Almost Perfect

OMG. Captain Jack being himself, Ianto Jones transformed into the ‘perfect’ woman, Captain Jack, lots of gay sex, and (did I mention?) Captain Jack. If you’re even a casual watcher of Torchwood, then you have to pick this book up! I stumbled across it in a bookstore one weekend, then ignored everyone and everything around me as I devoured most of it on the train ride home.As the book begins, we learn that Ianto Jones has awakened with a gap in his memory, no clothes, and the body of a ‘perfect’ woman. Thanks to the alien device responsible (no spoiler here - this is Torchwood, after all), he is physically perfect. Mentally and emotionally, however, he is still the same shy, awkward, loveable young man he’s always been. He show more has to learn how to walk, how to dress, how to talk, and how to respond to the opposite sex. His struggles and grudging acceptance of the situation are beautifully handled, complete with generous doses of humour and sweetness.Meanwhile, single men are disappearing from speed-dating nights all over town, victim of another ‘perfect’ woman. How she became so perfect, and what’s happening to her unfortunate dates, is all inextricably linked to Ianto’s situation – if only he could remember his last night as a man.On top of all this, the solution to all of Cardiff’s problems involves Captain Jack literally diving into the gay community, which itself has become strangely ‘perfect’ over the past year. I won’t go into too much detail here, but the scenes at the gay dance club are absolutely priceless. The ending gets a little dark, but Torchwood is all about the interplay between light and dark, good and evil, hope and despair.Well-written and thoroughly entertaining, this is not only a book that lives up to its promise, it’s a book that lives up to its inspiration. James Goss completely captures the tone and spirit of the TV show, and I cannot wait to see what he does next. Absolutely recommended! show less

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1903082.html

I may have mentioned once or twice that I think James Goss is one of the best writers of Who spinoff literature currently in business. Almost Perfect appears to have been his first book, a 2008. Torchwood novel set between Season 2 and Children of Earth, and while I liked it a lot it doesn't quite reach the level of his later work. There is a sexy alien presence, which is classic Torchwood, and Ianto gets transformed into a beautiful woman for most of the novel, which is very entertaining; and there is a lot of really good writing about the Gwen/Rhys relationship, and about how much Owen and Toshiko are missed. But the book slightly misses the mark with regard to Jack's characterisation and show more back-story, and the actual resolution seemed a bit incoherent - lots of fantastic imagery but lacking a decent frame. So, as Torchwood novels go, one of the decent ones; as James Goss novels go, it shows the way to future excellence. show less

To misuse a baseball term, this book struck out swinging.

It tried, very hard, to be a fun Torchwood book, in keeping with the show. And bits of it are excellent. Gwen and Rhys, Emma Webster, the Cheryl Cole style voice in her head, are all wonderfully drawn. They sounded real and believable. Jack and Ianto, not so much. Which is a problem when it's a book that focuses on Jack and Ianto.

In a large part, it's because I don't believe our Ianto Jones, Ianto - unflappable, repressing everything, never a hair out of place - Jones, would react like that if he suddenly woke up in someone else's body, never mind the gender of the person. Since his reaction is a large part of his story, it means it doesn't quite work.

The description of the show more horrible thing that lurks towards the end of the book is pleasingly ooky though.

So it's an honourable failure, but worth a read if you're a Torchwood fan. show less

To be honest, when I read the back matter on Almost Perfect, my first thought was that I had read this fic before. I mean, I've been in Torchwood fandom, and there's absolutely no question in my mind that there is more than one story out there where Ianto wakes up as a woman.

I doubt any of them made the surrounding plot so much fun, though. There's quite a bit of plot! The book is both deadly serious and incredibly ridiculous, much like Torchwood itself used to be. There was a Facebook-like status message accompanying each new chapter, which I thought was interesting. Gwen and Rhys' relationship was portrayed fantastically. I also loved seeing how the team dynamic changed post-series two. I doubt we'll be getting post-series three show more books, but there are still books set pre-series three coming out, and James Goss has written another one, Risk Assessment. I'd like to get my hands on it. show less

The writing style was a bit too concise with this one, although the plot was interesting. Enjoyed Ianto's confusion as came to terms with his transformation.

I did not like the writing style on this one. It's overly simple, and while I suppose that's some kind of joke, I just did not like it. However, the story is excellent.

Very quick, fun read. Laugh-out-loud funny in a number of places. "The Perfection" are improving the Cardiff population, with some dangerous consequences.