The Deviant Strain

This is one of the more complex Doctor Who books I've read or heard, with a plot that makes sense, a real sense that the characters are in danger, and some obvious and some not-so-obvious plot twists. I have low expectations for tv tie-in novels as a rule, but this one surpasses them easily.

The only down side of this audiobook is the reader. Milligan would be a fine reader for a regular novel but should avoid tie-ins like this. It's unusual enough to have an American narrate a Doctor Who book, but while Stuart Milligan does a passable Jack, his accents for the Doctor and Rose are generic "American trying to sound British" accents, which sounds nothing like the characters on show and was very distracting.

Captain Jack accidentally answers a distress call in the TARDIS and he, the Doctor, and Rose find themselves in a Russian town where aliens cause people to age prematurely. This is one of the better story-lines in a Who-novel, but the characters aren't acting entirely true and the reader does the characters' accents so poorly that it repeatedly takes the reader out of the story. Having the Doctor speak upper class English makes him sound pretentious and that doesn't exactly make him likable. Great story, but stay away from the audio and stick to paper.

I liked this a lot. The pacing and atmosphere really did feel like an episode of the show. I'm sure there are some nitpicks I could make about the plot, but I read this in just a few hours and enjoyed it thoroughly, so that's good enough for me :)

Another Doctor Who book, about the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack Harkness. While traveling in the TARDIS, they pick up a distress signal from an abandoned Russian Naval base. They head down to investigate and find that the villagers are dying unusual deaths, they say by a vampire like creature from folklore. The story quickly becomes a mystery the trio needs to solve to save the villagers and themselves.
The book is a fast read that feels like an episode of the TV show. The Doctor has a some very funny and cheeky lines, Captain Jack doesn't like authoritative figured and Rose does the best she can. A light, fun read. Four out of five stars.

Fourth of the new series tie-in novels. This one has Rose and Captain Jack as the companions, in a story set in a remote Soviet naval base abandoned after the end of the Cold War. The nuclear submarines were simply abandoned to rot as the cheapest method of dealing with them, as were the people from the village that had been there since before the base was built. The last real link with an unheeding government is the research institute which still receives limited funding and supplies. At least until something very odd is spotted by a satellite, and a Russian Special Forces team is sent to investigate.

The Tardis crew show up as well, because Jack has unthinkingly answered an emergency beacon's signal. While there is some suspicion from show more the Russian group, this is because Nine's psychic paper ID has declared him to be from a rival agency, and Jack is considered to be the sort of Intelligence agent who wouldn't know a real fight if he saw it. The two groups manage to work together reasonably well in spite of the tensions, investigating a series of mysterious deaths that show all the hallmarks of a mythical monster.

Enjoyed this one a lot, and not just because it has Captain Jack (who does not get to be on the cover). There's a good science fantasy mystery here, with the Special Forces team being more than just foils to show off how clever the Doctor is. show less

More of a 3.5 stars than four really.

This is the fourth Doctor Who novel in the NSA that I have read and, so far I have to admit that it is not one of my favourites.

I found the plot not as innovating as it could have been and the action disjointed since it was separated between the Doctor, Rose and Jack.

The beginning was sluggish and about less than halfway through, it felt overly dragged on until the end that went much too fast leaving me going "Eh?!?" I must though admit that the final scene with Jack made me smile.

So not a horrifying bad novel but nothing to wow a Whovian. It was... ok, nothing more, nothing less... just ok.

A soviet era nuclear naval base has been abandoned. The town surrounding it is surviving essentially at a subsistence level. There is something far more dangerous than the radiation leaking from the subs. It's been there quite a long time sending out a message for help, which Captain Jack inadvertently answers forcing him, Rose and the Doctor to ride in for the rescue. Though their Russian is perfect, at least one person knows that there's more to the arrival of the threesome than their cover story implies.

I love Doctor Who with a ridiculous passion but that being said, this book left so much to be desired. Because Eccleston was only the Doctor for a short time, these stories are precious. After all, who doesn't want a bit more of the show more Fantastic? Unfortunately, this book is almost painful to read. It's a scant 256 pages and yet felt like a tome that was never going to come to an end. This is the first of the Doctor Who books that I almost gave a DNF rating.

When the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack arrive, they discover one young man dead and his girlfriend Valeria drained of her youth. She is nothing but a husk, with no ability to communicate and absolutely incapable of taking care of herself. Because this is not the first time something like this has happened, townspeople have become suspicious and actually blame Vourdalk - a vampire from Russian folklore. That sounds interesting doesn't it? Naturally, it cannot possibly be Vourdalk as we discover when the Doctor begins investigating. Nope, it's all about aliens, glowing blue blobs and zombies. It seems some people decided that they want to live forever. The story takes a massive turn and feels like a bad rip off of Stephen King's Tommy Knockers. Since King already told this story and brilliantly at that, inserting the Doctor does nothing but remind us that we're reading an author with less than half the talent of King.

The story quickly turns from an intelligent investigation to the Doctor, Rose and Jack running from the blue blobs, and setting shit on fire. That's when it absolutely lost me because it felt like a complete bait and switch. Yes, I get that as much as the Doctor is a super brilliant Time Lord, he spends a good deal of time running and dodging to get away from the bed guys but that usually comes with a coherent story which The Deviant Strain greatly lacked.

In terms of characterisation it was absolutely off. Yes, I can picture Captain Jack running into combat and working to save someone he saw as vulnerable and need of his help. My question however is where did my smiling, flirtatious Jack go? He was absolutely generic. Even though The Deviant Strain is set before Torchwood, there should still be some sense of who Captain Jack is. This character is such a cardboard cut out with no personality that he really could have been anyone with the name Captain Jack tacked on for fan service.

Then there's Rose, who runs around tossing herself at anything that looks dangerous. She's like a fish out of water. I didn't recognise her at all. She seemed to be there so that the Doctor could explain what is going on. Yes, I realise that this is the main function of the companion in the Who universe, however; each companion has a personality that is distinct. Rose just ran and threw herself at stuff without trying to figure out the big picture or even giving the Doctor a sense of humanity which is something that she was really good at.

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