Foreign Devils

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1167423.html

This Telos novella is another of those attempts to marry the Whoniverse with detective fiction and occult forces, which can be done brilliantly (All-Consuming Fire, where the Doctor meets Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulhu mythos), tolerably well (The Unicorn and the Wasp, where the Doctor meets Agatha Christie), or not so well, as in this case, where Andrew Cartmel attempts to channel William Hope Hodgson. I haven't read any of Hodgson's stories featuring his mystical detective Carnacki; Hodgson inserts him here into a country-house murder mystery which turns out to be the result of enraged Asians using mystical powers against their colonial masters. As I have said elsewhere, one has to ask whether this is such a bad thing? As it is, the book is a pretty egregious example of what we now call cultural appropriation fail. It's not even a particularly compelling portrayal of the Second Doctor and Zoe (Jamie spends most of the story unconscious). Once again, I feel Telos have discharged their editorial responsibilities rather too lightly. ( )