In the year 2382 archaeologists land on Akoshemon's only moon, searching for evidence of the planet's infamous past. But when the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa are drawn into the lunar caverns they find more than a team of academics -- and help uncover much more than ancient history. Something is lying in wait, deep inside the labyrinth of caves: something that remembers the spiral of war, pestilence and deprivation that ruined Akoshemon. Something that rejoiced in every kind of horror and destruction. An age-old terror is about to be reborn. But what is the hideous secret of the Bloodhunter? And why does Nyssa feel that her thoughts are no longer her own? Forced to confront his own worst fears, even the Doctor will be pushed to breaking point -- and beyond.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What's a evil force like you doing in a place like this?,
By David Roy (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fear of the Dark (Doctor Who) (Paperback)
Fear of the Dark is a Dr. Who novel by Trevor Baxendale. It's his fourth Dr. Who novel, and the first one to involve a different Doctor than the eighth. Baxendale does an excellent job with this one, creating his very own Who horror novel with some chills and a tight cast of characters. It's only marred by an ending that seems to take forever and some wooden characterization.Baxendale is known for his traditional Who stories, and this one is no different. One can imagine the dank cave sets, perhaps wobbling a little bit as they were wont to do on the television show. It has a limited cast, and even fewer actual speaking parts. The only thing that couldn't be done is some of the special effects, and even those may have been able to be faked. Yes, this is televised Who on a book budget. And you know what? I loved it. One of the things the television series often had going for it was atmosphere. Fear of the Dark has this in spades. It's spooky and it's (yes, this word will keep coming up again) dark. The dank mood of the caves just wafts off the page, and when one of the characters is completely cut off and alone in the dark (there it is again!), I could feel my own gut clench a little bit. Even when the characters are in bright lights, the book still feels a bit dimmed. Baxendale does a very effective job in conveying this, and the mood is perfect for what Baxendale is trying to show us. It's positively chilling when the Dark is siphoning away any visible light, and we watch as even open flames slowly dim until they are just embers, and then finally even these go out. Often, when books go for an atmospheric effect, they do so at the expense of the characters. Baxendale is bitten by this bug, unfortunately. Then again, he could be going for the horror movie effect, where the cast is limited and nobody outside the inner circle is given any characterization whatsoever. While this may be true, it doesn't really work in a book. Some of Stoker's men have a few lines, a brief bit of characterization, and then they're gone. Cannon fodder is the term, I believe. It gets worse when the ship arrives and Baxendale adds even more faceless people to go with the two new full characters. In fact, we don't even know what happens to some of the crew, though it's obvious by implication. They just disappear and are never referred to again. There are a few exceptions to this, though. Stoker is definitely the best of the bunch, alternately suspicious of the Doctor and then relying on him when it's clear he has a better grip of what's going on then she does. We learn a lot about her in the course of events, and I really enjoyed reading about her. Less well-done, though still effectively, are Lawrence, Bunny, and Cadwell. Cadwell has his own agenda but he seems a bit too stereotypical at times. Bunny is given lots of background, but it is sort of stereotypical as well. He has left his family for one final mission with Stoker, and he constantly misses his daughter (though no mention is made of him missing his wife, which is interesting). Lawrence actually is given more then the stereotypical tough-guy captain role, especially his interplay with Stoker. However, it's the regular characters where Baxendale shines. The Fifth Doctor, so hard to get right in print (especially when compared to Peter Davison's performance of him on the show), is excellent. He's kind and considerate of his friends but just slightly tetchy. He's irritable at times, especially when things are starting to go wrong. Basically, he's so in-character here that it becomes obvious when something is happening to him and he starts doing weird things. With anybody else, the characterization would be so off that we would believe it's just the author messing up. Here, it's obvious what's going on and a little bit scary. Tegan and Nyssa are excellent as well. Nyssa is innocent yet quietly competent. Tegan is a mouth on legs, but you can tell that she genuinely cares about people, especially her friends. She is willing to die for her friends if need be, and while she does feel fear, she is willing to do what it takes to save them. The novel takes place right after the television episode "Arc of Infinity," where she has met up with the TARDIS crew after being abandoned by them at Heathrow Airport 6 months before. Thus, the book delves deeply into her psyche as she determines what her place is within both the crew itself as well as life in general. She wants to do something with her life, and as scary as traveling with the Doctor can be sometimes, she hasn't felt alive like that since she was stuck back on Earth. She wants to help people, and she will always get the opportunity to do that when the Doctor is around. I loved her character in this book. I haven't said a lot about the plot of the book, but that's mainly because it is stereotypical of the genre. A small group of people are terrorized by a malevolent force and must defeat it to survive. The ending confrontation drags on a bit too long and I started to get bored, but otherwise the book was one that I couldn't put down. Sure, the plot is a stereotype, but when it's done well, I don't care. This book grabbed me, and while it almost let me go at the end, it was definitely worth the read. David Roy
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Atmospheric Tale,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Fear of the Dark (Doctor Who) (Paperback)
"Fear of the Dark" is quite the engaging thriller. Written by Trevor Baxendale, it follows the fifth incarnation of the Doctor as he winds up on the dark and desolate planet Akoshemon with companions Nyssa and Tegan. On the planet, they run into an "archaelogical dig" lead by one Jyl Stoker. She's the somewhat brash, cigar-chomping leader of the crew on the planet. We are also introduced to the massive man-boy Bunny Cheung and Vega Jaal, a sensitive alien from a planet known for its inhabitants' mastery of geology. Of course, the reader automatically knows that this is not an archaelogical dig, but an expedition to find something of value on Akoshemon.
As expected, the Doctor, his companions, and the crew run into something terrible on the planet. However, it isn't your run-of-the-mill alien intruder. This "thing" is actually a "darkness" of evil. I won't say much more on this so that I don't give away the entire plot. Just know that a few other characters show up, the main ones being Silas Cadwell and Lawrence, which change the course of events and make for a very interesting tale full of atmosphere. This is one of the most violent tales that I've experienced involving any of the Doctors. The body count is high, and the deaths come in quick succession once they begin. Mind you, some of the characters are given deep backgrounds and then swiftly exit the story in violent death sequences. This makes the reader feel more for the characters, and thus makes the story that more engaging. Baxendale nailed the fifth Doctor's mannerisms on the head. You can actually see Peter Davison running around in the dark corners of Akoshemon. Baxendale also visualizes Nyssa and Tegan perfectly. They are perfect foils to one another. Perhaps I'm a little biased, but this trio was one of my favorite groups in the old TV series and I love their interactions in this book. There is a constant air of terror throughout the book. This is probably due to the fact that almost all of this story takes place in near dark and completely dark environments. Baxendale uses the fear of the dark and of being isolated perfectly. Overall, a very good read that moves along at a quick pace. I'll agree with another reviewer in that the conclusion does take its time on coming to fruition, but it is well worth the wait. Highly recommended.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Violent,
By
This review is from: Fear of the Dark (Doctor Who) (Paperback)
Very violent. There are Dr. Who episodes that have a lot of violence such as Resurrection of the Daleks but this one creeped me out. The creature is pure evil. It has no shape and the thing it sends to kill victims is nasty. Read it with plenty of lights on. I recommend it.
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