Doctor Who: White Darkness

Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures #15

by David A. McIntee, Peter Elson (Illustrator)

'We believe that death should always be part of life.'
          The Doctor’s last three visits to the scattered human colonies of the third millennium have not been entirely successful. And now that Ace has rejoined him and Bernice, life on board the TARDIS is getting pretty stressful. The Doctor yearns for a simpler time and place: Earth, the tropics, the early twentieth century.
          The TARDIS lands in Haiti in the early years of the First World War. And the Doctor, Bernice and Ace land in a murderous plot involving voodoo, violent death, Zombies and German spies.

And perhaps something else -- something far, far worse.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Book Club, Tv, Horror, Historical Fiction

244 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 1993

About the author

David A. McIntee was a British author who specialised in writing spin-offs and nonfiction commentaries for Doctor Who and other British and American science-fiction franchises.

Reviews

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one of Top .ten. Doctor who books of last 30ys it is a complex Voodoo style Walking Dead & Graham Greene style English spy them you can also see Peter Lorrie & Humphrey Bogart in it. With Alister Crowley ,H. P Lovecraft theme ,the 7th Doctor is dark like in his last season .This has Ace but much more mature Ace & Professor Bernice (is lot like River Song) in Haiti in early years of WWI with German spies & great story that has lot more to do with horror than Who.
It's over five years since I read this & now we have new Female Doctor it's perfect time to read it before the 11 the hour.
Another argument has started as read this over the new sonic screwdriver that Jodie has saying it looks like a bendy dildo ! Which utter rubbish some fans (mostly the Tom Baker die in the wool fans that I hate ) just hate the idea of a female Doctor very silly .The Doctor looks like a woman but he is an alien so a woman can play him but does not mean he has changed sex in fact he/she has no sex ,no name,doesn't sleep, go to the toilet, eat or hardly drink .
They want think themselves lucky The 7th Doctor didn't even have one .Just his scream machine early on & then his Ace in the hole & his question Umbrella .Along now with his Pet professor Benny (who is very much the first draft of River Song or even is another aspect of River ?) I had forgotten lot including the Live & Let die puns & the Alister Crowley jokes .This the 4th time & now I am ready for Jodie.

[Mary JL · Rating 3 out of 5]

For many years, when the Classic Series of Doctor Who was off the air---and Christopher Eccleston had not yet started New Who, in 2005, the New Doctor Who Adventures--by Virgin Publishing ,UK, was a major source of new stories for fans.

Featuring the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, this was a chance for writers to try new types of Doctor Who stories.

Since they were submitted by various authors, the results were somewhat hit of miss. This book falss somewhat in between.

This is McIntee's first Doctor Who novel. It's good--I gave it three stars. Basically, Doctor who, in Haiti, 1915; zombies and voodoo and go on from there. Unfortunately, I am not fond of zombies or voodoo.so I did not rate it higher.

McIntee has improved and written other books,btw and I recommend his THE DARK PATH.

For this book it is acceptable Doctor Who with some really good parts and some flaws. Aimed at WHO fans, it could be read by any SF fan or paranormal fan as well.


read before I joined Goodreads so no dates available.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doctor Who + zombies + Lovecraft = Way more awesome than this book. I give full credit to McIntee for at least trying, but while the idea is enough to make a fangirl faint from sheer joy, the execution leaves something to be desired. The cast of characters could have stood a good paring - I count at least three redundancies whose removal could have streamlined the narrative - and the Cthulhu aspects got so little attention, they may as well have been nonexistent. (Really, if you think about it, almost any alien species could have been substituted in for The Old Ones, and the plot would have worked the same.) Worth reading just for the epic possibilities, but I think I'll be trolling the fanfic to find someone who did it better.

[Numa Parrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a good(ish) one! I love that the author chose such an overlooked historical topic. Haiti in WW1 is a part of the story I've never been told about before. The 'scientific' zombi stuff was delightfully believable (at least for an artist) and I enjoyed all the spies and murder plots.
Every character is right on the mark and the local ones are well fleshed-out. I will say that there were a few too many of them though. I kept getting the voodoo guys and the germans mixed up.
Also, a violence and gore warning. This book is very gory (and just plain gross) and since I don't really go for that sort of thing I had some trouble getting through parts of it.
It's still probably one of the best in the series so far. (But, as I've said, there isn't much competition.)

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve finished reading Doctor Who: White Darkness by David A. Mcintee. My review: 3.5/5.

Trigger warnings: Racial slurs, gore and lots of guns use. Also mentions of being buried alive.

After events at Lucifer were a bust, the Doctor is ready for a break. He attempts to take Ace and Benny to Key West, Florida, 1915; but as usual, his aim is…less than stellar. Instead, the group ends up in Haiti, 1915, which may as well be a world away from Florida. The island is ruled by the despotic President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, but his reign is under threat by General Rosalvo Bobo, the leader of a popular rebellion—nothing new in Haiti, but the timing is unfortunate, as both the Germans and the Americans have a vested interest in the tiny nation. The Doctor and his companions are pulled in when they stumble upon some mutilated bodies and are taken in for questioning from General Etienne, who is loyal to President Sam.

Doctor Who meets zombies meets voodoo priests and World War 1.

I rather enjoyed this book. It was one of the faster-paced Virgin new adventures and after the last few futuristic settings, it was nice to have a proper historical plotline and a part of history that I’m not familiar with and had to do a bit of research on which is very interesting.

David has clearly done his research on the continuous political change of Haiti and has slotted it in nicely to a Doctor Who adventure.

I also loved Benny and Ace in this and how David gave them more to do and how disgusted they were at the racial treatment of 1915 and were not afraid to put men in their place. They kneed a couple in the groin purely for this.

Ace also gets a darker turn in this. After her path she had chosen in Lucifer Rising, we get to see Ace pretending not to care about Benny even though she secretly does and is worried about her when Benny gets kidnapped but when confronted, she hides it away. There is also a huge pivotal moment for Ace towards the end of the book where she actually guns down someone and struggles to cope with how ruthlessly she has become. I think that was a nice touch and not just have Ace being hardened and cold-blooded killer like she thinks she is.

Benny was great in this book and I’m glad we got to see her in a historical setting. I love the fact she got to go to a museum in her past and compare tools in 1915 and in her time in the 26th Century, they would become museum pieces themselves. I also loved the bit after she swam back to shore the first time and had the plastic bag with her to keep the note she made safe about the German drums, the Marines were so confused to know what a plastic bag is.

The Doctor is also a little dark in this one. He uses quite a bit of hypnosis but it’s interesting to see that on the 7th Doctor. I also love the fact that Henri, a character who is obsessed with Tarot card reading symbolises Ace as the knight and the Doctor as Death.

I wonder what Benny is in relation to TAROT cards?

Over-all, a quick and enjoyable read.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pro: Felt like a TV story mostly
Not too many characters

Con: Bernice wasted for the most part
Nazi antagonists were pretty dumb

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Often get the impression that McIntee would rather be writing Tintin comics, and White Darkness is no exception. Bonus points for The Vampire Lovers reference, though.

[Colin Hoad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re-reading for me as I (slowly) make my way through the New Adventures series. I remember reading "White Darkness" when it first came out in the early 90s, and I couldn't remember much about it besides the zombies and some vague references to earlier Who serials like "State of Decay".

I have to say I enjoyed this far less than I did when I read it the first time around. Perhaps having since gained a passing familiarity with the Lovecraft mythos, McIntee's villain of the piece felt rather derivative - and in a way that I did not perceive when reading other Lovecraft-inspired Who novels, like "The Pit". Having said that, this is a fairly good adventure with some nice historical allusions to a period that is largely unknown, at least outside of Haiti. This was clearly an homage to the historicals of Doctor Who's TV heyday, and it was none the worse for it.

Characterisation-wise, the Doctor feels less manipulative and more empathetic here - though he is at all times in control and often fails to share his insights with those around him. There are some good incidental characters here, too, especially Petion. That said, McIntee does fall foul of a fairly common NA trope: adding a whole set of characters who never get developed but instead are killed off without much consideration. The problem with this approach is that, having failed to establish any reason to care about them, their deaths - even when they ought to be cathartic, in the case of villains - fail to land a punch.

Overall, it's by no means a bad NA novel, and has plenty of enjoyable moments; but it fails to reach the heights of a Cornell, nor is it anywhere near as enjoyable as the preceding "Lucifer Rising".

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

David A. McIntee has several strengths as a writer, and they’re apparent right away: he does a lot of historical research and he’s great at action scenes. Set in Haiti in 1915, it’s full of historical information, neat little details (like a stopped car being there equivalent of a traffic jam), suitably sci-fi ideas (zombies and Lovecraftian gods) and brutally memorable moments (like a shipwreck from the POV of those in the cargo hold). For once there’s some good material for Bernice, who manages to rescue herself from captivity. Ace begins to fill a sort of warrior role in the team.

Trouble is, there’s too much information and too many characters. Some of it feels redundant and McIntee has a way of making it really, gruellingly clear how much research he’s done. Eventually it’s a bit tedious wading through it all.

It’s a bit hit and miss. Not an essential read.

5/10

[Benedict Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to see how much this book had dated... largely due to the way it handles race. I could tell that at the time it was written it would be considered to have a progressive attitude to race... but as soon as you're dealing with Haitian history and zombies, you're in tricky areas for a (I assume white) British author.
I think it's telling that today, at the height of zombies as a media trope, almost none of the current books/films/comics deal with religion of the caribbean slaves... despite this being a root of the whole zombie concept. It just makes it too clear that zombies are based on white fear.
As a Dr Who book, it was great to see the development of Ace into a darker character... and it is a relatively early Benny story.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

David McIntee's first novel is very awkward compared to his later efforts...but many of his trademarks are present. The ending isn't quite the bang I was hoping for, and it's a novel blighted by the violent-Ace-arc present in the "New Adventures" of the time. On the flip side, the historical detail is well done, and there's a pleasant under-current of "Doctor Who does Live & Let Die" that I thoroughly enjoyed. Far from perfect, but full of gems that would point the way to superior McIntee novels such as "Sanctuary" and "The Eleventh Tiger".

[James Lark]

My odyssey through the Virgin New Adventures has all but ground to a halt: the series’ mystique, embodied by its timeless cover designs and sexy white spines, has been gradually eroded for me by the onslaught of incoherent sci-fi cliché, unbridled fanwank and, not to put too fine a point on it, poor writing. After struggling through ‘Lucifer Rising’, the third technobabbly dystopia in a row, I had pretty much concluded that Peter Darvill-Evans’ approach to the most flexible television format ever created was hopelessly unimaginative and constrained by its need to be taken seriously. I sarcastically ended my review by suggesting ‘maybe we’re in for a historical story next’, confidant that we weren’t.

So what an absolute delight to open ‘White Darkness’, a book with no particular reputation and cursed with surely the most disastrous cover illustration of Sylvester McCoy ever attempted, to discover that a historical story was exactly what I was getting. Not purely historical, of course – it would be some years before anyone making official Who was mature enough to go there – but the US occupation of Haiti is much more than a backdrop, forming a substantial element of the story in the first half of the novel and giving a real sense of authenticity to the setting that has been missing from, well, frankly all of the New Adventures thus far. McIntee’s research has clearly been meticulous and his evocation of time and place is so vivid you can almost feel the heat. His inclusion of historical characters and events is not just detail for detail’s sake; in fact, the depiction of a particularly brutal historical episode is deeply engrossing, and establishes an atmosphere that runs through the whole book.

One could question the propriety of placing a fictional fantasy horror story on top of that, though I admire McIntee’s commitment to telling the story as it happened (and let’s face it, more well-known horrific events in the first half of the 20th century are regularly exploited in fantasy and sci-fi). In any case, this fantasy is grounded by elements of voodoo ritual which have the ring of authenticity. It’s a pity that McIntee didn’t stick to his guns and give us a full blown historical-political-horror, because ultimately the Lovecraftian leanings towards science fiction (with its cosmic evil never really defined) dilute the richness of the setting – but this is clearly in keeping with the overriding house style, and there is something very Doctor Who about the mixture of genres. Similarly, although the inclusion of a German secret mission gives us one more set of antagonists than we really need, cramming a story with too many ideas is not the greatest sin and feels very much in keeping with the era of television it is continuing (whilst most New Adventures authors seem in thrall to ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’, this one owes more than a little to ‘The Curse of Fenric’, which is no bad thing).

Things get confused and confusing – there is just too much going on here to be satisfactorily resolved, and a novel that begins with focused claustrophobia gives way to a sprawling epic that has too many villainous plots to resolve and too many villains to dispatch. The James Bond style fight-in-an-underground-secret-base that concludes everything is completely at odds with the care given to establishing the scenario, and it feels wrong to have the Doctor creeping around placing explosives (not so much from a moral perspective as from a narrative one – surely there was a more inventive way to resolve the story than simply blowing everything and everyone up?!). It comes at the expense of a proper final confrontation between Doctor and villain, which is anticlimactic to say the least.

It also leads to an unwelcome reprise of the Ace-feeling-angsty theme, which comes out of nowhere and seems pretty illogical after what we are given to believe she has been through. I’m not saying that Ace can’t (and shouldn’t) have human responses to the things she has seen and done, I’m just saying that she surely would have moved beyond teenage tantrums by now. Though on the whole Ace is handled pretty well, as is the Doctor, portrayed without recourse to sub-Aaronovitchian paraphrases and forced eccentricity. But the real star (when she is given the space to be one) is Bernice, whose resourcefulness and bravery take us into much more believable and identifiable territory.

Overall, then, this is a vast improvement on the last few novels in the series, and the quality of the writing and the richness of the setting make up for any lack of discipline in the writing. An unexpected breath of fresh air and – whisper it – I’m quite looking forward to the next one.

[Seb Hasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

White Darkness was a very different novel to the VNAs that surround it. It is distinct not only because of it being almost a pure historical, but also because of it’s mature and well executed characterisation. This the first book where Ace, Benny, and the Doctor actually have time to bond and get to know each other; mostly through testing their relationships in stressed situations. The political/historical event this book is set during is a very obscure one and that is the element of the book that can be quite confusing with so many characters to remember while also trying to keep track of what is going on. The first half of the book drags due to this political drama, knowing nothing of events that start before the book is set; it is therefore hard to follow or develop rapid interest in the background being laid out. Eventually things get going and even then the resolution to the alien and political element is incredibly rapid. Not quite an ex machina but it makes it feel like all the mystery and intrigue was for nothing and the villains could’ve been defeated really easy from the start. Thankfully there is a side plot with German spies which is quite interesting and the way it tests Ace’s character do lend it to being an important part of the series.

The Doctor doesn’t do very much in this, and it’s one of the ones where he wanders round being enigmatic and then suddenly reveals he suspected he knew everything from the start. Can be quite an annoying thing but I feel it was not so much done as an attempt to give the 7th Doctor more mystery but to allow more focus to be paid to the companions. Bernice Summerfield is great as ever, a strong female character with lots of compassion and heart; someone who can kick ass and take names. I am yet to have her be written in a way where I do not like her and thankful that in this she makes the right decisions, and avoids coming across as self righteous or preachy. Ace is the most significant change of the trio, so far since her return in the books she has simply been just very ‘adult’. More violent, swearing, sexual remarks, and it’s really felt like a teenager dreamt her up. This story gives her at last, a third dimension to her; wrestling with her conscience and struggling to justify doing the good thing by any means. She suddenly starts to question the changes she has undergone since previously leaving the TARDIS and she has a very human element in trying to reconcile her younger self with the person she is now. She still shows off being tough as steel, mowing down zombies and nazi’s during the climax; which means that there is still plenty to enjoy of her presence in the story, even while she questions her morality.

This is one of the books where I have to say it’s limited by its premise and reliance on established historical events, so in terms of drama, horror and sci-fi it can only go so far. I did however enjoy the story quite a bit, and think it’s just a shame so much of the first half had to be slowed down to set up context for the real history of events.

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

"White Darkness" is the first NA novel meant specifically to be a historical. Our heroes arrive in Haiti, 1915, where yet another insurrection is toppling yet another petty dictator, the US Marines are about to invade before occupying the country for the next 20 years, and the various countries involved in WWI are trying to protect their interests. McIntee tries to work in a few Doctor Who elements to make this more in line with the TV series of 1989, while also continuing the story arcs of the NA series. The Doctor Who elements involve a strange relationship between German forces conducting a secret research project into chemical weapons (giving this novel strong similarities to the TV serial "The Curse of Fenric"), and the local magician, who has somehow contacted one of the Old Ones, and thus incorporating elements of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. In the latter matter, McIntee introduces us not only to the Old Ones, but also to the Necronomicon, and an American scientist working in Haiti named Howard Phillips (the H.P. in H.P. Lovecraft), who looks quite a bit like H.P. Lovecraft. This is just one sample of the large amounts of chum that McIntee throws at fans.

A problem area in this novel for me is that McIntee never provides a clear idea of what The Doctor and crew are doing there. So, yes, the TARDIS misses its mark and lands them in a trouble spot. Then, however, McIntee does not provide a good reason for the TARDIS team to stay. They get separated from the TARDIS, but get it back fairly quickly. There is no obvious problem for them to solve, since the bloody events in Haiti are, as The Doctor reminds us, fixed history. The presence of the Old One and the plan of the evil Mait (whose name, Lemaitre, strongly hints at The Master, though in fact he is not The Master), are not apparent until 2/3 of the way into the novel. So, I never felt certain about just what the trio are supposed to be accomplishing. At the end of the novel, this one, like so many other of the NA novels in this early run, turns into a military shoot-out, bodies piling up all over the place. So, the plot overall, feels like events made up just to keep the story going so that McIntee can reach the required length.

Some better aspects of the novel involve the way McIntee characterizes Ace and Benny, especially Ace. It is a welcome relief from the previous two NA novels, "Deceit" and "Lucifer Rising." Neither of the characters are so short-tempered and just generally dislikable as in the previous novels. Ace, in particular, is not quite so ready to kill and destroy. McIntee is the first to introduce the idea that maybe, just maybe, Ace isn't all too happy being a trained killer. She is a bit more like the Ace of old in this book, and that is a welcome relief. The Doctor in this novel is clearly improvising rather than scheming, and that, too, is a welcome relief.

[Hector Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

overall this book feels more like a call of cthulu campaign than a doctor who novel although I think this is the nearest to a true historical story since the hartnell era.
the concept however is better than the book.

the first quarter follows the doctor and companions being led around Haiti with no decisions made by any of them to go against their captors and as soon as they do Bernice is captured again. however this lets her to do something interesting finally as all she has done since love and war is be captured, tortured, mind controlled, get a drug addiction and get abandoned by the doctor just for the doctor to fix all of her issues but this time she manages to escape solo and investigate to further the plot. after the initial quarter the book is really easily readable and quite fun filler though the various bad guys sort of blend into one and the old ones are very lightly explained which I think works in their favour. I did hope that the zombis would appear more but their scarcity adds to the times they do appear.

I would recommend this to people interested in world war one, the origins of the zombie myths and of course doctor who as this feels like a traditional episode in both how it is written and the concept of the story.

[Cameron Turnbull · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found myself in a constant battle between liking and hating this book.

Some of the material is great and interesting themes are touched upon. It was very close to being a great book but it failed at actually implementing those themes. The historical period of the book is one thing I really love as I would have never been aware of this era of Haitian history if it wasn’t the setting. Every character also feels unique and I was rarely confused on which character was which. And given the amount of characters in a 244 page novel that is no mean feat.

Other parts of the material feel completely unnecessary. There were plot threads that seemed to go nowhere and others that were unrewarding in the way they finished. The first chapter felt unreadable but it did get better after that. Finally, some parts of the book don’t feel descriptive enough

Overall it feels as if there was a little too much going on. Too many plot threads unanswered or answered poorly. But I did enjoy the character dynamics which the book delivers in spades. As this was Mr. McIntee’s first novel I am inclined to check out some of his later work. If there wasn’t as many plot threads I have a feeling this would have been a fantastic book

[KP Mathislife · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a typical VNA, nothing too special about it. The author did a lot of research to try to figure out the setting - whether it is correct or not I cant say but it is believable. Ace continues to be her violent self but does have some moments where she realizes she might not like the path she's going down. Benny is her usual funny self, her highlight comes from her having to swim a long way and upon finding people telling them to call the media as she just set a record in her typical joking way. The doctor is good here, surprisingly has no scheme going so is just in his usual I landed, all hell broke lose, lets help.

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehh, what to say about this one? Well, I like the cultural exploration and the unique setting. It reminds me a lot of "Wide Sargasso Sea". The very-real black magic and voodoo is quite Who-esque and fitting. So, I like the themes, and credit to McIntee for pitching an original story in such an expansive franchise.

However, putting those elements aside, the plot itself is pretty cluttered and confusing to me, as are the supporting characters. Maybe I just wasn't knowledgeable enough in the subject area, but I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and what their motivations were. The literary side of the story was lost on me, but I liked the Sci-Fi and superstition side of it.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Enjoyed it a fair amount, although I'm not sure if this is ever going to be one I have very strong feelings on. There are some racial slurs in here courtesy of the American soldiers, so heads up for that. I would maybe have preferred it to engage with racism a little more? Ideally?
The problem of Ace being more violent after her experiences fighting in a war is interesting. I hope the next books do it some justice.

[Christopher M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Live & Let Who! It's an odd one, this. It's exciting, I enjoyed it, but it has some issues. There are simply tons of characters, many of whom don't feature much. The history of Haiti has been impeccably researched, but the book assumes you have a working knowledge already. And the zombi plot kind of goes nowhere in favour of Ian Fleming punch ups and shoot outs with light sexism and racial slurs that feel out of place in McCoy Who.

[John Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite being one of the shorter VNAs, this took me over 2 weeks to read. The way the story is told often leaves you losing interest, and the ending isn't at all satisfying considering what threats had been set up. I almost wonder if a larger more interesting ending had been written, but quickly edited down and out for whatever reason. Also, it feels like two elements of this story were editorially mandated, and will return in later more interesting ways. Hopefully they will anyway.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was quite close to finally breaking the streak of poor VNA novels but whilst it has excellent interaction between the regulars and good historical details some of the technical aspects let it down. In particular, I feel if you are going to do an explicit Lovecraft with Vodun storyline you have to be much more careful and reflexive than this text.

[Arthur B · Rating 4 out of 5]

The New Adventures novel which finally had the guts to just have Doctor Who fight Cthulhu. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far this as been the best of the new adventures, an interesting story with so many various threads.

Will write a more detailed review in a few days, the migraine pain is getting worse.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright, nothing special about this book

[Arcturus · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better VNAs so far! Not exactly as fantastic as some of the others, but I still did really like this one, glad to see a historical story that's done well.

[Ben Moore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pacing is a bit all over the place and it feels like the author didn't really know what to do with Ace and Benny for a lot of it. Also, the constant racism in the book is really jarring. Don't get me wrong, the racism is ALWAYS presented as bad, but the main characters do move pass horrifically racist language with little more than an eye roll.

Maybe I'm overly sensitive, but I just don't think that any Doctor Who related media should feature the n-bomb. Call me old fa- [*glances awkwardly at The Celestial Toymaker*] ok, don't call me old fashioned. But the point still stands.

[City Mist · Rating 3 out of 5]

David A. McIntee's ideas seem a good fit for Doctor Who, but, between Haitian voodoo, a German submarine, an American espionage plot, and implied Lovecraftian themes, there is just too much going on here for such a brief page count.

[Scurra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent historical enters the range, and from a very unexpected era. And it's good to see McIntee bring the Old Ones very much into the Whoniverse.

The setting (Haiti in 1915) is very well-evoked, with the chaos of continual revolution combined with the increasing influence of the first World War providing a genuinely interesting backdrop enabling all sorts of different factions to play a part in the story - almost too many at times as you lose track of who exactly is supporting who and where they are.

Ace and Benny are very well realised here, with the contrast between them emphasised at every opportunity (and the ways they get into trouble are nicely differentiated too.) And the supporting cast are convincing too - even the doomed Presidents have some sense of reality.

A very nice change of pace, and proof that there is still plenty of room for the historical story even in the crowded timeline that Who has evolved.

Next up: Shadowmind The New Doctor Who Adventures

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1587661.html

A relatively rare example of a historical novel in the New Adventures series, taking the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Benny to Haiti on the eve of the US invasion of 1914. It is a combination of the Tardis crew getting to grips with the setting and Lovecraft pastiche, done for shudders rather than giggles - the zombies turn out to be linked to the Great Old Ones (though there is also a character from New England whose name is Howard Philips). Clearly well-researched on the Haitian background, and good coordination of the three main characters doing what they are good at. Decent stuff.