tayborough Sands, the author found themselves at a loss as to how to pack it all away again. It's a disappointing end to an otherwise enjoyable science fiction horror story.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com/ *
This book definitely falls on the horror end of the spectrum of the Doctor's adventures, with elements that wouldn't be out of place in a Stephen King novel or in a sequel to John Carpenter's 'The Thing'. That alone may be enough to put some Who fans off and I often find that when the PDA try to go too adult they just fall flat, but it has to be said that this time around it worked for me.
I often find the Fifth Doctor to be a bit dull and unengaging, but giving him a truly horrific situation to deal with actually brings out the best of this incarnation. Similarly, Tegan and Turlough, two companions I'm not a fan of, both have storylines which really play to their character traits and to their relationship with the Doctor.
The big downside to this book is the conclusion. It's all a bit rushed, a bit too convenient and a over a bit too quickly, as if, after unleashing hell on the seaside town of Tayborough Sands, the author found themselves at a loss as to how to pack it all away again. It's a disappointing end to an otherwise enjoyable science fiction horror story.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com/ *
January 21, 2020
Probably the most graphic but interesting take on the fifth and Third Doctor era's respectively. The Doctor and his companions decide to take a hoilday but they find themselves on a beach in the 70's but before long violent deaths are occuring and The Doctor soon finds himself teaming up with his old UNIT friends to defeat a terrifying new alien force.
This was a great story with an interesting concept with the alien species, but oh boy is it a bloodbath. The Aliens (Xaranti) are utterly brutal, ripping anything organic into shreds, apart from their own. Whilst a deadly contagion is turning people into monsters. There is some graphic descriptions in this as well, as plenty of heartbreaking moments with a lot of the characters including a pregnant woman's family and Tegan. We see a truly darker side to The 5th Doctor era with it being so hopless and bleak. But it's brilliant!
Mark Morris has managed to make probably the most violent Doctor Who book I have ever read and it's filled with references, interesting concepts and brilliant characterization for all! The only negative I have is that it gets a bit too violent at times even for my taste but I had such a joy reading this! 9/10
This was a great story with an interesting concept with the alien species, but oh boy is it a bloodbath. The Aliens (Xaranti) are utterly brutal, ripping anything organic into shreds, apart from their own. Whilst a deadly contagion is turning people into monsters. There is some graphic descriptions in this as well, as plenty of heartbreaking moments with a lot of the characters including a pregnant woman's family and Tegan. We see a truly darker side to The 5th Doctor era with it being so hopless and bleak. But it's brilliant!
Mark Morris has managed to make probably the most violent Doctor Who book I have ever read and it's filled with references, interesting concepts and brilliant characterization for all! The only negative I have is that it gets a bit too violent at times even for my taste but I had such a joy reading this! 9/10
March 5, 2022
An alien infection turns people into reptile hybrids . As a monster story this isn’t breaking massively new ground , but there are nice touches . The psychological nature of the plague is different and while it seems to make for
an easy solution, there are still consequences . The book is strengthened by excellent character work. And it’s always nice to mix up eras- Davison with the Pertwee UNIT team is a treat.
an easy solution, there are still consequences . The book is strengthened by excellent character work. And it’s always nice to mix up eras- Davison with the Pertwee UNIT team is a treat.
April 12, 2011
Mark Morris' most successful "Doctor Who" novel. It's an unexpectedly successful mix of two eras, combined with a creepy, gooey monster story, plus a dash of doomed romance. What more does one need?
July 10, 2025
I read this as a little stop-gap between two crime novels, and for what it was, it was a good read. I don't think there's necessarily anything to write home about here, but I enjoyed my time reading this.
The format of this novel was actually quite interesting, as it avoided traditional chapters and instead was split into four parts, each with its own title. I assume this was to give the story some resemblance to that of a Classic Doctor Who story, with certain stories being split across 4 episodes in the TV show. I quite liked this change, as it's something I've not seen a Doctor Who novel do. Personally, I think the format works quite well if it's written to fit said structure.
The actual story concerned that of the 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough visiting a sort of pleasure beach to relax after the events of the TV story, Warriors of the Deep, which was quite the harrowing succession of events for our TARDIS Team. When it comes to Doctor Who stories, no matter the medium they are for, I find they tend to be focused, sometimes subconsciously, on one character. In Deep Blue, however, this role does not go to any of our TARDIS Team and instead finds itself in the lap of one Captain Mike Yates of UNIT. This story is set during the 1970s, and UNIT plays a rather sizable part in the narrative, as they did with many Earth-based stories in the 3rd Doctor's era. However, this is a story with the 5th Doctor, which was an interesting change, as this very easily could've been a 3rd Doctor story.
For Mike Yates, though, I'd say this is one of his best stories (though he doesn't have many that focus on him) as we get to see the world through his eyes. Yates goes through what could be considered an arc in Classic Who as he becomes greatly concerned about the future of the world following the TV story The Green Death, which leads him to being recruited for "Operation Golden Age", which would have reverted the world to the prehistoric era in the TV story, Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Deep Blue is set after The Green Death, and so we see how Yates struggles with bouts of depression and wondering about his purpose in life. It's a side to Yates we never really saw, and I wish we did, as it would make his eventual turn in Invasion of the Dinosaurs more effective if we saw him distinctly struggling.
Another character here that I think is given the limelight is that of Tegan, though I would say much more during the first half of the novel than the latter. She spends most of the novel emotionally distant from the 5th Doctor and Turlough and finds herself in the company of Andy Weathers, a local policeman with whom she strikes up a sort of fling. It's nice to see Tegan enjoying herself for a time, and this normalcy leads her to question her future travels with The Doctor. It's refreshing to see some internal conflict as to Tegan's situation as she couldn't stay behind in the 70's and live a life, knowing that she would have to stand by as her Aunt Vanessa is killed by The Master in 1981 as without that incident, she may have never travelled with The Doctor.
My favourite part of this novel was everything surrounding the Maybury Family and specifically Charlotte Maybury, the eldest child of Imogen and Tony and sister to Chris. They are visiting Tayborough Sands in the hope that a holiday will help repair their family unit from imploding, but across this novel, their "unit" is destroyed beyond belief. The first part handles the family incredibly well, I'd say. I really felt for Charlotte as she tried to keep her family together, all while dealing with her own issues of finding out she's pregnant throughout this novel.
This story is ridiculously violent, though, to the point where it becomes unbelievable in the final part. The villain of this story is the Xaranti, and they end up infecting those at Tayborough Sands, and they eventually transform into more Xaranti, growing crab-like appendages, a scorpion stinger, black porcupine-like spikes and pitch black eyes for good measure too. By the end of the novel, almost every single person we've run into during this story is infected or has been killed by the newly mutated Xaranti. The body count in this story is staggering, and whilst the threat of the Xaranti is certainly there, it just comes across as a bit unnecessary to have descriptions of beaches and roads, footpaths and storefronts littered with blood and bodies.
All in all, an enjoyable story that goes off the rails towards the end, but it doesn't ruin what came before with its interesting character work for an often underrated Mike Yates and that of the Maybury family, who just needed a good old-fashioned holiday.
The format of this novel was actually quite interesting, as it avoided traditional chapters and instead was split into four parts, each with its own title. I assume this was to give the story some resemblance to that of a Classic Doctor Who story, with certain stories being split across 4 episodes in the TV show. I quite liked this change, as it's something I've not seen a Doctor Who novel do. Personally, I think the format works quite well if it's written to fit said structure.
The actual story concerned that of the 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough visiting a sort of pleasure beach to relax after the events of the TV story, Warriors of the Deep, which was quite the harrowing succession of events for our TARDIS Team. When it comes to Doctor Who stories, no matter the medium they are for, I find they tend to be focused, sometimes subconsciously, on one character. In Deep Blue, however, this role does not go to any of our TARDIS Team and instead finds itself in the lap of one Captain Mike Yates of UNIT. This story is set during the 1970s, and UNIT plays a rather sizable part in the narrative, as they did with many Earth-based stories in the 3rd Doctor's era. However, this is a story with the 5th Doctor, which was an interesting change, as this very easily could've been a 3rd Doctor story.
For Mike Yates, though, I'd say this is one of his best stories (though he doesn't have many that focus on him) as we get to see the world through his eyes. Yates goes through what could be considered an arc in Classic Who as he becomes greatly concerned about the future of the world following the TV story The Green Death, which leads him to being recruited for "Operation Golden Age", which would have reverted the world to the prehistoric era in the TV story, Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Deep Blue is set after The Green Death, and so we see how Yates struggles with bouts of depression and wondering about his purpose in life. It's a side to Yates we never really saw, and I wish we did, as it would make his eventual turn in Invasion of the Dinosaurs more effective if we saw him distinctly struggling.
Another character here that I think is given the limelight is that of Tegan, though I would say much more during the first half of the novel than the latter. She spends most of the novel emotionally distant from the 5th Doctor and Turlough and finds herself in the company of Andy Weathers, a local policeman with whom she strikes up a sort of fling. It's nice to see Tegan enjoying herself for a time, and this normalcy leads her to question her future travels with The Doctor. It's refreshing to see some internal conflict as to Tegan's situation as she couldn't stay behind in the 70's and live a life, knowing that she would have to stand by as her Aunt Vanessa is killed by The Master in 1981 as without that incident, she may have never travelled with The Doctor.
My favourite part of this novel was everything surrounding the Maybury Family and specifically Charlotte Maybury, the eldest child of Imogen and Tony and sister to Chris. They are visiting Tayborough Sands in the hope that a holiday will help repair their family unit from imploding, but across this novel, their "unit" is destroyed beyond belief. The first part handles the family incredibly well, I'd say. I really felt for Charlotte as she tried to keep her family together, all while dealing with her own issues of finding out she's pregnant throughout this novel.
This story is ridiculously violent, though, to the point where it becomes unbelievable in the final part. The villain of this story is the Xaranti, and they end up infecting those at Tayborough Sands, and they eventually transform into more Xaranti, growing crab-like appendages, a scorpion stinger, black porcupine-like spikes and pitch black eyes for good measure too. By the end of the novel, almost every single person we've run into during this story is infected or has been killed by the newly mutated Xaranti. The body count in this story is staggering, and whilst the threat of the Xaranti is certainly there, it just comes across as a bit unnecessary to have descriptions of beaches and roads, footpaths and storefronts littered with blood and bodies.
All in all, an enjoyable story that goes off the rails towards the end, but it doesn't ruin what came before with its interesting character work for an often underrated Mike Yates and that of the Maybury family, who just needed a good old-fashioned holiday.
September 9, 2023
Truthfully Deep Blue is probably closer to a 3.5. (I hope that one day Goodreads will allow half-star ratings but until then I always round up.) This was a fairly fascinating and fun read, featuring one of my favorite Tardis team's 5th Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough. Also, the Brigadier, Yates, and Benton get thrust into the mix as they try to stop an invasion of aliens by the name of Xaranti. I liked getting reacquainted with Mike Yate as he had a large part to play in this story. In addition, I liked that the author gave all of them pov's. One of the things I did not like was how many really gross descriptions we get of people transforming from human to Xaranti. After a while, I was like "Okay, I get it, can we move on?" The death count in this one is really high, but I have noticed that trend with the Past Doctor Adventure series they tend to be more violent, and the body count is higher. I also didn't like how abruptly it ended. It needed a bit of an epilogue. All in all, I did enjoy this adventure and count it as one of the successes of this series.
May 20, 2025
A nice blend of the Fifth Doctor's era with the Third. The story is a bit unbalanced with focus on the supporting characters in the first half before switching to the mayhem that ensues. I like the spotlight on Mike Yates and would have liked this to be fleshed out more.
August 3, 2022
"Deep Blue" might have been a good novel had there been at least one more serious go-round at editing. In particular, if the fan wank stuff were removed and the story told without all the intertextual references, it would have worked quite well. The premise is typical Doctor Who. There is an alien menace out for blood (lots of it) and attacking a small town of no consequence (a beach resort). The problems begin when we start with UNIT in the 1970s, but have Doctor 5 instead of Doctor 3 dealing with the crisis. This sets up a number of needless complications that get in the way of the story, such as the necessity for the Brigadier to forget that he meets Tegan now, so that he can be "introduced" to her in "Mawdryn Undead." Finally, the resolution is just plain silly. (Attention: Spoiler). The idea that people are turning into alien killers simply because of some psychic "virus" just makes little sense, and ranks with the various pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo nonsense explanations handed to us by Dave Martin and Bob Baker. Serious editing could have fixed all these problems and made this a very good novel.
August 6, 2011
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1693911...
a Fifth Doctor novel featuring Tegan and Turlough, but also bringing in UNIT in the interval between The Green Death and Invasion of the Dinosaurs, giving pride of place to Tegan and Mike Yates - not the most obvious of pairings, but in the context where both have recently survived mind control, they are well placed to comprehend an Invasion of the Body Snatchers scenario in an English seaside resort in the early 1970s where Turlough, the Brigadier and Benton don't cope quite so well. Morris does horror pastiche well, and I think my biggest quibble is that the Doctor's solution to the invasion is a bit glib; still, it would probably have worked (indeed did work once or twice) on TV Who stories.
a Fifth Doctor novel featuring Tegan and Turlough, but also bringing in UNIT in the interval between The Green Death and Invasion of the Dinosaurs, giving pride of place to Tegan and Mike Yates - not the most obvious of pairings, but in the context where both have recently survived mind control, they are well placed to comprehend an Invasion of the Body Snatchers scenario in an English seaside resort in the early 1970s where Turlough, the Brigadier and Benton don't cope quite so well. Morris does horror pastiche well, and I think my biggest quibble is that the Doctor's solution to the invasion is a bit glib; still, it would probably have worked (indeed did work once or twice) on TV Who stories.
August 20, 2013
A pertwee era style story starring the 5th doctor. Overall, a good and entertaining story. The characterizations of the doctor and Teagan were bang on. Turlough didn't seem that important to the story and only served to fill in when Teagan wasn't around (the too many companions syndrome common to the 5th doctor's era). The author had this annoying habit of spending a few pages introducing characters and giving them a back story (like they were going to be around for a while) only to kill them off on the next page. Not sure if this was an attempt to garner sympathy for the characters but I don't think it worked. The gore, especially early on, seems out of place for Doctor Who. Like others have mentioned, the ending is unsatisfying and seems rushed.
April 22, 2014
The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough land in the 70s at the seaside. There's a virus that is transforming people into monsters. UNIT gets involved too. It's a decent Brigadier and Yates story. Warning, it is incredibly gory and the monster transformations are disturbing. This is not for the faint hearted. A good read.
August 18, 2012
The writing style wasn't brilliant (but it never is with these TV books) but the story hooked me in and I really enjoyed it. The alien was a pretty awesome one, but the ending felt a little too... easy.
March 8, 2010
Rip roaring adventure, and very creepy to boot. Brilliant.
July 28, 2012
Interesting enemy in this one, quite gory as I remember it.
January 21, 2015
Though the conclusion of this story was far too easy, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book. Thanks for a rare, riveting Past Doctor read, Mark Morris :)
February 13, 2016
A great and gristly story where team TARDIS works with 1970's UNIT to stop aliens from mutating the population of a seaside town into a conquering army. Exciting and very creepy indeed.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews