Doctor Who: Dreamstone Moon

Eighth Doctor Adventures #11

by Paul Leonard

Sam is on her own, but her distance from the Doctor doesn’t make for a trouble-free life. Rescued from an out-of-control spaceship, she finds herself on a tiny moon which is the only known source of dreamstone, a mysterious crystalline substance that can preserve your dreams -- or give you nightmares.

Pitched into the middle of a conflict between the mining company extracting dreamstone and ecological protesters, Sam thinks it’s easy to decide who the good guys are -- until people start dying, and the killers seem to be the same species as some of her new friends.

Meanwhile, the Doctor has tracked Sam down, but before he can reach her he’s co-opted by the Dreamstone Mining Company and their sinister military advisers. Suddenly, it’s war -- and the Doctor is forced to fight against what he believes in. He alone suspects that dreamstone isn’t what it appears to be. But nobody’s listening - and nobody could dream who the real enemy is...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Ebooks, Aliens

250 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Paul J. Leonard Hinder, better known by his pseudonym of Paul Leonard and also originally published as PJL Hinder, is an author best known for his work on various spin-off fiction based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Leonard has acknowledged a debt to his friend and fellow Doctor Who author Jim Mortimore in his writing career, having turned to Mortimore for help and advice at the start of it. This advice led to his first novel, Venusian Lullaby being published as part of Virgin Publishing's Missing Adventures range in 1994. Virgin published three more of his novels before losing their licence to publish Doctor Who fiction: Dancing the Code (1995); Speed of Flight (1996) and (as part of their New Adventures range) Toy Soldiers (1995). Following the loss of their licence, Virgin also published the novel Dry Pilgrimage (co-written with Nick Walters) in 1998 as part of their Bernice Summerfield range of novels.

Leonard also wrote for the fourth volume of Virgin's Decalog short story collections. Following this, he was asked to co-edit the fifth volume of the collection with mentor Jim Mortimore.

Leonard's experience in writing for Doctor Who led to him being asked to write one of the first novels in BBC Books Eighth Doctor Adventures series, the novel Genocide. This led to four further novels for the range, of which The Turing Test received particular acclaim for its evocative use of real-life historical characters and first person narrative.

Leonard has also written short stories for the BBC Short Trips and Big Finish Short Trips collections.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the Sam is missing arc of the EDA’s this volume of that story feels very to what the modern series has done under the Tennant era.
This is a very companion centric Doctor-lite story.

Sam will always be one of the weaker characters to travel in the TARDIS but I like that all the writers in the range are trying to do something with her, at least she’s more front and centre this time!

The story itself has some good solid sci-fi ideas with a mining corporation extracting a crystalline substance that can preserve your dreams.

There’s some nice moments including the brief moment that Sam spots the Doctor (reminds me of Ten and Donna), and having read about half of the range before it feels like we are heading towards the good ones...

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice simple premise of a company mining dreamstone, which is a mineral that enhances dreams.

This really thrusts Sam into the fore having been separated from The Doctor.

A fascinating concept that felt reminiscent to previous adventures with plenty of action whilst Sam and The Doctor almost keeps meeting adds to the plot.

[Hidekisohma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay! Onto book #11 of the EDA. How was this one? Well, it was better than Longest Day! Yeah, Low bar i know.

So this book basically has Sam and the Doctor still separated. Same adventure, different paths. Normally, i wouldn't have a problem with this, but for the longest time, the doctor isn't even in the story. For the first 2/3 of the book, the doctor's in MAYBE 40 pages out of 160. This book is predominantly a Sam story. While i think Sam's fine, i really read these for the doctor, so when he doesn't show up for long swatches of time, i get a little bored.

I really liked some of the aliens in this story though. i like the idea of a tentacly octopus thing as one of the story's main characters well as one of the incidental characters' cat-girl girlfriend. It's nice to see some doctor who aliens in classic who other than "humanoid with weird eyebrows" that aren't villains and this book took the time to explain and show some non-humanoid aliens and i thought that was pretty neat.

In fact, i actually quite liked the first third of the book where the world was being explained and the characters were being introduced. However, when stuff went to hell (as it always does in who books) that's when the story took a dive for me and i really didn't care as much anymore. I didn't exactly zone out, but i didn't really CARE about the "exciting" parts of the story. I don't know, it just wasn't for me.

It seems that i just end up not liking Doctor who stories that involved space suits. Not BECAUSE of them, it just seems to end up being that way.

On a side note, One of the main side characters doesn't make it and i wasn't too fond of that. I feel like the author could have done better with that.

The previous book I read by Paul Leonard was "Genocide" and i will say this book is MILES better than that one. Once again, that's not saying a whole lot, but i felt it needed to be said.

The doctor was fine in this one, while Sam was a bit whiny as is seemingly per usual at this point. This story is definitely just fine. Not great, not bad, just fine. it told a story, it kind of had a resolution, and we learned the lesson of "mining bad. people need respect nature." You know, that lesson we've already known from 100 other stories.

So yeah, this book, Even 3 out of 5. no halves, just...even 3 out of 5.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This installment, number 11 in the Eighth Doctor Adventure series, is better than the last three books combined- which isn't hard to do since both Option Lock and Longest Day were dreadful, and Legacy of the Daleks was just okay. Dreamstone Moon was refreshing. The plot moved along quickly, all the side stories were important, and every character given time and pages figured prominently into the plot. It didn't feel like there was any wasted time in between the main story and action sequences. There's a mysterious planet in the future, a variety of aliens, humans looking to profit, and Sam and the Doctor embroiling themselves into all of it. This absolutely felt like it could be an episode of Classic or even New Who. The only frustrating part of it was the fact that Sam and the Doctor kept just missing each other, rather like the Doctor and Susan in the previous book. It would have been a five star read if the two of them were working together to solve the mystery of the moon. As it stands, it was a fun, fast read, even though Sam and the Doctor were separated.

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor and Sam are reunited - at least far as seeing each other before going their separate ways again. Bit of a disappointing choice there.

Sam at least has some solid character development in this, adjusting to a life without the Doctor. Both of them end up investigating an alien mine, the problems of which have something to do with dreamstones.

Paul Leonard displays his usual flair for alien life, and for writing Sam, but the story is quite flat and generally doesn’t make the most of its ideas. It’s okay but it feels like the good stuff is being saved for the next book.

[Jason Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice stuff here. Lost and on her own, Sam takes centre stage here. She’s a trendy lefty teenager who hates prejudice, yet she has to overcome her revulsion at some alien life forms. Like her patronising attitude to Victorian women in Bodysnatchers which gets a sharp correction, these are elements which would later feed into the creation of Rose Tyler on TV.

The Doctor is consequently almost a non character, but the dreamstone concept is a strong one. We don’t get all that’s hinted at - would love to see dream artists and more of the psychological aspects of dreamstone use - but this still an underrated EDA.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Leonard's best quality as a Doctor Who writer is in his creation of non-humanoid aliens and their points of view, and that's the best part of Dreamstone Moon, even if I'll always struggle with a bit of cognitive dissonance when humans are made part of a very sci-fi society out in the stars in the same time frame as The Dalek Invasion of Earth (which is really just the fault of the show's aesthetic at the time, I realize). This novel asks the question: "How many times can characters choke on lack of breathable air as a cliffhanger before it becomes a joke?" The other "joke" of course is that Sam and the Doctor have to keep missing each other to extend her adventures without him. Cut the "I want to kiss him" stuff (NuWho didn't really invent this) and this is a pretty good take on Sam Jones, consistent with what went before. The Doctor eventually shows up, but doesn't really become the lead. As far as the plot goes, the reader feels well ahead of the characters for most of it, but may find conclusions have been leapt to. So a pretty standard adventure, enlivened by a lot of local color and intense action/disaster scenes.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

So after a fun but fan wank Dalek story, I've been interested in a more intense story with plenty of drama, action, and high stakes and I am pleased to say that Dreamstone Moon seems to have ticked all those boxes.

Paul Leonard seems to be a bit of a hit and miss author some of his work being fantastic whilst some others are a bit too much at times with its adult themes. But this was an intense sci-fi thriller that not only tells a dramatic story but has an incredible amount of world-building and the best use of establishing other alien societies without feeling forced I've ever witnessed in a Doctor Who story and it also has some incredible character development for Sam for we see how she copes being on our her own without The Doctor and all the hell she goes through whilst attempting to get back to him, Sam is a really underappreciated character who I do think is incredibly fun and well-realized throughout the series and her bond with the 8th Doctor is great!

This novel also deals with interesting ideas of people using dream stones to help with their imagination when they dream and corporal greed which has huge consequences for the corporation and its workers in this story, for this is literally doomsday on Dreamstone Moon and what follows is an intense action-packed story where nobody is safe not even Sam. 8/10

[B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

i found this book almost out of place in tone and presentation from most of the rest of the series so far(a good thing!) but the content was very much the same (mining operation gone wrong, human colonist military, creatures underground, conflict of morals vs. money). it was a bleak story, and in a distinctly different way from how, say, Doctor Who: Longest Day was bleak. the bleakness of Dreamstone Moon wasn't just an onslaught of tedious atrocity within eyesight of a teenager who still has a bit of belief in something. it was this utterly brutal, systemic display of the inefficacy of any form of goodness or any will to do good in the face of a colonial corporate-military complex. we're shown level by level that there are good people, or at least people with good in them, in not only the activist group but the miners, the head of the mining base; there's even reluctant humanity in a military commander. and we're also shown that at any level of power no amount of sympathy will ever be enough for anyone to actually act against anything happening, and the people who try to act are doing so completely futilely. characters who know they're wrong go to their last scenes realising they can't even defend their actions and still carrying them out with dumb obedience. these are high ranking characters in this corporate-military complex. once colonialism has begun even if the actors start to regret it the action is in motion and the need to preserve their image will keep them on their original course.

the character work was done in a scattered manner, but was still more interesting than anything in the last few books. the doctor didn't do much, but especially towards the end we got some fascinating choices out of sam, ultimately of course her decision not to reach out to the doctor when she finally got the chance. i think having her finally in a position where she can face her attraction to him with enough distance she can actually consider it in a less biased way, and having her come out realising it's not something she wants to engage with to the point she willingly gives up not only having a single familiar person there for her but also her only way home if she ever wants to go back-- that was a bold and also great character move.

there were some things that didn't work for me; the framing of certain characters and things put me off, and i thought the pacing was all fucking over the place in a way that, sure, added to the sense of disorientation in the story, but read as loose and unintentional. i've heard so many good things about Doctor Who: Seeing I i'm looking forward to finally reading it.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuano le vicende in cui Sam è dispersa e il Dottore è alla sua ricerca. Sam era stata lasciata due libri prima in una situazione di pericolo, scappata dopo aver creduto che il Dottore fosse morto, e ora si ritrova dispersa nello spazio in un secolo che non le appartiene. Fortunatamente per lei, viene salvata, sfortunatamente però cade dalla padella nella brace, restando invischiata in una faida tra una compagnia mineraria e degli attivisti, su una luna che si rivelerà presto letale.
La storia è narrata principalmente dal punto di vista di Sam e degli altri personaggi secondari. Nonostante Sam abbia un sacco di scene di azione, cerchi di essere intraprendente e di salvare gli altri a discapito della sua sicurezza, è spiacevolmente evidente che si tratti di una ragazza di 17 anni piuttosto generica. Altri personaggi, come Daniel, il capitano Cleomides e Anton sono molto più interessanti nei loro pregi e difetti.
Purtroppo il Dottore è quasi una comparsa: certamente ha delle buone scene e la risoluzione finale spetta a lui, ma compare veramente poco e spesso dal punto di vista di altre persone, andando ad appiattirlo.
Ci sono dei validi elementi nella storia, come la presenza di una coscienza nella luna che influenza / è influenzata dai sogni, nonché la realizzazione che gli esseri umani siano i veri antagonisti della storia, tuttavia non è valorizzato abbastanza. La maggior parte della trama si concentra sui personaggi in pericolo a causa di terremoti e incidenti, correndo da una parte all'altra, ogni volta con il rischio di rimanere senza ossigeno. Ho perso il conto di tutte le volte in cui qualcuno rischiava di morire di asfissia, finendo per diventare ripetitivo. La risoluzione finale poi si è rivelata rapida, confusa e fin troppo semplicistica.
Ma la cosa più frustrante è stato vedere il Dottore e Sam restare separati per tutto il tempo per qualche causa esterna, anche se in alcuni casi erano così vicini da potersi scorgere, e rimanere lontani anche alla fine a causa di qualche incomprensione tra i due.
È molto irritante il fatto che Sam (per ben tre volte!) si convinca che il Dottore sia morto, salvo poi scoprire che si è salvato e fa un po' storcere il naso che si sia presa una cotta per lui (per quanto comprensibile), soprattutto dato che spesso le altre persone li confondono per padre e figlia. Quindi sono contenta che nel prossimo libro Sam cresca di ben 3 anni, e spero che corrisponda ad uno sviluppo del personaggio.
Nel complesso, è un libro piuttosto mediocre, ma almeno fa da apripista per il prossimo.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This adventure was kind of a let down. It was hard to get into and for a while I couldn’t figure out why. But I realized it’s because it’s all over the place. The prologue tries to dump you right into another world but it falls so short. The character of Anton isn’t very interesting and even Sam is written as this kind of pushover. Even when she isn’t with the Doctor she still fills the companion role with someone else.
The plot itself is essentially Doctor Who meets Encounter at Farpoint. And it wastes many pages jumping between different narratives that should resolve much quicker than they do. The storyline of the Doctor without Sam is still going and kind of threadbare at this point. I know there is one more novel before they get back together but part of me hoped this whole novel that it would be resolved at the end because I don’t know if I can take another dual storyline novel.

I gave the book 2 stars because at the end of the day, the 8th Doctor is such an amazing character and the BBC books really do bring him to life. Coupled with the Big Finish audios he has had so many amazing adventures that the pain of not seeing more filmed stories hurt a little less.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story drags a bit with some of the muti perspectives without adding a whole lot. Themes of extraction, xenophobia and when violence is warranted, what is a life worth saving and responsibility are handled fairly well.

Spoilers after here-
---


The doctor ending up killing the antagonist was surprising to me, and very much was an act of killing one to save many. It's always interesting how the doctor is willing to make these decisions but admonishes others.
This choice waxes and wanes depending on which doctor we have become more pronounced as time goes on, though 9 struggles to do so due to time war trauma. But 10, 11 and 12 do make these choices.

I appreciate this story recognizing previous losses the doctor has had and the theme in the EDAs up to this point of his taking of companions especially young ones, explicitly referencing Ace.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strong entry in the Eighth Doctor Adventure series. Based on a great premise - humans are mining dream-inducing crystals from a moon that turns out to be sentient, this book puts companion Sam Jones front and centre as the 'main character'. I've always loved Sam and it is great to see her as the leading lady, with the Doctor taking a supporting role. It is a breath of fresh air to not focus on the Doctor's genius and magical ability to think his way out of every problem. Sam is human and constantly out of her depth, allowing for a more gripping and tentative story.

The story was well-structured, and well-paced for the most part before it descended into an illegible cacophony for the final act. That does seem to be the trend for this series. But the writing for the first 75% was great, creating a fast-paced and enjoyable romp.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

it could have so easily been a lot of scooby-doo hallway chasing where everyone goes in different doors and just misses one another (and it kind of is sometimes), but there was much more to it to actually enjoy. like with Genocide, the worldbuilding is great but now it’s way grander in scale, Paul Leonard is clearly very good at that in particular (maybe without the strong central thematic questions relating to the world that i loved about that first book but still). it’s a shame Aloisse doesn’t come back in any form (or any of the alien races that get introduced here afaik), she’s the most interesting part of the book (outside maybe some missed potential to actually explore the use of dreams as a narrative element in a way that 90s TV visuals definitely couldn’t have, but that’s just Potential Man territory again - it was fine for what it is)

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

前作でサムとドクターの関係になにか大変なことがあったらしい。
サムはドクターから離れ、どうやら遭難しているらしい宇宙船の中で一人きりでいた。
ドクターはもう生きてはいない。ドクターを見捨ててきてしまったとサムはそんな自責の念にかられていた。
サムは見た目が軟体動物のような異星人アロンジーに助けられ、ドリームストーンの採掘をしている地球人ダニエルに引き渡される。アロンジーはドリームストーンの採掘に対して反対運動を起こしている団体の一員ときき、サムはダニエルの保護下を抜け出し、アロンジーの元に身を寄せる。
その頃、ドクターはサムの行方をたどっていた。ダニエルと出会い、サムの無事を知る。
しかし、ドリームストーンの採掘場でとんでもないことが進展していることに気がつき調査を始める。
人間がドリームストーンと称して採掘しているのはとある生命体の脳のニューロンだった。
ドクターは採掘を止めようとするが、異星人であるということで軍に逮捕されてしまう。

命にかかわる危機的状況に陥った時、どういう決断をするか、その決断で誰かの命が失われたとき、その事実とどうむきあうのか。また、異種間同士の信頼関係を戦闘勃発寸前という危機的状況な中で、どう築いていくか、信頼、確信、いろいろなことがサムを通して問いかけられていく。ドクターが背負っているものがどれだけ重たいか、そして、孤独なものかサムの体験を通して気づかされる。
災難続きな中、ドクターの天然さが救い。８thドクターの可愛らしさ炸裂の一品でもあった。

この話の前にドクターとサムに何があったのか読まないと。

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down, really - didn't have an opportunity to finish it in one sit, but still, came pretty close to me. And I honestly don't know why I like this book so much... Why it has gone way better for me than, like, three or four previous books in the series. The tension, I guess? And the plot. And the writing. And the rooting for the Doctor and Sam who just keep trying to get together again and this is so frustrating and heartbreaking, urgh!

Thank you, Paul Leonard. I planned to dive back into the EDA for one book only, but, I guess, I just have to pick the next one up right now.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not horribly bad, not particularly exciting, so I guess three stars.

It's a very 80s-era idea of a futuristic world that has a substance (Dreamstone) that has some mysterious, and obviously awful origin. The story is in finding out what it is.

And it continues the Lost-Sam plot, which is pretty irritating here and Sam and the Doctor continue to just barely miss each other.

I wrote more in my ongoing series about the 8DA at RPGnet.

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bog-standard "evil corporations are evil" plot boosted by lots of imaginative aliens and some interesting sci-fi concepts. Sam and the Doctor are separated for all of this one, and their near-miss reunions are surprisingly poignant. Lags a bit in the final third as the climax is waaaaaay too long, but then there's a painful but good cliffhanger ending that leads perfectly into the superlative Seeing I.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Leonard enjoys the word "bawled" far too much.

Dreamstone Moon was, at least, better than the last EDA I read by him (Genocide), but that's a pretty low bar. It had an interesting concept, cool aliens that weren't just Blue Humans, and some good moments for Sam, but was ultimately let down by a middling execution

[Macey · Rating 4 out of 5]

THEY WERE SO CLOSE RAHHHHHHHHH like i know why for plot reasons they couldnt just find each other really easily BUT THEY WERE SOOOO SO SO CLOSE they could have leaned harder into sam's guilt & doubt i think but pretty good writing of her so oh well. not quite sure what was going on with some of the worldbuilding but it was kinda vibey :)

[Iwaswondering · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot

Dreamstone Moon was an enjoyable read. It is not one of the better Doctor Who books. The Doctor plays a minor role in the book. The story feels stretched to fill pages.

[Qualia Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another one of the 8th Doctor adventures that is just great sci-fi.
This series of books, added to the audio adventures from Big Finish, were what made the 8th Doctor MY Doctor.

[Aighmi* · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little edgy for Doctor Who.

[Aderyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 ⭐ It started off okay, but at halfway point became a real slog to get through.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and enjoyable space romp that follows both the Doctor and Sam after Longest Day. There's a really good sense of futuristic space and mysterious conspiracy that really scratched an itch for me.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn't terrible, but neither was it particularly *good*. It was a step up for author Paul Leonard from his previous EDA entry, Genocide. Unlike the first book of the three-book sequence featuring the Doctor's search for Sam, Sam actually got to be a part of this story. In a major way, no less. Which all-in-all wound up meaning the author went to sometimes ridiculous lengths to make sure Sam and the Doctor would not reunite early. It actually got silly at times.

Since the previous EDA book left out Sam altogether, we picked this on up on the immediate heels of Longest Day. Sadly, that means this book inherits some of that book's awful premise. But even then, I can't absolve Leonard of all the blame: he takes a Sam who should be essentially dead -- the amount of time she spent exposed in a desert in Longest Day is close to lethal -- and shoves her further through the ringer. A critically-dehydrated Sam spends another few days with virtually nothing to eat or drink, and somehow does not suffer for it in any real way. More, her sunburn -- which should also be significantly dangerous -- magically disappeared. Either Leonard wasn't told, or he simply didn't think sunburn could be a danger, but it simply didn't exist in this book. Disappointing. If you're not willing to give your character time to heal, don't bang them up quite so much. Otherwise everything feels cheap. {And I wish I could say this is limited to the beginning of the novel, where he inherits Sam's woes from Michael Collier... but he makes this same mistake later in the novel too, kicking the crap out of characters and them having them shrug it off like it was nothing. I don't care if this is science fantasy, human characters should still be human.}

Also, Paul Leonard is terrible with foreshadowing. When he wants you to know he's about to kill off a character, he pulls out a mallet marked "This Character Is About to Die" and smashes you in the face with it for several pages.

Another complaint that may or may not be Leonard's fault: how is it that the aliens Sam interacts with on Hirath have NO CLUE what a human is, but after just a couple days of drifting through space in the Kusk ship, she's picked up by humans in human space? The next book features the revelation that TCC, the company from Longest Day, is owned by INC, ostensibly a human company. So... did Michael Collier screw up by having TCC employees [and other members of their race, which doesn't seem to have a name I can find?] not recognize humans; or did Paul Leonard screw up by not putting humans further away? Or did their boss screw up by not checking for simple continuity? *sighs* I suppose I won't hold this against Leonard, but it does bear consideration here.

As for the story itself... it is decent, and comparatively plausible in the Doctor Who Universe. It's a shame the story was in this author's hands: a more skilled writer could have done wonders with the concept of Dreamstone. I'd even mark it down as one of the few things [thus far] introduced in the EDA that I would love to see revived for the television series. If Leonard invented the concept, then I'll applaud him for that.

I can't quite explain what I find wrong with Paul Leonard's writing, either. With Terrance Dicks, it was simple: his pacing was awful. With Lawrence Miles, it's even easier: everything he did, from story to style to sanity were *all terrible*. Leonard's got a decent story here. His writing style isn't awful. He's just... clumsy, in a way I can't quite articulate.

Even still, as I said at the start of this review, it's a step up from his previous novel in the EDA. I am curious to see how his next will be.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What's the matter with you? Are you normally like this, or just temporarily suicidal?


Ne pas aimer un compagnon, ça n'est jamais bien grave: c'est Doctor Who, on trouve toujours autre chose à se mettre sous la dent. Sauf dans ces cas où le Docteur est majoritairement absent et où on se concentre principalement sur le compagnon. Deux tiers de livre avec Sam qui, comme toujours, est bien trop impulsive pour faire marcher sa tête, Sam qui, comme toujours, s'enfuit avec les gentils écolos qui veulent sauver l'équivalent local du koala contre les méchants capitalistes dont l'existence toute entière ne tourne qu'autour du profit - Sam nous raconte la même histoire, encore et toujours, depuis qu'elle est arrivée. Et Sam qui continue de n'avoir qu'une envie, c'est d'aller bécoter son Docteur. Ce qu'à la limite je pourrais lui pardonner.
On notera quand même qu'au sortir de Doctor Who: Longest Day, après son éternité dans le désert, ses brûlures, et ses X jours de flottaison sans boire et sans manger, il suffit de lui faire manger une pile duracell pour qu'elle reparte pour un tour. Dans le genre survivor, elle se pose là.

Et pour éviter que Sam et le Docteur ne soient réunis trop tôt, l'auteur nous pond un tas de cabrioles absolument invraisemblables pour les empêcher de se rentrer bêtement dedans au détour d'un couloir. C'est juste trop gros pour passer, y a quand même des limites aux bornes.

Le roman aurait pu être sauvé par ses concepts de machines à rêves, de pierres de rêves, de comment que tout ça fonctionne, de l'importance du rêve, ou de cette super idée d'une lune enfant, et si ne serait-ce qu'un seul de ces points avait été travaillé un minimum plutôt que d'être jeté sans être utilisé plus que ça, ça aurait été super. Mais on se contente de nous montrer de loin comme ça a l'air bien, et on se retrouve avec l'eau à la bouche mais le plat n'est jamais servi. C'est juste frustrant, en bout de course.

A part ça, ça fait 2 romans d'affilée où l'humanité est très remontée contre tout individu venant d'ailleurs - Docteur inclus, et que ça commence doucement à lui courir sur le haricot, au Time Lord.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1525146.html

The next Eighth Doctor Adventure in sequence after Longest Day (and the parenthesis of Legacy of the Daleks). A fairly standard romp - exploitation of alien planet (turns out the dreamstones of the title are similar to the rocks in Sherri S Tepper's 1987 novel After Long Silence / The Enigma Score), with the wrinkle that the Doctor and Sam are apart for almost the entire book and remain parted at the end. There is one memorable tentacular alien character, Aloisse. But nothing very outstanding about this one. (

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Then the Doctor's dead,` whispered Sam.
I try to stifle another involuntary groan before any of the nearby holiday makers stir from their sunbeds to ask if I need medical attention.
The book's not half bad, with more than a hint of Outland about it, but whereas Sean Connery helped to give that film a gritty edge, Dreamstone Moon has to rely on Sam Jones. She gets a huge chunk of the book and, as has happened in too many of the books in the range, just drags the book down. Book to book, author to author: Sam Jones - irritating and contrived.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

the eighth doctor adventures continue,this one is against the backdrop of a mining planet..a premise that features fairly regularly in Doctor Who adventures.
It was an enjoyable enough read of the mining of a stone used to facilitate dreams but in some ways it felt laboured...once the idea was there and the fact that the planets consciousness rebelled against the miners well that was about it.
The resolution seemed rushed after the build up...not a terrible novel all told ...just not the best.