Customer Reviews

Salvation (Doctor Who Series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dodo Chaplet is perhaps the companion of the Doctor most in need of fleshing out. We really didn't get introduced to her (she just stumbled into the TARDIS in the final minutes of 'The Massacre') and we never really saw her go (she was bundled off to the country, never to return, halfway through 'The War Machines'). Given that she is a cut-down version of Vicki (who was herself a cut-down version of Susan), she needs some attention.

Recognising that Dodo seemed entirely at home in the TARDIS in 'The Ark' (simply disbelieving that it could travel through time), Steve Lyons undertakes a story which establishes Dodo as part of the TARDIS crew and sees some travel in space (from England to America) that still allows her scepticism to be in place.

'Salvation' is a story about mysterious beings, claiming to be gods, arriving on Earth and setting themselves up as a modern-day pantheon. They are Max, the God of Materialism; Norman, the God of Order; Jennifer, the Goddess of Free Love; Dennis, the God of War; and their leader, the Patriarch. And some amusement they caused me (gods named Norman and Dennis? Much chuckling.)

The theme of the story is largely the need to believe, and what people will do for their beliefs - and to those who have different beliefs. But it also remains a human story, even with its larger focus.

Mr Lyons is far kinder in his approach to Dodo than some other authors have been (see 'The Man in the Velvet Mask' and 'Who Killed Kennedy?'), but I really wonder why authors are so obsessed with giving Dodo a sex life.

The writing is excellent. The story is interesting. The plot is just okay. The Doctor is superbly written, as are companions Steven and Dodo.

Something about this plot felt awkward. Aliens taking on the roles of gods in Central Park was just a bit hard to conceptualize. The idea itself makes sense, but it's hard to imagine such a "hoax" happening in 1965 (or any time). When Doctor Who deals with aliens on Earth, it works better when the least people know about it (such as novels: Scream of the Shalka & Human Nature). Perhaps this is why X-Files is so believable.

However, when masses of people are involved in such a grand event of gods/aliens, it makes for a far less believable, credible story.

For originality in Dr Who books, this is up near the top. The author not only comes up with some original aliens, but develops the idea enough that that whole book is worth reading (not just part of it).

The problem I've noticed while reading the BBC line of Doctor Who books is that they seem to have difficulty taking advantage of the medium and instead resolutely shoot to portray an average Who story, just on the printed page. Which is all well and good, if the TV show didn't already exist. Just as there are things that TV can do that books can't, there are plenty of things that books can accomplish freed of the restrictions of making it "just like TV".

Granted, I have no idea if the authors involved in this series were under any kind of mandate from the publisher. It might have depended on the editor at the time, or maybe some authors really didn't have any ambition beyond writing a "really cool Doctor Who story". Fair enough.

So here we are then. "Salvation". Ooh, one word, portentious title. The First Doctor in all his ornery glory, with a mildly miffed Steven Taylor along for the ride (reeling a bit from the events of "The Massacre") and in her first grand appearance . . . Dodo! Everyone's favorite accent shifting character!

Meanwhile, some other stuff happens with gods in Central Park but that's not really import-

Oh, just kidding. Some beings show up in NYC claiming to be gods and granting people's desires, which everyone is okay with except for the Doctor and the military (UNIT aside, that's not a combination you see every day), leading the Doctor to figure out what makes them tick and how to stop them. Because you know they have to be stopped.

I wish I could get more descriptive about the story or wax a tad more effusively over it but despite its best efforts, the story remains squarely average. Which isn't unique to this line, but some of the authors could get around this by showing a bit of flair (see both "The Face-Eater" and "Beltempest") to make up for the rather plain trappings of the plot. Here, it stays the course the whole time and thus things never really get exciting. Sure, Lyons does a good Hartnell impression, Taylor is as reliable as ever and he makes a valiant effort in coming up with a reasonable explanation for why Dodo wandered into the TARDIS (since the show's producers couldn't be bothered to figure out one at the time) or why ol' Dorothea couldn't seem to decide which region of the home country she came from.

But if you come away from this novel pleased that someone actually bothered to give us a plausible explanation for the Dodo conundrum that had been bothering you all these years, then we probably aren't this book for the same reasons.

The god plot isn't anything new, nor is the "they feed off the power of our beliefs" and since you pretty much know a lack of belief is going to do them in, you're merely marking time until someone figures out what you did ages ago. Lyons tries to go for the sweeping relevancy of god debate, but sort of hedges his bets by making clear that these are just aliens pretending to be gods, instead of leaving it as a question mark in our mind. Once its clear that its just another alien invasion, things become more run of the mill.

Which is the problem here. It's very nice and all but there's nothing really striking to take away from it. And we need more than middling, because if the best I can get from the novels is a middling version of a TV show that takes up an entire shelf on my DVD rack . . . well, I can pop in a disc any day and watch average William Hartnell. And I'd rather do that than read someone else's impression of average Hartnell.

In the book "Salvation," Dodo is first introduced & meets the Doctor &
Steven for the first time. At first she doesn't know what to make of the Doctor, & Steven is off so fast she barely has time to get to know him. Overall the book has some very interesting creatures, that mold into whatever we desire them to be. Which often results in some interesting dilemmas. However, as interesting as the creatures were, the story was just not captivating. It wasn't a book where I felt I had to finish right away. There was a lot of potential & a lot of creativity in this book, & indeed it wasn't bad per se. But again, overall it just wasn't captivating.

New York. A time of conflict between ideologies, races, generations and genders, when crime runs rife and an unpopular war drags on in a distant land. In the midst of this turmoil, people cry out to their gods. And now, it seems, the gods have answered their call. Walking the slums and tenements of downtown Manhattan, demonstrating extraordinary powers, five strangers are gathering a growing crowd of worshippers. Steven wants to believe in miracles, but the 1st Doctor is more sceptical. What are the strangers' real motives, and why does history make no mention of these events? As New York begins to tear itself apart, the Doctor's principles are tested to their limits. Which side should he choose to help? And what part will a London schoolgirl named Dorothea Chaplet play in the ensuing chaos? What price is humankind willing to pay for salvation?