The TARDIS materializes on the far side of the moon and the time safe alarm goes off. Inside is a diary kept by a Captain Richard Halliwell, describing his mission from Earth to the Moon -- in the year 1878. The TARDIS returns to 1878 where the Doctor meets up with the expeditions and the remains of the massacred team member are discovered. The Doctor must find the alien creature responsible for the murder and solve why there is no record of Victorian space travel.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
If you like Flash Gordon...,
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This review is from: Imperial Moon (Doctor Who Series) (Paperback)
...you'll like Imperial Moon. It might have the steampunk/Jules Verne trappings, but it reads like something out of a Flash Gordon serial. Cliffhangers, attractive alien princesses (a whole race of them, of course!), clanky robots, evil aliens, a man and a woman fighting in an arena of death, strange yet oddly-familiar alien landscapes.In fact, the oddest part here is probably the Doctor and companions, who necessitate some rather odd add-ons to become part of the story. The whole "we have a diary of the expedition's future before we meet them" seems kinda like a waste. It's an interesting idea, mind you, but it doesn't really add much to the story except for the brief bit with Turlough trying to assure the "right" future from the diary comes about. Kamelion the shape-shifting robot is similarly wasted except for a brief bit. The best part of the novel is probably the expedition and the events surrounding--it's not really much of a Doctor Who novel, although it probably couldn't be expected without a DW framing structure. Generally, an okay novel. The Doctor doesn't have much character, but that's how many writers tend to write him. DW and steampunk fans will probably like it, although I suspect you'd have to be an afficianado of both to really get into it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A WONDERFUL BLEND OF GENRES...BUT...,
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This review is from: Imperial Moon (Doctor Who Series) (Paperback)
Christopher Bulis' "Imperial Moon" starts off as a lovely homage to Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Britain lands on the Moon in the year 1878. It is the Moon of early films and some early beliefs. Dense jungle and dangerous wildlife. Her Majesty's astral ships: Lynx, Draco and Cygnus carry their crews into the unknown and adventure.Enter the fifth incarnation of the Doctor and his companion Turlough, who discover the moon landing when they cross over their own temporal wake. A never heard before alarm goes off within the TARDIS and the Doctor produces a small battered journal from a time safe. It is the account of the British moon landing. This adventure in and of itself was a pleasant read. However, very much like the series of the time, the character of Kamelion was never used to his full potential. Kamelion has the ability to assume any form set forth by its controller, but I think rather than use his imagination to its fullest extent, Mr. Bulis conveniently left poor Kamelion onboard the TARDIS with nothing to do but make the prerequisite cameo in the beginning and end. Also by this time in the series, the character of Turlough had long since been an accepted member of the TARDIS crew and wasn't nearly as cowardly or self-centered as he is made out to be in "Imperial Moon". Granted, the sequence where he "borrows" the journal of Captain Richard Haliwell in order to impress the Doctor by his leadership skills was a dead-on interpetation. It's just that some of the other Turlough sequences I found to be lacking. On the plus side for Turlough, there's even a possible love interest in the form of an alien named Lytalia. She is a member of the Phiadoran race. I think Turlough really wants to impress this woman I more than the Doctor. He's smitten. This isn't really a spoiler I think, but... something I feel that needs to be addressed. I was having a fun time reading this novel until the Doctor resorts to using a blaster in a most un-Doctor-like way. But, that's not really fair, per se to the novel. The fifth incarnation had no hesitation picking up a blaster in the series, most notably in "Earthshock" and "Resurrection of the Daleks". Rather than having the villain(s) do themselves in as a result of their own nastiness, as was the case in almost every fourth incarnation adventure, the fifth incarnation goes "Rambo".... which doesn't mesh with the rest of this story. I could have done without this poorly scripted section. It was as if Mr. Bulis said, "Let's just end this now and tidy up loose ends." Fifth Doctor novels I pick up without hesitation, as I enjoyed Peter Davison's tenure greatly. This installment, though, felt hurried at the end. It could have been an actual episode. One that I think would have fit nicely into the history of the series. However, it's missing the charm of the fifth Doctor. I agree with another reviewer that he was only a supporting character and not the star. It's still a fun read. 3-1/2 stars .... it lost a 1/2 star due to some minor items. This certainly will not disappoint most Who fans.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid story with a semi-obvious ending,
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This review is from: Imperial Moon (Doctor Who Series) (Paperback)
The 5th Doctor, Turlough, and Kamelion (though he's 'off-screen' for most of the story) join up with a British space expedition to the moon--in the late 19th century. What are the British doing in space almost a century before Sputnik & Gemini? What is the secret of the tropical pocket they've discovered hidden on the dark side of the moon? I'm a big steampunk fan (modern science incorporated into a Victorian setting), so I was inclined to like this story from the start. Along with the steampunk elements, there are traces of pulp science fiction reminiscent of the 1920's (beautiful alien women trapped in a fantastic jungle on the far side of the moon, for example) that make this a very fun read. There are a few weak spots, however--certain conflicts are resolved too easily, the final twist is fairly obvious, and the whole thing wraps up far too neatly for my tastes. And, for those who care about such things, this is not a 5th Doctor story per se--it's a story with the 5th Doctor in it. On the plus side, this means that Turlough and some of the other supporting characters get some good development (though a couple who need it don't). Finally, a couple times events just happen for no good reason that I can see (one character dies of a heart attack fairly early--no real need to, except that it's important for that character to not be around at the end of the story). Literary critiques aside, however, this is, all-in-all, a good, fun story, with a Doctor/Companion mix that's not too common in the novelizations.
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