Doctor Who: Timeless [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen Cole (Author)

Book Description

Series: Doctor Who | Publication Date: September 23, 2003

With time running out, the Doctor finally understands why 'our' universe is unique. In proving it, he nearly destroys the TARDIS and all aboard -- and becomes involved with the machinations of the mysterious Timeless organisation. They can fix your wildest dreams, get away with murder and bring a whole new meaning to the idea of victimless crime. Soon, Fitz and Trix are married, Anji's become a mum, and an innocent man is marked for the most important death in the universe's long history. The reasons why force the Doctor into a deadly showdown in a killing ground spawned before time and space began.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Random House UK (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563486074
• ISBN-13: 978-0563486077
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,155,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding entry in the Eighth Doctor Series., November 30, 2003

By 

Bryan Schingle (Thornton, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who: Timeless (Mass Market Paperback)

The last two books that I read in the EDA were both somewhat depressing. "Reckless Engineering" and "The Crooked World" both had dark shadows to them, feelings of hopelessness and despair. I picked this one up, hoping for a change of pace.

Needless to say, I got what I was hoping for. "Timeless" is a great entry in the series. Humorous, a great story line/plot twists, good characters. It had it's own dark side to it, but it didn't stand out like it did in "Reckless Engineering". The book starts in several different story lines, each line emerging every fifty pages or so, concluding in a tense, dramatic climax. The Eighth Doctor is insightful and childish at the same time, just as Paul McGann was in the television movie. I would love to see this book come out as an episode some day!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Time to end this story-arc, September 12, 2004

By 

Andrew McCaffrey "The Grumpy Young Man" (Satellite of Love, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who: Timeless (Mass Market Paperback)

If I were to review this book in a couple of phrases, I'd describe it as a mediocre novel with an atrocious ending. Unfortunately, I'm far too grumpy to simply leave it at that. TIMELESS is a frustrating book in a series that I've been increasingly frustrated with. A multi-part story-arc really shouldn't be interfering in an individual book to the extent seen here, yet that's exactly what happens. The story-arc should enhance an individual tale, not drag it down to the depths of incomprehensibility.

The back cover states the plot involves "saving the multiverse from total collapse". Well, this doesn't exactly increase the dramatic tension for me. I mean, first of all, any reader is going to take it for granted that the book doesn't end with the multiverse in a state of total collapse. So the state of play isn't where the book is going to be setting its conflict. What we're left with is to observe how the Doctor saves the universe (or multiverse or whatever). Here's where we have the problem. The threat to the universe has been described with ever increasing gobs of technobabble over the past few books in the series. And it doesn't take a genius to realize that the best way of ridding the world of technobabble is to attack it with even more confusing technobabble. This is not something I enjoy reading.

Now, I'll give Stephen Cole some credit here. When addressing conflicts that potentially alter the entire course of creation, it's handy to see the effect that these Big Events have on actual living people. Made-up science-stuff that doesn't even remain consistent from book to book can be a little -- shall we say -- difficult to grasp. So it's nice to see time spent on developing characters. Stacy, for instance, worked quite well for me, and I enjoyed her subplot as well as her character (if the whole book had worked like this, I would have rated it much higher).

On the other hand, I was more lukewarm to Guy. He's a fairly standard character, but I suspect that's done deliberately. If you like this sort of thing, then you call him an everyman. If you loathe it, then you call him a walking stereotype. My opinion moved back and forth between the two extremes. I think my main problem was just that Cole's attempt at making him a sympathetic and identifiable figure went a bit too far and I couldn't actually imagine anyone this generic really existing. I note that other reviewers have had no trouble identifying with him at all, so it appears the mileage varies on this point.

As for the plot, for the most part Cole is capable of keeping the individual strands separate and interesting. I really liked Fitz and Trix's investigation taking place a number of weeks removed from the main action. But there are way too many little moments where Cole has to cheat in order to allow the plot to emerge in the way he wants it to. Take for example the Doctor and Stacy escaping because the bad guys just throw them off a boat, let them get away and only then do they think to give chase. Sloppy and regrettable. And as for the conversation two grown male characters have about women... well, I'm speechless in my amusement. It reads like a conversation that two twelve-year-old boys would have about girls, but only in the unlikely event that they didn't know any dirty words.

But the biggest problem is that I simply cannot care about the book's main conflict. Now don't get me wrong; I like science fiction that handles big scientific ideas. I have no trouble with the idea of a story doing big things with the universe. But this never felt like "Big Ideas". This felt more like "More Made Up Mumbo Jumbo From The People Who Brought You That Other Made Up Mumbo Jumbo." If there hadn't been any silly story-arc stuff going on and the book had been focused upon the human villains, I'm sure I would have been very positive about it.

I sort of enjoyed reading the first half, but after a while it just wore me down. It also feels far less ambitious than his previous EDA, despite dealing with huge universe-shattering events. VANISHING POINT was an exploration of a society with apparent proof as to existence of the afterlife. It may not have fulfilled its potential, but I admired it for trying. TIMELESS, on the other hand, is about what happens when overwhelming technobabble meets unstoppable gobbledygook. It may not have started out that way, but unfortunately, that's how it ended.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best off the Shelf, March 26, 2004

By 

Inclusivity (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who: Timeless (Mass Market Paperback)

Steve's book is great and witty, though, but the darker sides can make it a bit grizzly, but it just about fades out. The concepts are terrific (the big bang, diamonds, alternative universes, etc.) and the character of Sabbath stands out a lot. Best Dr Who book I've read in ages. If the rating counter had more than five I would have typed in 'INFINITY'.

I my opinion it is a must for allDr Who lovers AND non-Dr Who lovers. Wish the BBC would publish more like it...