The Feast of the Drowned

This past weekend, I epic roadtripped by myself to Indiana. Why? I asked myself that same question - no, seriously, it was to see some friends who had fled the Midwest but had returned to celebrate their one-year anniversary with family and they invited me, and so I made the 10 hour trek there and back in one weekend.

Anyway, this was the first audiobook up for the drive. It had been an Audible daily deal recently and I picked it up, like any good Whovian who was offered cheap Doctor Who stuff. And since it was short, I figured it would be a good start to the epic roadtrip.

So I've read and listened to a few Doctor Who media tie-in novelizations and they've all been middling of the road at best, and this was not much of an exception, show more though it is definitely better than some others. The author had great descriptions and I could actually picture this as an episode. However, as with all of the novels, the length limitation made it seemed a bit rushed at points.

Still, not a bad listen for $2. show less

I'm a sucker for the books with Ten and Rose. Throw in Mickey and even a teeny bit of Jackie, and I'm hooked. This one was loads of fun, even though it reminded me somewhat of Waters of Mars (which I didn't care for). Cole does a great job with the characters' voices, and the story was strong. Overall, one of the better tie-ins.

I'm very tempted to just out and out give this five stars. It's David Tennant. As the Doctor. AND in full brogue. In other words, a little slice of heaven. He does voices quite well (though perhaps not so much Rose and Mickey, but … who cares?), does the creepy bits very creepily, and is all in all a joy to listen to. Unsurprisingly.

And it was a fun story, too, about something (*cough*aliens*cough*) snatching up the drowning and doing unspeakable things to them (and the "Feast" of the title isn't a fun let's-have-another-turkey-leg sort of thing, either). The writing did a nice job of achieving Whovianness – always a concern with fan-fiction at any level up to and including authorized published tie-ins. Though … both eyebrows went show more up, way up, when Cole referred to "the Doctor's sneakers". Uh. He used the correct "trainers" another time, though, so I'll give him that. There was a great deal of running, and reference to the fact that running is very common with the Doctor, and that's all to the good.

But, in the end, even DT wasn't enough to make this a five-star listen. He was; the story was not.

But – brogue. There is something about the way a Scottish man says "book" that … Ahem. Yes. Very nice. show less

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1097091.html?style=mine

I've enjoyed two other New Series novels by Stephen Cole (here and here), so I'm glad to report now that I like Feast of the Drowned even more, which makes it the best Ninth or Tenth Doctor book I've read. It's not that it has the literary depth that the best of the New / Missing / Past Doctor ranges have, but it's very faithful to the spirit of Season Two (ie 2006, not 1964-5), and in particular it would fit awfully well into continuity between "New Earth" and "Tooth and Claw"; I found it easy to imagine what a TV version of this would have looked like.

We have here a return to Rose's London; we have quite a lot of Mickey, and what he went through during the year that Rose had vanished - show more one of Mickey's best outings in the canon (if this is canon). We have the Doctor being very David Tennant-ish, confusing friends and confounding foes, especially the military. As with the two other Cole books I've read, we also have shape-shifting aliens which share the Zygons' aquatic habitat (but are otherwise original to him). Rose herself doesn't come across terribly well, and the science is as bogus as anything else in New Who, but it is a very enjoyable romp. show less

The naval ship the HMS Ascendant has mysteriously sunk in the North Sea. The Doctor isn't inclined to investigate until Rose and her friend get a ghostly visitation from one the seamen who was aboard ship. Though it makes absolutely no sense, Keisha is determined to head to the Thames and throw herself in because she believes that somehow against all odds that she will find her brother and rescue him before the feast. It would be bad enough if the Doctor, Rose and Mickey only had to deal with one person who had lost touch with reality, but many of the inhabitants of London are determined to throw themselves in the Thames and the ones who do, never resurface for some reason. With more and more people disappearing each day, it's a race to show more find out what is going on and how to stop it.

The Feast of the Drowned very much reminded me of the Waters of Mars, largely because the Doctor is fighting an alien species which thrives in water and takes over human bodies. Part of the reason I pick up these Doctor Who books is to enjoy new adventures with characters I've grown to love and or miss terribly. In fairness to Cole, The Feast of the Drowned was actually released quite a few years before the Waters of Mars but because I have already seen the episode in question so many times, this book felt very repetitive to me. It did however make me wonder if this book was the inspiration behind The Waters of Mars?

The repetitiveness was not at all helped by Mickey, and Keisha's fixation on the fact that Rose had disappeared with the Doctor for a year. By this point, everyone should be over this. Keisha in particular seems very jealous of Rose and angry by the way that her friend has changed. Because of all that Rose has seen, she cannot simply go back to being content bar hopping on a Friday night and this has created a disconnect. She has moved so far past some people that the relationship will never be the same and Keisha seems determined to make her pay for it. I really just wanted to be done with the guilting of Rose.

In terms of characterization, I feel that Cole did a pretty good job with Jackie, Rose and of course our beloved 10th Doctor. One of the things I remember the most from Tenant's era is every alien being offered the chance to leave or end the damage they were causing before being annihilated by the Doctor. Tenant's Doctor was often brutal in his application of justice and we can see that coming into play in The Feast of the Drowned. When the aliens who have drowned humans in order to use them as incubators for their offspring refuse the Doctor's offer of relocation, the justice he exacts is swift and final. This time, there's no one to tell him to stop or to wait, no one to remind him of his own rules - the Doctor simply acts.

I love that Rose never gave up and did everything she could do to block the alien's plans for humanity. She didn't put up with any of the Doctor's lip nor fall for any of Mickey's attempt to get to play the waitress by making him coffee. Rose is always aware of what her strengths and weaknesses are and always plays to her strengths.

Jackie is very much like the Jackie Tyler that we have come to know. She is obsessed with the latest guy she comes across, not afraid to give the Doctor shit for endangering her daughter and has a willingness to risk herself for Rose at the drop of the hat. Jackie is also confident enough to listen to Rose when she is warned that she is being set up in a trap. All of these things were wonderful but for me, the best Jackie Tyler moment was her slapping the Doctor. I don't recall Jacking actually slapping the 10th doctor, (though she slapped nine) but I think the whoverse should always make room for a Jackie Tyler slap.

Read More show less

Doctor Who: The Feast of the Drowned Review I miss David Tennant as the Doctor. Matt Smith was okay, and Peter Capaldi does a serviceable job, but Tennant's still the best to have tackled the role since the series was rebooted. I'm kinda hoping Doctor Who goes away for a while so that they can start fresh again with another reboot, let's say, ten years from now. The writing of the most recent season is crap, and I think Capaldi is fighting an uphill battle. Either hire new writers or take a break. But, that's just my opinion. Back to my review of this particular story.
 
Feast of the Drowned might have garnered four stars had it not so closely resembled an off-season episode entitled Water of Mars. In fact, I think that's why they show more left this story line for the literary world because it borrows many ideas from that movie-length episode. Still, my sense of nostalgia kicked in and I enjoyed every minute of Feast of the Drowned. Tennant does a spot on impression of the actor who played Mickey in the television series (sorry, but I've forgotten his name), and that caused this Whovian to chuckle more than once. And who doesn't love Rose Tyler? Having these three (The Doctor, Rose, and Mickey) back together warmed my heart, and I suddenly wanted to hop over to Netflix for a marathon viewing of Ten's seasons. Instead of burning through my ISP's monthly data cap, I decided to download the six or seven audio books David Tennant narrated for the series. I think I'll try Dead Air next but am open for suggestions. If any of you have any recommendations, please drop them in the comment section below, please and thank you. 
 
And what the fig newton does "The doctor pulled a face" mean? That phrase is used twice in this book, but I cannot parse it. It does not compute. The first time it's Mickey who "pulled a face". I though it was an error so I moved on, but then the Doctor "pulled a face" and I was confused again. Is this an English thing? What does it mean? FOR TOM CRUISE'S SAKE, HELP ME!!!
 
In summation: A familiar story narrated by the ever-entertaining and uber-talented David Tennant. If you're a fan of the tenth Doctor, you can't go wrong with this novella. If the story had been more original, it would have gained an extra star. Recommended for Whovians and fans of creepy water. show less

This novel follows closely to the television formula: The Doctor and companion are drawn into a mystery set in modern day London, discover an alien invasion plot, and they (well, HE, really) foil it after a few twists and turns. I don’t consider that bit a spoiler, as any licensed material must necessarily deliver all the characters and settings back unaltered by the conclusion- series authors don’t own, they rent. I’ll agree with other reviewers in pointing out the similarities in the story’s villains with those in the television episode “Waters of Mars”. However, I must defend Cole in saying he wrote three years in advance of that episode’s airing. The areas to truly judge a DW story by, I feel, are the peripheral show more one-off characters that one wouldn’t expect to see return in any other story. These are the few with which the author can take liberties with and write freely; the portion of the whole which is owned and not rented. Most of those appearing in 'Feast of the Drowned' were unremarkable for me, and none experienced any transformative hero’s journey in this story with the possible exception of the scientist Vida. Her transition from opposition figure to team member by story’s end is not spectacularly different from any other such character conversion from the series. Nor are Crayshaw and the other villains all that dissimilar from other would-be alien invaders of Earth who had the poor luck to attempt their plans on the day that The Doctor happened to be passing through the neighborhood. Like the rest of the crowd, he is prone to monologuing his plan to The Doctor in a moment of perceived victory with raspy voice. I was also underwhelmed with the silver-bullet trope of the conclusion, and expect I’m not the only reader who foresaw it in the early pages of the story. None of the complaints should dissuade series fans from reading the book- it’s very familiarities that make it a weaker story in the wider pool of SF literature are the aspects of it that will make it enjoyable to its established audience of Doctor Who fans. show less