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Eighth Doctor Adventures #49
Doctor Who: The City of the Dead
“Nothing can get into the TARDIS,” the Doctor whispered.
Then he realized that Nothing had.
New Orleans, the early 21st century. A dealer in morbid artifacts has been murdered. A charm carved from human bone is missing. An old plantation, miles from any water, has been destroyed by a tidal wave.
Anji goes dancing. Fitz goes grave-robbing. The Doctor attracts the interest of a homicide detective and the enmity of a would-be magician. He wants to find out the secret of the redneck thief and his blind wife. He’d like to help the crippled curator of a museum of magic. He’s trying to refuse politely the request of a crazy young artist that he pose naked with the man’s wife.
Most of all, he needs to figure out what all of them have to do with the Void that is hunting him down.
Before it catches him.
Then he realized that Nothing had.
New Orleans, the early 21st century. A dealer in morbid artifacts has been murdered. A charm carved from human bone is missing. An old plantation, miles from any water, has been destroyed by a tidal wave.
Anji goes dancing. Fitz goes grave-robbing. The Doctor attracts the interest of a homicide detective and the enmity of a would-be magician. He wants to find out the secret of the redneck thief and his blind wife. He’d like to help the crippled curator of a museum of magic. He’s trying to refuse politely the request of a crazy young artist that he pose naked with the man’s wife.
Most of all, he needs to figure out what all of them have to do with the Void that is hunting him down.
Before it catches him.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
394 people want to read
About the author
Lloyd Rose
15 books7 followersLloyd Rose is an American writer and one of the few female writers of Doctor Who fiction. She also contributed to the reference book Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It. She has also written for the American television series Homicide: Life on the Street and Kingpin.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 17, 2011
A debut novel that is, by turns, dark & sensual, dark & terrifying, dark & profound...do you sense a common theme? A novel that explores the amnesiac 8th Doctor like no other; Lloyd Rose enters the pantheon of "Doctor Who" writers like a splash of ice cold water on the face -- sharp & invigorating.
October 27, 2022
The City of the Dead is among the pinnacle of the Eighth Doctor Adventures with Vampire Science, Alien Bodies, Interference, The Shadows of Avalon, and The Year of Intelligent Tigers as some of the best the range has to offer. And this is the only novel among that list from a first time writer. Lloyd Rose is an elusive figure, a rare American Doctor Who writer she wrote three novels for BBC Books, one Short Trip, and one audio drama, Caerdroia, for Big Finish Productions, and then promptly disappeared it seems from fan circles and the professional life. Rose is very possibly one of many pseudonyms (the acknowledgements to this book mention her real name to be Sarah Tonyn, a pun on serotonin). The City of the Dead is a wholly atmospheric experience, taking place mainly in the early 21st century, only a year or two after the publication of this novel, but still one where there is this gothic quality that harkens back to days of the past. While not explicitly a horror novel, it’s more accurately described as a murder mystery, the New Orleans settings explicitly calls to mind the works of Ann Rice with just a hint of Buffy the Vampire Slayer thrown in whenever Fitz or Anji need to have their wits about them. The core is a simple murder mystery plot, but since this is New Orleans the occult, magic, and sex wrap themselves around this novel at every turn. This simple murder mystery then turns into this visceral character study for the Doctor, examining just what has happened to him over the course of the Eighth Doctor Adventures in general and exploring who exactly he is.
On one level Rose’s novel has the added metatextual commentary of being quite far into a book range which acts as the continuation from essentially one film, a range that has continually struggled with defining its main character, especially in early installments, and a range that hasn’t always been good at exploring its side characters and their inner lives. The Doctor here is the Eighth Doctor, a man lost in a universe that he no longer understands or remembers being a part of, doing good in the universe because it seems right and surrounding himself with someone like Fitz Kreiner because that was a good idea at the time. Throughout The City of the Dead he is largely split from Fitz and Anji which Rose uses to explore more of that human side that Kate Orman really set up in The Year of Intelligent Tigers. There isn’t as much of the anger here as there was in that novel, but the passion is there and there is this odd exploration of the Doctor’s sexuality and oddly enough gender identity. He becomes this object of desire for this artist which ends up turning down some very dark roads for the Doctor. The Doctor is afraid of Nothing, that existential threat of being alone and the nihilism that the universe has brought into his life. The villain of the novel is revealed to be tied up in collecting and attracting artron energy, bringing back the science fiction material as much of the novel had been working through mood and terror, but that is also cloaked in this mysticism that entraps the reader.
This is also the first time perhaps that Anji has really felt like a companion who wishes to be there, she has an inner life and Rose doesn’t just characterize her as being sad over the death of her boyfriend. Rose, along with Kate Orman and Jacqueline Rayner, give Anji her own life to live and motivations to continue while Fitz’s laid back nature add to this off-putting atmosphere for The City of the Dead. The rest of the characters featured in the book are also fascinating, as the setting of New Orleans comes alive with characters who feel like there are familial roots in the city and the connections are there, they go deep, and they spread throughout time. The eventual reveal of the murderer with the added reason feels like this unravelling of any sense of stability meant for the characters which is a stroke of genius, especially as portents of things to come.
Overall, The City of the Dead is a book that washes over the reader and puts them into this real state of understanding all of its characters. It’s one of those books that ascends from its Doctor Who nature and roots, coming from a completely different perspective of other Doctor Who writers while still staying in the genre going towards cosmic horror and the occult of the city in which it is set. The cover is also one of the few which perfectly encapsulates what the book is meaning to do. 10/10.
On one level Rose’s novel has the added metatextual commentary of being quite far into a book range which acts as the continuation from essentially one film, a range that has continually struggled with defining its main character, especially in early installments, and a range that hasn’t always been good at exploring its side characters and their inner lives. The Doctor here is the Eighth Doctor, a man lost in a universe that he no longer understands or remembers being a part of, doing good in the universe because it seems right and surrounding himself with someone like Fitz Kreiner because that was a good idea at the time. Throughout The City of the Dead he is largely split from Fitz and Anji which Rose uses to explore more of that human side that Kate Orman really set up in The Year of Intelligent Tigers. There isn’t as much of the anger here as there was in that novel, but the passion is there and there is this odd exploration of the Doctor’s sexuality and oddly enough gender identity. He becomes this object of desire for this artist which ends up turning down some very dark roads for the Doctor. The Doctor is afraid of Nothing, that existential threat of being alone and the nihilism that the universe has brought into his life. The villain of the novel is revealed to be tied up in collecting and attracting artron energy, bringing back the science fiction material as much of the novel had been working through mood and terror, but that is also cloaked in this mysticism that entraps the reader.
This is also the first time perhaps that Anji has really felt like a companion who wishes to be there, she has an inner life and Rose doesn’t just characterize her as being sad over the death of her boyfriend. Rose, along with Kate Orman and Jacqueline Rayner, give Anji her own life to live and motivations to continue while Fitz’s laid back nature add to this off-putting atmosphere for The City of the Dead. The rest of the characters featured in the book are also fascinating, as the setting of New Orleans comes alive with characters who feel like there are familial roots in the city and the connections are there, they go deep, and they spread throughout time. The eventual reveal of the murderer with the added reason feels like this unravelling of any sense of stability meant for the characters which is a stroke of genius, especially as portents of things to come.
Overall, The City of the Dead is a book that washes over the reader and puts them into this real state of understanding all of its characters. It’s one of those books that ascends from its Doctor Who nature and roots, coming from a completely different perspective of other Doctor Who writers while still staying in the genre going towards cosmic horror and the occult of the city in which it is set. The cover is also one of the few which perfectly encapsulates what the book is meaning to do. 10/10.
February 24, 2011
Eighth Doctor Adventure (EDA) with Fitz and Anji. 'Not for the kids', as they say--the kind of book your library puts in the adult section under 'paranormal mystery'. Half excellent, half fanfic, like designer clothing made from cheap fabric. And, boy, do you get tired of the Doctor getting battered around.
December 22, 2023
The last time I read a Doctor Who novel was nearly exactly a year ago, and that was a book called [i]The Also People[/i], one of hte more highly regarded entries from the 7th Doctor novels of the early/mid '90s. I was a little disappointed with that one, since while it was quite well written in its way, it was pretty low-key and not too dedicated to a plot. It was especially surprising given its author, who was really good at high-concept action and a certain amount of grittiness in his first novel. But really, thinking about it now, it'd be pretty rare for one of these things (yes, a "TV tie0in", essentially, even though there was no show when any of these books were published) to cross the 3 star bridge for me. This doesn't go only for Doctor Who, but pretty much all books associatted with a "franchise" in a different medium. Few of them really stand out as exceptional. They're meant to give the fans another fix of one of their favourite things, just in a different medium, and as such there's often a feeling that they can't rock the oat too much and can't "break the toys", as it were. While there are special inverse cases, many of these things are by first-time novelists, too, or writers who might not have the easiest time getting a novel published outside their favourite fandoms.
But every so often, you do get startled by coming across something rather special. Doctor Who is a more flexible thing than is sometimes realisee, at least in theory. I say "in theory" because if you watch the show, new or classic, the formula isn't broken away from as often as you might suppose. That's not a terrible thing mind you: We like the tropes and the formula; it's not only comforting but deeply satisfying to see a show have such a great time with genre ideas from all over the map, crashing them together in creative ways to see what madness comes out. At the end of hte day though, there are a lot of alien invasions, mad scientists, mad scientists plotting with alien invasions, history gone amok, the future in peril, yeti in the underground, Autons in the toy shop ... fans will know exactly what I'm talking about.
Every so often though something quite different does come along. I'm rather more familiar with the Virgin published early 90s novels than the later BBC line that encompassed the 8th Doctor. I'm starting to realise that, due in part to the TV series restarting in 2005 with a whole fresh agenda and all the past fifteen years of literary accomplishments more or less abandoned, that a lot of this stuff has been unjustly forgotten. The BBC books from this period seem to have had their ups and downs, but had their share of really creative writers who wanted to take Doctor Who to places it hadn't really been before, and I don't just mean geographically or temporally. The Virgin novels were sometimes accused of being sort of adolescent in their attempts to be provocative or even to be somewhat masquerading as DW books when their authors really just wanted to tell a brutal story about space mercenaries or something. I think a lot of the scorn is unfair, personally, but that's another subject not to be dredged up in this review.
Speaking of geography, this book takes place in New Orleans, and Lloyd Rose really seems to know the city. It's just a few years pre-Katrina, too, which is interesting given how the book comments quite wistfully about the decaying state of the city. She, the writer, seems to know the place well, and unlike the sort of tales set in places where you feel the author has never been and only read about it in a book, this NOLA has a very lived-in, "experienced" feel to it. I enjoy how the story focuses largely on the "magic" community, with the Doctor and his friends quickly drawn into a world of occultism, magic shops, magicians and acolytes. It feels for Doctor Who somehow, but simultaneously different from the usual. There's no discussion of science versus magic, and because this takes place during a very long story arc where the Doctor didn't have access to any of his memories from his previous selves or even his life as a Time Lord, the usual WHo lore and continuity that writers tend to trot out in novels (which are, after all, very much written for the fans) is not really present at all. There are a number of interesting characters populating this book, not all of them as they seem, and the dialogue is smart and witty in a way that's a pleasure to read.
But at it's heart this book manages to do something that the Virgin New Adventures sometimes shied away from a bit: This really is the Doctor's book, despite the unusual setting, lack of "lore", plenitude of magic over obvious science fictional content, and strong supporting characters. It's a book that displays a great deal of fascination with, and attempts to create a sympathetic connection with, this lost and wandering traveller in time and space. He and his friends might be having an interesting time in New Orleans, but you never forget that this 8th incarnation of the Doctor is carrying a huge burden, not all of which he understands himself. Nevertheless, he's invariably a very fun character: always friendly to a fault, even when being tortured, and always willing to give people the benefit of kindness. Still, he has doubts about what kind of person he really is, and these doubts and uncertainties are at the core of some of this story, without making it come across angsty or like a cliched story about the hero who thinks he's not really a hero. I really like Lloyd Rose's approach to all this stuff, and the book was consistently a pleasure to read.
This pleasure remained even though I did feel things sort of got a bit too scattered by the ending. There are some revelations that didn't entirely make sense to me, even though I still sort of enjoyed them. The book starts out as a murder mystery, but by part 3, it's sort of turned into something else altogether, with the mystery now surrounding who might be the greatest magician in town, what they've done and what they might be planning. When the truth is revealed, the role of the antagonist is taken by someone who's not really a villain at all. In fact, there's a great deal of sadness in this book, much of it implicit. Sadness over lost glories, over people abused for years, racial injustice and the terrible depredations of time. No single one of these really comes to the fore, but I appreciate that Rose wanted to tackle a lot of this stuff all at once and managed to mostly succeed. The novel feels very emotional without being at all overwrought, if that makes sense. It's also written with more skill and finesse than I'm used to seeing in these, though like many of its kind, the editorial hand could mmaybe be slightly stronger from time to time, as some scenes could be cut a little shorter; some choices seem just slightly off, and the climax maybe a bit rushed while still leaving time for a low-key good-time epilogue at Christmastime in NOLA. These last are quite minor quibbles though. I haven't had this much pleasure reading a Doctor Who book in a very well long time.
This book is scarce now, with this era of Doctor Who, part of the so-called "wilderness years", unjustly buried and forgotten. Sometimes I feel this was really the best time to be into the thing, because you could get stuff like this ... stuff you'd never see on TV because of a greater propensity for "adult themes" as well as depictions of the sort of stuff you just can't get away with on a family TV programme. There's some of that here, for sure, and I didn't really go into it, but I thought it was pretty chill over all and I can't really see any of it offending a mature person of any age. There is some torture, violence and nudity, for sure, but none of it feels gratuitous, except the bits that cause me a little smile, as I've sort of observed that some of the writers around this time were a bit in love with the phyiscality of this incarnation of the Doctor, and so you get many descriptions of his handsomeness, comparing him to a renaissance painting and such. It's cute and I don't mind.
If you can find this by any means, go for it. It's part of a long arc, as I said, but I haven't read much of that at all, as yet, and I had no trouble following any of it. Rose pretty much tells you everything you need to know, and so the book works well as a standalone, in my opinion, even though there are some allusions that might be slightly unclear. December is traditionally a bit of a difficult month for me, and it's the perfect time for me to indulge in something like this, because reading a Doctor Who book can be oddly comforting when you kind of grew up with them, but I always wish there were more like this, despite liking the more traditional stuff, too.
But every so often, you do get startled by coming across something rather special. Doctor Who is a more flexible thing than is sometimes realisee, at least in theory. I say "in theory" because if you watch the show, new or classic, the formula isn't broken away from as often as you might suppose. That's not a terrible thing mind you: We like the tropes and the formula; it's not only comforting but deeply satisfying to see a show have such a great time with genre ideas from all over the map, crashing them together in creative ways to see what madness comes out. At the end of hte day though, there are a lot of alien invasions, mad scientists, mad scientists plotting with alien invasions, history gone amok, the future in peril, yeti in the underground, Autons in the toy shop ... fans will know exactly what I'm talking about.
Every so often though something quite different does come along. I'm rather more familiar with the Virgin published early 90s novels than the later BBC line that encompassed the 8th Doctor. I'm starting to realise that, due in part to the TV series restarting in 2005 with a whole fresh agenda and all the past fifteen years of literary accomplishments more or less abandoned, that a lot of this stuff has been unjustly forgotten. The BBC books from this period seem to have had their ups and downs, but had their share of really creative writers who wanted to take Doctor Who to places it hadn't really been before, and I don't just mean geographically or temporally. The Virgin novels were sometimes accused of being sort of adolescent in their attempts to be provocative or even to be somewhat masquerading as DW books when their authors really just wanted to tell a brutal story about space mercenaries or something. I think a lot of the scorn is unfair, personally, but that's another subject not to be dredged up in this review.
Speaking of geography, this book takes place in New Orleans, and Lloyd Rose really seems to know the city. It's just a few years pre-Katrina, too, which is interesting given how the book comments quite wistfully about the decaying state of the city. She, the writer, seems to know the place well, and unlike the sort of tales set in places where you feel the author has never been and only read about it in a book, this NOLA has a very lived-in, "experienced" feel to it. I enjoy how the story focuses largely on the "magic" community, with the Doctor and his friends quickly drawn into a world of occultism, magic shops, magicians and acolytes. It feels for Doctor Who somehow, but simultaneously different from the usual. There's no discussion of science versus magic, and because this takes place during a very long story arc where the Doctor didn't have access to any of his memories from his previous selves or even his life as a Time Lord, the usual WHo lore and continuity that writers tend to trot out in novels (which are, after all, very much written for the fans) is not really present at all. There are a number of interesting characters populating this book, not all of them as they seem, and the dialogue is smart and witty in a way that's a pleasure to read.
But at it's heart this book manages to do something that the Virgin New Adventures sometimes shied away from a bit: This really is the Doctor's book, despite the unusual setting, lack of "lore", plenitude of magic over obvious science fictional content, and strong supporting characters. It's a book that displays a great deal of fascination with, and attempts to create a sympathetic connection with, this lost and wandering traveller in time and space. He and his friends might be having an interesting time in New Orleans, but you never forget that this 8th incarnation of the Doctor is carrying a huge burden, not all of which he understands himself. Nevertheless, he's invariably a very fun character: always friendly to a fault, even when being tortured, and always willing to give people the benefit of kindness. Still, he has doubts about what kind of person he really is, and these doubts and uncertainties are at the core of some of this story, without making it come across angsty or like a cliched story about the hero who thinks he's not really a hero. I really like Lloyd Rose's approach to all this stuff, and the book was consistently a pleasure to read.
This pleasure remained even though I did feel things sort of got a bit too scattered by the ending. There are some revelations that didn't entirely make sense to me, even though I still sort of enjoyed them. The book starts out as a murder mystery, but by part 3, it's sort of turned into something else altogether, with the mystery now surrounding who might be the greatest magician in town, what they've done and what they might be planning. When the truth is revealed, the role of the antagonist is taken by someone who's not really a villain at all. In fact, there's a great deal of sadness in this book, much of it implicit. Sadness over lost glories, over people abused for years, racial injustice and the terrible depredations of time. No single one of these really comes to the fore, but I appreciate that Rose wanted to tackle a lot of this stuff all at once and managed to mostly succeed. The novel feels very emotional without being at all overwrought, if that makes sense. It's also written with more skill and finesse than I'm used to seeing in these, though like many of its kind, the editorial hand could mmaybe be slightly stronger from time to time, as some scenes could be cut a little shorter; some choices seem just slightly off, and the climax maybe a bit rushed while still leaving time for a low-key good-time epilogue at Christmastime in NOLA. These last are quite minor quibbles though. I haven't had this much pleasure reading a Doctor Who book in a very well long time.
This book is scarce now, with this era of Doctor Who, part of the so-called "wilderness years", unjustly buried and forgotten. Sometimes I feel this was really the best time to be into the thing, because you could get stuff like this ... stuff you'd never see on TV because of a greater propensity for "adult themes" as well as depictions of the sort of stuff you just can't get away with on a family TV programme. There's some of that here, for sure, and I didn't really go into it, but I thought it was pretty chill over all and I can't really see any of it offending a mature person of any age. There is some torture, violence and nudity, for sure, but none of it feels gratuitous, except the bits that cause me a little smile, as I've sort of observed that some of the writers around this time were a bit in love with the phyiscality of this incarnation of the Doctor, and so you get many descriptions of his handsomeness, comparing him to a renaissance painting and such. It's cute and I don't mind.
If you can find this by any means, go for it. It's part of a long arc, as I said, but I haven't read much of that at all, as yet, and I had no trouble following any of it. Rose pretty much tells you everything you need to know, and so the book works well as a standalone, in my opinion, even though there are some allusions that might be slightly unclear. December is traditionally a bit of a difficult month for me, and it's the perfect time for me to indulge in something like this, because reading a Doctor Who book can be oddly comforting when you kind of grew up with them, but I always wish there were more like this, despite liking the more traditional stuff, too.
Read
April 8, 2009http://nhw.livejournal.com/987730.html[return][return]I got this simply because it is the highest-rated Doctor Who novel of any epoch by LibraryThing users, and I wanted a) to assess whether LibraryThing ratings can be considered a reasonable guide to quality and b) if it is worth giving the BBC series of Eighth Doctor Adventures another go, having been underwhelmed by my previous samplings.[return][return]Well, the answer to both questions seems to be a reasonably firm Yes. The setting of the story in Who continuity is unfamiliar to me - the Doctor is suffering from partial amnesia for some reason, and I have read nothing else with either of the two companions, Fitz and Anji. But the portrayal of the Eighth Doctor (amnesia apart) is consistent with the Big Finish audios, and I thought Anji came across well as an interesting character (Fitz rather less so).[return][return]I also felt initially suspicious about the setting, among occultists in New Orleans. Indeed, there is no scientific hand-waving anywhere in the book to explain away the magic - spells and summonings work, and elementals are real. Yet in the end I was satisfied; there are plenty of sf stories (indeed, many Doctor Who stories!) where there is detailed technobabble to explain what is going on, but the means and motivation of the bad guys remain unconvincing, and this is not one of them. Also the New Orleans setting was well sketched out (I suppose - I've never been there), and the plot had some genuine surprises - Lloyd Rose clearly has a good knack of misdirection. Plus the Doctor actually, possibly, maybe, has an intimate encounter, discreetly described.[return][return]I'd have enjoyed it more if I'd read more of this series, but if this is the best then some of the others must be pretty decent too.
May 12, 2013
I'm not going to write too lengthy of a report for this one. I liked the premise, the cover description really hooked me, but I am not familiar enough with the 8th Doctor to have recognized who his traveling companions were and why he has lost a significant portion of his memory. Unfortunately certain sections of the book relied heavily on this missing knowledge so I finished the book slightly confused.
However, in just basic plot, it was very well written and the author definitely kept me guessing as to who the baddie really was.
Certainly something for the more hardcore Doctor Who fans since the 8th Doctor didn't have a long running tv series, just a crappy American tv movie. I should check up on more of the audio adventures with the 8th Doctor.
However, in just basic plot, it was very well written and the author definitely kept me guessing as to who the baddie really was.
Certainly something for the more hardcore Doctor Who fans since the 8th Doctor didn't have a long running tv series, just a crappy American tv movie. I should check up on more of the audio adventures with the 8th Doctor.
December 16, 2009
After months of reading books about mortgages and home repairs, I'm treating myself to a little "medicine" from the Doctor. If I could, I'd give this book 2.5 stars. The idea of the book is fantastic and it made me want to visit New Orleans. I especially liked one of the water characters. But around page 250 is when it got a bit convoluted and started to drag. With a tighter storyline, this would be a book I would've given 3.5 stars. And if some of the naughty bits were edited out, it would be a great Doctor Who TV episode.
October 13, 2018
It was a very slow start and a somewhat confusing ending, but it's the Doctor. Never with the Doctor is everything black and white and clean around the edges. The Doctor is excellent. He has some wonderful moments, although does manage to get hurt a lot. Fitz and Anji are fine companions, but in this book, they rarely interact with the Doctor, other than to have lunch. But the story was full of unusual characters and it was definitely one of the spookier stories I've ready.
November 19, 2019
I literally made a Goodreads account to tell everyone how utterly non-sensical the plot of this book is. Like yeah, its written very well, but I had no idea what the hell was happening past chapter sixteen.
Also, are we just going to accept magic in Doctor Who with literally no explanation behind it whatsoever? Because this novel is not Doctor Who. Its what I imagine an episode of Supernatural to be like.
Also, are we just going to accept magic in Doctor Who with literally no explanation behind it whatsoever? Because this novel is not Doctor Who. Its what I imagine an episode of Supernatural to be like.
July 30, 2011
One of my favorites of the Eighth Doctor novels. Excellent atmosphere provided by pre-Katrina New Orleans,an above average mystery to solve,and all in all a more "adult" take on the Doctor Who mythos than you usually get from the BBC TV series.
January 20, 2024
Part of my challenge to give every book I read in 2024 at least a small review.
Absolutely brilliant - a debut perhaps unlike no other. Not as distinctly radical or as focused upon the show as Paul Cornell's 'Timewyrm: Revelation' or as exploratory as Kate Orman's 'The Left-Handed Hummingbird', but somewhere in-between. Lloyd Rose starts the book with a dedication to Kate Orman, which already gives us some indication of the sort of book we're about to enter. Like Orman, the Doctor is put through the wringer, physically and emotionally, but Rose seems less afraid of the world she creates - much, much more of this book explores the world far beyond the Doctor and his team, even featuring them. I must admit I didn't see the 'villain' of The City of the Dead coming, but I don't think that even if you did it'd spoil your entertainment, or the value of the story. It's very, very brave, in a show besieged by scientific explanations, spearheaded by a well-known rational character, to not only confirm magick (and I use the old spelling, because the magicks in The City of the Dead are ancient and powerful - and all the most terrifying for it) as real, but to effectively ask her audience, 'And what of it?'. Rose's style feels matter-of-fact, but strangely, in doing so, the book feels all the more human. Through the prism of flawed characters, we get to delve into a city just as brooding and mystical as its subject. Because Lloyd isn't afraid of her characters, the audience cannot help but feel terrified - the book feels out of control, unbound; the threats the Doctor and co. face could genuinely spell the end. Lloyd Rose, wisely discarding any kind of explanations, writes a story that could be set nowhere but New Orleans with nothing but (at least half-) human characters, with very powerful motives. Sure, magick's real, but there is nothing more inexorable than rage. It feels strange to call The City of the Dead 'quietly radical' in comparison to a Cornell or Orman, and sure, it was (and is, by EDA readers) given its due respect, when the book is anything but. And yet I cannot think of any better term - it seems clear to me that Rose is always holding back, always prepared to throw some greater magick at us, leaving the greater terrors - magickal and human - just below the surface. If you probe too much, you'll find something terrifying, but always true and brilliant.
Absolutely brilliant - a debut perhaps unlike no other. Not as distinctly radical or as focused upon the show as Paul Cornell's 'Timewyrm: Revelation' or as exploratory as Kate Orman's 'The Left-Handed Hummingbird', but somewhere in-between. Lloyd Rose starts the book with a dedication to Kate Orman, which already gives us some indication of the sort of book we're about to enter. Like Orman, the Doctor is put through the wringer, physically and emotionally, but Rose seems less afraid of the world she creates - much, much more of this book explores the world far beyond the Doctor and his team, even featuring them. I must admit I didn't see the 'villain' of The City of the Dead coming, but I don't think that even if you did it'd spoil your entertainment, or the value of the story. It's very, very brave, in a show besieged by scientific explanations, spearheaded by a well-known rational character, to not only confirm magick (and I use the old spelling, because the magicks in The City of the Dead are ancient and powerful - and all the most terrifying for it) as real, but to effectively ask her audience, 'And what of it?'. Rose's style feels matter-of-fact, but strangely, in doing so, the book feels all the more human. Through the prism of flawed characters, we get to delve into a city just as brooding and mystical as its subject. Because Lloyd isn't afraid of her characters, the audience cannot help but feel terrified - the book feels out of control, unbound; the threats the Doctor and co. face could genuinely spell the end. Lloyd Rose, wisely discarding any kind of explanations, writes a story that could be set nowhere but New Orleans with nothing but (at least half-) human characters, with very powerful motives. Sure, magick's real, but there is nothing more inexorable than rage. It feels strange to call The City of the Dead 'quietly radical' in comparison to a Cornell or Orman, and sure, it was (and is, by EDA readers) given its due respect, when the book is anything but. And yet I cannot think of any better term - it seems clear to me that Rose is always holding back, always prepared to throw some greater magick at us, leaving the greater terrors - magickal and human - just below the surface. If you probe too much, you'll find something terrifying, but always true and brilliant.
August 7, 2025
When the magician regained his earthly senses, he lay for a long while curled in a tight foetal position, one arm clasped around his knees, the other pulled protectively across the back of his neck. So close. So close! He gasped in great ragged breaths. As always, his bones felt as if they had loosened within his flesh, which itself felt flaccid, gelatinous. He lay still, gradually returning to himself. It was always such a shock to be back in the body, back in time, ticking away towards death like a uranium clock, one decaying molecule after another.
A very good debut novel, Lloyd Rose's writing style makes this quite good to read. The plot is also quite good, the setting and atmosphere is really good, and Lloyd's grasp of character is pretty good. My main gripe is that it sometimes feels like it isn't doing enough with the magic and the ending felt a little bit confusing. Can't wait to read Rose's other Doctor Who novels.
A very good debut novel, Lloyd Rose's writing style makes this quite good to read. The plot is also quite good, the setting and atmosphere is really good, and Lloyd's grasp of character is pretty good. My main gripe is that it sometimes feels like it isn't doing enough with the magic and the ending felt a little bit confusing. Can't wait to read Rose's other Doctor Who novels.
October 20, 2024
The first half reads like the work of a first-time author, unfocused, crufty and inauthentic; it should have been edited down considerably. Readers should stick with it because the second half is remarkable, and the final few chapters stunning. I wonder how it was written and in what order. 2 stars for the first half, 4 for the second.
July 21, 2017
Pretty good. I'm not a big fan of magic in Doctor Who unless it's got a bit of a sci-fi explanation. This didn't quite get there.
May 17, 2018
Magic, Demons and Murder.
I really like this book, Not so much Sci-Fi and more Fantasy but I do think it's to heavy handed with Magic and stuff.
I really like this book, Not so much Sci-Fi and more Fantasy but I do think it's to heavy handed with Magic and stuff.
July 16, 2019
An interesting 8th Doctor adventure with a few twists and turns set in the wonderful New Orleans and filled with magic too.
June 9, 2024
Magick Doctor Who-
Barker/Brite grim neo-gothic.
Want goofier now.
Barker/Brite grim neo-gothic.
Want goofier now.
March 29, 2013
I have so many complicated feelings about this story!
On one hand, it was FANTASTIC. The writing disappeared as I fell into the story (I mean, it wasn't the best writing, but it was good for Doctor Who). It was terrifying. The author has clearly spent some time in New Orleans. I felt like I was back there again, at Cafe Du Monde or just riding a streetcar--it was VERY accurately described.
On the other hand, New Orleans really isn't a pleasant place to be. (I really don't like that city.) I don't know whether to be impressed by the bold accuracy of the . . . filth and perversion, or just repulsed. Since the author's goal was obviously to disgust me, I guess I'm impressed.
It was so accurate though. I mean . . . minus the 'real' magic.
Which brings me to the next bit--Magic in Doctor Who. I'm okay with it because normally I just read fantasy anyway, but the more critical fan might scoff at the 'spirits' and 'magicians' in this one. The Whoniverse does seem to have made allowances for forms of 'magic' though (The Shakespeare Code), and the author really does a fair job of explaining, even if it all just gets trippy in the end.
Absolutely wonderful character journey for the Doctor, and Anji and Fitz had their share of quality screen time too. It was well-balanced and fast-paced. Rust was a great character. The philosophical bits were brilliant.
If you love the Doctor this story will cause you lots of pain but with Moffat in power we're all used to that anyway, right?
READ IT.
On one hand, it was FANTASTIC. The writing disappeared as I fell into the story (I mean, it wasn't the best writing, but it was good for Doctor Who). It was terrifying. The author has clearly spent some time in New Orleans. I felt like I was back there again, at Cafe Du Monde or just riding a streetcar--it was VERY accurately described.
On the other hand, New Orleans really isn't a pleasant place to be. (I really don't like that city.) I don't know whether to be impressed by the bold accuracy of the . . . filth and perversion, or just repulsed. Since the author's goal was obviously to disgust me, I guess I'm impressed.
It was so accurate though. I mean . . . minus the 'real' magic.
Which brings me to the next bit--Magic in Doctor Who. I'm okay with it because normally I just read fantasy anyway, but the more critical fan might scoff at the 'spirits' and 'magicians' in this one. The Whoniverse does seem to have made allowances for forms of 'magic' though (The Shakespeare Code), and the author really does a fair job of explaining, even if it all just gets trippy in the end.
Absolutely wonderful character journey for the Doctor, and Anji and Fitz had their share of quality screen time too. It was well-balanced and fast-paced. Rust was a great character. The philosophical bits were brilliant.
If you love the Doctor this story will cause you lots of pain but with Moffat in power we're all used to that anyway, right?
READ IT.
April 8, 2008
I loved this book. Love it. One of my favorite books in the Doctor Who genre. The Doctor in New Orleans with evil sorcerers and renegade elementals--how can you NOT like the idea? Also contains some of the Eighth Doctor's funniest lines. My favorite: "'I scare very, very easily. Budgies unnerve me. Gerbils throw me into a state of panic. Don't even mention rabbits." Also another take on whether or not the Doctor can get drunk (here, only if he feels like it), and the fact that he CAN change his wardrobe and, at least in his eighth incarnation, frequently does. And he gets kidnapped...with irony.
A very fun, well written read, enjoyable whether you are a Doctor fan or just looking for some good fantasy. (And this one does fall more under 'fantasy' than 'scifi.')
A very fun, well written read, enjoyable whether you are a Doctor fan or just looking for some good fantasy. (And this one does fall more under 'fantasy' than 'scifi.')
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2012
Despite getting a little confused towards the end (my fault - I wasn't focussing enough), this book was a good read. I like the characters of Fitz and Anji, and the Eighth Doctor was written very well.
November 2, 2015
The first half of this book is rich with detail and mystery, the second half unravels as the ludicrous and extreme storyline emerges. Still, the character of the Eighth Doctor is well realized. The detail about New Orleans is very observant.
November 30, 2012
An Amnesiac Eight Doctor with Anji and Fitz start exploring New Orleans' occult community with interesting consequences.
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