Customer Reviews

The Face of the Enemy (Doctor Who Series)

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This story is set at the time the Doctor and Jo were away from Earth, visiting the planet Peladon ('The Curse of Peladon'), and looks at exactly how UNIT deals with a problem when the Doctor is away. That problem is the Master...

David McIntee has previously looked at the Master's past in his novel 'The Dark Path'. Some elements from that novel carry through to this, and on their way collect a variety of other elements from the Doctor's past.

Faced with the problem of the Master's escape from imprisonment, the Brigadier seeks the assistance of a rising star of the scientific community: Ian Chesterton, formerly a companion of the Doctor (in his first incarnation), and Chesterton's wife, Barbara, is also drawn into the affair.

But it is not just the Master at work here, and the Brigadier and the Chestertons are faced with the dilemma of which is the greater evil: the Master or (can't be revealed here!)...

There have been very few attempts to spin the supporting cast of Doctor Who off into their own stories - probably the best known is the pilot episode of 'K9 and Company', featuring K9 and (arguably) the Doctor's best ever companion, Sarah Jane Smith. A few other book also exist: Harry Sullivan and Turlough each have one; Ace and Benny had a largely Doctorless outing in 'Birthright' - and the aforementioned Professor Summerfield features in books and audios in her own right; the Brigadier, Sarah and Victoria all feature prominently in 'Downtime' (based on a fan-produced direct-to-video release of the same name); and Liz Shaw starred in a 4 volume fan-produced direct-to-video series called PROBE.

With the very rich background that Doctor Who provides, it is a great pity there isn't more books like this. And make no mistake, this is worth a read.

This story is why Dr. Who is great SF. The plot is very exciting and original, furthermore, some old faces grace the pages of this well written roller coaster of a tale.

In a fresh twist, this book excludes the Doctor and his companion (in this case, Jo grant) and focuses on supporting characters. The Brigadier, Mike Yates, Benton and the rest of U.N.I.T. take center stage in this tale of spies, alternate universes and alien mysteries. The Master, pretending to work with the Brigadier and company really shines. He goes from being a cold, heartless murderer to a caring, compassionate team player. Never before or since has he been this multi-dimensional. Even more old friends are brought out, and the events in "Inferno" are explored more fully. This book captures the feeling of Jon Pertwee's era of Doctor Who perfectly. And it sure is nice to see the Master scheming for control of the criminal underworld rather than trying to take over of the universe with an army of four aliens, as he usually does...

I haven't had the time to read much of the new and missing "Doctor Who" adventures by the BBC, but I have closely followed the new series' progress. "The Face of the Enemy" is a superb integration of today's (violent) entertainment, and the action/drama "Doctor Who" projected in the '70s. "Face" takes place during the Pertwee, Third Doctor, era, but clearly lacks the Doctor. But this is made up for by an impressive solution on how UNIT is supposed to stay on its feet with out him!

The mixture between original stories provides "Face" with an allaborate plot, mutated with a couple of more harsher themes, proving that "Doctor Who" (as a series) has grown up in the '90s.

And as ever, the portrayal of the Master (even though in text) is irrevent as always. And the action never looses its target practice. It'll send you up all hours of the night, attempting to see what's next!!

1973. The Doctor and Jo have gone off in the TARDIS, leaving the Brigadier and UNIT facing a deadly mystery - and a moral dilemma. Robbery and murder are on the increase in Britain as disputes between underworld gangs escalate into open warfare on the streets. The Master seems inextricably linked to the chaos - despite the fact he is safely under lock and key. Meanwhile UNIT is called in when a plane missing in strange circumstances is rediscovered - contaminated with radiation and particle damage that cannot possibly have occurred on Earth. As the mystery deepens, what little light they can shed on the matter leads the Brigadier to believe that with the Doctor away, Earth's only hope may lie with its greatest enemy, the Master.

There are more characters and continuity than the kitchen sink in The Face of the Enemy, but somehow, it mostly works. It certainly had me yawning the next day after staying up late to finish, a real can't put down page turner. The books fires along like one of the seventies British police shows it initially almost seems a homage too. I liked the little in jokes of having some minor characters named after actors from those shows, Shaw and Collins from the Professionals, Morgan from The Sweeney. The action here is fast paced and brutal, and the Master seems in his absolute element directing and controlling proceedings as ganglands top villain. UNIT are well served too in the absence of the Doctor and Jo and it was great to find some of the more incidental characters from the TV series fleshed out on the page, Corporal Bell especially. It was also nice to see the return of Ian and Barbara again, and as such a close married couple, but I'm not sure how much their presence really adds to the story. They seem a little out of step with the tone of this era and may have been a case of two old characters too much. The latter part of the book moves back into more standard sci-fi fare, neatly linking the events from Inferno and other on screen episodes (the Bannerman!) and really allows the uneasy alliance between UNIT and the Master to reach a very satisfying conclusion, as well as laying subtle seeds for future stories. Some minor quibbles. If the Master's alternate self existed in the parallel universe, where was the Doctor's? And after such a strong build-up of his character, I was sad to see the good Boucher so summarily dismissed. But that is the nature of The Face of the Enemy. No quarter given or taken and a plethora of cracking heads, one liners and planets. I'm looking forward to now reading another David McIntee Pertwee novel I have called The Wages of Sin. Rasputin here couldn't turn out to be the one namechecked in The Face of the Enemy by any chance...

The Face Of The Enemy is what, in the terms of the New Series, would be called Doctor-lite. The third Doctor and Jo show up in the novel's prologue and its epilogue, a matter of about five pages out of 281. The novel therefore focuses on two other major aspects of that Doctor's era: UNIT and the Roger Delgado Master. Throw former first Doctor companions Ian and Barbara as well as quite a few bits of continuity into the mix and the result an intriguing take on the Doctor Who universe.

In his previous novel The Dark Path for the Virgin Missing Adventures, David A. McIntee showed his incredible characterization of Roger Delago's Master. In this novel, McIntee takes the Delgado Master even further as he makes him into the most unlikely thing expected: UNIT's temporary scientific adviser. But just because The Master is working with the "good guys" doesn't mean he isn't the same old Master. The novel also gives the Master to play a London gangster as well during it's first half which is a role that perhaps isn't quite as convincing at first but one that, as the novel progresses, actually serves the Delgado Master well thanks to McIntee's characterization. The novel also gives McIntee the chance to tie back into The Dark Path as well in a rather unexpected way. The result is that this remains of the Master's strongest stories in any medium.

This strong characterization extends to other familiar character's from the TV series. McIntee perfectly captures the UNIT family from the Brigadier to Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton, bringing them to life with the same skill he brought to the Delgado Master. The Brigadier in particular comes across well, tying into elements from previous Who novels. The novel also reintroduces sometime UNIT Corporal Bell and shows us the first time a young naval lieutenant named Harry Sullivan came into contact with UNIT, with McIntee bringing them both to life splendidly.

Perhaps the shining stars of the novel, besides the Master of course, are Ian and Barbara. McIntee perfectly captures the two character's as believable extensions of the character's we saw on TV. McIntee in fact takes their character's even further, especially Ian in Chapter 13 onwards when the character is pushed to the edge but a seemingly tragic event. The result is a novel full of strong character's all around.

That extends to the cast of new character's as well. They range from DI George Boucher, who finds himself tied into the novel's events through a seemingly unconnected bank robbery, to the novel's set of character's who are not what they seem. High up on that latter list is Marianne Kyle who spends the novel as something of an enigma as she constantly swaps sides and allegiances until the truth about her is revealed. These new character's come across strong as well and each add something to the novel as a whole.

The plot of the novel is a curious one. It does what Doctor Who does best: combine different genres into something that is undeniably Doctor Who. The novel starts off as a cross between Quatermass, a gangster movie and a spy thriller. The mix is an at times uneasy one, especially in the earliest parts of the novel, but the farther along it gets the better it becomes. It all works because McIntee inserts Who elements into it, bringing it all together into a complete whole as the novel races along to its climax. It also helps that McIntee keeps it moving at quite a pace, turning this into what may could easily be called the Doctor Who equivalent of a techno-thriller.

The Face Of The Enemy is an intriguing Doctor Who novel. It's a Doctor-lite tale that focuses on many of the supporting character's of the third Doctor's era as well as two previous companions and illuminates them. It does so while putting them all into a thriller plot that mixes genres to create a story that is undeniably Doctor Who. It's an intriguing take on the series and a strong novel to say the least.

It's not real easy to write a Doctor Who story without the good Doctor present, which is why so few attempts have been made. After all, when people go to read a story, they sort of expect the title character to make an appearance of two. And he's not here. Set in the 70s during the Third Doctor's UNIT era but when he was still able to wander about space somewhat, the Doctor pops out with Jo just as all heck breaks loose back home. A ship crashes emanating more radiation than it should, with a dead body at the helm that matches the head of a Parliament minister who is still alive. Gang war is erupting on the streets and in the midst of this, crack supposedly anti-terrorist organization gets called in. They're normally useful because they can rely on the insight provided by their brilliant scientific advisor. Except . . . he's not home at the moment. And the next best thing is a person that nobody wants to work with. Faced with a rapidly escalating situation and a bodycount that keeps relentlessly creeping up, the Brigadier is forced to ask for the help of perhaps the most dangerous and most brilliant person currently in Britain . . . the Master. What happens next is what you'd expect with a villain at the helm and everyone else packing enough to arm a small army (in fact, some of the cast belong to a small army) . . . violence, lots of it. Probably the most "Die Hard" of Who novels, it certainly is the most action packed, complete with car chases and shootouts and explosions more or less nonstop. UNIT and the Master are forced to work together even though neither likes the other, everyone is trying their hardest to kill everyone else and the end result is vastly entertaining. McIntee's portrayal of pretty much everyone is spot-on, his Brigadier is the epitome of a soldier, courageous and no-nonsense, not trusting his enemy for a second but folding to the reality of the situation. The author has the Master's mannerisms down cold, it feels like Delgado on the page and from the first moment when you realize that the guards in the prison are locked in with him and not the other way around, he's in control, acting as a Doctor utterly lacking in anything resembling a conscience. He manipulates and dominates and schemes and anyone he can't do any of those things to he just kills. Suave and psychotic, he's miles away from the "bwah-ha-ha-ha" Master of latter years, getting most of the best lines. A lot of the early chapters of the book are devoted to his machinations while imprisoned and it does slow the book down a bit because everything he does there is so effortless, he's always in control. The book may do a disservice by stretching out the revelation of the identity of the people behind all the fun and I'm of mixed feelings about altering the outcome of one of the classic episodes, even slightly. But McIntee keeps everything moving and the cast carries the book admireably without the Doctor. There may be too much of a good thing, in fact, with appearances not only by the entire UNIT cast, but original companions Ian and Barbara (now married) and even Harry Sullivan. But the focus is squarely on the villainly (and reluctant heroism) of the Master and he's at his best when he's cleverly slaughtering his way through anyone in his path, or facing off against the immoveable object that is the Brigadier. Continuity heavy but satisfying for action fans, you may wish for the Doctor to be there but won't miss him at all.

Face of the enemy keeps you moving. You soon see the Brig has his hands full with the Master and something else I won't spoil for you. This book also lets you see what happened to Ian and Barb from the First Doctor. It has action and even a little soft spot for the Master. I'm a Master fan when it comes to the bad guys he's the best and Roger's Master is my fav. A whole book of just him as well as UNIT is nice. Grant it this book has a lot of deaths, it wouldn't be a Doctor who book of the Master if it didn't. You are left trying to catch your breath. This book also gives you some clues(If you haven't read The Dark Path) on why the Master is so ticked at the Doctor. You get a peak at the past as well as the now and how angry the Master is at the Doctor. In one part the Master takes the chance to try and let some dirt out of the Doctor's past, but neither Ian or the Brig are interested.

It's a good read and I enjoyed it.

My first WHO-related read in some time. At first, I found myself wanting to skip ahead until I came across The Master's initial appearance. The gangster subplot seemed unnecessary. However, once The Master and the Brigadier were introduced, things took off at an engaging pace. A few revelations seemed lackluster, but, there are some rather juicy surprises. All-in-all, an enjoyable read. The Master steals the page as much as he stole the small screen!