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Past Doctor Adventures #73
Doctor Who: Fear Itself
In the 22nd Century, a few short years of interstellar contact have taught Man a hard lesson: there are powerful, unstoppable, alien forces abroad that are nightmare manifest. It's a realization that deals a body blow to Man's belief in his own superiority and leaves him with the only option he has ever had: to fight. When the Doctor and his friends are caught in the crossfire, they find suspicion and paranoia running rampant, with enemies to be seen in every shadow. The fight against alien forces is no job for an amateur, and for a Doctor only just finding his way in the universe again, one misstep could be fatal.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 30, 2019
It's a very well written story; a dense multi-layered text. But I can only admire it, rather than love it. Much of the latter 8th Doctor novels tried to tell very adult stories that sacrificed the whimsy and joy that should be present even in the scariest, darkest "Doctor Who" stories. In fact, compared to the first 13th Doctor novels, and Tom Baker's adaptation of his "Scratchman" movie script, this is a brutally & deadly serious book. It's like the Christopher Nolan "Batman" films: exquisitely made, but taking things far too seriously.
November 3, 2014
An excellent, fast-paced, exciting read. Timelines are a little confusing but overall a good read. 3 1/2 stars.
September 26, 2013
Is it weird to have nostalgia for something that only recently ended?
Of course I'm speaking only in a relative fashion. All of one book ago I read the last of the Eighth Doctor novels, the final time he would appear as the present incarnation and not some "unseen adventure" version. Yet, lo and behold, I go to read the next Past Doctor Adventure book in the line and it seems that the Eighth Doctor is already making an appearance. That's service of some kind, or at least the mark that someone was unable to squeak in under the wire.
Actually Nick Wallace is several books too late as his story contains not the recent team of the Doctor, Fitz and Trix, but the only freshly broken up Doctor, Fitz and Anji team. I have no problem with this as I find myself ranking that trio as one of the classic pairings of a Doctor with companions, a mix of a Doctor hitting his stride with stories that were worthy of him, a veteran companion in it for the adventure and trying to find his footing once again (Fitz), and a new girl who could be both capable and out of her depth at the same time, but able to adapt and most importantly, react like a normal person would to strange things happening (Anji). Add in some entertaining banter and a camaraderie that never took the cheap way out into romance and it makes it a shame that this crew gets relegated to a vague canonicity, not even seeming to appear in the comic strips or the audio adventures that have become quite common now. It's a bit of an unsung era that deserves to be dug up and assessed again, and while Wallace's book came too soon after the end of that era for a proper assessment to be taken, what it does accomplish is the two things it needs to accomplish: it fits in perfectly with the tone of the era and it reminds you what made that team great.
The three of them wind up on Mars in a time after Earth has fought off an alien invasion, making everyone a bit leery of anything resembling an alien lifeform. Quickly Anji is attacked and wounded by two soldiers that have gone berserk and while she recovers the Doctor takes it upon himself to grab Fitz and figure out what's going on. Soon enough they wind up on the Farside space station, and before they can get to the heart of the mystery the entire station either suffers an accident or an attack and appears to be utterly destroyed, stranding Anji on Mars in the future, where she has to figure out how to make a life for herself.
Wallace does so many things right here that it's hard to know where to even start. He gives the plot a nested and shifting time structure, switching between a present day where Anji is with the survivors of the station accident, thte Doctor and Fitz four years before attempting to sift through the source of Anji's attack, and the aftermath of their disappearance as Anji seeks to have a normal life. The constant switching and jumping back and forth means that the plot has simultaneously already transpired and is being revealed, giving the book both a momentum and scope that a traditional structure wouldn't have been able to handle. He parcels out the secrets pretty evenly in each thread and obscures the causes enough so that it isn't exactly clear how one thread is going to necessarily lead to the other. Having some characters appear in the present day and the four years prior thread only adds to the sense of continuity and leads into the next things he gets right: the people.
When people are plunged into unfamiliar situations the story will live and die based on the people who surround them, especially if the situation is unfamiliar to us as well. It requires that the people be sketched with enough detail that we not only believe them but believe their reactions to the world around them, so when a strange world starts going even stranger, we're right there along with them to say "Hey, this isn't right." Wallace writes a small story in the sense that all of existence isn't in direct peril, where the threat is more to the small worlds that we make for ourselves and are just as vital to us intact as the planet that we stand on. He writes about people trying to enjoy the day-to-day things, whether it's finding a new life or entering a new relationship, eating meals with friends, trying to pick the right moment to have an uncomfortable discussion, and he makes them believable even though it's happening on, say, Mars. That's the real heart of the book, he pitches everyone just right so you revel in their triumphs and feel for their pains and it makes any other nuttiness the book might throw at you easier to swallow, especially considering how long we're left in the dark. It's just interesting spending time with these characters.
The true nature of the plot is obscured for maybe longer than some folks would like but for me what makes it work is the sense of various factions, of characters with different motivations all working with and against each other that works better than the Doctor versus some monolithic villain. There's a number of issues he has to parse out here and part of the fascination is how he deals with people who are inherently good but believe fully in the usefulness of something that isn't exactly ethical and believe in it more than they believe in his sense of morality. It's a function of the society that they exist in and Wallace does make the Mars of the future feel like a solid place, familiar but at the same time with its own evolved customs and focusing so much on Anji's attempts to live a normal life helps ground it, along with the other little details about the characters and their personal lives. Most of these people start out as ordinary and remain so by the story's end, and for me that works best, as opposed to the Doctor simply inspiring people to be extraordinary. They do what they do because that's how people can be when pushed into extreme situations and it makes the Doctor just another element in a story swirling with them, another factor of impact to be taken into account.
His Doctor becomes the Doctor we've always had, whimsical and steely in equal measure, unable to give up and suddenly rediscovering himself. He investigates something because he's curious and he feels that it's wrong, not because a crisis is thrust upon him. This story takes place right after he and Fitz get back together and Wallace navigates the relationship between the two of them, two men who are friends but who aren't entirely sure about each other. If the story does set one foot wrong it's keeping them and Anji apart for so long and considering how new she's supposed to be to the TARDIS, the initial decision to leave her alone on Mars suggests either supreme confidence or an extreme lapse in judgment. But she acquits herself well, making the best of a bad situation and holding her own against the creepy Professional and the station survivors (whose attempts to survive deserve a book on its own). Fitz as usual gets all the best lines and has perhaps the coolest moment in his career as the book heads toward its climax. And it's a mark of how well the book is constructed that the ultimate enemy barely makes a physical appearance and it hardly matters, as we're inside a war of ideas and a struggle that can only be managed by proxies. The Doctor shadowboxes to succeed and still manages to land a punch, which is the kind of person we'd always hoped this version would be.
But this is a book that oddly contains multitudes, with the scope of years and the shifts between locations, it's the rare "Who" book that packs an amazing amount of density between its covers without overwhelming the reader or feeling rushed. There are definite and multiple arcs to just about everyone here, with so many moving parts that the balancing act alone is a joy to behold. It feels like stories within stories, that we're stepping into ongoing lives and visiting for a while before leaving again. Being it is a Past Doctor Adventure it has to cheat a little at the end and undo some of its changes, but it does so in a graceful way that doesn't feel too much like plot hammering (although it sidesteps how Anji could reverse her changes but still have aged four years). It adds a sense of resolution and there's an overall ache of emotion rarely seen in these novels.
I don't normally gush about these and I try to look at all of them with a critical eye. So maybe I'm getting sentimental as the series is winding to a close. Or maybe everything here legitimately works. There's no missteps, no moments where I went "Aw, come on!" and plenty of times where the book moved me, fascinated me, held my interest and kept me reading. Whatever sweet spots exist for me, this one hit them and it became one to dive into, swimming in a sea of facets and fractals, with side avenues to explore and reside and marvel at. It doesn't become a gamechanger, it couldn't this late in the game, but it does what so many Past Doctor Adventures fail to do, and that's add an essential story to the mix. It's a double shame that one of the best Eighth Doctor stories came at a time when there would be no more Eighth Doctor stories, and a double shame that a new writer like Wallace came in with a clear talent too late for us to get anymore novels from him (he doesn't appear to have written anything more than a short story here and there since, although he's done some editing). And maybe it is the rose-colored, amber drenched haze of nostalgia rearing its not-as-ugly-as-you-once-thought head but it seems like almost unintentionally Wallace wrote a novel that reminds us what was mostly great about the Eighth Doctor era to begin with, and provides a better cap than the actual final novel did. In that novel, the break never felt organic and seemed to be done with a wink to the audience. When this ends, you get the sense he could go forever, and that feels fitting and that feels right.
Of course I'm speaking only in a relative fashion. All of one book ago I read the last of the Eighth Doctor novels, the final time he would appear as the present incarnation and not some "unseen adventure" version. Yet, lo and behold, I go to read the next Past Doctor Adventure book in the line and it seems that the Eighth Doctor is already making an appearance. That's service of some kind, or at least the mark that someone was unable to squeak in under the wire.
Actually Nick Wallace is several books too late as his story contains not the recent team of the Doctor, Fitz and Trix, but the only freshly broken up Doctor, Fitz and Anji team. I have no problem with this as I find myself ranking that trio as one of the classic pairings of a Doctor with companions, a mix of a Doctor hitting his stride with stories that were worthy of him, a veteran companion in it for the adventure and trying to find his footing once again (Fitz), and a new girl who could be both capable and out of her depth at the same time, but able to adapt and most importantly, react like a normal person would to strange things happening (Anji). Add in some entertaining banter and a camaraderie that never took the cheap way out into romance and it makes it a shame that this crew gets relegated to a vague canonicity, not even seeming to appear in the comic strips or the audio adventures that have become quite common now. It's a bit of an unsung era that deserves to be dug up and assessed again, and while Wallace's book came too soon after the end of that era for a proper assessment to be taken, what it does accomplish is the two things it needs to accomplish: it fits in perfectly with the tone of the era and it reminds you what made that team great.
The three of them wind up on Mars in a time after Earth has fought off an alien invasion, making everyone a bit leery of anything resembling an alien lifeform. Quickly Anji is attacked and wounded by two soldiers that have gone berserk and while she recovers the Doctor takes it upon himself to grab Fitz and figure out what's going on. Soon enough they wind up on the Farside space station, and before they can get to the heart of the mystery the entire station either suffers an accident or an attack and appears to be utterly destroyed, stranding Anji on Mars in the future, where she has to figure out how to make a life for herself.
Wallace does so many things right here that it's hard to know where to even start. He gives the plot a nested and shifting time structure, switching between a present day where Anji is with the survivors of the station accident, thte Doctor and Fitz four years before attempting to sift through the source of Anji's attack, and the aftermath of their disappearance as Anji seeks to have a normal life. The constant switching and jumping back and forth means that the plot has simultaneously already transpired and is being revealed, giving the book both a momentum and scope that a traditional structure wouldn't have been able to handle. He parcels out the secrets pretty evenly in each thread and obscures the causes enough so that it isn't exactly clear how one thread is going to necessarily lead to the other. Having some characters appear in the present day and the four years prior thread only adds to the sense of continuity and leads into the next things he gets right: the people.
When people are plunged into unfamiliar situations the story will live and die based on the people who surround them, especially if the situation is unfamiliar to us as well. It requires that the people be sketched with enough detail that we not only believe them but believe their reactions to the world around them, so when a strange world starts going even stranger, we're right there along with them to say "Hey, this isn't right." Wallace writes a small story in the sense that all of existence isn't in direct peril, where the threat is more to the small worlds that we make for ourselves and are just as vital to us intact as the planet that we stand on. He writes about people trying to enjoy the day-to-day things, whether it's finding a new life or entering a new relationship, eating meals with friends, trying to pick the right moment to have an uncomfortable discussion, and he makes them believable even though it's happening on, say, Mars. That's the real heart of the book, he pitches everyone just right so you revel in their triumphs and feel for their pains and it makes any other nuttiness the book might throw at you easier to swallow, especially considering how long we're left in the dark. It's just interesting spending time with these characters.
The true nature of the plot is obscured for maybe longer than some folks would like but for me what makes it work is the sense of various factions, of characters with different motivations all working with and against each other that works better than the Doctor versus some monolithic villain. There's a number of issues he has to parse out here and part of the fascination is how he deals with people who are inherently good but believe fully in the usefulness of something that isn't exactly ethical and believe in it more than they believe in his sense of morality. It's a function of the society that they exist in and Wallace does make the Mars of the future feel like a solid place, familiar but at the same time with its own evolved customs and focusing so much on Anji's attempts to live a normal life helps ground it, along with the other little details about the characters and their personal lives. Most of these people start out as ordinary and remain so by the story's end, and for me that works best, as opposed to the Doctor simply inspiring people to be extraordinary. They do what they do because that's how people can be when pushed into extreme situations and it makes the Doctor just another element in a story swirling with them, another factor of impact to be taken into account.
His Doctor becomes the Doctor we've always had, whimsical and steely in equal measure, unable to give up and suddenly rediscovering himself. He investigates something because he's curious and he feels that it's wrong, not because a crisis is thrust upon him. This story takes place right after he and Fitz get back together and Wallace navigates the relationship between the two of them, two men who are friends but who aren't entirely sure about each other. If the story does set one foot wrong it's keeping them and Anji apart for so long and considering how new she's supposed to be to the TARDIS, the initial decision to leave her alone on Mars suggests either supreme confidence or an extreme lapse in judgment. But she acquits herself well, making the best of a bad situation and holding her own against the creepy Professional and the station survivors (whose attempts to survive deserve a book on its own). Fitz as usual gets all the best lines and has perhaps the coolest moment in his career as the book heads toward its climax. And it's a mark of how well the book is constructed that the ultimate enemy barely makes a physical appearance and it hardly matters, as we're inside a war of ideas and a struggle that can only be managed by proxies. The Doctor shadowboxes to succeed and still manages to land a punch, which is the kind of person we'd always hoped this version would be.
But this is a book that oddly contains multitudes, with the scope of years and the shifts between locations, it's the rare "Who" book that packs an amazing amount of density between its covers without overwhelming the reader or feeling rushed. There are definite and multiple arcs to just about everyone here, with so many moving parts that the balancing act alone is a joy to behold. It feels like stories within stories, that we're stepping into ongoing lives and visiting for a while before leaving again. Being it is a Past Doctor Adventure it has to cheat a little at the end and undo some of its changes, but it does so in a graceful way that doesn't feel too much like plot hammering (although it sidesteps how Anji could reverse her changes but still have aged four years). It adds a sense of resolution and there's an overall ache of emotion rarely seen in these novels.
I don't normally gush about these and I try to look at all of them with a critical eye. So maybe I'm getting sentimental as the series is winding to a close. Or maybe everything here legitimately works. There's no missteps, no moments where I went "Aw, come on!" and plenty of times where the book moved me, fascinated me, held my interest and kept me reading. Whatever sweet spots exist for me, this one hit them and it became one to dive into, swimming in a sea of facets and fractals, with side avenues to explore and reside and marvel at. It doesn't become a gamechanger, it couldn't this late in the game, but it does what so many Past Doctor Adventures fail to do, and that's add an essential story to the mix. It's a double shame that one of the best Eighth Doctor stories came at a time when there would be no more Eighth Doctor stories, and a double shame that a new writer like Wallace came in with a clear talent too late for us to get anymore novels from him (he doesn't appear to have written anything more than a short story here and there since, although he's done some editing). And maybe it is the rose-colored, amber drenched haze of nostalgia rearing its not-as-ugly-as-you-once-thought head but it seems like almost unintentionally Wallace wrote a novel that reminds us what was mostly great about the Eighth Doctor era to begin with, and provides a better cap than the actual final novel did. In that novel, the break never felt organic and seemed to be done with a wink to the audience. When this ends, you get the sense he could go forever, and that feels fitting and that feels right.
January 27, 2014
*I missed this one and had to read it out of sequence*
What a fantastic story! It had me fooled the whole way through.
Seeing the way the Doctor and Fitz work together as a team is really moving. They've been through so much--so much more than either of them realizes. It's a really interesting situation. The Doctor's heart situation continues to provide an interesting insight into his character, his memory loss . . . not so much.
Anji's whole misadventure on Mars was less fun, and brings into question her remark in Doctor Who: Time Zero where she claims that she'd spent only "months . . . years perhaps" with the Doctor. Perhaps? Even if you argue that she doesn't remember her time on Mars, it would still have aged her. (EDIT: I've re-read it twice now and I noticed that she gets de-aged or something, so I take that back.)
If you love the Doctor and Fitz, read it.
What a fantastic story! It had me fooled the whole way through.
Seeing the way the Doctor and Fitz work together as a team is really moving. They've been through so much--so much more than either of them realizes. It's a really interesting situation. The Doctor's heart situation continues to provide an interesting insight into his character, his memory loss . . . not so much.
Anji's whole misadventure on Mars was less fun, and brings into question her remark in Doctor Who: Time Zero where she claims that she'd spent only "months . . . years perhaps" with the Doctor. Perhaps? Even if you argue that she doesn't remember her time on Mars, it would still have aged her. (EDIT: I've re-read it twice now and I noticed that she gets de-aged or something, so I take that back.)
If you love the Doctor and Fitz, read it.
July 15, 2012
Had to drag myself through the first third, but am glad I persisted as it did pick up as the plot unravelled. Sadly I probably missed some of the plot due to my initial diagonal reading. Also, I need to start reading these in at least some semblance of order, as I am forever confused about the nature of the Doctor's amnesia, his number of hearts, and the state of his home planet. All in all, quite enjoyable.
February 8, 2011
Past Doctor Adventure (PDA) with the eighth Doctor, Anji, Fitz. One of the handful of Doctor Who 'original novels' that can be called a mature novel. But if you're particularly bothered by peculiar punctuation usage and choppy sentences, you're not going to be as thrilled with it as some readers.
October 3, 2015
I didn't really enjoy this one, especially the twist BUT it is a lot better than some of the Doctor Who novels I've read recently.
September 15, 2024
Astonishingly detailed, riveting characters and full of great set pieces. One of the best.
May 7, 2025
Fairly good read although it seemed at times to be a hard science fiction book battling a Doctor Who novel and they don’t meld for quite a while.
March 21, 2016
42 WORD REVIEW:
Fear Itself is of that rare breed of standalone Doctor Who novel the success of which doesn’t depend on familiar echoes of the programme itself. Wallace crafts a mystery — one that actually wouldn’t work on television — melding setting, characterisation and genuine intrigue.
Fear Itself is of that rare breed of standalone Doctor Who novel the success of which doesn’t depend on familiar echoes of the programme itself. Wallace crafts a mystery — one that actually wouldn’t work on television — melding setting, characterisation and genuine intrigue.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews