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Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures #3
Doctor Who: Timewyrm - Apocalypse
The end of the Universe. The end of everything.
The TARDIS has tracked the Timewyrm to the edge of the Universe and the end of time -- to the lush planet Kirith, a paradise inhabited by a physically perfect race.
Ace is not impressed. Kirith has all the appeal of a wet weekend in Margate, and its inhabitants look like third-rate Aussie soap stars.
The Doctor is troubled, too: If the Timewyrm is here, why can’t he find her? Why have the elite Panjistri lied consistently to the Kirithons they govern? And is it possible that the catastrophe that he feels impending is the result of his own past actions?
The TARDIS has tracked the Timewyrm to the edge of the Universe and the end of time -- to the lush planet Kirith, a paradise inhabited by a physically perfect race.
Ace is not impressed. Kirith has all the appeal of a wet weekend in Margate, and its inhabitants look like third-rate Aussie soap stars.
The Doctor is troubled, too: If the Timewyrm is here, why can’t he find her? Why have the elite Panjistri lied consistently to the Kirithons they govern? And is it possible that the catastrophe that he feels impending is the result of his own past actions?
201 pages, Paperback
First published October 17, 1991
10 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Robinson
85 books11 followersNigel Robinson is an English author, known for such works as the First Contact series. Nigel was born in Preston, Lancashire and attended St Thomas More school. Robinson's first published book was The Tolkien Quiz Book in 1981, co-written with Linda Wilson. This was followed by a series of three Doctor Who quiz books and a crossword book between 1981 and 1985. In the late 1980s he was the editor of Target Books' range of Doctor Who tie-ins and novelisations, also contributing to the range as a writer.
He later wrote an original Doctor Who novel, Timewyrm: Apocalypse, for the New Adventures series for Virgin Publishing, which had purchased Target in 1989 shortly after Robinson had left the company. He also wrote the New Adventure Birthright, published in 1993.
In the 1990s, Robinson wrote novelisations of episodes of The Tomorrow People, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Baywatch and the film Free Willy. Between 1994 and 1995, he wrote a series of children's horror novels Remember Me..., All Shook Up, Dream Lover, Rave On, Bad Moon Rising, Symphony of Terror and Demon Brood.In 1996 he continued to write the Luke Cannon Show Jumping Mysteries series,containing four books, namely The Piebald Princess, The Chestnut Chase, The Black Mare of Devils Hill and the last in the series, Decision Day for the Dapple Grey. By 1997 he had also penned a trilogy science fiction novels First Contact, Second Nature and Third Degree.
His most recent work was another quiz book, this time to tie in with the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
He later wrote an original Doctor Who novel, Timewyrm: Apocalypse, for the New Adventures series for Virgin Publishing, which had purchased Target in 1989 shortly after Robinson had left the company. He also wrote the New Adventure Birthright, published in 1993.
In the 1990s, Robinson wrote novelisations of episodes of The Tomorrow People, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Baywatch and the film Free Willy. Between 1994 and 1995, he wrote a series of children's horror novels Remember Me..., All Shook Up, Dream Lover, Rave On, Bad Moon Rising, Symphony of Terror and Demon Brood.In 1996 he continued to write the Luke Cannon Show Jumping Mysteries series,containing four books, namely The Piebald Princess, The Chestnut Chase, The Black Mare of Devils Hill and the last in the series, Decision Day for the Dapple Grey. By 1997 he had also penned a trilogy science fiction novels First Contact, Second Nature and Third Degree.
His most recent work was another quiz book, this time to tie in with the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
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April 8, 2013
This book is often lamented as being one of the worst NAs and, frankly, it is. But it isn't that bad. There are some redeeming parts to the story and it is only 200 or so pages.
Apocalypse ends up being on the same level of quality as Genesys. I know the range was new, but two duds in the initial four book run would have been worrying.
The novel is another Doctor Who paint-by-numbers with a seeming utopia run by a mysterious few with dark secrets. Yes there are the mysterious outsider that cause a revolution and everyone ends up happy. I'd say watch out for spoilers but if you cannot predict the whole plotline after the first three pages you may have an IQ the same as your shoe size.
The redeeming parts: well part. Ace acts like Ace. She characterised pretty well here. The fact that she can be an annoying whinger may have something to do with it. I prefer the character when she is not like this, but you have to admit that she was sometimes like this on screen.
The Timewyrm puts in an appearence that seems to be added via a post-it note. Linked stories are such a bad idea. From memory the publishers do it better later.
So why read this book? Completism. That's it.
Apocalypse ends up being on the same level of quality as Genesys. I know the range was new, but two duds in the initial four book run would have been worrying.
The novel is another Doctor Who paint-by-numbers with a seeming utopia run by a mysterious few with dark secrets. Yes there are the mysterious outsider that cause a revolution and everyone ends up happy. I'd say watch out for spoilers but if you cannot predict the whole plotline after the first three pages you may have an IQ the same as your shoe size.
The redeeming parts: well part. Ace acts like Ace. She characterised pretty well here. The fact that she can be an annoying whinger may have something to do with it. I prefer the character when she is not like this, but you have to admit that she was sometimes like this on screen.
The Timewyrm puts in an appearence that seems to be added via a post-it note. Linked stories are such a bad idea. From memory the publishers do it better later.
So why read this book? Completism. That's it.
December 6, 2011
So far, this series of books has been okay. The worst book so far still felt a bit like a Doctor Who story from that era. In this book, though, it goes spectacularly badly wrong.
So far, the Doctor has accidentally created the Timewyrm in book one, and prevented it from meddling in history in boom two. In this book, it tries to build a machine that has all the knowledge in the universe, and has experienced all the emotions, which therefore makes it as powerful as God. What? Really? Oh dear...
I won't bore you with the details, but this book makes two horrendous mistakes. Firstly, the characters are just badly drawn and unbelievable. There are the beautiful people, and the mutants (and as described, it is now hard not to think of Leela's race from Futurama!) The leader of the Kirithans, Lord Huldah, is so cardboard and unrealistic it is untrue. When he pushed the rock down the cliff to try and kill the Doctor you are either waiting for him to twirl his curly moustache or get his Acme kit for his next attempt to run the Doctor off the road.
And secondly, we have more pointless past continuity references. There are a couple of chapters set in the time of the Second Doctor, something they just could not have done on the TV show. So far in this series, we have had cameos from the second and fourth Doctors, and we have channelled the mind and expertise of the third, and a sequel to a second Doctor story. Just bloody stop it, okay? An original tale that stands on it's own with no pointless continuity references would be bloomin' lovely.
This story resolved nothing in the main plot (just like the third episode in a four part television story, come to think of it!) The Timewyrm escapes, ready for the (presumably) final showdown in the final book. Looking at the structure of the stories, it should have been a three part tale: creation, growth and destruction, as opposed to what we have by inserting this book - creation, growth, farting about for no apparent reason, then presumably destruction in the final volume.
Easily my least favourite of the range so far.
So far, the Doctor has accidentally created the Timewyrm in book one, and prevented it from meddling in history in boom two. In this book, it tries to build a machine that has all the knowledge in the universe, and has experienced all the emotions, which therefore makes it as powerful as God. What? Really? Oh dear...
I won't bore you with the details, but this book makes two horrendous mistakes. Firstly, the characters are just badly drawn and unbelievable. There are the beautiful people, and the mutants (and as described, it is now hard not to think of Leela's race from Futurama!) The leader of the Kirithans, Lord Huldah, is so cardboard and unrealistic it is untrue. When he pushed the rock down the cliff to try and kill the Doctor you are either waiting for him to twirl his curly moustache or get his Acme kit for his next attempt to run the Doctor off the road.
And secondly, we have more pointless past continuity references. There are a couple of chapters set in the time of the Second Doctor, something they just could not have done on the TV show. So far in this series, we have had cameos from the second and fourth Doctors, and we have channelled the mind and expertise of the third, and a sequel to a second Doctor story. Just bloody stop it, okay? An original tale that stands on it's own with no pointless continuity references would be bloomin' lovely.
This story resolved nothing in the main plot (just like the third episode in a four part television story, come to think of it!) The Timewyrm escapes, ready for the (presumably) final showdown in the final book. Looking at the structure of the stories, it should have been a three part tale: creation, growth and destruction, as opposed to what we have by inserting this book - creation, growth, farting about for no apparent reason, then presumably destruction in the final volume.
Easily my least favourite of the range so far.
September 10, 2024
Ace winced in terror as the band of freaks surrounded her.
July 13, 2016
I actually thought this was quite good, so far my favorite of the Timewyrm storyline. It's definitely not fine literature, but everyone is drawing it to be an unreadable mess. What I got was a fun romp, where it's admittedly better to keep your brain shut off, but that's basically what I came to expect of Doctor Who novels.
If this is, as Brendon says, one of the worst entries in DW:NA, my hopes for the series are high. :)
If this is, as Brendon says, one of the worst entries in DW:NA, my hopes for the series are high. :)
July 25, 2011
Has I have been reading the Timewyrm novels that started off the Virgin New Adventures, I have noticed that these early novels tend to be hit and miss. They got off to a wooden beginning with Timewyrm Genesys before picking up greatly in Timewyrm: Exodus. As I came to this novel I wondered if it would be a hit or a miss in terms of success. The answer is for the most part is that it is a miss.
The novel's single largest hit or miss is in the characterization of the seventh Doctor and Ace. The hit is Ace who gets captured rather well by author Nigel Robinson especially in her scenes with Mirli and Raphael. In fat Robinson ties her rather nicely into the nvoel's climax and makes it work surprisingly enough. The miss is the seventh Doctor who doesn't quite seem to be the seventh Doctor but one of his earlier incarnations depending on the scene. That said Robinson does capture the seventh Doctor twice in the novel: pages 128-131 and then in the last few pages of the novel. It is in the last few pages of the novel that Robinson gives the seventh Doctor and Ace a beautiful scene that sets up one of the major plot points that was to follow later on in the New Adventures.
The supporting cast is pretty much cardboard sadly. The two exceptions to that are Mirli and Raphael who get some really good fleshing out as the novel goes along. This is especially true of Raphael who becomes very much a companion to the Doctor during a large portion of the novel. The rest of the supporting characters ranging from the alien Kirith, the novel's villains the Panjistri and their leader the Grand Matriarch are sadly cardboard and predictable. After the well drawn out supporting characters of Exodus it seems a shame to go back to the cardboard ones of this novel.
Perhaps the novel's biggest problem is in the prose. Despite being shorter then the two previous novels at 201 pages this novel feels much longer then it actually is. The novel doesn't flow and neither does it have a sense of real tension especially with seemingly random sections detailing the life and culture of the Kirith which fall into the category of could have been interesting but come across as dull. Then there's a simple matter of yet another past Doctor cameo. This one is thankfully better written that those found in Genesys by a long shot especially as Robinson not only capturs the Doctor in question but ties nicely into the plot as well. While these sequences are written well they don't fix the main problem. The problem is that the emphasis of the novel seems to be more on action that doesn't come across well then on descriptions or plot. The lack of emphasis on plot is in itself rather sad.
It is sad because Robinson draws much from the works of Christopher H Bidmead who script edited Season 18 (Tom Baker's final season). The fact is that the novel starts with a passage from Bidmead's own novelization of Logopolis which gives the reader a clue that this is very much Bidmead-ish territory. In particular the themes of oppression and alien races with dark secrets in their past that occupied so much of Season 18 are put to some nice use here. Sadly the poorly done emphasis on action takes away from the plot which in itself is interesting for the most part.
Another reoccurring problem of the Timewyrm novels is in Apocalypse as well. The Timewyrm, the great threat that she is, once again appears very little in the novel. She appears at the start (sort of) and then disappears for the most part of the novel. Thankfully when she finally appears it is something of a surprise and it eventually leads to the single best written part of the novel on page 197. That said I am seriously wondering what the point of the Timewyrm is as she is responsible for very little in the novels so far and especially in Apocalypse.
Despite having a potential intrusting plot, Timewyrm Apocalypse is let down by the sum of its parts. With mostly cardboard characterization and poorly placed emphasis on action rather then on the novel's rather interesting plot idea. It is far from the greatest Who novel ever and (like Genesys) is very much one for fans seeking to kick off the New Adventures properly.
The novel's single largest hit or miss is in the characterization of the seventh Doctor and Ace. The hit is Ace who gets captured rather well by author Nigel Robinson especially in her scenes with Mirli and Raphael. In fat Robinson ties her rather nicely into the nvoel's climax and makes it work surprisingly enough. The miss is the seventh Doctor who doesn't quite seem to be the seventh Doctor but one of his earlier incarnations depending on the scene. That said Robinson does capture the seventh Doctor twice in the novel: pages 128-131 and then in the last few pages of the novel. It is in the last few pages of the novel that Robinson gives the seventh Doctor and Ace a beautiful scene that sets up one of the major plot points that was to follow later on in the New Adventures.
The supporting cast is pretty much cardboard sadly. The two exceptions to that are Mirli and Raphael who get some really good fleshing out as the novel goes along. This is especially true of Raphael who becomes very much a companion to the Doctor during a large portion of the novel. The rest of the supporting characters ranging from the alien Kirith, the novel's villains the Panjistri and their leader the Grand Matriarch are sadly cardboard and predictable. After the well drawn out supporting characters of Exodus it seems a shame to go back to the cardboard ones of this novel.
Perhaps the novel's biggest problem is in the prose. Despite being shorter then the two previous novels at 201 pages this novel feels much longer then it actually is. The novel doesn't flow and neither does it have a sense of real tension especially with seemingly random sections detailing the life and culture of the Kirith which fall into the category of could have been interesting but come across as dull. Then there's a simple matter of yet another past Doctor cameo. This one is thankfully better written that those found in Genesys by a long shot especially as Robinson not only capturs the Doctor in question but ties nicely into the plot as well. While these sequences are written well they don't fix the main problem. The problem is that the emphasis of the novel seems to be more on action that doesn't come across well then on descriptions or plot. The lack of emphasis on plot is in itself rather sad.
It is sad because Robinson draws much from the works of Christopher H Bidmead who script edited Season 18 (Tom Baker's final season). The fact is that the novel starts with a passage from Bidmead's own novelization of Logopolis which gives the reader a clue that this is very much Bidmead-ish territory. In particular the themes of oppression and alien races with dark secrets in their past that occupied so much of Season 18 are put to some nice use here. Sadly the poorly done emphasis on action takes away from the plot which in itself is interesting for the most part.
Another reoccurring problem of the Timewyrm novels is in Apocalypse as well. The Timewyrm, the great threat that she is, once again appears very little in the novel. She appears at the start (sort of) and then disappears for the most part of the novel. Thankfully when she finally appears it is something of a surprise and it eventually leads to the single best written part of the novel on page 197. That said I am seriously wondering what the point of the Timewyrm is as she is responsible for very little in the novels so far and especially in Apocalypse.
Despite having a potential intrusting plot, Timewyrm Apocalypse is let down by the sum of its parts. With mostly cardboard characterization and poorly placed emphasis on action rather then on the novel's rather interesting plot idea. It is far from the greatest Who novel ever and (like Genesys) is very much one for fans seeking to kick off the New Adventures properly.
July 18, 2024
I may be coming in with a hot take here, but I honestly think this is the best book of the tetrology so far. Granted, it's not hard to beat the low bar of Genesys, but while Exodus was a step up, I think Apocalypse is leagues above.
One thing that this book does that many may dislike but I think works in it's favour - the Timewyrm is barely in it! I am an avid Timewyrm HATER I think the Timewyrm is such a boring villain, and I wish they were a one-time villain as opposed to being the antagonists of the first four books. While they are clearly the antagonist here, I actually forgot we were in this arc at times, and it made me enjoy the book so much more.
That being said, this book is still certainly lacking. While it felt more consistent than Exodus, the pacing was not great, we had large chunks of nothingness while people just sort of walked around. Something that has been happening all too often in the VNAs so far.
We also had a lot of characters. It took me a while to remember who was Miril and who was Huldah. Revna and Reptu, etc. I was more or less on top of it by the end but it took me some time. I'm not sure if this was a problem with my ebook, but it kept changing Mirils name to Mint. Not sure why.
Lastly, I thought the ending was a bit underwhelming. We had a reveal that the person the Timewyrm was possessing was somebody the Second Doctor met, and I assumed they were in an episode of the show, turns out they were only in this book, with their debut being in Chapter 2 for a couple paragraphs. Not the dramatic reveal that it felt like the book was trying to do. We also had Raphael, great character who I thought was perhaps going to be a companion, or maybe a recurring character. He kind of just... Turns into a God then blips himself out of existence. That all happened in two chapters.
Overall, a fun and interesting story, and the highlight of the VNAs so far. Unfortunately bogged down by a number of issues that make it still far from perfect.
One thing that this book does that many may dislike but I think works in it's favour - the Timewyrm is barely in it! I am an avid Timewyrm HATER I think the Timewyrm is such a boring villain, and I wish they were a one-time villain as opposed to being the antagonists of the first four books. While they are clearly the antagonist here, I actually forgot we were in this arc at times, and it made me enjoy the book so much more.
That being said, this book is still certainly lacking. While it felt more consistent than Exodus, the pacing was not great, we had large chunks of nothingness while people just sort of walked around. Something that has been happening all too often in the VNAs so far.
We also had a lot of characters. It took me a while to remember who was Miril and who was Huldah. Revna and Reptu, etc. I was more or less on top of it by the end but it took me some time. I'm not sure if this was a problem with my ebook, but it kept changing Mirils name to Mint. Not sure why.
Lastly, I thought the ending was a bit underwhelming. We had a reveal that the person the Timewyrm was possessing was somebody the Second Doctor met, and I assumed they were in an episode of the show, turns out they were only in this book, with their debut being in Chapter 2 for a couple paragraphs. Not the dramatic reveal that it felt like the book was trying to do. We also had Raphael, great character who I thought was perhaps going to be a companion, or maybe a recurring character. He kind of just... Turns into a God then blips himself out of existence. That all happened in two chapters.
Overall, a fun and interesting story, and the highlight of the VNAs so far. Unfortunately bogged down by a number of issues that make it still far from perfect.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2017
Rated one of the lowest in the New Adventures range.
I think this book is average. Good in some areas. Nothing terrible but nothing great.
The shortest New Adventure at 20o pages. The book also teases the next series, The Cat's Cradle trilogy by Ace seeing something in the corner of her eye in the tardis which was a mysterious cat.
The Doctor and Ace are still on the hunt for the Timewyrm and takes them to the end of the universe. We learn of the civilisation on the planet and the Panjistri government. We understand the Panjistri are incredibly secretive with their motives and this reveals the really gravitas and dark parts of the book. Both good and pretty gruesome at the same time.
The 2nd Doctor stuff was disjointed but served its purpose. I personally feel the book was trying too hard to be complex in its structuring. I suppose it needed it because I think the book would be really dull without it but adds some mystery but the lead up I predicted.
Readable and it does get moving.
Overall, not a bad book. Have to admit I rather enjoyed the book but it's not on the levels of Exodus.
5/10.
I think this book is average. Good in some areas. Nothing terrible but nothing great.
The shortest New Adventure at 20o pages. The book also teases the next series, The Cat's Cradle trilogy by Ace seeing something in the corner of her eye in the tardis which was a mysterious cat.
The Doctor and Ace are still on the hunt for the Timewyrm and takes them to the end of the universe. We learn of the civilisation on the planet and the Panjistri government. We understand the Panjistri are incredibly secretive with their motives and this reveals the really gravitas and dark parts of the book. Both good and pretty gruesome at the same time.
The 2nd Doctor stuff was disjointed but served its purpose. I personally feel the book was trying too hard to be complex in its structuring. I suppose it needed it because I think the book would be really dull without it but adds some mystery but the lead up I predicted.
Readable and it does get moving.
Overall, not a bad book. Have to admit I rather enjoyed the book but it's not on the levels of Exodus.
5/10.
July 31, 2023
I’m surprised by how derided this is. It’s a story that I think would have made a solid three parter on TV and Robinson gets Ace’s character just right. Yes, the characters are a little dry without actors bringing their lines to life, but it’s all still miles ahead of Genesys and honestly not too much off from Exodus. Not a pinnacle for certain but not the nadir by any stretch (IMO of course).
April 25, 2018
This is not as bad as its reputation suggests. Not that it is great but it has a reputation as one of the worst VNAs (along with Parasite and The Pit). It is fine, just super trad. Apart from a guy being creepy towards Ace (which appears to be a strange motif of the series), The Doctor's past actions affecting his present and the Timewyrm this could have been a standard Past Doctor story with little trouble.
February 13, 2022
By no means is it terrible. Just a bit lackluster, and most of the plot points dont lead anywhere. As a penultimate book in the timewyrm saga, I was hoping she would have a larger role to play. It feels like this book was written and then made to be a part of the arc. Still.. its enjoyable enough.
November 14, 2024
Underwhelming, but with a few half-decent ideas.
November 6, 2017
Timewyrm: Apocalypse is the third volume of the Virgin Publishing Doctor Who New Adventures opening "Timewyrm" series. The story features the Seventh Doctor and Ace. The TARDIS lands on a planet that seems to be perfect, which Ace, of course, immediately dislikes. The Doctor, however, surprisingly also dislikes the planet - finding the peace and harmony, and content people to be artificial. He and Ace decide they must figure out what's going on after rescuing a young man who falls off a cliff, into the ocean and is quite beat-up by the rocks. Yet the next day, he's fine without so much as a scratch or a bruise.
The main society on the planet is the Kirith, who live their days having all their needs from shelter to food taken care of by the Panjistri. The Panjistri are aliens who landed on the planet generations ago and saved the Kirith from war, destruction, and death. The Kirith can study or do whatever they like. Even leaving their city isn't forbidden, it's just considered a bad idea because of the dangers outside it.
The most talented of the Kirith are invited to study with the Panjistri, but instead of returning to teach in ten years, they never return. However, no one objects because as soon as a great artist, or musician, or dancer goes to the Panjistri - everyone forgets that person. This is a bit suspicious, but because of the wide-spread amnesia, it's not something Ace and the Doctor learn about right away.
Ace convinces Raphael, the boy they had rescued, to go exploring with her outside the city. They discover in the Harbours, the embarkation point for the ships to the island of the Panjistri, a underground lab devoted to grotesque genetic experiments. They escape and meet the Unlike, the mutated survivors of the experiments. One of the Unlike reveals the food the Kirith eat every day is Soylent Green, opps, I mean, it's made from people, specifically the left over genetic experiments and the dead of the city.
Ace, Raphael, and the Unlike return to the city. meeting up with Miríl, a scholar, and start a revolution by cutting off the food supplies and electric power. This results in both unrest and a lot of death and destruction. But the Doctor has already left or been taken to the Harbours. The return there, and Raphael is forced to kill one of the worst genetic experiments. He's devastated by this.
They steal a hovercraft and head to the Island to rescue the Doctor.
There they discover the Matriarch of the Panjistri is the Timewyrm. In defeating her, Raphael dies, taking over the "God Engine", Miríl had died on the hovercraft trip to the Island. The society is broken and must discover for themselves how to survive without help, and Ace and the Doctor escape.
Timewyrm: Apocalypse is one case where everyone is actually much worse off after the Doctor and Ace interfere than they were before. Although the people of Kirith are described as a "stagnant" civilization, as they are also genetic constructs, one wonders if they are even capable of caring for themselves and creating their own civilization, now that their protectors are gone. In many ways, and not to be mean, the Kirith are like sheep or cattle - and the Doctor and Ace have just destroyed the farmers and the farm - then left, expecting the sheep (or cattle) to care for themselves. If the people of Kirith were being exploited the interference might have made sense, but these are happy, contented people. The Doctor's argument that they need to be hungry to be alive sounds, well, like an argument made by someone's who's never been hungry and therefore romanticizes poverty. And there's nothing "romantic" about being poor and starving.
The Panjistri are culling the "best of the best" to feed the Timewyrm's GodEngine as the Doctor calls it, and the Panjistri's genetic experiments are pretty horrible - but the novel doesn't really portray those as being "bad", but more of as side effects. That was disturbing.
Also, Timewyrm: Apocalypse feels very derivative, which doesn't help.
Overall, this book was only OK. I didn't care for it. It is the middle volume of a four-book series, though, so hopefully the finale will make it worth the time spent reading it. Not really recommended, but because of it's place in the series, it must be read, I guess.
The main society on the planet is the Kirith, who live their days having all their needs from shelter to food taken care of by the Panjistri. The Panjistri are aliens who landed on the planet generations ago and saved the Kirith from war, destruction, and death. The Kirith can study or do whatever they like. Even leaving their city isn't forbidden, it's just considered a bad idea because of the dangers outside it.
The most talented of the Kirith are invited to study with the Panjistri, but instead of returning to teach in ten years, they never return. However, no one objects because as soon as a great artist, or musician, or dancer goes to the Panjistri - everyone forgets that person. This is a bit suspicious, but because of the wide-spread amnesia, it's not something Ace and the Doctor learn about right away.
Ace convinces Raphael, the boy they had rescued, to go exploring with her outside the city. They discover in the Harbours, the embarkation point for the ships to the island of the Panjistri, a underground lab devoted to grotesque genetic experiments. They escape and meet the Unlike, the mutated survivors of the experiments. One of the Unlike reveals the food the Kirith eat every day is Soylent Green, opps, I mean, it's made from people, specifically the left over genetic experiments and the dead of the city.
Ace, Raphael, and the Unlike return to the city. meeting up with Miríl, a scholar, and start a revolution by cutting off the food supplies and electric power. This results in both unrest and a lot of death and destruction. But the Doctor has already left or been taken to the Harbours. The return there, and Raphael is forced to kill one of the worst genetic experiments. He's devastated by this.
They steal a hovercraft and head to the Island to rescue the Doctor.
There they discover the Matriarch of the Panjistri is the Timewyrm. In defeating her, Raphael dies, taking over the "God Engine", Miríl had died on the hovercraft trip to the Island. The society is broken and must discover for themselves how to survive without help, and Ace and the Doctor escape.
Timewyrm: Apocalypse is one case where everyone is actually much worse off after the Doctor and Ace interfere than they were before. Although the people of Kirith are described as a "stagnant" civilization, as they are also genetic constructs, one wonders if they are even capable of caring for themselves and creating their own civilization, now that their protectors are gone. In many ways, and not to be mean, the Kirith are like sheep or cattle - and the Doctor and Ace have just destroyed the farmers and the farm - then left, expecting the sheep (or cattle) to care for themselves. If the people of Kirith were being exploited the interference might have made sense, but these are happy, contented people. The Doctor's argument that they need to be hungry to be alive sounds, well, like an argument made by someone's who's never been hungry and therefore romanticizes poverty. And there's nothing "romantic" about being poor and starving.
The Panjistri are culling the "best of the best" to feed the Timewyrm's GodEngine as the Doctor calls it, and the Panjistri's genetic experiments are pretty horrible - but the novel doesn't really portray those as being "bad", but more of as side effects. That was disturbing.
Also, Timewyrm: Apocalypse feels very derivative, which doesn't help.
Overall, this book was only OK. I didn't care for it. It is the middle volume of a four-book series, though, so hopefully the finale will make it worth the time spent reading it. Not really recommended, but because of it's place in the series, it must be read, I guess.
July 17, 2024
The Timewyrm tetralogy is a strange, confused series that struggled to justify its existence from the beginning. Apocalypse makes no particular effort to extract any value or depth from the Timewyrm character either, and opts to force them into the very last act as a surprise reveal that could not be a surprise. It is quite clear by now to readers, that the ongoing format of the books does not work. Of course, the Virgin New Adventures immediately follow the Timewyrm series with Cats’ Cradle trilogy, so be prepared for awkward references and antagonist take-overs to come.
Apocalypse itself has managed to garner a rather poor reputation, as terribly dull and bland, which really is not what this bumpy, jarring new Doctor Who series needed. Frankly, much like Timewyrm: Genesys, the notoriety of Apocalypse left me avoiding the VNA series once more. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised that when I picked up the book and began reading, I was finished in just two days. Apocalypse is incredibly digestible, features a well realised, if familiar setting, and delivers some decent shocks, and thrills. That does not mean it suffers from cliche writing and unnecessary additions, the book is not fantastic, but it feels quite like a classic episode that’s not critically acclaimed, but is a comfortable watch where you may enjoy the Doctor and Ace’s company.
Read the rest of my review on my blog :)
https://sonicreviewwho.wordpress.com/...
Apocalypse itself has managed to garner a rather poor reputation, as terribly dull and bland, which really is not what this bumpy, jarring new Doctor Who series needed. Frankly, much like Timewyrm: Genesys, the notoriety of Apocalypse left me avoiding the VNA series once more. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised that when I picked up the book and began reading, I was finished in just two days. Apocalypse is incredibly digestible, features a well realised, if familiar setting, and delivers some decent shocks, and thrills. That does not mean it suffers from cliche writing and unnecessary additions, the book is not fantastic, but it feels quite like a classic episode that’s not critically acclaimed, but is a comfortable watch where you may enjoy the Doctor and Ace’s company.
Read the rest of my review on my blog :)
https://sonicreviewwho.wordpress.com/...
April 15, 2024
🙏🏼55% = Average!
Flicking through an endless stream of pages, one book at a time. This time, Ace finally blows that nitro-9, the Rills are mentioned, and you forget this novel as soon as you’ve finished it.
****
Such a weird beginning on this one. The prologue and chapter one had me hopelessly lost with all the names, places, and terms. Chapter 2 then begins with a scene with the Second Doctor looking for Polly, and I was convinced I was reading the wrong book until it became clear what was going on. The story returns to the Second Doctor occasionally, as this earlier adventure directly ties to the current one.
This book is the epitome of average in that it takes a very traditional Doctor Who story set-up and throws in a bunch of one-note characters, predictable twists, and generally good action scenes to keep it going. It’s an example of the “false utopia” subgenre that Doctor Who does a lot, with a seemingly perfect society hiding terrible secrets such as inhumane genetic experimentation, oppression, and brainwashing. The story is in many ways similar to The Krotons, The War Games and, to an extent, Galaxy 4.
Apocalypse is a brief book and a quick read at 200 pages, but it still feels pretty long because there is very little here to keep things truly engaging. The narrative moves forward but doesn’t have much dramatic fuel, so I kind of had to convince myself to finish it.
The Doctor feels like the Seven we know and love in this one, but is the most boring he’s been in the series so far and doesn’t get very involved in the story. Ace is also very well written and very well used. The supporting characters leave no lasting impressions, and the villains are pretty flat, except for a couple of the monsters that do appear (such as the horrifying Homunculus).
I don’t like how the Timewyrm is never mentioned throughout the entire book until the very end, and even when it finally appears for the final confrontation, it is quickly disposed of in a rushed finale, as if it were added in as a last-minute revision to tie this novel into the Timewyrm arc.
Nigel Robinson’s strengths lie in describing Kirith, its people, and the horrible experiments and mutations that we come across throughout the adventure, some of which are truly gross and involved in many great action scenes.
Overall, this was disappointingly safe and forgettable.
Flicking through an endless stream of pages, one book at a time. This time, Ace finally blows that nitro-9, the Rills are mentioned, and you forget this novel as soon as you’ve finished it.
****
Such a weird beginning on this one. The prologue and chapter one had me hopelessly lost with all the names, places, and terms. Chapter 2 then begins with a scene with the Second Doctor looking for Polly, and I was convinced I was reading the wrong book until it became clear what was going on. The story returns to the Second Doctor occasionally, as this earlier adventure directly ties to the current one.
This book is the epitome of average in that it takes a very traditional Doctor Who story set-up and throws in a bunch of one-note characters, predictable twists, and generally good action scenes to keep it going. It’s an example of the “false utopia” subgenre that Doctor Who does a lot, with a seemingly perfect society hiding terrible secrets such as inhumane genetic experimentation, oppression, and brainwashing. The story is in many ways similar to The Krotons, The War Games and, to an extent, Galaxy 4.
Apocalypse is a brief book and a quick read at 200 pages, but it still feels pretty long because there is very little here to keep things truly engaging. The narrative moves forward but doesn’t have much dramatic fuel, so I kind of had to convince myself to finish it.
The Doctor feels like the Seven we know and love in this one, but is the most boring he’s been in the series so far and doesn’t get very involved in the story. Ace is also very well written and very well used. The supporting characters leave no lasting impressions, and the villains are pretty flat, except for a couple of the monsters that do appear (such as the horrifying Homunculus).
I don’t like how the Timewyrm is never mentioned throughout the entire book until the very end, and even when it finally appears for the final confrontation, it is quickly disposed of in a rushed finale, as if it were added in as a last-minute revision to tie this novel into the Timewyrm arc.
Nigel Robinson’s strengths lie in describing Kirith, its people, and the horrible experiments and mutations that we come across throughout the adventure, some of which are truly gross and involved in many great action scenes.
Overall, this was disappointingly safe and forgettable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2017
Despite dealing with ostensibly big and serious matters such as entropy and the end of the universe, this is the most child friendly of the Timewyrm books thus far. Actually, I’ve already started reading the fourth one and so know that this is the most child friendly of all the Timewyrm books. (It does seem odd to me that you would launch a series of Doctor Who books with four interconnected novels, and not aim for a greater consistency of tone.) I wrote in my review of Terrence Dicks’ ‘Timewyrm Exodus’ that compared to the first book, there’s nothing in it to scare the horses. This volume is tip-toeing past the horses, saying ‘shush’ occasionally and doing its damndest to ensure the horses don’t even wake up.
In the far off future, The Doctor and Ace arrive on a planet to find a docile and physically perfect race of people. But in a distinctly H.G. Wells way, things are a lot uglier below the surface.
Interestingly, there’s something that happens at the end of this book which happens again in Paul Cornell’s superb ‘Love and War’. In ‘Love and War’ it’s one of the great moments in Doctor Who novels, here it happens almost in passing. The difference is that ‘Love and War’ is an adult novel with adult emotions, while this is a kid’s book and not even a substantial kid’s book. So, the stakes are never going to be high enough to give even a big event the ballast it needs.
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In the far off future, The Doctor and Ace arrive on a planet to find a docile and physically perfect race of people. But in a distinctly H.G. Wells way, things are a lot uglier below the surface.
Interestingly, there’s something that happens at the end of this book which happens again in Paul Cornell’s superb ‘Love and War’. In ‘Love and War’ it’s one of the great moments in Doctor Who novels, here it happens almost in passing. The difference is that ‘Love and War’ is an adult novel with adult emotions, while this is a kid’s book and not even a substantial kid’s book. So, the stakes are never going to be high enough to give even a big event the ballast it needs.
If you get chance, please visit my blog for book, TV and film reviews - as well as whatever else takes my fancy - at frjameson.com
LIke my Facebook page
Or follow me on Twitter or Instagram: @frjameson.
August 11, 2012
Quite a terrible book. The first of the New Adventures that I've struggled to engage with.
The premise is pretty standard stuff but would have been entertaining if Robinson showed any interest in either the plotline or the characters that he's writing. There's not a single moment in this book that does anything you didn't expect or advances a character in any meaningful way. The plot twists fail to engage, the larger Timewyrm arc is unexplored (again, beyond the obvious)and the characters all runaround disengaged from the story that they're in, given names as signifiers that don't seem to signify any kind of individual identity or purpose.
This isn't a case of a book being put out too quickly before it's ready. Nobody at Virgin really cared about the quality of this one and it's been used simply to bridge the publishing gap between Exodus and the hopefully superior Revelation.
The premise is pretty standard stuff but would have been entertaining if Robinson showed any interest in either the plotline or the characters that he's writing. There's not a single moment in this book that does anything you didn't expect or advances a character in any meaningful way. The plot twists fail to engage, the larger Timewyrm arc is unexplored (again, beyond the obvious)and the characters all runaround disengaged from the story that they're in, given names as signifiers that don't seem to signify any kind of individual identity or purpose.
This isn't a case of a book being put out too quickly before it's ready. Nobody at Virgin really cared about the quality of this one and it's been used simply to bridge the publishing gap between Exodus and the hopefully superior Revelation.
September 4, 2020
Watching these books find their voice is interesting here, because unlike the first two this one felt like Doctor Who as written by someone who understands the program. If it took me longer to read than the others I think that’s because I found Robinson’s imagination at times to be deeply unsettling (in a good way!) that made me want to not delve into this sort of... darker sort of alien society that the show never did before this.
As for how it fits into the larger narrative of the Timewyrm, it’s not surprising where the actual Timewyrm is, but it is great how he builds up the tension and the mystery as it ends up hanging over this whole book. I loved the sense of dread that builds and builds throughout, and man that homunculus.... I read that as I was eating dinner and it did NOT go well AND I have a stomach for things like that.
Still. Mostly stoked for Cornell coming up.
Doctor Who Ranking
1. Timewyrm: Exodus
2. Timewyrm: Apocalypse
3. Timewyrm: Genesys
As for how it fits into the larger narrative of the Timewyrm, it’s not surprising where the actual Timewyrm is, but it is great how he builds up the tension and the mystery as it ends up hanging over this whole book. I loved the sense of dread that builds and builds throughout, and man that homunculus.... I read that as I was eating dinner and it did NOT go well AND I have a stomach for things like that.
Still. Mostly stoked for Cornell coming up.
Doctor Who Ranking
1. Timewyrm: Exodus
2. Timewyrm: Apocalypse
3. Timewyrm: Genesys
July 11, 2019
This book is not bad so to say but it's not the best Doctor Who book I've read.I still think one of the worst ones of the VNAS is Transit.
At times, I felt the characterisation of 7 was a little off as was Ace's. Not with so much of the Doctor holding a weapon at the end, no, but in terms of speech and characteristics like him winking at Ace thinking about her and Rapheal getting together romantically. Ace saying, 'sunshine' way too often...
But otherwise, it's an okay book. I can see where the Logopolis references comes in and I do enjoy the character of Miril.
Also, Fetch and his companions remind me a lot of Gollums lol.
At times, I felt the characterisation of 7 was a little off as was Ace's. Not with so much of the Doctor holding a weapon at the end, no, but in terms of speech and characteristics like him winking at Ace thinking about her and Rapheal getting together romantically. Ace saying, 'sunshine' way too often...
But otherwise, it's an okay book. I can see where the Logopolis references comes in and I do enjoy the character of Miril.
Also, Fetch and his companions remind me a lot of Gollums lol.
March 25, 2020
I read this one 20 years ago, as a standalone. I remember enjoying it. This time, I am reading the Tymeworm books in order. I still enjoyed this one. The ending was a bit weak but otherwise it was good. The Doctor and Ace track the Tymeworm to the end of the universe. A higher level of species are the benefactors of a native species on a distant world but how beneficial is the relationship? Then a past Doctor shows up in memories for some reason. Ace makes a friend and they all save the day. A good book.
April 24, 2023
Timewyrm - Apocalypse feels like the middle child of the Timewyrm books. While Timewyrm Genesys was dull and Timewyrm Exodus was brilliant and exhilarating, Timewyrm Apocalypse feels like a mix of both. The first 100 pages or so left something to be desired, but were clearly laying the groundwork for the rest of the novel. However, the last 100 pages really ramped up, and made me feel like I was reading a good Doctor Who Novel.
August 4, 2021
By far the least talked of, of the Timewyrm quadrilogy, Apocalypse is very forgettable. Not bad by any means but does lack what earlier and later books do, to draw you in as a reader and keep yo engaged. The fact the book starts off quite confusing and vague and only hands you the bulk of explaining what’s going on 3/4s into the story does leave that last quarter as mostly exposition, and a hasty resolution to a not exactly menacing, menace. The biggest crime the book commits is that it really is predictable and nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is. The stuff with the Panjastri and the Kith is really easy to work out by the time you hit the middle of the book, as well as the Timewyrm’s involvement becoming pretty obvious really quickly. For a book that bases it’s main conceit on mystery there aren’t exactly many well rounded mysteries. That’s not to say the novel is without merit as there are some lovely action sequences and the inter-character conflict was really interesting in some places, it just feels like some of the book was written very well, and in other in places not so much.
Definitely worth mentioning is how the short the book is, clocking in at only around 200 pages, which is hardly going to give the writer enough time to set up some complex masterpiece. The Doctor and Ace showing up, a mystery turning out to reveal the bad guys, then The Doctor and Ace defeat them, is the basic story structure of Doctor Who except that should only be the backbone of the story, not the entire premise without any addition. There’s some more pointless continuity references in this story as well, with the 2nd Doctor present for a few random flashbacks that only serve a grain of relevance to the overall story and that’s about it. I do sort of understand that canon references can interest, bit given these are the first novels meant to broach into a new era for the shows existence, constantly referencing the past is hardly looking ahead to the future.
The Doctor and Ace dynamic is well executed here, with more of these mysterious season 26 concepts playing out in their relationship, and Ace becoming attached to something was very much akin to seeing her start to grow up in Survival. The writer however could hardly do anything more than anyone before them with the Timewyrm, who proves still to be a uninteresting and pretty bland villain who barely appears until the end, cackles maniacally as she is about to destroy the universe and then is easily stopped. I really do look forward to the point of which she stops being part of these books and slightly more interesting villains can take over the antagonist role. A further thought is that this is meant to be some sort of ongoing arc, but nothing actually is developed apart from her not liking the Doctor, which you can sort of guess is the case already as she is a baddie. I fail to see what the actual point has been apart from giving the writers of the first 4 VNAs a safety net so they dont use bad villains and instead can all use one they clearly believe is more interesting than she really is.
It’s hardly a terrible book and if someone decides to read it they will probably enjoy, it’s just it felt so predictable and by the book, that I really couldn’t see much merit in it.
Definitely worth mentioning is how the short the book is, clocking in at only around 200 pages, which is hardly going to give the writer enough time to set up some complex masterpiece. The Doctor and Ace showing up, a mystery turning out to reveal the bad guys, then The Doctor and Ace defeat them, is the basic story structure of Doctor Who except that should only be the backbone of the story, not the entire premise without any addition. There’s some more pointless continuity references in this story as well, with the 2nd Doctor present for a few random flashbacks that only serve a grain of relevance to the overall story and that’s about it. I do sort of understand that canon references can interest, bit given these are the first novels meant to broach into a new era for the shows existence, constantly referencing the past is hardly looking ahead to the future.
The Doctor and Ace dynamic is well executed here, with more of these mysterious season 26 concepts playing out in their relationship, and Ace becoming attached to something was very much akin to seeing her start to grow up in Survival. The writer however could hardly do anything more than anyone before them with the Timewyrm, who proves still to be a uninteresting and pretty bland villain who barely appears until the end, cackles maniacally as she is about to destroy the universe and then is easily stopped. I really do look forward to the point of which she stops being part of these books and slightly more interesting villains can take over the antagonist role. A further thought is that this is meant to be some sort of ongoing arc, but nothing actually is developed apart from her not liking the Doctor, which you can sort of guess is the case already as she is a baddie. I fail to see what the actual point has been apart from giving the writers of the first 4 VNAs a safety net so they dont use bad villains and instead can all use one they clearly believe is more interesting than she really is.
It’s hardly a terrible book and if someone decides to read it they will probably enjoy, it’s just it felt so predictable and by the book, that I really couldn’t see much merit in it.
September 21, 2022
Third book of the 4 part timewyrm series done.
In looking at the GR ratings for the 4 of them, i can see that this is the lowest rated of the 4 (2.94 at time of review) and...even not having read the last one yet...yeah. i can see that.
First of all, this book is REALLY short. like it BARELY constitutes a novel. 201 pages. passing that 200 page mark by the skin of its teeth (and that's only with the epilogue). and yet, for how short this book was...it actually felt quite long. Like, i have to say, this book dragged quite a bit.
The doc and ace go to this planet a few billion years in the future as they sense the timewyrm and find a race of perfect people. However, it's not all perfect there. shocker i know.
While the first book in the series was very "Adult" in terms of violence and nudity, and the second book felt more like an episode of the show, this one was very much of a...normal doctor who novel. Like the type of book i've come to expect from reading so many of these. It's very much in line with the "Some violence but keeping it at a pg-13 rating" sort of thing. It wasn't BAD persay, it was just a very average book.
There's more than a few side characters, and, while the book doesn't spend TOO much time with them, away from both Ace and the Doc, the amount of side characters could feel a bit overwhelming at times. at one point someone died and i totally forgot who that person was or what import they had to the plot. yeah, it was one of those.
This was also another one of those "super quick end" books where they realize there's 15 pages to go and they have to wrap everything up stupid quick. Not really a fan of when they did that, but they wrapped up the story enough that you could understand what they were going for.
There were a few annoying characters i didn't like, but at least the writing style wasn't super confusing and hard to understand. pretty straight forward.
I'm hopeful as all the reviews say this is the worst of the 4. and if that's so, that means that i'm in luck as i thought this one was just this side of okay. Not bad, not great, a little long in the tooth despite being so short, but i've read much MUCH worse doctor who books. the average rating is a 2.94, and that's perfect. exactly what i would give it.
even 3 out of 5.
In looking at the GR ratings for the 4 of them, i can see that this is the lowest rated of the 4 (2.94 at time of review) and...even not having read the last one yet...yeah. i can see that.
First of all, this book is REALLY short. like it BARELY constitutes a novel. 201 pages. passing that 200 page mark by the skin of its teeth (and that's only with the epilogue). and yet, for how short this book was...it actually felt quite long. Like, i have to say, this book dragged quite a bit.
The doc and ace go to this planet a few billion years in the future as they sense the timewyrm and find a race of perfect people. However, it's not all perfect there. shocker i know.
While the first book in the series was very "Adult" in terms of violence and nudity, and the second book felt more like an episode of the show, this one was very much of a...normal doctor who novel. Like the type of book i've come to expect from reading so many of these. It's very much in line with the "Some violence but keeping it at a pg-13 rating" sort of thing. It wasn't BAD persay, it was just a very average book.
There's more than a few side characters, and, while the book doesn't spend TOO much time with them, away from both Ace and the Doc, the amount of side characters could feel a bit overwhelming at times. at one point someone died and i totally forgot who that person was or what import they had to the plot. yeah, it was one of those.
This was also another one of those "super quick end" books where they realize there's 15 pages to go and they have to wrap everything up stupid quick. Not really a fan of when they did that, but they wrapped up the story enough that you could understand what they were going for.
There were a few annoying characters i didn't like, but at least the writing style wasn't super confusing and hard to understand. pretty straight forward.
I'm hopeful as all the reviews say this is the worst of the 4. and if that's so, that means that i'm in luck as i thought this one was just this side of okay. Not bad, not great, a little long in the tooth despite being so short, but i've read much MUCH worse doctor who books. the average rating is a 2.94, and that's perfect. exactly what i would give it.
even 3 out of 5.
March 26, 2025
This volume doesn't quite deserve its reputation as a series low point -- it's far better than Lungbarrow, for instance -- but it's an early indication of the limitations of the concept here. Classic Doctor Who wasn't exactly a consistently excellent TV show, and this novel turns in a solid rendition of one of its standard forgettable plots. The Doctor stumbles across an alien underclass being exploited by their mysterious masters -- stop me if you've heard this premise before!
The story's main fault is that it's just sort of dull throughout, but it ends somewhat strangely too, with some mysticism and the larger Timewyrm arc getting shoehorned in at the last minute. There's also an attempt to link these events with the Fourth Doctor serial Logopolis and a few cameo flashbacks to the Second Doctor's era, none of which makes much of an impression either. Still, the characterizations of Ace and the Seventh Doctor (impetuous and manipulative, respectively) are both pretty decent, and the whole thing isn't bad per se, merely unremarkable and not particularly apocalyptic. I give it two-and-a-half stars, rounded up.
[Content warning for gun violence, cannibalism, and gore.]
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The story's main fault is that it's just sort of dull throughout, but it ends somewhat strangely too, with some mysticism and the larger Timewyrm arc getting shoehorned in at the last minute. There's also an attempt to link these events with the Fourth Doctor serial Logopolis and a few cameo flashbacks to the Second Doctor's era, none of which makes much of an impression either. Still, the characterizations of Ace and the Seventh Doctor (impetuous and manipulative, respectively) are both pretty decent, and the whole thing isn't bad per se, merely unremarkable and not particularly apocalyptic. I give it two-and-a-half stars, rounded up.
[Content warning for gun violence, cannibalism, and gore.]
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June 30, 2022
The third installment of the Timewyrm tetralogy has a few things going for it. Foremost is that Robinson makes the Timewyrm more fully essential to the story than did the writers of the previous two books. Robinson manages to keep this as a surprise until late, thus a reader goes through the novel wondering "Where is the Timewyrm" and then finds out how important it actually was to the plot. Robinson does pretty well with the Doctor 7 and Ace pairing, with Doctor 7 genuinely caring for Ace but unable to show it, while Ace is uncertain about The Doctor's motivations but still trusts him when times get difficult. Most the other characters have believable, though simple, motivations. For me, the main problem with the book is that Robinson feels he constantly has to spring surprises on the both the readers and the characters. Most of these surprises are monsters that spring up from nowhere to delay our heroes. These scenes come across as devices to make a short story longer, but they really do not add anything of importance to the final product. Robinson also has Ace start a rebellion that ends up getting several natives killed, but never has her face that fact, thus trivializing the rebellion and the deaths. There are other aspects to the novel that give the whole thing an aura of having been quickly written.
June 27, 2025
In my opinion, the third entry in the Timewyrm arc is actually really good despite how the rest of the fandom feels about it. No, it doesn't compare to "Exodus", but it's above "Genesis" and there are other far worse VNAs later in the series.
Ace and the Doctor are both characterized really well. Ace especially. I had no problems associating her with the TV companion.
The Second Doctor also features in a minor capacity, likely to try and further tie the VNAs into the TV series, but since McCoy and Troughton are my favourites, this is a very welcome pairing for me, even though it's not really a proper encounter between the two.
However, I do agree that it's pretty obvious where the story is going and I think almost everyone who reads this book will have figured out the main story beats within the first few chapters.
That said, it's still a really enjoyable read even though you can predict most of it. It's kind of a spiritual sequel to "Logopolis" in a way, while the plot is vaguely reminiscent of "Castrovalva", so if you like late Fourth Doctor and/or early Fifth Doctor, you might quite like this book.
And one final note, the cover is beautiful. Ace and Arun look fabulous, as does the sea lizard, and I love how the artist even paid attention to the text and sketched the two moons of Kirith in the sky. A beautiful piece indeed.
Ace and the Doctor are both characterized really well. Ace especially. I had no problems associating her with the TV companion.
The Second Doctor also features in a minor capacity, likely to try and further tie the VNAs into the TV series, but since McCoy and Troughton are my favourites, this is a very welcome pairing for me, even though it's not really a proper encounter between the two.
However, I do agree that it's pretty obvious where the story is going and I think almost everyone who reads this book will have figured out the main story beats within the first few chapters.
That said, it's still a really enjoyable read even though you can predict most of it. It's kind of a spiritual sequel to "Logopolis" in a way, while the plot is vaguely reminiscent of "Castrovalva", so if you like late Fourth Doctor and/or early Fifth Doctor, you might quite like this book.
And one final note, the cover is beautiful. Ace and Arun look fabulous, as does the sea lizard, and I love how the artist even paid attention to the text and sketched the two moons of Kirith in the sky. A beautiful piece indeed.
December 20, 2023
Despite its very low rating, I actually enjoyed this book quite a lot, and I think it deserves at least a higher rating than the tripe that is 'Genesys'. I found the story and setting to be simple yet very engaging. The author did a great job of bringing the visuals of the setting to life either through description or characters dialog - one particular description of an unfortunate creature was genuinely quite horrifying.
Robinson was able to write Seven and Ace in a well rounded out way that captured both the positives and negatives of their friendship. The final few pages of the book did a simple yet exceptionally good job at addressing the Seventh Doctor's treatment of Ace and humanity in general. I also greatly enjoyed the characters of Raphael and Miril, I thought they were well written and fleshed out, and a definite highlight of the book.
Unfortunately several subplots don't really go anywhere, and a lot of potential can feel wasted. The character of Revna in particular is - without spoiling anything - built up as a character only for her to end up serving very little to no purpose. Certain character deaths happen very abruptly in a way that robs them of any emotional weight they could have had. Nonetheless, this was a really fun light read.
Robinson was able to write Seven and Ace in a well rounded out way that captured both the positives and negatives of their friendship. The final few pages of the book did a simple yet exceptionally good job at addressing the Seventh Doctor's treatment of Ace and humanity in general. I also greatly enjoyed the characters of Raphael and Miril, I thought they were well written and fleshed out, and a definite highlight of the book.
Unfortunately several subplots don't really go anywhere, and a lot of potential can feel wasted. The character of Revna in particular is - without spoiling anything - built up as a character only for her to end up serving very little to no purpose. Certain character deaths happen very abruptly in a way that robs them of any emotional weight they could have had. Nonetheless, this was a really fun light read.
August 22, 2021
Seems an unusual opinion, but I actually quite enjoyed this, finding it a better read than the first two entries - was quite a page turner and kept me engaged throughout. This was helped mainly by quite a bit of mystery woven throughout the novel, pretty much starting from the get go, which kept me quite engaged wanting to find the answers to the mysteries, to work out what is actually going on - whether this would be as good on a reread I'm not sure.
The Doctor and Ace in good form again here, capturing their TV essence well, but the Seventh quite far from the manipulative character that he can be at times, being as unaware of what is going on as anyone else.
The one off characters were a bit more of a mixed bag, some were quite good and well fleshed out, making me care about what happens to them, whereas others were a bit more stereotypical and one dimensional.
Plenty of action and suspense, and overall a good read.
The Doctor and Ace in good form again here, capturing their TV essence well, but the Seventh quite far from the manipulative character that he can be at times, being as unaware of what is going on as anyone else.
The one off characters were a bit more of a mixed bag, some were quite good and well fleshed out, making me care about what happens to them, whereas others were a bit more stereotypical and one dimensional.
Plenty of action and suspense, and overall a good read.
September 22, 2018
Also das war ja nun wirklich nichts. Unoriginell und schlampig geschrieben. In der Mitte wurde die Geschichte zwar kurz mal interessant, aber irgendwie hat es Nigel Robinson nicht wirklich auf die Reihe gebracht die Spannung zu halten und hat stattdessen immer mal wieder wahllos irgendwelche Monster aus dem Hut gezogen. Auch die Logik bleibt teilweise leider auf der Strecke. Warum warten die Panjistri zum Beispiel tausende von Jahren auf Ace, wenn die Kirithons schon nach einem Tag ohne Nahrung als Agressiv und wütend herausstellen? Das man daraus nur diesen Humunkulus basteln konnte empfand ich als eine ganz freche Ausrede um die Handlung so zurecht zu biegen wie der Autor sie haben wollte. Der Schluss ist auch so überstürzt und vorhersehbar gewesen, dass ich das Gefühl hatte, man hätte Robinson gesagt er hätte nur 160 Seiten und nicht eine mehr.
January 23, 2024
I'm not sure this is worth the effort. It's not as offensive to my ethics like Timewyrm: Genesys, it is however an insult to my senses because this book is truly a slog. It's not as if it lacks structure and it does have perhaps the best depiction of Ace so far but it's a story that stands for nothing.
Dystopic fiction traditionally makes a political point, it is a political genre as some philosophy, policy or invention is what brings about the hellscape out characters are in. Timewyrm: Apocalypse doesn't take a stance at all. It goes for the most by the numbers scenario and story.
Once again the Timewyrm is wasted and once again we have another Doctor written about because the author doesn't feel comfortable writing for the Seventh Doctor.
As others have said, not much reason to read this beyond completionism. It won't last in the memory long.
Dystopic fiction traditionally makes a political point, it is a political genre as some philosophy, policy or invention is what brings about the hellscape out characters are in. Timewyrm: Apocalypse doesn't take a stance at all. It goes for the most by the numbers scenario and story.
Once again the Timewyrm is wasted and once again we have another Doctor written about because the author doesn't feel comfortable writing for the Seventh Doctor.
As others have said, not much reason to read this beyond completionism. It won't last in the memory long.
March 20, 2019
Meh. This harmless New Adventure is mostly made of tropes and bits of Terry Nation scripts. It doesn’t make anything of the range’s “broader and deeper” remit, nor is it as era-authentic for the Seventh Doctor (or just plain exciting) as Exodus.
Nigel Robinson peppers it with some nice prose, but there’s just not much to remember afterwards. It doesn’t do much for the Timewyrm saga so it’s another one you can skip.
Filler.
6/10
Nigel Robinson peppers it with some nice prose, but there’s just not much to remember afterwards. It doesn’t do much for the Timewyrm saga so it’s another one you can skip.
Filler.
6/10
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