Customer Reviews

Killing Ground (Doctor Who)

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Killing Ground captures the character of the Sixth Doctor perfectly: all those emotional outbursts to which he was so prone, the reader never really knowing what he's really thinking. In a way, this reads like exceptionally well-written fan-fiction: the exact ways in which the Cybermen go about their conquests are only hinted at in the televised stories. Their ruthlessness comes across exceptionally well here, and the scenes where the Doctor ridicules the Cyber way of 'life' are compelling. This is perhaps the most realistic DW novel in terms of what it would be like to have one's world taken over by an alien power

The settlement on the planet Agora is teorrorised by the continual visits of the Cybermen who are in desperate need for biological material to propogate their 'race'. Of course, where there are Cybermen there is the DOctor (in his sixth incarnation) and a new companion, Grant Markham.
Together, they take on the Cyberman threat and, in their own way, are responsible for the construction of a new secret weapon.
This original adventure was more grittier than any of the novelised adventures, based on the TV episodes, and, although the characters were more 'human' than characters from TV, Steve Lyons' portrayal of the Doctor seemed to be slightly soap operaish. There seemed to be slightly more anger to the Doctor than in anything I had read before.
The one thing that was glaringly missing, however, was the arrival of the TARDIS. A Doctor Who adventure should not start in the middle of the adventure.

This book was hard to put down. Definately not boring. There was plenty of action and insight into Grant Markham's origin. The Cyberman return in this novel to wreak havoc in a very beleivable storyline. You won't be disapointed.

Following on from 'Time of Your Life', the Doctor tales Grant back to his home planet Agora. But what Grant doesn't remember (he was very young when he was sent away) is that the Cybermen are using Agora as a farm - they call back every few year to capture and convert humans to Cybermen. And here they come now...

This book spotlights Grant quite considerably, given that the Doctor is imprisoned for a good portion of it. As the new companion, we get to find out a lot of Grant's background, as does he. But the circumstances under which he learns things are not the best. While Grant goes through the emotional wringer, the Doctor gets the physical version as the Overseers and the Cybermen masters try some things out on him...

Fairly relentless in its grimness, the book certainly isn't the easiest to read. However, I recommend you persevere as it is worth your while - the eventual success of both the Doctor and Grant in the face of considerable adversity shows true triumph.

In "Killing Ground", the Sixth Doctor returns Grant Markham to Agora, where he originaaly came from.There, they find out that the Cybermen have been using the Earth colony as a source of raw materials to make more of their race.The Doctor is captured upon arrival, and with Grant unable to help him escape, the colonists seek other means of survival. During all this, two more time travellers arrive into the fray. Complete with a handy review of Cyber-History, as well as decently written with believable characters, this book is a good read.