Christopher Bulis

This is, essentially, inoffensive B-movie sci-fi of the kind I used to really enjoy as a teenager (and sometimes still do). It has three distinct stages, each of which feels progressively less original or interesting: first, an official, government-sanctioned British voyage to the moon, in the Victorian era, with all the trappings of a good Jules Verne novel; second, a Forbidden Planet-style adventure, mixed with a little John Carter of Mars, of the space-going sailors having to survive a hostile and alien environment; and third, a passable but rather trite homage to Aliens and Predator. I'm not sure it really adds up to much at the end, but there are certain very gripping sequences, and I like the premise even if its promise eventually dwindles away.

None of that's particularly unusual for a TV tie-in book, of course, and I remember Chris Bulis' books in the '90s being like this: a bit cheap and cheerful, easy to digest without much to really savor. My guess is that he was employed over and over again because he was a nice guy who turned in his commissions on time, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps the biggest criticism I can level at the book is that Bulis' method of getting the fifth Doctor and his friends into the story isn't especially graceful, utilizing a time paradox mechanism that just feels convoluted and keeps them from joining the action for almost fifty pages. It amplified a feeling I had that Bulis might have wanted to tell an original sci-fi story here and not a Doctor Who one; who knows, maybe that was how the book started, and he had to adapt the first fifty pages or so to a new purpose.

His fifth Doctor is a cold and clipped English gentleman, too, without any of the more gentle or even emotional mannerisms Peter Davison displayed on television. That's a surprise; I remember Bulis books as being well-characterized, but perhaps other ones had more defined TV performances to replicate. The audience's big point of reference here is Turlough, who acts authentically like a somewhat confused and impulsive young man in his late teens or early 20s. Kamelion is here, too...for the purpose, I think, of exactly one scene toward the end of the book. His appearances throughout may even have been back-engineered to let that happen, because it comes as something of a "Ta-da!" moment.

I've made it sound like I disliked this book, and that's not true. I enjoyed the first half a lot, although I found the second half more and more disappointing. I think I just became aware that the book was never going to gel into something more cohesive, and what felt like a lot of potential at first suddenly coalesced into a grab bag: some good ideas alongside some very tired ideas, and none of it really adding up to a greater whole.… (more)

Peri is one of my favourite companions from the TV episodes, so I thought I'd choose one of her novels to kick off with. This one is from the Virgin Missing Adventures collection and sees her and the 6th Doctor, Colin Baker, land in an alternate version of ancient Rome. Anyone that's seen the TV episode Vengeance on Varos will recognise Peri's impromptu change of appearance, and much is made of it here. She becomes a much more confident person and begins to revel in her transformation.

For someone who hasn't read too many Doctor Who novels, you can imagine my surprise when early on we're treated to a scene with Peri taking a dip in the pool as naked as a newborn babe. It's at this point that the Tardis encountering an unexpected energy force is thrown around and so we see Peri sluiced headlong and still naked through the corridors of the Tardis and into the Control Room where the Doctor eventually covers her modesty with his coat.

A good start to a novel by any standards.… (more)