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Eighth Doctor Adventures #8
Doctor Who: Option Lock
Landing in present-day England, all appears serene as the Doctor and Sam emerge from the TARDIS into the idyllic grounds of the Silver family's ancestral home. Only when they enter the house do they suspect things are not what they seem.
How far-reaching is the strange power of a secret society almost 700 years old, and how is it linked to the mysterious Station Nine? And what is the significance of a series of paintings that drove a man to suicide?
From thirteenth-century England to the former Soviet Union, from the United States to the cold wastes of space, the various strands of a complex plan come together and threaten to engulf the world in a nightmare of nuclear destruction...
This novel is another in the series of adventures featuring the Eighth Doctor and Sam.
How far-reaching is the strange power of a secret society almost 700 years old, and how is it linked to the mysterious Station Nine? And what is the significance of a series of paintings that drove a man to suicide?
From thirteenth-century England to the former Soviet Union, from the United States to the cold wastes of space, the various strands of a complex plan come together and threaten to engulf the world in a nightmare of nuclear destruction...
This novel is another in the series of adventures featuring the Eighth Doctor and Sam.
281 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1998
8 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Justin Richards
330 books241 followersJustin Richards is a British writer. He has written many spin off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and he is Creative Director for the BBC Books range. He has also written for television, contributing to Five's soap opera Family Affairs. He is also the author of a series of crime novels for children about the Invisible Detective, and novels for older children. His Doctor Who novel The Burning was placed sixth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelisation or TV tie-in novel" category of 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
December 11, 2022
This isn't a bad story so not sure why I've seen some negative reviews.
The tardis lands in present day England and all seems ok, the doctor and sam enter the silver family's home and nothing seems right.
The tardis lands in present day England and all seems ok, the doctor and sam enter the silver family's home and nothing seems right.
May 8, 2012
“In and out the shuttle goes…”
So the pattern goes on, another even numbered EDA, another keeper. I begin to fear that I’m becoming ill prepared for irregularity, what if the rhythm falls apart, how would I deal with a world where ok stories are sandwiched between classics, or where they run on to the point where I can’t see their charms? What if a whole run of bad stories were somehow vital to the ongoing meta-plot…?
For now let us focus on the matter at hand.
I didn’t have the highest of hopes for this one, as I’ll freely admit. It was pegged by one review i read in advance as being dull and forgettable, and whilst I think that’s rather harsh it is, I suppose, the least memorable of the good stories so far.
A lot depends, I think, on how you read it, certainly I can see how one could make an earnest attempt at this book and still find it wanting, I nearly had the same problem with Vampire Science, and I think the heart of the issue is not wanting it to be something it’s not. They’re understated stories, essentially, although this one does have more of a global scale, none the less it has no bizarre monsters, very little scifi stuff, and it’s far from overflowing with mad characters and ideas. This is never going to be as thrilling then as Alien Bodies, but that needn’t be that standard against which all things are measured, and next to the gaudiness of Kursaal it all felt refreshingly grounded, the characters were subtle (with the curious exception of General Kane), but there was never a sense that Richards didn’t know how to write them, or didn’t know how to write, for that matter.
The opening is slow, but I quite enjoyed the leisurely pace, the polite conversation, Sam and Pickering flirting in the garden, the days of library work, I see how some people might not but for me it was a nice breather. I rather liked Pickering as a character actually, he had an earnestness which rather undercut his otherwise Bond-like nature. (Pro tip, picture him as Hal from Being Human.)
Similarly Silver is quite a good baddie so long as you manage two things; firstly be sure to cast him in your mind as someone with a bit of charm, he’s not the most original villain, and may flounder without a bit of applied gravitas. Secondly don’t conflate that with taking him too seriously, ultimately he’s second rate, and that could be a shot in the knee if you pin your hopes on him being a real Stavro Blofeld. But the saving throw is that the story knows it too, The Doctor doesn’t take him seriously, his lair is a (not too shabby) wine cellar, and his henchmen are his house staff, even his plan isn’t his own, he’s a pawn, a patsy, a vessel. That in mind he’s quite enjoyable.
I shan’t be entirely charitable. There are three things that i’d say are to the story’s detriment, and in order of severity they are:
One, the story sort of tried to sell it’s self as a blend of alchemy and techno thriller. This is fine and all, but it wasn’t. It was a techno-thriller which once or twice used alchemical terms and which featured the distant relatives of some people who may have practiced more literal alchemy. Not that i mind this, I don’t think that it was a misrepresentation of what alchemy is about, but mostly because it barely touches on the subject except to add some Gothic grandeur to things.
Two, Richards clearly had a lot of fun with the (sir)names of the characters, indulging an obvious fondness for etymology and Old English words, but the game became tired before he tired of it to say the least, and some of the explanations were weak enough to make me roll my eyes somewhat, and there’s a remarkable conceit to nobody seeming to have descended down the female line at any point (I thought this not-especially-clever trick was going to be pulled on us at one point, but no, it was a lead in to some rather shaky linguistic games.)
And three, it get’s very… technical in places. This novel, at times, really puts the techno into techno-thriller, and i don’t mean it’s out on the rave scene. I think this is a thing with cold war type spy adventures, sadly to a degree which was rather detrimental to the more dramatic moments in the story. (pro tip, picture Pete Kellerman as Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine. i really don’t have a clue how or if the character would work at all if you don’t do that)
So… Sam & Doctor Watch (diddle-diddle-deeeeeeeeeeee): Sam was pretty good this time ‘round actually, it really stood out the degree to which she didn’t spend the whole time thinking about her daddy issues. she got some moments where she seemed like a grown woman, which was nice, given how childishly she’s written sometimes in spite of her age. The Doctor too was pretty much spot on (it’s been a while since he was badly handled actually), nothing exceptional, but just good old Eight (if it’s not too soon to talk about such things). there was a nice moment when hitchhiking, and a brilliant little bit when his old predicting-people’s-futures habit crops up again.
So all in all a story with no iconic monsters or set pieces, understated characters, and some frustratingly fiddly bits, all in the English countryside, rather than glamorous and distant worlds. A cup-of-tea story, if you will. I’m fine with that. but this was the least enthralling of the good EDAs, and after the most bearable of the bad ones… the pattern breaks down, the falcon cannot see the falconer, surely now must be the turning point, for otherwise Legacy of the Daleks will be an under rated gem, followed by a poor effort from Paul Leonard, and this simply cannot be.
So the pattern goes on, another even numbered EDA, another keeper. I begin to fear that I’m becoming ill prepared for irregularity, what if the rhythm falls apart, how would I deal with a world where ok stories are sandwiched between classics, or where they run on to the point where I can’t see their charms? What if a whole run of bad stories were somehow vital to the ongoing meta-plot…?
For now let us focus on the matter at hand.
I didn’t have the highest of hopes for this one, as I’ll freely admit. It was pegged by one review i read in advance as being dull and forgettable, and whilst I think that’s rather harsh it is, I suppose, the least memorable of the good stories so far.
A lot depends, I think, on how you read it, certainly I can see how one could make an earnest attempt at this book and still find it wanting, I nearly had the same problem with Vampire Science, and I think the heart of the issue is not wanting it to be something it’s not. They’re understated stories, essentially, although this one does have more of a global scale, none the less it has no bizarre monsters, very little scifi stuff, and it’s far from overflowing with mad characters and ideas. This is never going to be as thrilling then as Alien Bodies, but that needn’t be that standard against which all things are measured, and next to the gaudiness of Kursaal it all felt refreshingly grounded, the characters were subtle (with the curious exception of General Kane), but there was never a sense that Richards didn’t know how to write them, or didn’t know how to write, for that matter.
The opening is slow, but I quite enjoyed the leisurely pace, the polite conversation, Sam and Pickering flirting in the garden, the days of library work, I see how some people might not but for me it was a nice breather. I rather liked Pickering as a character actually, he had an earnestness which rather undercut his otherwise Bond-like nature. (Pro tip, picture him as Hal from Being Human.)
Similarly Silver is quite a good baddie so long as you manage two things; firstly be sure to cast him in your mind as someone with a bit of charm, he’s not the most original villain, and may flounder without a bit of applied gravitas. Secondly don’t conflate that with taking him too seriously, ultimately he’s second rate, and that could be a shot in the knee if you pin your hopes on him being a real Stavro Blofeld. But the saving throw is that the story knows it too, The Doctor doesn’t take him seriously, his lair is a (not too shabby) wine cellar, and his henchmen are his house staff, even his plan isn’t his own, he’s a pawn, a patsy, a vessel. That in mind he’s quite enjoyable.
I shan’t be entirely charitable. There are three things that i’d say are to the story’s detriment, and in order of severity they are:
One, the story sort of tried to sell it’s self as a blend of alchemy and techno thriller. This is fine and all, but it wasn’t. It was a techno-thriller which once or twice used alchemical terms and which featured the distant relatives of some people who may have practiced more literal alchemy. Not that i mind this, I don’t think that it was a misrepresentation of what alchemy is about, but mostly because it barely touches on the subject except to add some Gothic grandeur to things.
Two, Richards clearly had a lot of fun with the (sir)names of the characters, indulging an obvious fondness for etymology and Old English words, but the game became tired before he tired of it to say the least, and some of the explanations were weak enough to make me roll my eyes somewhat, and there’s a remarkable conceit to nobody seeming to have descended down the female line at any point (I thought this not-especially-clever trick was going to be pulled on us at one point, but no, it was a lead in to some rather shaky linguistic games.)
And three, it get’s very… technical in places. This novel, at times, really puts the techno into techno-thriller, and i don’t mean it’s out on the rave scene. I think this is a thing with cold war type spy adventures, sadly to a degree which was rather detrimental to the more dramatic moments in the story. (pro tip, picture Pete Kellerman as Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine. i really don’t have a clue how or if the character would work at all if you don’t do that)
So… Sam & Doctor Watch (diddle-diddle-deeeeeeeeeeee): Sam was pretty good this time ‘round actually, it really stood out the degree to which she didn’t spend the whole time thinking about her daddy issues. she got some moments where she seemed like a grown woman, which was nice, given how childishly she’s written sometimes in spite of her age. The Doctor too was pretty much spot on (it’s been a while since he was badly handled actually), nothing exceptional, but just good old Eight (if it’s not too soon to talk about such things). there was a nice moment when hitchhiking, and a brilliant little bit when his old predicting-people’s-futures habit crops up again.
So all in all a story with no iconic monsters or set pieces, understated characters, and some frustratingly fiddly bits, all in the English countryside, rather than glamorous and distant worlds. A cup-of-tea story, if you will. I’m fine with that. but this was the least enthralling of the good EDAs, and after the most bearable of the bad ones… the pattern breaks down, the falcon cannot see the falconer, surely now must be the turning point, for otherwise Legacy of the Daleks will be an under rated gem, followed by a poor effort from Paul Leonard, and this simply cannot be.
August 24, 2022
Well written, with some intense moments and a powerful ending. But I find the 8th Doctor & Sam to be generically characterized, and the overall story feels a tad dry. This is top of the line, competent, middle-grade "Doctor Who" storytelling.
June 15, 2013
This is a difficult book to rate. Although I did not mention it in my review for Kursaal, I felt that it fell kind of between three and four stars; I bumped it up for its fun factor. This book likewise fell between three and four stars in my mind, but its flaws outweighed the fun.
First of all, it is a novel that deals with the politics of Earth in the 1990s; and although it was a contemporary story, it felt the need to recast world leaders. Odd choice, but whatever. The first real flaw I have to point out though is that even though both the US and UK militaries, and the UN in general, were involved in the story... UNIT wasn't even mentioned. The Doctor vaguely mumbles something about having once worked for the UN in an advisory capacity [and by mumble I mean we weren't even given that piece of dialog precisely], but UNIT itself seems not to exist in Justin Richard's world. I have no idea *why*, either; it just doesn't. Disappointing.
Second of all, although it got interesting later on, the book starts off unforgivably slow. It wasn't until I was about two-thirds of the way through the book that I really started to care about what was going on. {By contrast, Kursaal began uninteresting, but gained traction by about a quarter of the way in.} I really like the alien species in this book [another invented specifically in this book] but I think the author tried to stay mysterious a little too long. In the same way that Kursaal aimed for the horror genre, I think Option Lock aimed for the mystery genre... and got lost along the way in the spy thriller shelves. The book never really settled on a single identity, and I feel like that detracted from the overall story.
First of all, it is a novel that deals with the politics of Earth in the 1990s; and although it was a contemporary story, it felt the need to recast world leaders. Odd choice, but whatever. The first real flaw I have to point out though is that even though both the US and UK militaries, and the UN in general, were involved in the story... UNIT wasn't even mentioned. The Doctor vaguely mumbles something about having once worked for the UN in an advisory capacity [and by mumble I mean we weren't even given that piece of dialog precisely], but UNIT itself seems not to exist in Justin Richard's world. I have no idea *why*, either; it just doesn't. Disappointing.
Second of all, although it got interesting later on, the book starts off unforgivably slow. It wasn't until I was about two-thirds of the way through the book that I really started to care about what was going on. {By contrast, Kursaal began uninteresting, but gained traction by about a quarter of the way in.} I really like the alien species in this book [another invented specifically in this book] but I think the author tried to stay mysterious a little too long. In the same way that Kursaal aimed for the horror genre, I think Option Lock aimed for the mystery genre... and got lost along the way in the spy thriller shelves. The book never really settled on a single identity, and I feel like that detracted from the overall story.
December 6, 2018
Arriving in the idyllic grounds of the Silver family's ancestral home, The Doctor and Sam soon discover that an ancient secret society is trying to start a nuclear war.
The initial mystery at the stately home is really intriguing, but once everything was revealed it soon become a dull runaround adventure.
The initial mystery at the stately home is really intriguing, but once everything was revealed it soon become a dull runaround adventure.
May 10, 2024
An uneven but sometimes exciting effort from Doctor Who stalwart Justin Richards. The action veers between some odd happenings in a country house and a full on nuclear attack. There are some clever ideas lurking in the back half of this, but you’ve got to power through the slow start to get to them.
2.5
2.5
August 7, 2020
An odd novel to review. I was loving it at first; the Doctor and Sam take residence in a big country manor, searching through the library in an attempt to make sense of creepy gargoyles and a series of paintings that was never completed due to the artist's suicide. This part had such a unique and charming sense of atmosphere.
But seemingly out of nowhere the book caveats into a political drama, covering, in excruciating detail, the nuclear defence strategies of every world superpower. The concept of Station 9, a space missile facility so secret that even the President doesn't know about it, is a great one but never really pays of in this story. I also don't feel like the ancient, secret coven ever reaches its full potential.
I want to stress that this book is really well written, and Richards constantly demonstrates his skill with prose. There are lots of great concepts and characters, but ultimately this book feels disjointed and fails to live up to its potential.
But seemingly out of nowhere the book caveats into a political drama, covering, in excruciating detail, the nuclear defence strategies of every world superpower. The concept of Station 9, a space missile facility so secret that even the President doesn't know about it, is a great one but never really pays of in this story. I also don't feel like the ancient, secret coven ever reaches its full potential.
I want to stress that this book is really well written, and Richards constantly demonstrates his skill with prose. There are lots of great concepts and characters, but ultimately this book feels disjointed and fails to live up to its potential.
April 21, 2022
I find myself having a love/indifferent relationship with the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures. First of all, they're hard to get my hands on. Being out of print, I have to rely on my library's Inter-Library Loan program to acquire them. So far, I've been lucky enough to aquire seven of the first eight. I really enjoy Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor having enjoyed the TV Movie despite its faults and followed his adventures from Big Finish. These novels, released after the TV Movie and before Big Finish have had varied results with the first six relying on aspects of Doctor Who past to drive the stories (with the exception of the sixth novel Doctor Who: Alien Bodies, which simply has an aspect of the past appear as just one cog in an already massive plot). I've actually enjoyed more than I've hated. Not counting the book I couldn't acquire, I've only not finished one of these and thoroughly enjoyed five of the first eight.
In this story, the Doctor and Sam Jones (the companion introduced briefly in Doctor Who: The Eight Doctors) arrive on an English Estate whose owner is a part-time hypnotist who consults with the military. In the library is the Philosopher's Stone, a marbled orb that glows mysteriously. As the Doctor investigates the manor's history he discovers a secret society that has endured through the centuries. And all the while, the threat of nuclear war hovers over the adventure.
This was a fun read that works as a political thriller coupled with a sci-fi/secret society mystery. It's relatively fast-paced and read quick. I'm enjoying Sam, though she still doesn't seem super defined for me (part of it is that she's not a TV or Audio companion who has a distinct voice I can hear in my head). Because I enjoy political thrillers and the Eighth Doctor, this just breezed through for me. The alien plot is revealed well, and resolved in an enjoyable manner. And with the best of this genera, there's a nice coda after everything's wrapped up. This was fun and a worthy inheritor of the Doctor Who mantle.
In this story, the Doctor and Sam Jones (the companion introduced briefly in Doctor Who: The Eight Doctors) arrive on an English Estate whose owner is a part-time hypnotist who consults with the military. In the library is the Philosopher's Stone, a marbled orb that glows mysteriously. As the Doctor investigates the manor's history he discovers a secret society that has endured through the centuries. And all the while, the threat of nuclear war hovers over the adventure.
This was a fun read that works as a political thriller coupled with a sci-fi/secret society mystery. It's relatively fast-paced and read quick. I'm enjoying Sam, though she still doesn't seem super defined for me (part of it is that she's not a TV or Audio companion who has a distinct voice I can hear in my head). Because I enjoy political thrillers and the Eighth Doctor, this just breezed through for me. The alien plot is revealed well, and resolved in an enjoyable manner. And with the best of this genera, there's a nice coda after everything's wrapped up. This was fun and a worthy inheritor of the Doctor Who mantle.
August 21, 2014
Strange, when comparing this to other BBC Doctor Who books, to realise that it’s quite rare for a writer’s literary ability to shine through more strongly than the story itself. For any series of tie-in novels, the reverse is almost always true, and was certainly the case after this book’s author, Justin Richards, took over the range. ‘Option Lock’ is written with verve, vigour and a mastery over form and content. The snag is that the content – the story itself – just doesn’t convince.
I am inclined to agree with other reviewers on this one, and for once the overall number of Goodreads stars fully matches my view of a book. The central idea of the descendents of a cabal of Masonic types continuing to wield influence to bring about a situation even they don’t fully understand just doesn’t ring true – although, again, it is to Richards’ real credit that the reader will be so caught up in the telling of the story that this doesn’t become clear until you go over it all in your head afterwards! This is the issue, though – there are so many great ideas in here (secret societies, the philosopher’s stone, the nature of the threat posed by the aliens) that none are able to shine as well as they deserve to.
I wish – as observed by other reviewers – that unexplained aspects such as the passing of the society’s inheritance through the male line rather than the female could have been incorporated as actual plot points rather than the ‘stubs’ they actually emerge as. These would have turned an undeniably ‘good’ novel into the ‘great’ one Richards’ writing style should have allowed it to be. This isn’t so much a missed opportunity as a lack of realisation at how much good stuff there is in here, and what a well-told story this really is.
Still, Richards’ ability to tell a tale and really working hard on making it flow paid real dividends – two years later, he was appointed as editor of the BBC Books line, where he remains to this day. Eclectic, well-told and expertly crafted, ‘Option Lock’ is in some ways a microcosm of his future stewardship of the range – and it demonstrates why there are few to compare with him.
I am inclined to agree with other reviewers on this one, and for once the overall number of Goodreads stars fully matches my view of a book. The central idea of the descendents of a cabal of Masonic types continuing to wield influence to bring about a situation even they don’t fully understand just doesn’t ring true – although, again, it is to Richards’ real credit that the reader will be so caught up in the telling of the story that this doesn’t become clear until you go over it all in your head afterwards! This is the issue, though – there are so many great ideas in here (secret societies, the philosopher’s stone, the nature of the threat posed by the aliens) that none are able to shine as well as they deserve to.
I wish – as observed by other reviewers – that unexplained aspects such as the passing of the society’s inheritance through the male line rather than the female could have been incorporated as actual plot points rather than the ‘stubs’ they actually emerge as. These would have turned an undeniably ‘good’ novel into the ‘great’ one Richards’ writing style should have allowed it to be. This isn’t so much a missed opportunity as a lack of realisation at how much good stuff there is in here, and what a well-told story this really is.
Still, Richards’ ability to tell a tale and really working hard on making it flow paid real dividends – two years later, he was appointed as editor of the BBC Books line, where he remains to this day. Eclectic, well-told and expertly crafted, ‘Option Lock’ is in some ways a microcosm of his future stewardship of the range – and it demonstrates why there are few to compare with him.
September 23, 2018
Ich dachte ja fast, nachdem ich Kursaal gelesen hatte, dass Alien Bodies mir für immer sämtlichen Lesegenuss an Doctor Who Büchern genommen hätte, da an Lawrence Miles' Meisterwerk so leicht nichts rankommt, aber anfangs hatte ich wahnsinnigen Spaß an Option Lock.
Am Anfang hatte das Buch trotz seines modernen Settings ein wahnsinniges Classic-Feeling. Der Landsitz, seltsame Vorkommnisse, "Dämonen"... das alles hätte auch Tom Baker gut gestanden.
Nachdem die seltsamen Vorkommnisse allerdings aufgeklärt sind, wandelt sich das Buch mehr und mehr in einen Politthriller, was der ganzen Geschichte leider nicht sehr gut tut, auch wenn die Story wahrscheinlich von Anfang an darauf ausgelegt war. Der Schluss ist nur noch leidlich spannend und ich hatte lange gar keine Lust mehr weiter zu lesen.
Toller Anfang, schwacher Schluss. Option Lock ist leider ein eher unterdurchschnittliches Buch.
Am Anfang hatte das Buch trotz seines modernen Settings ein wahnsinniges Classic-Feeling. Der Landsitz, seltsame Vorkommnisse, "Dämonen"... das alles hätte auch Tom Baker gut gestanden.
Nachdem die seltsamen Vorkommnisse allerdings aufgeklärt sind, wandelt sich das Buch mehr und mehr in einen Politthriller, was der ganzen Geschichte leider nicht sehr gut tut, auch wenn die Story wahrscheinlich von Anfang an darauf ausgelegt war. Der Schluss ist nur noch leidlich spannend und ich hatte lange gar keine Lust mehr weiter zu lesen.
Toller Anfang, schwacher Schluss. Option Lock ist leider ein eher unterdurchschnittliches Buch.
April 30, 2020
An incredible but underrated epic that stays grounded rather than becoming too grandiose. Justin Richards is one of those writers who I think is really underappreciated, for he has written many classics for both the books and Big Finish and this is no exception, an epic fast paced adventure with some intriguing ideas and really good characters. Sam and 8 are fantastic as usual, really feel this duo is really underappreciated especially the character Sam. Overall a fantastic story. 9/10
November 29, 2021
So I was warned going into this book that it wasn't the greatest Doctor Who novel. And...to be fair, it wasn't. But it also wasn't bad.
This book has the Doc and Sam in present day London where they have to deal with a weird cult that wants to set off a nuke. Pretty standard goal for a villain, but the why is at least mildly interesting.
The biggest issue i've seen that people have had with this movie is that there is quite a bit of Russia/America political intrigue. And i can see why this would be a turn off. There's actually a 20 page layout of the entire chain of the events it takes to set off a nuke. That's fine for a Tom Clancy novel, but not for Doctor Who. It was really the only part of the novel where I was like "wow...i really don't care" and skimmed through it.
The side characters were pretty forgettable as anytime any of the army people came on i completely forgot who they were 2 pages later. There was no real stand out background character i actually cared about and they were all pretty disposable.
Sam was more helpful in this book than before and i feel like she's actually beginning to make some headway into not being useless (despite the annoying thing they do with her character in the ending).
What i really loved about this book was the banter between the doctor and Sam. They actually had a lot of screen time together and their back and forth was the highlight of the book. Found myself smiling and even laughing a few times with their dialogues they had going on.
I wasn't a fan of the political parts of the book where the president and his generals were talking and i feel these scenes could have been cut down WAY more than they were to maybe 5 pages instead of 20-25.
Other than that, the book was fine. It's not going to win any awards for being the best book EVAR (misspelled on purpose), but that's fine. It doesn't have to be. it's a standard Doctor fare and the story left me wanting to read another. so that's a plus.
3.5 out of 5 rounded down to a 3.
This book has the Doc and Sam in present day London where they have to deal with a weird cult that wants to set off a nuke. Pretty standard goal for a villain, but the why is at least mildly interesting.
The biggest issue i've seen that people have had with this movie is that there is quite a bit of Russia/America political intrigue. And i can see why this would be a turn off. There's actually a 20 page layout of the entire chain of the events it takes to set off a nuke. That's fine for a Tom Clancy novel, but not for Doctor Who. It was really the only part of the novel where I was like "wow...i really don't care" and skimmed through it.
The side characters were pretty forgettable as anytime any of the army people came on i completely forgot who they were 2 pages later. There was no real stand out background character i actually cared about and they were all pretty disposable.
Sam was more helpful in this book than before and i feel like she's actually beginning to make some headway into not being useless (despite the annoying thing they do with her character in the ending).
What i really loved about this book was the banter between the doctor and Sam. They actually had a lot of screen time together and their back and forth was the highlight of the book. Found myself smiling and even laughing a few times with their dialogues they had going on.
I wasn't a fan of the political parts of the book where the president and his generals were talking and i feel these scenes could have been cut down WAY more than they were to maybe 5 pages instead of 20-25.
Other than that, the book was fine. It's not going to win any awards for being the best book EVAR (misspelled on purpose), but that's fine. It doesn't have to be. it's a standard Doctor fare and the story left me wanting to read another. so that's a plus.
3.5 out of 5 rounded down to a 3.
October 1, 2020
It hurts me to rate a Doctor Who book this low. It really does. However, this installment in the Eighth Doctor series just didn't do it for me. It truly read like the author wanted to write a Tom Clancy-esque, cold-war, political thriller, and was forced to write a Doctor Who novel instead. So he wrote what he wanted and shoe-horned the Doctor and Sam in there. The Doctor appears in this novel so little and does virtually nothing to drive or affect the plot- he's there almost as an afterthought. I honestly found myself zoning out during the political/military sections of the book and all the mumbo jumbo about nuke codes and the chain of command I just skimmed over. I want to know more about the alien race and the conciousness that was imparted on the descendants who found the spaceship. I don't read Doctor Who for political intrigue and the threat of nuclear war brought on by politics. SNORE. The mystery of the paintings and the house and the clump of strange woods was the interesting part, and a few chase scenes tossed throughout kept it mildly interesting. On the whole, I won't be rereading this and I'd recommend it as a pass to any Who fans, unless you're reading it to complete the Eighth Doctor collection.
January 15, 2023
I honestly had a good time with this one. The one thing it suffered from was a million military names to keep track of with the characters themselves having very few scenes; that just felt kind of extraneous to me. But it was a really fun book. There wasn't a dull moment, and as it went on, the core cast of one-off characters got pretty strong. I loved Pickering, big Pickering fan.
The best part of it for me was the continuation of Sam's realizing that being with the Doctor is making her hurt people over and over again, which is something I loved the beginnings of in Doctor Who: Genocide (I believe). I love melodrama and I love conflict 😁. I also am very excited to see how that builds in future books the longer she stays. I ❤️ Sam Jones.
Anyway yeah I thought this one was completely solid and fun and dramatic.
The best part of it for me was the continuation of Sam's realizing that being with the Doctor is making her hurt people over and over again, which is something I loved the beginnings of in Doctor Who: Genocide (I believe). I love melodrama and I love conflict 😁. I also am very excited to see how that builds in future books the longer she stays. I ❤️ Sam Jones.
Anyway yeah I thought this one was completely solid and fun and dramatic.
September 16, 2021
There's an awful lot of order confirmation porn in the 8th Eighth Doctor Adventure, Option Lock, as Justin Richard seems intent on writing a nuclear war thriller that may or may not star the Doctor. We spend an awful lot of time in situation rooms with Russian generals and American presidents. Oh, it's fine. Richards' prose moves at a fast clip, with short pithy scenes that flow into one another quite well, but I still resent it when we move away from the Doctor and Sam who are Da Vinci Coding their way through a mystery that will explain what's happening on the world stage. He does write a fun pair, it's just that they're stuck in a plot that requires them to do recaps every so often. If you're a quick enough reader, you really don't need them, and I often felt ahead of the Doctor. So I'm ambivalent about Option Lock. Great Doctor and Sam, but also a lot of padding, as if Richards took a TV script and lengthened it.
January 15, 2021
アートロンエネルギーが失われたためターディスは1998年のイギリスの郊外に緊急着陸。充電中、どこにも移動できないので、ドクターとサムはその間、周辺を散策することにする。ターディスが着地したところは私有地で、ドクターとサムはターディスが着地した側の廃墟に興味を持った歴史学者とその助手ということで、オーナーであるノートン・シルバーの屋敷に招かれる。屋敷の中に飾られてる絵画に違和感を感じたドクターは、その絵を描いた絵描きが自殺したと知って好奇心をくすぐられ、ターディスが動けるようになるまで、違和感の原因を調べることにする。
前半はドクターが絵画や廃墟についての謎解きをするための調べていく過程が描かれるのだが、そもそもプロローグで地球とは別の太陽系に属するカメリアン星人が戦闘中にクルーザーが被弾し、どこかの星に不時着しなくてはならなくなったことが描かれているので、ドクターが調べ物をしていく過程はやや退屈。中盤から核弾頭ミサイルが発射されるまでの意思決定や発射ボタンがおされるまで、また発射されてからの各国のブレインたちの様子がこまかく描かれる。この間、ドクターはまったく絡んでいないので、好みの問題かもしれないが、興味がもてず、残念な印象。”核の脅威”が前面に強く打ち出されすぎてしまったには書かれた時代背景から考えればしょうがないことなのかもしれないが。
全く面白くないわけでもないが、面白いわけでもないという読感。
前半はドクターが絵画や廃墟についての謎解きをするための調べていく過程が描かれるのだが、そもそもプロローグで地球とは別の太陽系に属するカメリアン星人が戦闘中にクルーザーが被弾し、どこかの星に不時着しなくてはならなくなったことが描かれているので、ドクターが調べ物をしていく過程はやや退屈。中盤から核弾頭ミサイルが発射されるまでの意思決定や発射ボタンがおされるまで、また発射されてからの各国のブレインたちの様子がこまかく描かれる。この間、ドクターはまったく絡んでいないので、好みの問題かもしれないが、興味がもてず、残念な印象。”核の脅威”が前面に強く打ち出されすぎてしまったには書かれた時代背景から考えればしょうがないことなのかもしれないが。
全く面白くないわけでもないが、面白いわけでもないという読感。
December 20, 2021
I was a little hesitant at first with this ranking because it was really had to figure our the plot at fiest bur stick though and it’s good I promise I felt so dumb when i didnt see some stuff coming earlier like it took me a while to catch onto what was happening. I admit I kept having to stop and take a break in order to get through the beginning but the ending makes so much sense and honestly it was legitimately a really good read and. There was a hidden thing that I didn't even pick up on until it was reviled honestly one of the better books in the series so far
June 3, 2021
I enjoyed this book. I think it was a bit skewed by how much I did not enjoy the previous book Kursaal. But especially the first half with Doctor/Sam trying to figure out what was happening was fun. The rest got a little political and confusing with too many characters but I skipped over some of that and mostly focused on Doctor/Sam and so still found the ending enjoyable (though the last few pages were really gut wrenching.... not to give anything away...)
July 5, 2021
This was ssssssoooo boring. The author (who's written some solid Doctor Who that I liked in other book ranges, not sure what happened with this one) seemed way more interested in this very tedious international espionage and political drama plot than anything happening with the Doctor. I want to like Sam, but no one has really figured out how to write her as more than just "generic companion" yet. Finally DNF'd @ 70%, I couldn't take it anymore and wanted to move on.
June 2, 2024
Most of this reads like a bad Tom Clancy book, which is not what I am looking for from Doctor Who. The Doctor and Sam are not given anything interesting to do, just a lot of research and running around the grounds of a manor house (at least not corridors, for a change?). There are two short and mildly intriguing snippets from the perspective of Future Sam, but that's the only positive I can scrape up. Highly skippable.
August 17, 2024
the first half of this book could have been written for me specifically hehe when the thing about bloodlines came with NAME LINGUISTICS !! you better believe i was clapping & cheering. honestly could have leaned a lot more into the Gothic Castle Bits than the potential nuclear war bits but oh well i still really liked it
January 10, 2026
i actually really enjoyed this one which seems to get mixed opinions.
the Doctor and Sam are in good form although maybe some the other characters are badly drawn.
we have a world manipulated into the brink of nuclear war before beung saved by tge doctor.
the Doctor and Sam are in good form although maybe some the other characters are badly drawn.
we have a world manipulated into the brink of nuclear war before beung saved by tge doctor.
January 17, 2019
A tight story that shows Eight and Sam at their best. The Cold War-esque intrigue felt a little dated, but the action was bloody and taunt. All in all a good adventure
June 26, 2019
3.5 stars - another Dr Who book read. These are always a good easy read
August 20, 2022
Oooo boy I struggled with this one, it's just like with everyone say, the writing in this book is fine, but the pacing is not great and it's really rather boring as well with a promising start.
February 13, 2023
I personally found this one really boring unfortunately.
December 9, 2023
A 3.5. Enjoyable but nothing special.
June 17, 2025
this book wants to be James Bond so bad but i'm sorry you’re just not him little bro #trvthnvke
August 21, 2013
"Sam, at times you're a genius. Those times don't seem to last very long, sadly."
Et du coup avec cette réplique, le Docteur exprime un sentiment assez similaire au mien concernant Sam. Parce que je ne l'aime pas. Vraiment, je n'aime pas Sam comme compagne, mais... dans ce livre je l'aime bien. Dans Alien Bodies je l'aime bien. C'est pas l'amour fou, mais ça va. Et du coup c'est frustrant, d'abord parce qu'à chaque fois que j'en suis rendue à vouloir lâcher l'affaire avec elle et à faire comme si elle était pas là, je tombe sur un livre où ça se passe un peu mieux et je lui redonne une chance; et ensuite parce que du coup je m'aperçois que c'est possible de la rendre supportable sans la dénaturer.
Enfin, passons sur le cas de Sam qui pose systématiquement problème depuis que je me suis lancée dans ces EDAs. Le truc c'est que pour le coup, j'ai aussi le même problème avec la globalité de ce roman. Je ne sais pas si je l'ai aimé ou pas, parce que parfois je me suis régalée, parfois ça a été très long.
C'est que cette aventure est comme coupée en tranche, de manière un peu brutale. On démarre en touriste dans un coin bien sympa, en mode petite maison dans la prairie (et on passe un brave moment à cueillir des fleurs...), puis on a un passage A La Maison Blanche, un passage James Bond, un passage Armaggeddon... le saut est parfois un peu violent! Certaines zones n'en finissent pas, d'autres sont d'une tension folle - j'ai failli reprendre le boulot en retard parce que je n'arrivais pas à lâcher le livre lors de la première "simulation" nucléaire :shame et donc au final je ne sais plus trop quoi penser de l'engin dans sa totalité.
La bonne nouvelle reste que Eight est Eight. De manière générale, ça suffit à me rendre heureuse et je l'ai retrouvé à la fois grand gamin farfelu et puits de sagesse tout comme je l'aime. J'ai adoré ce petit moment typiquement Eight où il se met à déballer le futur de ceux qui l'entourent et définitivement je le prend en autostop quand il veut - ce passage où le conducteur ne s'inquiète pas plus que ça des meubles de jardin mais s'interroge sur le thé est priceless!
"I'm a firm believer that sometimes ignorance is bliss"
Et du coup avec cette réplique, le Docteur exprime un sentiment assez similaire au mien concernant Sam. Parce que je ne l'aime pas. Vraiment, je n'aime pas Sam comme compagne, mais... dans ce livre je l'aime bien. Dans Alien Bodies je l'aime bien. C'est pas l'amour fou, mais ça va. Et du coup c'est frustrant, d'abord parce qu'à chaque fois que j'en suis rendue à vouloir lâcher l'affaire avec elle et à faire comme si elle était pas là, je tombe sur un livre où ça se passe un peu mieux et je lui redonne une chance; et ensuite parce que du coup je m'aperçois que c'est possible de la rendre supportable sans la dénaturer.
Enfin, passons sur le cas de Sam qui pose systématiquement problème depuis que je me suis lancée dans ces EDAs. Le truc c'est que pour le coup, j'ai aussi le même problème avec la globalité de ce roman. Je ne sais pas si je l'ai aimé ou pas, parce que parfois je me suis régalée, parfois ça a été très long.
C'est que cette aventure est comme coupée en tranche, de manière un peu brutale. On démarre en touriste dans un coin bien sympa, en mode petite maison dans la prairie (et on passe un brave moment à cueillir des fleurs...), puis on a un passage A La Maison Blanche, un passage James Bond, un passage Armaggeddon... le saut est parfois un peu violent! Certaines zones n'en finissent pas, d'autres sont d'une tension folle - j'ai failli reprendre le boulot en retard parce que je n'arrivais pas à lâcher le livre lors de la première "simulation" nucléaire :shame et donc au final je ne sais plus trop quoi penser de l'engin dans sa totalité.
La bonne nouvelle reste que Eight est Eight. De manière générale, ça suffit à me rendre heureuse et je l'ai retrouvé à la fois grand gamin farfelu et puits de sagesse tout comme je l'aime. J'ai adoré ce petit moment typiquement Eight où il se met à déballer le futur de ceux qui l'entourent et définitivement je le prend en autostop quand il veut - ce passage où le conducteur ne s'inquiète pas plus que ça des meubles de jardin mais s'interroge sur le thé est priceless!
"I'm a firm believer that sometimes ignorance is bliss"
June 12, 2013
The TARDIS is losing artron energy, so the Eighth Doctor and his companion, Sam, make an unexpected landing, materializing on the grounds of the Silver family's ancestral home. As the Doctor and Sam spend time at the estate, they discover the reason for the power drain, and a dark family secret that could lead to a nuclear holocaust.
This is a good story, but Justin Richards tends to write the better books in the BBC range. Typically of Doctor Who, while the story is sci-fi, there's not a lot of sci-fi in the majority of it. Many of the mysteries and dangers in the bulk of the plot come from conventional weapons and regular people. Of course, there's the undercurrent of something other-worldly going on, and that occasionally comes to light, but for the most part this reads like a it could have come from the first couple of Third Doctor Earth-bound seasons.
I'd rate it PG-13 for violence. It's definitely not for a younger Who fan--not just because of the violence, but also the style. That is, it doesn't read as if it was written for kids.
This is a good story, but Justin Richards tends to write the better books in the BBC range. Typically of Doctor Who, while the story is sci-fi, there's not a lot of sci-fi in the majority of it. Many of the mysteries and dangers in the bulk of the plot come from conventional weapons and regular people. Of course, there's the undercurrent of something other-worldly going on, and that occasionally comes to light, but for the most part this reads like a it could have come from the first couple of Third Doctor Earth-bound seasons.
I'd rate it PG-13 for violence. It's definitely not for a younger Who fan--not just because of the violence, but also the style. That is, it doesn't read as if it was written for kids.
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