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Eighth Doctor Adventures #64
Doctor Who: The Last Resort
An adventure featuring the Eighth Doctor with Fitz and Anji. The heroes are used to finding themselves in different times, eras long before or long after the ones into which they were born. But when these eras come equipped with Hilton hotels and luxury theme parks, it's a different matter. In the 1950s, the Good Time Travel Company has discovered time travel in a big way - it's now time tourism, in fact - and they're not about to let go of their profits easily, no matter what some Doctor guy ssays about the fragility of the time/space continuum. But the ensuing paradoxes mean that chaos is swiftly encroaching on the happy day trips to Roman orgies. Something has to be done, before it engulfs the whole of time!
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Paul Leonard
74 books8 followersPaul 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 4, 2013
There's something viscerally weird about reading a book and literally seeing the tatters of the plot unraveling further before your eyes, especially when the book itself is about time unraveling. It's like grabbing hold of a rope to pull yourself along and then realizing after some time you're not holding anything in your hands because the rope was made of snow and at some point dissolved. But at least you can explain that. I don't know what the heck happened here.
This book does pull off one neat trick . . . it manages to completely fail in conveying any kind of coherent plot but never makes me angry in the process. There have been other books where I've had a far better grasp of what was going on and come away completely appalled, wondering how such an abomination of literature can exist. Here that never happened. I came away aware that it was only a novel because it was bound printed matter in the shape of one, but it never engendered in me the complete and utter sense of despair that the worst of the worst can cause. I wanted it over and it was, but I don't feel anything firm one way or another about it. Odd.
It's a shame because the characterizations and the concept of the novel itself were actually well done. Especially the concept. In the wake of the ongoing Night of a Trillion Zillion Parallel Universes, we come upon a situation where a corporate called Good Times, Inc has essentially turned history into a big theme park, turning the most important eras of Earth's history into the equivalent of cheesy roadside attractions and charging so that people can go back and see the Wild West, but one that has local Indians and cowboys forced to act as sanitized family-friend versions of themselves. Oh, and each time someone goes back it splits off into another parallel universe. Something may have gone awry.
There's so much rich material with this concept that it's amazing the editor let the book go as far afield as it does. The opening scenes, showing Egypt essentially turned into the Magical World of Pharaohs, is brilliant, conveying both the humiliation and absurdity inherent in the idea, as well as the cluelessness of the tourists who believe they're getting some kind of authentic experience. It's a ripe vehicle for a satire of theme parks and the idea that people who want to experience "real" history, just without all the unpleasant parts, and puts the Doctor up against a well-organized corporation that is willing to break time (or take advantage of breaking time) in the name of profit, not realizing the true damage they're causing. We could get a careening ride through all the messed up areas of history while delving further into the nature of time, giving us one of those dense complex plots and scenarios that the New Adventures of Yore used to give us, only with a Doctor who's more reactionary than chess master. With so much at stake, all the materials are there.
It's hard to say where the missed opportunities are, only that they exist. The beginning is promising enough, showing the Doctor, Fitz and Anji in mid-investigation and playing to one of the strengths of this team, the fact that we now have a TARDIS crew experienced enough (even Anji) to be proactive and act on their own. But it's not too long before it all goes out the window and we're stuck in a series of increasingly convoluted scenarios featuring multiple versions of everyone all intersecting at different times because time has become that fragmented. Sabbath shows up and for the first time in a few books is actually written as intelligent and menacing even if it's still not clear what he's after except for annoying the Doctor, but it does give them someone else to play off of. Which is good, because the supporting cast generally isn't up to the job. Young time traveler Jack is somewhat colorless when he's not dying in repeated timelines and everyone else is essentially nonexistent. All the babbly talk about time travel and discontinuities only muddies the plot and takes it further away from the initial premise, which was supposedly to fight a corporation that is doing serious damage. Good Times itself seems to fade into the background and after a while it's not clear who the Doctor is even supposed to be battling. And without the strong personality of a central villain to hold this together, you need to rely on the scenario or have a crackerjack of a plot, neither of which are on display here.
It's frustrating because every time we get close to the book dragging us into fun and strange territory (a glimpse into early hominids being forced to till fields in pre-history) we're dragged back into more talk about things that don't make any sense, even in the context of the book. At one point it seems that we might delve further into the TARDIS and what secrets lie deep inside of it, but even that falls by the wayside. What's missing is any sense of mystery, where matters aren't quite as we understand them or even as the Doctor understands them. Instead we get a plot masquerading as complex without being able to pull off the gymnastic depth required for such an affair. Which means you're left with a rather nonsensical time travel plot and little else. The Doctor even seems absent from his own book, only appearing to order people around in service of a plan we barely grasp, or argue with Sabbath. Choosing to focus on the abstract only emphasizes how empty the plot feels.
What's worse is that when it was over, I barely noticed, as the climax passes and resolves almost invisibly. I knew the book was ending because I was near the end of the pages, but then suddenly I'm in an epilogue and not sure how I got there. It's as if the book itself couldn't handle any more and just truncated the plot to save itself. Unfortunately, none of the proceeding stuck, and its telling that I managed to finish the book in around two hours (half of that either on a train or waiting for a subway), not because it was a gripping page turner, but because I didn't have to process any of it beyond turning pages mechanically and reading words. If there's any book that I wish could be redone, it's probably this one, because the basic concept I feel could have been a worthwhile plot goldmine with a better focus or more definite point of view. But while I wonder what a Paul Cornell or Lawrence Miles would have made of this, I can only hope in some parallel universe one of those authors wrote this novel, and my parallel brethren are having a vastly different experience than I did. One can dream.
This book does pull off one neat trick . . . it manages to completely fail in conveying any kind of coherent plot but never makes me angry in the process. There have been other books where I've had a far better grasp of what was going on and come away completely appalled, wondering how such an abomination of literature can exist. Here that never happened. I came away aware that it was only a novel because it was bound printed matter in the shape of one, but it never engendered in me the complete and utter sense of despair that the worst of the worst can cause. I wanted it over and it was, but I don't feel anything firm one way or another about it. Odd.
It's a shame because the characterizations and the concept of the novel itself were actually well done. Especially the concept. In the wake of the ongoing Night of a Trillion Zillion Parallel Universes, we come upon a situation where a corporate called Good Times, Inc has essentially turned history into a big theme park, turning the most important eras of Earth's history into the equivalent of cheesy roadside attractions and charging so that people can go back and see the Wild West, but one that has local Indians and cowboys forced to act as sanitized family-friend versions of themselves. Oh, and each time someone goes back it splits off into another parallel universe. Something may have gone awry.
There's so much rich material with this concept that it's amazing the editor let the book go as far afield as it does. The opening scenes, showing Egypt essentially turned into the Magical World of Pharaohs, is brilliant, conveying both the humiliation and absurdity inherent in the idea, as well as the cluelessness of the tourists who believe they're getting some kind of authentic experience. It's a ripe vehicle for a satire of theme parks and the idea that people who want to experience "real" history, just without all the unpleasant parts, and puts the Doctor up against a well-organized corporation that is willing to break time (or take advantage of breaking time) in the name of profit, not realizing the true damage they're causing. We could get a careening ride through all the messed up areas of history while delving further into the nature of time, giving us one of those dense complex plots and scenarios that the New Adventures of Yore used to give us, only with a Doctor who's more reactionary than chess master. With so much at stake, all the materials are there.
It's hard to say where the missed opportunities are, only that they exist. The beginning is promising enough, showing the Doctor, Fitz and Anji in mid-investigation and playing to one of the strengths of this team, the fact that we now have a TARDIS crew experienced enough (even Anji) to be proactive and act on their own. But it's not too long before it all goes out the window and we're stuck in a series of increasingly convoluted scenarios featuring multiple versions of everyone all intersecting at different times because time has become that fragmented. Sabbath shows up and for the first time in a few books is actually written as intelligent and menacing even if it's still not clear what he's after except for annoying the Doctor, but it does give them someone else to play off of. Which is good, because the supporting cast generally isn't up to the job. Young time traveler Jack is somewhat colorless when he's not dying in repeated timelines and everyone else is essentially nonexistent. All the babbly talk about time travel and discontinuities only muddies the plot and takes it further away from the initial premise, which was supposedly to fight a corporation that is doing serious damage. Good Times itself seems to fade into the background and after a while it's not clear who the Doctor is even supposed to be battling. And without the strong personality of a central villain to hold this together, you need to rely on the scenario or have a crackerjack of a plot, neither of which are on display here.
It's frustrating because every time we get close to the book dragging us into fun and strange territory (a glimpse into early hominids being forced to till fields in pre-history) we're dragged back into more talk about things that don't make any sense, even in the context of the book. At one point it seems that we might delve further into the TARDIS and what secrets lie deep inside of it, but even that falls by the wayside. What's missing is any sense of mystery, where matters aren't quite as we understand them or even as the Doctor understands them. Instead we get a plot masquerading as complex without being able to pull off the gymnastic depth required for such an affair. Which means you're left with a rather nonsensical time travel plot and little else. The Doctor even seems absent from his own book, only appearing to order people around in service of a plan we barely grasp, or argue with Sabbath. Choosing to focus on the abstract only emphasizes how empty the plot feels.
What's worse is that when it was over, I barely noticed, as the climax passes and resolves almost invisibly. I knew the book was ending because I was near the end of the pages, but then suddenly I'm in an epilogue and not sure how I got there. It's as if the book itself couldn't handle any more and just truncated the plot to save itself. Unfortunately, none of the proceeding stuck, and its telling that I managed to finish the book in around two hours (half of that either on a train or waiting for a subway), not because it was a gripping page turner, but because I didn't have to process any of it beyond turning pages mechanically and reading words. If there's any book that I wish could be redone, it's probably this one, because the basic concept I feel could have been a worthwhile plot goldmine with a better focus or more definite point of view. But while I wonder what a Paul Cornell or Lawrence Miles would have made of this, I can only hope in some parallel universe one of those authors wrote this novel, and my parallel brethren are having a vastly different experience than I did. One can dream.
June 29, 2020
Overall, I felt that The Last Resort is kind of confusing and a bit messy.
It's got some nice character stuff here and there but it never really feels like it's going anywhere. Events kind of feel like they're just happening with no real rhyme or reason to them for me. There are some interesting concepts in here too - the cover is actually really cool and that kind of gets some of that across but sadly the actual story doesn't really hold it together and it's a bit of a letdown.
It's got some nice character stuff here and there but it never really feels like it's going anywhere. Events kind of feel like they're just happening with no real rhyme or reason to them for me. There are some interesting concepts in here too - the cover is actually really cool and that kind of gets some of that across but sadly the actual story doesn't really hold it together and it's a bit of a letdown.
July 30, 2021
This book is very confusing. The plot is a good idea but it’s all over the place and it’s very difficult to follow. The characters bounce about here and there and it’s hard to know what’s going on. The ending didn’t make much sense and I just wish the entire story was executed better because the concept is really good as it tries to show the dangers of paradoxes and time travel. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend unless you’re a completionist and you want to finish all the doctor who novels.
August 8, 2019
The sort of bonkers plotting that had a certain charm in the film Primer fails to do little beyond irritate when deployed in a scattershot Doctor Who tale. I'm a bit lost at sea in this end of the EDA range, but I can't imagine familiarity helps here.
January 26, 2022
Not a bad book, the Doctor hardly appears in the first half of the book. And it got somewhat confusing in parts
January 5, 2015
Well I'm hardly alone in this assessment by the looks of it, but what a terrible waste of an excellent premise for an EDA! The conceit of a time travel holiday firm is hardly entirely original, but this does a great job of showing why it's a terrible idea, how utterly crass we are as a society, and why we need someone in loco timelordis to keep things on the straight and narrow. Excellent, I'm sold, now tell me the story.
Tell me the story.
Tell me ... anything.
Each piece of what I can only assume was meant to be exposition muddies the already bayou-like waters further. I have no idea what/why/when it really who by the end of it. The characters are poorly drawn for most of it, especially the ones created for the novel (though I had a smidgen of empathy with Iyeeye for the first ¾ of her appearances) and the tardis crew are great ½ the time.
Some questions ...
- WTF happened to Good Times Inc? Why the massive Mexican standoff leading to ... nothing?
- WTF happened to any version of Iyeeye?
- Jack?
- What happened to the multiverse, given the cause of this whole disastrous string of events was there again right at the end?
Actually, just ... WTF!? Seriously, this is a genuinely bad novel, salvaged from 1 star only due to the excellent concept and some beautiful evocation and description.
But seriously, WTAF!?
Tell me the story.
Tell me ... anything.
Each piece of what I can only assume was meant to be exposition muddies the already bayou-like waters further. I have no idea what/why/when it really who by the end of it. The characters are poorly drawn for most of it, especially the ones created for the novel (though I had a smidgen of empathy with Iyeeye for the first ¾ of her appearances) and the tardis crew are great ½ the time.
Some questions ...
- WTF happened to Good Times Inc? Why the massive Mexican standoff leading to ... nothing?
- WTF happened to any version of Iyeeye?
- Jack?
- What happened to the multiverse, given the cause of this whole disastrous string of events was there again right at the end?
Actually, just ... WTF!? Seriously, this is a genuinely bad novel, salvaged from 1 star only due to the excellent concept and some beautiful evocation and description.
But seriously, WTAF!?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2008
There was a good idea at the heart of this book but so badly executed as to make it all but unreadable.
Mostly, I was confused. I didn’t have a clue what was going on much of the time – and it’s not as if I’m ignorant of quantum physics, parallel universes and the theories of time travel, they’re something of a speciality of mine – but it all hung on such a thin and perplexing plot with so much needless repetition and feeble characterisation I just couldn’t maintain enough interest to bother with the effort of making sense of it all.
Mostly, I was confused. I didn’t have a clue what was going on much of the time – and it’s not as if I’m ignorant of quantum physics, parallel universes and the theories of time travel, they’re something of a speciality of mine – but it all hung on such a thin and perplexing plot with so much needless repetition and feeble characterisation I just couldn’t maintain enough interest to bother with the effort of making sense of it all.
March 3, 2010
In a word: Bonkers!
November 30, 2011
Interesting concept and passable characterization - I was willing to stick with it till the end, but ultimately I required more explanation than I got.
June 29, 2013
I am so confused.
Utterly and completely confused. I'm also upset, but I'm not entirely sure why.
If you love the Doctor, read it (but you will be confused the whole time).
Utterly and completely confused. I'm also upset, but I'm not entirely sure why.
If you love the Doctor, read it (but you will be confused the whole time).
June 20, 2014
Perhaps a re-write as a Hitch-hikers novel, where the characters would simply have a good time in the madness, rather than simply die over and over again, would make a better novel.
November 1, 2013
Totally weird and confusing, but I enjoyed it anyway.
April 22, 2017
I wasn't going to review things until I re-read them, but tonight my friends and I were discussing The Wilderness Years and this book got brought up. I explained how much I hated the fact that you needed the author's wall of Post-It Notes to keep track of what the EVER LIVING FUCK was supposed to be going on, and the conversation started to move on - until I realized my face, ears, shoulders, and arms were hot from sheer rage at how much I hated the book when I read it. It was a pure nervous system response to the novel, almost 15 years old now, which I read when it came out.
I think that calls for a one-star. And no, I don't think I'd follow it better now. I was really into the arc of the plot at the time, and I hated it that much anyway.
I think that calls for a one-star. And no, I don't think I'd follow it better now. I was really into the arc of the plot at the time, and I hated it that much anyway.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews