Customer Reviews

Dreams of Empire (Doctor Who Series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

When I first read "Dreams of Empire" I noticed two things.

First, it was not much like a second Doctor story from the sixties. He would never usually handle things like he did here, the violence and technology is nothing like what the writers of the show at the time wanted, and the overall second Doctor playfullness got turned into silliness.

Second, this story is too much a cross of the Roman Empire and "Star Wars." Down to the last detail of the man in the mask, it was Darth Vader.

Overall, the book has an enjoyable plot, but it needed more creative characters and an eighth Doctor setting.

I was amazed by this book. Most Dr Who books seem to be loosely written, and have holes in the plot that leave you wondering, why didn't they just...?....This book did not do that for me. From the very beginning to the very end I was entranced. It has been a while since a Dr Who novel was the book I wanted to read a little of before I went to sleep. They tend to be books that I read just to read it. I liked the characters that were developed in this novel, (not including the main tv ones). I liked the plot, the pace, the intricate plot points. I was fascinated by this story for what ever reason. Some reviews seem to want to say that this is not like the tv 2nd DR Who. I took the story for what it was, and read it. The story did not have to fit that Dr. To me, the Dr, (any Dr), fits the story. Just place that Dr in the story, and read it. Is it perfect, NO. Yet it still plays out pretty darn good. I reccommend this book. I loved it. The political story, the action, the betrayal involved. Excellent.

Patrick Troughton's era, for better or for worse, tends to be associated with the "Monster of the Week" motif, where he and his intrepid companions were faced each week with some fearsome inhuman menace that had to be stopped. Cue the parade of Ice Warriors, Cybermen, Yeti, weed-foam creatures and so on, all of whom looked pretty fantastic on screen when you were eight years old (and would still look kind of neat today, if the BBC hadn't erased most of them . . . thanks, guys). However, it did get a bit formulaic after a while and just because it sort of worked for three seasons of Patrick Troughton at the helm doesn't mean that I want my books to read that way as well.

So Richards goes for a slightly different tactic here, and partially succeeds. We're taken to an Empire on the verge of collapse, having suffered a bit of civil strife in recent years. The end result of this was the leader of the rebellion stuck in a massive castle (wearing an iron mask due to flame-related injuries) that doubles as a prison. They want him kept alive, you see, so that he doesn't become a martyr. Except now that someone is trying to kill him. And we can't have that. Enter the distinctive sound of the TARDIS arriving.

It's impressive that Richards can make this at all interesting considering that the first half of the book is mostly implied mysteries and exposition. It all goes almost too reasonably well, with the jailors not even suspecting the Doctor for once and quite willing to let him tag along to figure out what the heck is going on. It's all very pleasant and moody but you are starting to wonder where all the chess metaphors and motifs are going when someone kicks in the door and the action starts.

Then the book kicks into high gear when an invading plethora of robot-soldiers decide to try to kill everyone in the castle, leading to the classic "Who" scenarios of a) everyone running up and down corridors (funny how in the show they did it due to budgetary constraints, I'm not sure what the novelists' reasons are) and b) the classic Troughton "base under siege" situation where everyone is trapped in an enclosed space and are forced to improvise plans quickly.

Like I said, kind of exciting but not terribly so. The big twists (there's two, if you're counting) are telegraphed fairly early if you're paying attention and you'll probably still get it even if you're not. It is nice for once to not have any obvious "bwah-ha-ha-ha" villains, although the political intrigue is not especially deep. Richards' portrayal of the Doctor gets off to a bit of a rough start, veering a little too far into the slapstick that everyone thinks he did all the time but he gets more of a handle on it later and does a good job of capturing the sense that the Doctor is only acting like an idiot when in reality he's piecing together what's going on and putting together plans. In those parts the story really starts to shine.

Unfortunately, it's readable but not memorable. Normally reliable companions Jaime and Victoria aren't given a whole lot to do (even less than Victoria normally gets) and most of the plot pivots around things you already see coming or people running away from being shot at. I liked it, but as usual with these if you ask me how it went in six months, I may not be able to give you a very sharp description. But it's far from embarrassing and certainly a welcome addition to anyone's shelf of Second Doctor literature (presuming that you possess such a shelf . . . I judge no one).

Very similar to the eighth doctor story by the same author, Option Lock, with a large number of plot turns before the final denouement. battle scenes are excellent. lack of action by the jamie and victoria. none of the usual companion being captured then the doctor rescues them. cracking read.

Now, I love Doctor Who as much as (or more than) many other rabid Doctor Who fans, but gads, this book is hard to get in to! I got in to it about 50 pages and had to give up, it was too dry and too...political, conspiratorial, something, it was like eating sand. And talk about slow paced! Maybe someday, when I have read all my other Doctor Who novels, I'll come back to it, but it'll unfortunately sit on the shelf until that desperate day. I was very sad to have to abandon my attempt to enjoy this novel, because I treasure every Doctor Who novel that I can find, but I think reading 50 pages of a book is a pretty fair chance to give any book. Sorry, Doctor, but this one is just not my kind of story.