The Art of Destruction

This is the first Doctor Who book I couldn't even finish. It was pretty awful. I couldn't tell who was who at all. None of the characters were distinct, even the Doctor. It didn't sound like the 10th Doctor in the least, and many times I found myself reading his dialogue thinking he was one of the African scientists only to learn my mistake after he finished speaking. Totally confusing, not engaging.

Ok, in all honesty, not the best Doctor Who novel I have read. It was more a Rose Tyler novel than anything else. Also I had a bit of difficulty with Cole's rendition of the Tenth Doctor. I simply did not feel like he truly grabbed the particularity of Tenth and as such, I simply could not relate him in this story.

Also the action became long-winded. Halfway through, I was ready for it to come to a conclusion and be done with it. The idea of the story was, nevertheless, up to par with anything from DW's universe. It was just over-plotted, imho.

The beginning showed great promise but it dwindled much too fast and also became a chore to finish it.

This was the second Doctor Who tie-in that I read and after the beginning I seriously considered returning it - except for the fact that I was flying cross country when I read the book. It was a good enough Doctor/Rose romp, but really not all that riveting. Stephen Cole almost has the characterization of both the Doctor and Rose Tyler down, but not quite. He spends a good first part of the book establishing their looks and clothing right down to Rose's impractical mini-skirt, causing me to wonder how she manages to achieve what she does in the book without exposing herself.

The plot itself is not that much different from "The Price of Paradise" when it comes right down to it - the Doctor and Rose stumble upon an Earth civilization show more that's overreached itself and is now inviting destruction. It's actually quite a good plot with a lot of interesting players, twists, and turns once you get past the very drab beginning. Unfortunately, the middle of the book is the strongest part. By the end, I was hoping for the book to be finished and nearly came close to just chucking it back in my back and watching "Love & Monsters" from series 2 on my iPhone - and that episode is a load of rubbish. I'd recommend getting this book used if you're a completionist and enjoy reading Doctor/Rose adventures, otherwise I'd pass. show less

I'd gone to the library purposely to pick up two other books but I happened to see this on the shelf, and as it's a Doctor Who novel I've not read, I immediately picked it up. It wasn't until I got it home that I realised it was by Stephen Cole. I was a bit torn because it's Ten and Rose who I love but Stephen Cole is not my favourite author by a long shot. I've had serious reservations about his other Doctor Who works so I was apprehensive about this one. The plot here is that the Doctor and Rose land in 22nd century Africa, Chad to be precise where the Earth is suffering from lack of food resources so scientists are trying to create ways to resolve that. However, it all goes a bit pear-shaped when some little golden blobs from a show more nearby volcano start taking over some of the wildlife and staff.

The storyline itself was reasonable, there were several twists and turns to keep me engrossed. It was rather gruesome towards the end though. The Wurms were just plain icky and the descriptions of how their mud guns ate up the golems and occasional human were downright revolting. It seemed to have strayed into more adult reading than children's fare.

One of the things Stephen Cole seems to struggle with is attention to detail. He seems to focus on the wrong things. There was no real sense or indication that this story was set in Africa at all, apart from a few mentions of the temperature. It could have been absolutely anywhere which is quite a shame as it really good have been used to greater effect. However, a great deal was made initially about the outfits worn by the Doctor and Rose, especially her mini skirt. I think he later forgets that he's kitted her out that way, especially with what she gets up to later on. I don't know how she managed to not reveal more of herself. Actually Rose didn't seem to be in it all that much, she's rather superseded by the secondary characters.

There were an awful lot of secondary characters which is something else that Stephen Cole seems to have an problem with. There's just too many to keep track of, and in this book, a whole other group get introduced halfway through for no real reason! Then again, they're destroyed fairly rapidly too so they obviously weren't that important. I do think that a lot of the characters were rather stereotyped, although maybe it's easier that way when writing so many of them? The Doctor and Rose were both rather flat which I've noticed in other books by this author. The Doctor is a very emotional person, especially in this incarnation, and yet there was a very noticeable lack of emotion from him when Rose is turned into a golem which is completely out of character for him.

All in all, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The plot isn't bad but it's really let down by the characterisation and attention to detail. show less

This Doctor Who adventure was just ok for me. I listened to the audiobook... The story seemed a bit off....none of the Tenth Doctor's usual wit and charm,and Rose Tyler didn't seem her usual self either. The story was interesting enough, but it just missed the mark a bit for me.

The plot summary on the back of the book did not do this story justice. This was a very clever, action packed story. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and my only compliant was that it ended too soon.

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1286105.html#cutid4

For variety I read this one in dead tree form. The Doctor and Rose land in 22nd-century Chad where they find themselves caught up in the climax of a long-running alien war. The alien bits were rather good: I wasn't so convinced that Cole was on top of the human material, and his Chad could almost as easily have been Belgium, apart from a couple of mentions of the temperature. Perhaps I am too demanding in wanting plenty of background detail and having it accurate too, but this is the first time I have not really been satisfied with a Stephen Cole novel.