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Eighth Doctor Adventures #33
Doctor Who: Coldheart
The Doctor, Fitz and Compassion arrive on the planet Eskon -- a strange world of ice and fire. Far beneath the planet’s burning surface are vast lakes frozen solid by the glacial subterranean temperature.
But the civilised community that relies on the ice reservoirs for its survival has more to worry about than a shortage of water. The hideous slimers -- degenerate mutations in the population -- are growing more hostile by the moment, and their fanatical leader will stop at nothing to exact revenge against those in authority. But what connects the slimers to the unknown horror that lurks deep beneath the ice? And what is the terrible truth that the city leaders will do anything to conceal?
To unearth the ugliest secrets of Eskon, the TARDIS crew becomes involved in a desperate conflict. While Fitz is embroiled in the deadly plans of the slimers, the Doctor and Compassion must lead a danger-frought subterranean expedition to prevent a disaster that could destroy the very essence of Eskon... its cold heart.
But the civilised community that relies on the ice reservoirs for its survival has more to worry about than a shortage of water. The hideous slimers -- degenerate mutations in the population -- are growing more hostile by the moment, and their fanatical leader will stop at nothing to exact revenge against those in authority. But what connects the slimers to the unknown horror that lurks deep beneath the ice? And what is the terrible truth that the city leaders will do anything to conceal?
To unearth the ugliest secrets of Eskon, the TARDIS crew becomes involved in a desperate conflict. While Fitz is embroiled in the deadly plans of the slimers, the Doctor and Compassion must lead a danger-frought subterranean expedition to prevent a disaster that could destroy the very essence of Eskon... its cold heart.
277 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 3, 2000
2 people are currently reading
290 people want to read
About the author
Trevor Baxendale
84 books48 followersTrevor Baxendale is a novelist who has penned several Doctor Who tie-in novels and audio dramas. He lives in Liverpool, England with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 21, 2022
A nice traditional Who story with Baxendale's trademark slice of horror thrown in, the Spulver Worms sound practically unpleasant.
The world building of Eskon is rather good, a planet with an ice center with a boiling exterior that makes water an important commodity.
All three regulars of The Eighth Doctor, Fitz and Compassion are brilliantly captured, whilst the interest culture of the planet makes this an enjoyable entry in the series.
The world building of Eskon is rather good, a planet with an ice center with a boiling exterior that makes water an important commodity.
All three regulars of The Eighth Doctor, Fitz and Compassion are brilliantly captured, whilst the interest culture of the planet makes this an enjoyable entry in the series.
December 26, 2024
*Coldheart* is everything a Doctor Who book should be. It's easy to read and follow, the Doctor and his companions are in character, the plot moves smoothly without any deserts or dead spots, and it's fun. I find that sometimes DW authors will forget about that last part, and try to make the stories cerebral and full of metaphor. Don't get me wrong, DW can certainly be that, but at it's heart, it's about a time-traveling alien with a British accent in a police box. Classic Who fans will remember the time he fought a person covered in green painted bubble wrap.
Coldheart hits all the right notes- a divided society, trouble with mining, a rebellion, mutations, and a creepy monster in the dark. There's just enough politics to make it believable but not so much that it drags the plot to a crawl. Yes, there's some gore here, but readers of Baxendale will already know to expect that. The Doctor is in proper form, and he not only solves problems, but fights back and encourages Compassion to be a better version of herself (no pun intended?) He's no longer a spectator in his own story. He owns this one, and the novel is all the better for it. Fitz is running errands for 8, but checks in with the Doctor and isn't lost for months at a time like he has been in the habit of doing.
All in all, this was a fun monster romp, and a divided mining society in the future done RIGHT. Other DW authors, take note: this is how it's done.
Coldheart hits all the right notes- a divided society, trouble with mining, a rebellion, mutations, and a creepy monster in the dark. There's just enough politics to make it believable but not so much that it drags the plot to a crawl. Yes, there's some gore here, but readers of Baxendale will already know to expect that. The Doctor is in proper form, and he not only solves problems, but fights back and encourages Compassion to be a better version of herself (no pun intended?) He's no longer a spectator in his own story. He owns this one, and the novel is all the better for it. Fitz is running errands for 8, but checks in with the Doctor and isn't lost for months at a time like he has been in the habit of doing.
All in all, this was a fun monster romp, and a divided mining society in the future done RIGHT. Other DW authors, take note: this is how it's done.
May 11, 2024
Finally the character development Compassion deserves! Finally a storyline for Fitz that isn't just about the latest planet's doomed girl (although him just being friendly toward a woman in this one still serves as her death knell -- he is Sam Winchester levels of cursed). There's lots of gross body horror I'm glad I only read about and didn't have to see filmed, and lot of genuinely funny dialogue between this TARDIS team that I wish had been.
Lol go OFF, Compassion!
"What's this?" wondered Compassion. "A bar?"
"One of Baktan's water bazaars, yes," confirmed Brevus. "People come here to trade in fluids."
"Fitz will be quite at home, then."
Lol go OFF, Compassion!
July 12, 2025
Trevor Baxendale returns with another novel that’s big on inhospitable world building and nightmarish physical degeneration, small on brand new ideas. This all feels a bit less special when you’ve read The Janus Conjunction, and the stuff that’s unique to Coldheart — the desert aliens threatened by their planet, their physical condition and other wacky factors — doesn’t amount to much because they’re so entrenched in cruel, unsympathetic practices that the book doesn’t seem keen to resolve.
There are hints at the ongoing characterisation of the Doctor and Compassion, but nothing to really inflame the “run away from the Time Lords” arc plot. Fitz manages to all but fall in love with the only woman he meets; he’s practically a puppy at this point.
It’s almost as dry as the desert it’s set in, but the level of action passes the time.
2.5
There are hints at the ongoing characterisation of the Doctor and Compassion, but nothing to really inflame the “run away from the Time Lords” arc plot. Fitz manages to all but fall in love with the only woman he meets; he’s practically a puppy at this point.
It’s almost as dry as the desert it’s set in, but the level of action passes the time.
2.5
April 15, 2020
This seems to be some kind of loose arc that The Doctor and his friends are on the run from the Time Lords.
This book is just one those average Doctor Who story it’s not groundbreaking which is not a bad thing. The only thing I really enjoy from this book is the Worldbuilding.
This book is just one those average Doctor Who story it’s not groundbreaking which is not a bad thing. The only thing I really enjoy from this book is the Worldbuilding.
February 19, 2021
After two Doctor Who novels that succeed in taking the Eighth Doctor Adventures away into experimental territory, exploring the new relationship between the Doctor, Fitz, and the new human TARDIS version of Compassion and what it means to be on the run from the Time Lords seemed to be what the Eighth Doctor Adventures were going to be until the arc ends. Then, Coldheart came around. Coldheart is the second novel from Trevor Baxendale, who’s first effort, The Jupiter Conjunction, which showed strengths in writing conspiracy type stories in the vein of The Ambassadors of Death. Baxendale does not continue with these strengths in the writing of Coldheart, instead looking at a dying civilization on a planet with a burning surface, but a heart of ice, hence giving the novel the title. Eskon’s civilians have been slowly mutating into Slimers, genetically inferior creatures with wormlike abilities, and are shunned to the outskirts of the civilization. The thrust of Coldheart is the mystery of the Slimers and what exactly they are, but the eventual reveal of what’s happening beneath the surface of Eskon is one of those twists that takes out quite a bit of dramatic weight. The reveal is that there are alien worms that crashed onto Eskon and are secreting a pus that is rewriting the DNA of the citizens who drink from a contaminated water supply a la The Sensorites. While The Sensorites could justify this twist of a poisoned water supply being the cause of the deaths on the planet as it was a story exploring a culture and humanity’s interactions with other species, Coldheart devolves into a standard alien uprising story, except the Doctor actually isn’t on the side of those revolting.
Baxendale’s prose is where this book perhaps has its biggest failing. The prose is full of cliches, including characters saying as you know, and a chapter ending with the shocking revelation that something might be wrong in a Doctor Who book. It’s moments like these and this commitment to a style that doesn’t have much to distinguish itself above the other books in the range, and when surrounded by books by Paul Cornell, Lawrence Miles, and Kate Orman, Baxendale doesn’t compete. It makes some of the genuinely harrowing imagery of characters vomiting snakes and becoming like worms not feel nearly as effective as it easily could have been with a few more drafts and an effort to play up the more disturbing elements of the novel. As it stands the prose is something that just brings this book down. Coldheart’s plot is essentially the textbook of a Doctor Who plot, going from story beat to story beat without any interesting characters or connective tissue. This is a book which perhaps when read in isolation from the rest of the arc could be a lot better, but in the arc it feels like our TARDIS team are barely even characters. The Doctor is back to being a kind of generic Doctor, not continuing that rather important conflict with Compassion about her rights as a TARDIS, nor including anything that resembles the Eighth Doctor. It makes this feel like Coldheart might have been meant to be a Past Doctor Adventure which was converted to an Eighth Doctor Adventure. Compassion fares slightly better, being written with at least an alien and as distant from the Doctor and Fitz.
It’s kind of Fitz who is given the biggest character issues here. Fitz has yet another subplot where he tries to be romantically involved with a woman, and it is at this point where you start to notice just how common a theme that has been, when it is done badly. The woman in question is Florence, a mute woman who doesn’t even get a name until Fitz actively names her which is something that Baxendale kind of intends to be romantic and humanizing but it just makes the objectification of this woman come into clearer focus. Fitz’s arc is supposed to be humanizing this woman, but Florence doesn’t ever get any communication skills, and I’m not saying they have to be vocal. There are ways to make mute characters work and communicate non-verbally, even giving them a deep characterization, but Baxendale doesn’t do that. Fitz’s plot proves to be an almost pointless diversion and doesn’t actually give us anything new or deep about his character. Florence could be swapped with any of the other characters to the same effect. Overall, Coldheart is traditional Doctor Who from an author who originally had a novel which showed promise, but on the whole doesn’t ever rise above being a collection of tropes and cliches executed, rarely with any poise or drama. It’s an easy book to overlook and ignore in the grand scheme of things and is a disappointment from a genuinely good author. 4/10.
Baxendale’s prose is where this book perhaps has its biggest failing. The prose is full of cliches, including characters saying as you know, and a chapter ending with the shocking revelation that something might be wrong in a Doctor Who book. It’s moments like these and this commitment to a style that doesn’t have much to distinguish itself above the other books in the range, and when surrounded by books by Paul Cornell, Lawrence Miles, and Kate Orman, Baxendale doesn’t compete. It makes some of the genuinely harrowing imagery of characters vomiting snakes and becoming like worms not feel nearly as effective as it easily could have been with a few more drafts and an effort to play up the more disturbing elements of the novel. As it stands the prose is something that just brings this book down. Coldheart’s plot is essentially the textbook of a Doctor Who plot, going from story beat to story beat without any interesting characters or connective tissue. This is a book which perhaps when read in isolation from the rest of the arc could be a lot better, but in the arc it feels like our TARDIS team are barely even characters. The Doctor is back to being a kind of generic Doctor, not continuing that rather important conflict with Compassion about her rights as a TARDIS, nor including anything that resembles the Eighth Doctor. It makes this feel like Coldheart might have been meant to be a Past Doctor Adventure which was converted to an Eighth Doctor Adventure. Compassion fares slightly better, being written with at least an alien and as distant from the Doctor and Fitz.
It’s kind of Fitz who is given the biggest character issues here. Fitz has yet another subplot where he tries to be romantically involved with a woman, and it is at this point where you start to notice just how common a theme that has been, when it is done badly. The woman in question is Florence, a mute woman who doesn’t even get a name until Fitz actively names her which is something that Baxendale kind of intends to be romantic and humanizing but it just makes the objectification of this woman come into clearer focus. Fitz’s arc is supposed to be humanizing this woman, but Florence doesn’t ever get any communication skills, and I’m not saying they have to be vocal. There are ways to make mute characters work and communicate non-verbally, even giving them a deep characterization, but Baxendale doesn’t do that. Fitz’s plot proves to be an almost pointless diversion and doesn’t actually give us anything new or deep about his character. Florence could be swapped with any of the other characters to the same effect. Overall, Coldheart is traditional Doctor Who from an author who originally had a novel which showed promise, but on the whole doesn’t ever rise above being a collection of tropes and cliches executed, rarely with any poise or drama. It’s an easy book to overlook and ignore in the grand scheme of things and is a disappointment from a genuinely good author. 4/10.
December 8, 2014
This series of novels did some fascinating things with the Whoniverse - here we have a companion who is a human TARDIS, for instance. The story itself is vintage Whovian planetary romance - Doc and co show up on a planet with a complex set of problems and mysteries, all of which converge as the Doctor thrusts himself into the thick of things. Classic stuff.
January 13, 2025
So i'm honestly mad at this book. i REALLY wanted to like this one. and for the first 75%, i actually quite did. i loved the desert planet, the camel people, the politics between slimers and the normal camel people. this book was actually straddling a 4 and 5 for me. it was probably the best doctor who book i read in a long time.
Then, about 75 pages to the end, you remember the author is Trevor Baxendale. I don't know if this man needs therapy or something, but every single time i read one of his books it's absolutely disgusting. body horror, people dying in terrible ways, etc. I don't know what it is with Trevor, but he really needs to keep his body horror fetish in check.
The book itself, up until the monster on the cover really shows up, is REALLY quite good. it reads well, the characters are interesting, and he does well with Compassion despite the fact that he doesn't have a lot to work with.
I don't know whose decision it was to make Compassion a TARDIS but HOT DAMN was that a stupid idea. like, i don't know if they thought they were being clever with that, but MAN was that a stupid idea. now every time she's in a book, she essentially has to be put to the side since she's essentially an indestructible time machine who can walk. so she can either solve all the problems in two seconds or has to be sent away from the main cast somehow.
Still, given the overarcing narrative which he had, in the first 75%, trevor did what he could.
In addition, i really liked the plot with the slimers vs the normal camel people. the social hierarchy, the revolution, hell even the back and forth between the dude and his son was very interesting. but the last 70ish pages really took the book from interesting planetary issues to "Gross monster of the week" really fast. everything the story was building towards got replaced with "ooohh evil worm that eats people!" who needs compelling motivations and characters when you can have a stupid evil worm that eats people. very exciting. and by exciting, i mean stupid.
Yes, i knew going in there would be an evil worm, but the issue was the story, up until that point had been very reliant on politics and social issues, and i can't believe i'm saying this, i actually REALLY enjoyed that aspect of that. and i never say that. i actually would have enjoyed this story far more without the evil worm attack.
Sure, there was some grossness in the beginning with the slime people, but it was kept to a minimum. kind of like a set piece and it felt necessary. Towards the end it felt like Trevor went "Nah this isn't gross enough" and just throw a bunch of nonsense at the end.
I'm not against violence or grossness in books, but i really felt like this climax was too much, too fast, and felt like the "Baxendale grossness quota" had to be made and he went through 200 pages realizing he hadn't met it yet.
As for the doc, Fitz and compassion, they were in character and fine. the writing was easy to understand and for the first 75% of the story, they were a lot of fun.
Normally a doctor who book, when it's bad, falls off after the first third. this one fell off a cliff 75% of the way through and never recovered. and that depresses me as i loved the first 75% so much.
First 3/4 of the book 4.5 out of 5
Last 1/4 1.5 out of 5.
final score 3 out of 5.
So disappointing. I have to say this is probably the most disappointed i've ever been at the ending of a who book. sad. almost was great.
3 out of 5.
Then, about 75 pages to the end, you remember the author is Trevor Baxendale. I don't know if this man needs therapy or something, but every single time i read one of his books it's absolutely disgusting. body horror, people dying in terrible ways, etc. I don't know what it is with Trevor, but he really needs to keep his body horror fetish in check.
The book itself, up until the monster on the cover really shows up, is REALLY quite good. it reads well, the characters are interesting, and he does well with Compassion despite the fact that he doesn't have a lot to work with.
I don't know whose decision it was to make Compassion a TARDIS but HOT DAMN was that a stupid idea. like, i don't know if they thought they were being clever with that, but MAN was that a stupid idea. now every time she's in a book, she essentially has to be put to the side since she's essentially an indestructible time machine who can walk. so she can either solve all the problems in two seconds or has to be sent away from the main cast somehow.
Still, given the overarcing narrative which he had, in the first 75%, trevor did what he could.
In addition, i really liked the plot with the slimers vs the normal camel people. the social hierarchy, the revolution, hell even the back and forth between the dude and his son was very interesting. but the last 70ish pages really took the book from interesting planetary issues to "Gross monster of the week" really fast. everything the story was building towards got replaced with "ooohh evil worm that eats people!" who needs compelling motivations and characters when you can have a stupid evil worm that eats people. very exciting. and by exciting, i mean stupid.
Yes, i knew going in there would be an evil worm, but the issue was the story, up until that point had been very reliant on politics and social issues, and i can't believe i'm saying this, i actually REALLY enjoyed that aspect of that. and i never say that. i actually would have enjoyed this story far more without the evil worm attack.
Sure, there was some grossness in the beginning with the slime people, but it was kept to a minimum. kind of like a set piece and it felt necessary. Towards the end it felt like Trevor went "Nah this isn't gross enough" and just throw a bunch of nonsense at the end.
I'm not against violence or grossness in books, but i really felt like this climax was too much, too fast, and felt like the "Baxendale grossness quota" had to be made and he went through 200 pages realizing he hadn't met it yet.
As for the doc, Fitz and compassion, they were in character and fine. the writing was easy to understand and for the first 75% of the story, they were a lot of fun.
Normally a doctor who book, when it's bad, falls off after the first third. this one fell off a cliff 75% of the way through and never recovered. and that depresses me as i loved the first 75% so much.
First 3/4 of the book 4.5 out of 5
Last 1/4 1.5 out of 5.
final score 3 out of 5.
So disappointing. I have to say this is probably the most disappointed i've ever been at the ending of a who book. sad. almost was great.
3 out of 5.
October 3, 2017
Ehhhh. Too much "squishy things go bump in the night" for me. The worldbuilding (literally: how the planet was formed) was silly but interesting. Would have bumped this up to three stars except there are LITERALLY two female characters besides Compassion (who is a TARDIS now), and they are...mute slaves. Yes. One of whom gets eaten by the baddie(s). So that happened.
I was not sure if the subplot about a mutagen that first shows symptoms at puberty and turns people into social outcasts, and nobody knows if it's nature or nurture (turns out: more epigenetic) was supposed to ping me as a badly-executed metaphor for teh gay or not. Our heroes were 100% on the side of the outcasts, though, which you'd expect from a Doctor Who novel, so I liked that. Still unsure if want said outcasts to be literally physically disgusting though. :P (Probably not an intentional metaphor, but who knows.)
At least no zombies???
I was not sure if the subplot about a mutagen that first shows symptoms at puberty and turns people into social outcasts, and nobody knows if it's nature or nurture (turns out: more epigenetic) was supposed to ping me as a badly-executed metaphor for teh gay or not. Our heroes were 100% on the side of the outcasts, though, which you'd expect from a Doctor Who novel, so I liked that. Still unsure if want said outcasts to be literally physically disgusting though. :P (Probably not an intentional metaphor, but who knows.)
At least no zombies???
December 25, 2024
Trevor Baxendale's Coldheart has contrasting tones that make the front half of the book, with its bantery humor now evocative of the new series, clash with the violence and body horror of the back half. But both halves are well done and though perhaps meant to be a meat & potatoes entry in the Eighth Doctor Adventures, I ended up liking it quite a bit. Especially the first part, not gonna lie, where Baxendale draws the leads' inherent comedy out of the trio of the Doctor, Fitz and Compassion, and gives us some fair world-building to boot. Once we get to the monster, the action kicks into high gear and it's pretty exciting even if I miss the novel's lighter side. I would also say there are a couple of supporting characters that were too built up for the fate that was reserved for them, and so this isn't as satisfying a read as I was expecting it to be when I was most engrossed. Still good traditional Doctor Who on an unlimited budget.
January 22, 2021
あらすじ
ギャリフレイの追っ手から逃れるため目的地をランダマイザーまかせにターディスで飛んだドクターとフィズとコンパッション。到着し、外に出るとそこは洞窟だった。いつの時代でどこの星なのかもまったく見当がつかない。
遠くから悲鳴が聞こえた気がし、とりあえずそちらへ向かっていく3人。途中でコウモリのような生命体と遭遇し、フィズは足を噛まれてしまう。一刻も早く手当しなければ失血死してしまう恐れがあったが幸運にも、この星に住むブレバスに助けられ、この星の都市バクタンに招待される。洞窟をでると砂漠が広がっており、岩山を利用してつくられた都市でなければ生活できない環境だ。途中でスライマーという反政府運動者の抗議活動に巻き込まれるが、無事バクタンに到着する。バクタンに住む人々が忌み嫌うスライマーが、突然発症した病気と知り、ドクターは原因を探るため再び洞窟に降りていく。フィズはバクタンで手厚い看護を受けるが自分の身の回りを世話してくれる少女が名前すらも与えられない奴隷と知り、バクタンのあり方に疑問を持つ。コンパッションはターディスとしての自分と人間だった頃の自分の変化に戸惑っていた。
感想
バクタンを蝕む寄生虫の脅威を取り除こうとする戦いに捨て身で取り組むドクターのことを昔のターディスを失ったショックのせいで自殺願望に囚われているのではないかと心配するフィズ。ターディスとなり人間らしさを急速に失っていく自分に慣れないコンパッション。ドクターもターディスとなったコンパッションとの距離の取り方にまだ戸惑っている。ドクターの自殺願望はフィズの杞憂にすぎなかったけれど、今回のドクターは身体的には相当ボロボロ。もっとも精神的には安定していたので、ドクターが出てくれば事態が好転すると比較的安心して読み進められた。寄生虫話は結構ホラー。話してわかる相手ではないので、食われるか食い止められるかのやりとりはハラハラした。宇宙からこんなものが飛来したらとんでもないなぁと。ラストは珍しく清々しく希望を持てる終わり方でよかった。
ギャリフレイの追っ手から逃れるため目的地をランダマイザーまかせにターディスで飛んだドクターとフィズとコンパッション。到着し、外に出るとそこは洞窟だった。いつの時代でどこの星なのかもまったく見当がつかない。
遠くから悲鳴が聞こえた気がし、とりあえずそちらへ向かっていく3人。途中でコウモリのような生命体と遭遇し、フィズは足を噛まれてしまう。一刻も早く手当しなければ失血死してしまう恐れがあったが幸運にも、この星に住むブレバスに助けられ、この星の都市バクタンに招待される。洞窟をでると砂漠が広がっており、岩山を利用してつくられた都市でなければ生活できない環境だ。途中でスライマーという反政府運動者の抗議活動に巻き込まれるが、無事バクタンに到着する。バクタンに住む人々が忌み嫌うスライマーが、突然発症した病気と知り、ドクターは原因を探るため再び洞窟に降りていく。フィズはバクタンで手厚い看護を受けるが自分の身の回りを世話してくれる少女が名前すらも与えられない奴隷と知り、バクタンのあり方に疑問を持つ。コンパッションはターディスとしての自分と人間だった頃の自分の変化に戸惑っていた。
感想
バクタンを蝕む寄生虫の脅威を取り除こうとする戦いに捨て身で取り組むドクターのことを昔のターディスを失ったショックのせいで自殺願望に囚われているのではないかと心配するフィズ。ターディスとなり人間らしさを急速に失っていく自分に慣れないコンパッション。ドクターもターディスとなったコンパッションとの距離の取り方にまだ戸惑っている。ドクターの自殺願望はフィズの杞憂にすぎなかったけれど、今回のドクターは身体的には相当ボロボロ。もっとも精神的には安定していたので、ドクターが出てくれば事態が好転すると比較的安心して読み進められた。寄生虫話は結構ホラー。話してわかる相手ではないので、食われるか食い止められるかのやりとりはハラハラした。宇宙からこんなものが飛来したらとんでもないなぁと。ラストは珍しく清々しく希望を持てる終わり方でよかった。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2018
Another reviewer described this story as "squirmy/slimy things going bump in the night", and that's as good a description as any. A fairly ordinary sci-fi adventure, with added gooey-ness, spiced up by a solid command of the 8th Doctor, Fitz & Compassion. Trevor Baxendale will eventually take a second crack at "squirmy/slimy/bump in the night" in his next Who novel, "Eater of Wasps"...and the result will be far more successful and satisfying.
October 21, 2011
I really, really liked this book. Possibly it was just coming back to the EDAs after a while apart, but it just felt so true to all the best bits of the spin-off novels. The plot was interesting, great world- and culture-building for the Eskoni, questionable morals galore and of course some lovely character moments from the Doctor and co. Everyone gets to be badass in this book. Fitz, OK he isn't the bravest of brave souls, but he doesn't shy away from doing some pretty terrifying things to help his friends. The Doctor is, well, the Doctor, all quips and science!!! rambling and being a Big Damn Hero and being adorably concerned about Fitz. Compassion actually gets screentime! I *love* the idea of Compassion's arc and I like seeing her development since she got TARDIS'd. The bits from her POV struck me as being particularly realistic, and I love that she doesn't stand for any of the Doctor's nonsense, yet has been sufficiently affected by her time with him not just to ditch everyone and head off into the vortex when the going gets rough.
Ahem. Yeah. I have a lot of Feelings when it comes to the EDA characters. But seriously, this is a very good book and if you're jumping around in the EDAs, it's well worth a read.
Ahem. Yeah. I have a lot of Feelings when it comes to the EDA characters. But seriously, this is a very good book and if you're jumping around in the EDAs, it's well worth a read.
April 8, 2009
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1975990.html[return][return][return][return]If you can swallow the completely implausible geological setup for this story - a desert planet with an ice core (or at least a permafrost mantle) - it's rather a good tale of the politics of a citadel society under stress, as the monsters arise both from the icy depths and from the elders' own children; it's rather effective as a body-horror story in its own right, and there are some excellent character moments for Fitz (one of the greatest of Who companions), the Doctor and even Compassion. But I can't quite forgive the geology.
May 24, 2011
This was an ok addition to the story but a bit of the same old same old.
Compassion,Fitz and the Doctor arrive deep underground. They eventually discover they are on a desert planet whose inhabitants mine the ice for water. On the surface the inhabitants are in the midst of and an epidemic causing the troubles. As with all the books, the Doctor investigates. Compassion is also changing.
I really didn't enjoy the book. The writing for me was clunky. I could not find the rhythm. The story was ho hum. Same old same old. The only real interesting part was compassion coming into into being a person, which was a bit weird being was she is.
Compassion,Fitz and the Doctor arrive deep underground. They eventually discover they are on a desert planet whose inhabitants mine the ice for water. On the surface the inhabitants are in the midst of and an epidemic causing the troubles. As with all the books, the Doctor investigates. Compassion is also changing.
I really didn't enjoy the book. The writing for me was clunky. I could not find the rhythm. The story was ho hum. Same old same old. The only real interesting part was compassion coming into into being a person, which was a bit weird being was she is.
February 4, 2013
A very well-paced story with a whole host of interesting and relatable characters. The action kept me on the edge of my seat and the Doctor and Compassion were well-written. I wasn't completely sure about Fitz. Sometimes he almost sounded too intelligent.
It lost a star for the classic sci-fi baddies: Giant flesh-eating worms. Also for a few overly cheesy lines that would've felt at home in a soap opera.
Still a fantastic story though. Nice word choice and vivid imagery (which wasn't so pleasant where slime and gore was concerned--watch out for that). It doesn't mention anything about the overall canon of the Whoniverse.
Cool story anyway. If you love the Doctor, definitely read it.
It lost a star for the classic sci-fi baddies: Giant flesh-eating worms. Also for a few overly cheesy lines that would've felt at home in a soap opera.
Still a fantastic story though. Nice word choice and vivid imagery (which wasn't so pleasant where slime and gore was concerned--watch out for that). It doesn't mention anything about the overall canon of the Whoniverse.
Cool story anyway. If you love the Doctor, definitely read it.
October 28, 2011
The Doctor and co land in an ice cavern which provides water to the desert planet above. Something is changing its inhabitants to mutants, and they are treated like vermin.
Fitz starts to shine again by taking a couple of stands for his beliefs. Compassion is still dealing with her issues, and the Doctor seems to have a death wish.
A decent monster story, with some fun bits.
Fitz starts to shine again by taking a couple of stands for his beliefs. Compassion is still dealing with her issues, and the Doctor seems to have a death wish.
A decent monster story, with some fun bits.
July 3, 2015
Nice story that feels more Star Trek than Doctor Who, so that was an interesting change.
Aliens were a bit generic, but Fitz and Compassion are such good companions, he's goofy and she's a really unique idea for a companion, that I didn't mind.
Aliens were a bit generic, but Fitz and Compassion are such good companions, he's goofy and she's a really unique idea for a companion, that I didn't mind.
March 2, 2010
Never anything less than very enjoyable, books by Trevor Baxendale.
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