Again, the second set of Torchwood books is much improved over the first three. This one is win in terms of plot. ( )

In 1953, three dockworkers died in an explosion of a strange piece of cargo in Cardiff. One survived but found himself jumping from one place and one time to another, pursued by two men called Valentine and Cromwell, and a group of bowler-hatted men. One day Torchwood Three in the present time find him - but each of them realises they have come across him (or in Ianto's case, those after him) before, and Jack seems to know how the situation will eventually resolve itself.

I liked the jumping across time aspect of the story and the glimpses into Gwen's, Tosh's and Ianto's previous encounters with Michael's case; glimpses into Owen's backstory make Owen's past even more confusing than it was, Jack's was fairly confusing too but not in a way to break your brain. ( )

The season two Torchwood books are much, much different than the first season books. The new books actually have *our* characters (as we know them second season) and are about half the length. They are more fangirly and they are tied in to the show accurately. I couldn't say any of that for the first season books. Spoilers: Trace Memory was generic enough that I didn't spot any season two spoilers - I think you could read it before you watched season two entirely.

I liked this one - It was much more generic that Twilight Streets - Less fangirly moments, not a lot of canon references, much more plot driven. I liked the story, I thought it held together, I found it interesting from start to finish, and there were a few specific favorite moments. The characters seem very much themselves, even if we didn't get a lot of *extra* stuff. I wondered where this whole "Ianto is a Bond fan" thing had come from in the LJ groups... Now I know.

I was kind of intrigued by Jack in this one... We see him mostly in the past and he's that slightly cold, not-really-from-Earth, con-man Jack we sometimes get in flashbacks on the show... I've always found that interesting to watch. He does a few things in the story that hover on the edge of repulsing me (although I don't think the writer meant them to) - And I'll be hard pressed to exclude my impressions of him in this book from my "canon image" of him.

Respond (if you wish) at my LJ: http://agentxpndble.livejournal.com/2... ( )