The Gallifrey Chronciles

After over 70 plus books, I really was hoping for a better ending to the Eighth Doctor Adventures. It wasn't a bad book, but it just didn't have the scope and drama I had hoped for. Still, there were finally some answers to some very long term questions about The Doctor and Gallifrey, and an ending that while not fully satisfying, fuels the imagination for future adventures for The Doctor and his companions.
Just as a suggestion, The Gallifrey Chronicles is not the book to read if you haven't read any of the other EDA's. You don't have to read the whole series to appreciate the ending, but you will enjoy it far more if you have read at least some. And prior reading of Doctor Who: The Ancestor Cell would also be useful, just to help you show more tie it all together. show less

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1102824.html

I thought at first that this was going to be a too-clever-by-half tale of intersecting rival continuities. It's better than that, I'm glad to say. A lot of the plot features another Time Lord exiled to Earth, who has been writing science fiction novels over the last century or so (these are the Gallifrey Chronicles of the title, a beautifully developed concept); he bears a grudge against the Doctor, and triggers an invasion of Earth by loathesome insects to get even. (I loved the idea of the insects spraying goo which doesn't actually kill people but makes everyone else believe the victim is dead.)

There are some slightly baffling bits of continuity. I still don't have the backstory abouit the show more destruction of Gallifrey (in EDA continuity, that is; I have enjoyed the Big Finish version) but it's not as relevant to the plot as I expected. Likewise the Doctor's adopted daughter Miranda makes an appearance, the first time I had encountered her.

This was also the first book I've read with companion Trix, who has replaced Anji as female sidekick to Fitz (though Anji makes a welcome cameo appearance). Trix and Fitz take advantage of the approaching end of the sequence of novels and fall in love, after travelling together for some time - I think the most overtly physical relationship between two companions in the whole extended canon before New Who, though it's not particularly explicit and is abruptly interrupted.

The ending is not really as conclusive as you would have liked for the termination of a series of more than 70 books. Of course, this is probably Russell T Davies' fault more than Lance Parkin's, but it's a bit of a shame.

Anyway, once again Lance Parkin has produced a mildly confusing if generally readable book. Once again, I find myself thinking that I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point for anyone wanting to get into the Eighth Doctor Adventures; but I have to admit I haven't really identified such a starting point as yet. show less