Dancing the Code

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One of the earlier Virgin Missing Adventures, which piqued my interest when I realised that a substantial chunk of the plot revolves around a conflict bordering Morocco and Algeria, a situation to which I have a professional connection. However there's one important difference - Leonard's fictional country of Kebiria is on the Mediterranean coast rather than the Atlantic. The plot is actually rather similar to the last Eighth Doctor novel I read, in that actors in a local conflict find that they have potential alien allies, but those alien allies actually have their own agenda. But I liked it a lot more, partly because setting a story like this in the firm anchorage of the Third Doctor and Jo show more Grant UNIT era gives Leonard a good stock cast for this sort of thing, all of whom he does well by (apart from Yates who is unsalvageable anyway), and also partly because his aliens do a neat line in dopplegangers, which I always enjoy, and body-horror, which I like when it's done right. show less

In a small North African country, government forces campaigning against rebels suddenly vanish without a trace. In the rebel encampment, a British reporter witnesses a battered UNIT jeep crash into a tent, driven by a dying man exuding a honey-like substance. And in England, the Doctor detects a vision of the future, one in which the Brigadier will shoot both him and Jo Grant in cold blood. Together the three events point to the latest alien threat facing the Earth, one that threatens to consume all of humanity unless the Doctor can stop it.

This was the second of Paul Leonard's contributions to the Doctor Who franchise that I have read, and i approached it with expectations shaped by his previous novel for the Virgin Missing Adventures show more series, Venusian Lullaby. Perhaps this is why I was so disappointed with the work. Unlike his previous novel, which drew its strengths from its quirky setting and immersion into truly alien culture, this one suffered from a tired premise poorly developed by it. With numerous characters hurriedly introduced into the plot there is little investment in their fates, nor is there any suspense in a climax that doesn't measure up to its supposedly epic scale. With an ending that is equal parts rushed and predictable, the result is a book that is not among the better contributions to the series. show less

A north African nation is in the throes of a fight for its freedom, but there seems to be an unexpected element, known from legends, that is based on something from outside the Earth, so the UNIT ends up being involved in investigating and putting an end to it. This is an action-packed Third Doctor novel with a highish body count.