http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1291348...

A rather effective story of the Doctor landing on a devastated planet, with confused and conspiring human factions, deadly robots and a young girl who is a lot more sinister than she first appears to be. Read by Russell Tovey who is very good at characterising the different speakers. ( )

Lance Parkin is my third-favorite Doctor Who writer, so this was a welcome return to Doctor Who novels, his first since 2005's The Gallifrey Chronicles. It features the Doctor traveling alone following the events of "Journey's End", without a companion, and thus much of it is told from his point-of-view, a move I sometimes find a bit odd in Doctor Who books, and this one is no exception; a couple moments just didn't ring true for me. That niggle aside, Lance's usual gift for characterization is in evidence, though the especial strength of this book is setting; the depiction of the Fortress and the surrounding city of Acropolis are excellent. And the Eyeless are a pretty good alien species, creepy like the best Doctor Who aliens. A good showing from Parkin, and hopefully not the last.

Dr. Who is my current addiction, and so I did something I usually don't: I bought a book based on a t.v. show. I was at the store, with my eleven-month-old daughter growing increasingly restless, and there were so many choices that I chose one more or less at random. Which is how The Eyeless ended up on my bookshelf at home.

If you're a fan of the show, this book will not disappoint: it reads just like an additional episode of Dr. Who. The story is plot driven, with plenty of action and surprising twists, a bit of suspense, but still with a sufficient amount of character development. One major exception from the tv series is that the doctor is sans companion for this journey, which I rather missed, because his interactions with his fellow traveler is a huge draw for me. The author does supply temporary replacements along the way, but they weren't the same as Rose or Martha. The pithy interaction was replaced by more introspection on the doctor's part, and I think we see the darker side of the doctor much more clearly in this book. The typical sci-fi mystery was present, and appropriately complex, but it didn't interest me quite as much as the better Dr. Who episodes.

As the above indicates, my reactions to this book were mixed. As a fan of the show, it was very true to form, and felt much like just another adventure of the doctor. As a reader, the book was average. The writing certainly was not bad, but it was simply competent, with no special literary technique, theme, or stylistic flourish. Well, wasn't that the purpose of the author? To duplicate a Dr. Who episode. Reading this book was like watching an episode in print, but really, it just made me want to go back and watch more of the television show. On the other hand, I'm sure that I'll read more in the series, because I'd like to flesh out the fictional universe beyond what the television has to offer. ( )

Starts out rocky (feels like there was either some heavy-handed editorial tinkering or some self-restriction to keep from confusing the younger demographic), but smooths out quickly. Unpredictable and comparatively complex (in both plot and character), it’s the best of the BBC hardcovers. It’s always good to hear from the New Adventures writers again; this is exactly what I’ve been missing from the series. ( )

This is the first Doctor Who book I've read since the novels went hardback after the new TV series launched - drawn in by the author; I've been impressed by previous Parkin books and thought I'd give this one a try. Other than the plot being slightly more linear than I'd come to expect from Doctor Who - an artefact perhaps of the Doctor travelling alone, or maybe it's the authors wanting to keep things simple in the new books line - it's a perfectly decent young adult novel. ( )