A Doctor Who adventure set in the time of Cromwell. The Civil Wars have ended with victory for the Roundheads, and Charles I is threatened with execution. In a country of divided loyalties, strangers are looked upon with suspicion, and the crew of the Tardis soon finds itself in danger.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doctor Who rules, Mark Gatiss rules...period!,
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This review is from: The Roundheads (Dr. Who Series) (Paperback)
Doctor Who always appealed to me the most as a sci-fi/ horror hybrid, I never cared that much for the so-called 'history' adventures, of which there were a lot, especially in the early years.Gatiss' ROUNDHEADS is a welcome exception. Here in Europe this writer is known foremost for his British tv comedyseries, I read somewhere he is also a big Doctor Who fan. This novel, for me, proves that. There's a big passion evident in Gatiss' writing. He makes the world of Doctor Who (and history!) come to live, and he just draws you in it. ROUNDHEADS is very conservative in it's set-up (and it's execution) but come and think of it, that's why I like it so much. It's about the Doctor (in his second incarnation) and his companions who wind up in England at the time of Cromwell and the roundheads. They get mixed up in a plot to help the captured king escape and also, when a history book from the future is misplaced and falls into the wrong hands, they'll have to set history back on it's proper course. I since have bought all of Mark Gatiss other Who books. Can't wait to read those also!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining historic novel featuring the Second Doctor,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Roundheads (Dr. Who Series) (Paperback)
Author Mark Gatiss does an excellent job of portraying the Second Doctor and his companions during the English civil wars. Fine details of the period are well presented however some knowledge of this part of history might be beneficial. Between Ben joining a pirate ship and the twisting plot, the book was a joy to read!
5.0 out of 5 stars
If nobody writes it down, is it still history?,
This review is from: The Roundheads (Dr. Who Series) (Paperback)
These days when the show does historical adventures, there tends to be some kind of science-fictional element to it, probably to pacify the people who come in expecting their SF shows to have some actual science-fiction. And while we'll probably never see it again, there is something to be said for the "pure" historicals, where the cast isn't facing some kind of bizarre alien menace or whatnot in Merry Olde England and merely has to try and navigate court intrigue or cultural misunderstandings or just try to stay alive when everyone else is trying to kill them. Plus, it's a good way to see how much the writers did their research. Here, the TARDIS, in tempermental fashion, dumps the crew in London just after the Civil War (English, that is, for the Yanks) when the Roundheads have just won and are in the process of cleaning up. Deposed King Charles is safely in lock-up but Royalist elements are plotting to get him out before someone takes his head off. And into this blunders the Doctor and his friends. Gatiss would eventually write one of the pseudo-historicals for the new series (the one with Charles Dickens and the zombies, which would be an awesome name for a band) so it's clearly an interest of his. That in mind he seems to be keeping the details right, with plenty of local color, even when it doesn't seem that relevant to the plot. After a somewhat clunky start where he has to separate the TARDIS crew (the Doctor suggests they all split up and explore, even though that has never led to anything but trouble) but once things get moving, he keeps them moving. The Doctor and Jamie get captured, Ben gets mugged and shoved onto a ship, and Polly almost commits treason out of time. Gatiss juggles all of this well, with a small supporting cast who are all conspiring in one form or another and what he ends up with is a pleasantly entertaining read that manages to retain the historical feel without seeming too contrived. Even Ben's plot, separated from everyone else for quite a while, not only eventually connects with the main plot but remains fun due to the presence of a rather vibrant crippled captain, and their high-seas adventures are a nice contrast to all the sitting around in jail cells everyone else does. It can be properly classified as a "romp" without any hint of irony and while it's none too deep, the Doctor is characterized well (giddy and bumbling only until he needs to be clever again, he also gets in a good line about alternate histories), the scenery is interesting. You may not like this if have a inherent distaste for those types of historical stories but if you can conceive of the show as something other than space stations and aliens, this might be worth a look.
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