Dreams of Empire (Doctor Who Series) [Paperback]

Justin Richards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999 | Series: Doctor Who Series

Landing on a barren asteroid, the Doctor and his friends discover the final pages of a drama that has torn apart an empire are being played out.

Who is the man in the mask, and how are his chess games affecting life and death in his prison? What is the secret of the knights in armor that line the bleak walls of the settlement. And what is the nature of the alien ship approaching -- and what will it want when it arrives?

Soon the TARDIS crew find themselves under siege with a deadly robotic race and human traitors to defeat -- and the future of an entire stellar empire hangs in the balance: if the Doctor cannot triumph it will become a force not for good, but for evil.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: BBC Pubns; paperback / softback edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563405988
• ISBN-13: 978-0563405986
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,617,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Series

More About the Author

Justin Richards has written dozens of novels as well as non-fiction books. He has also written audio scripts, a television and stage play, edited anthologies of short stories, been a technical writer, and founded and edited a media journal.

Justin is the author of The Death Collector, The Chaos Code, The Parliament of Blood and The Invisible Detective series. He is also Creative Consultant to the BBC's best-selling range of Doctor Who books.

His novel 'The Skeleton Clock' is available as a Kindle eBook.

He lives in Warwick with his wife and two children, and a lovely view of the castle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining read for Dr. Who fans:, April 27, 1999

By 

"aeloz" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams of Empire (Doctor Who Series) (Paperback)

I'll start off by saying I have a very critical eye towards all the Dr. Who tie-in fiction currently in (or recently out of) print. This book, however, passes my demanding standards. I picked up the book because I skimmed an early scene characterizing the 2nd Doctor, and it drew me in: accurate depiction of the television personas of each Doctor is always the minimum standard for me. Although Richards' presentation of the 2nd Doctor begins a bit erratic and is at moments almost tediously described, by the time the action gets rolling, I fully accepted the author's characterization of perhaps the hardest Doctor (played on television by brilliant actor Patrick Troughton) to nail down. It seems the more the author wrote, the easier came the 2nd Doctor's mercurial and ever fascinating personality. The plot is a good, political plot with obvious overtones concerning the game of chess. This metaphor is played out very well and with engaging complexity, yet still remains easy to follow. The revelations that surprise throughout are all well set up early on. My only criticisms really are that neither companion Jamie or Victoria have much to do, and the end is more than a bit rushed and far too cavalier in its treatment of characters we've followed since the beginning of the book. Lastly, the Doctor takes an action towards the end that belies the usually deeply compassionate portrayal of the Doctor that Troughton worked hard to achieve, but this doesn't really detract too much from the rest of the story. The ultimate conclusion is satisfying, answering most of the questions the reader might have formed during reading. The action and characters are contained and easy to follow, another common failing in other Dr. Who fiction that is here overcome. So, for those "Whovians" in the mood for an entertaining 2nd Doctor novel adventure, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Keep with it - it does get better., January 13, 2002

By 

Daniel Firli (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams of Empire (Doctor Who Series) (Paperback)

This book strides away from the normal Troughton-esqe monster story and goes for a political type story instead. I found the book quite bland for at least the first half of the book, but you should stick with it as the pace and excitement greatly increases after the first half with the arrival of the VETACS (robot super warriors). Just approach this book as a no-brainer and you should find, at least, a little bit of enjoyment out of it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not really the second Doctor's kind of story, October 20, 2000

By 

"grrreg" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams of Empire (Doctor Who Series) (Paperback)

The era of Patrick Troughton, who played the second incarnation of the Doctor, is one best remembered for its stories about alien monsters and the threats they posed to isolated groups of humans. The stories that depart from this formula (like 'The Highlanders', 'Enemy of the World' and 'The Space Pirates') are usually quite forgettable - with the obvious exception of 'The Mind Robber'. Why Justin Richards chose to stray so far from the essence of the second Doctor in this novel is a bit of a mystery.

Arriving in what appears to be a medieval castle, but is actually a prison in space, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are caught up in a series of political intrigues around the future of a space empire.

With elements of 'The Man in the Iron Mask' mixed liberally with visual descriptions of what would have been slapstick comedy if presented visually, the novel is interesting enough but seems overly obsessed with the comic elements that were only one factor in Troughton's stories. Dealing with the future of empires really wasn't this incarnation's interest, and I'm afraid that Jamie and Victoria are probably among the last companions you'd want in such a story - both should have been more out of their depth.