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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A real mouthful!, June 1, 2001
This review is from: Eater of Wasps (Doctor Who) (Mass Market Paperback)
The TARDIS takes the Doctor, Fitz and Anji back to Earth in the 1930s. There is something on the loose, and it has affected some wasps. They attack people, endeavoring to force themselves into their victims' mouths... Not a book for those of very delicate stomachs, this story pits the TARDIS crew against a bizarre threat. With a moderate size cast, exactly what is going on will not be obvious at the start. And there are secrets in the pasts of the inhabitants of the village of Marpling which make matters even more complicated. Like some Agatha Christie books, the number of suspects is slowly whittled down as the story progresses. This seems more that reasonable, given the number of contemporaneous Christie mysteries set in English villages in the 30s... Not afraid to concentrate on the more gruesome aspects of the story, Trevor Baxendale constructs a story whose difficulties increase as time passes. If you have rad previous book from this author's pen, I believe this is better than his prevous work.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I hate wasps now!!!!!, September 8, 2002
This review is from: Eater of Wasps (Doctor Who) (Mass Market Paperback)
The Doctor, Anji and Fitz land in the English village of Marpling in the 1930's. here they discover strange deaths occurring due to wasp attacks. Alongside this is the crack commando team from the future plus the man who houses the wasps in his body. Characterisation of all characters is excellent, especially Anji, who is finally coming to terms with who the Doctor is, what he does and the ever present danger everywhere he goes. Plus a mention for the characterisation of Mr. Rigby (the wasp eater) is superb, with the gradual take-over of his body as well as mind portayed wonderfully. The sleepy village setting is perfect for the story and I find has always worked well with Doctor Who, especially with the town gossip that everyone can relate to, Mrs Havers. Trevor Baxendale must have a thing for `creepy crawlies' as this is the third Dr Who novel featuring them - the first two being Giant Spiders then giant slugs, now killer wasps. - cant wait for the next bug. Also a hint maybe of the outcome of what is happening in the universe following the destruction of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. Overall, an excellently pace, high action Doctor Who monster story to enjoy. RECOMMENDED!!!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A book that deserves great BUZZ, December 23, 2001
This review is from: Eater of Wasps (Doctor Who) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is one of the worst book covers I've ever seen. What are we looking at? The wasps are easily identifiable, but just what are they flying on? It doesn't look anything like a mouth, although I gather that's what it's supposed to be. Would you want to buy this based on the cover alone? However, the story itself is a real treat, "Doctor Who"'s trademark horror in pastoral setting. It's England, late summer 1933, one of those parochial villages where spinsters on bicycles terrorize local libertines, where vicars stroll around giving poor advice, a single mother bears a terrible secret, and a loutish American (charmingly described as having an "American" accent) dies early on. The village, in short, is full of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, and these WASPS don't fare very well when Terror flies down the garden path. An alien device lands in a dentist's toolshed and almost immediately a nest of garden wasps is transformed into something more than insect. The dentist is stung and slowly, painfully transformed into something neither WASP nor wasp. The Doctor tracks him, loses him, tracks him, loses him, until the stakes are real and everyone is in mortal terror. "Eater" becomes a true page-turner with some stunningly good moments, such as the dentist's final thoughts before the wasp infection consumes him completely. In the mix is a pair of human time travellers on a secret mission to destroy the alien artifact. Quite thankfully we don't find out where they come from or, indeed, just what that object was. This poses a mystery that will reportedly be addressed in later books. The Doctor here is as perfectly Tom Baker as we've seen since the mid-1970s. The Eighth Doctor was never very effective in the early books and it's good to see that his personality has been consumed by the larger-than-life humor and horror of his most popular predecessor. Companion Anji is not impressed by his occasionally cavalier attitude, and this too is a conflict I'd love to see resolved further on. "Eater of Wasps" is a deftly-told tale and a great read, and if it had come with a better cover I'd recommend it to my non-DW-fan friends. It also plants interesting seeds for future 8th Doctor novels and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.
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