Customer Reviews

Trace Memory (Torchwood)

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

 

 

A young man claiming to be from 1953 materialises inside the Hub. Although he doesn't know them, the Torchwood team soon realise that they have each encountered him before.

This is possibly the best Torchwood tie-in novel to date. The time-travel aspect of the story is very nicely done. Although the action flips repeatedly between the present and the past, it is never confusing and we get to learn a little more about the main characters. There are a couple of nifty twists, but I can't discuss them without spoiling the surprise. Suffice it to say, this fast-paced book has a wonderful bittersweetness to it that will satisfy Torchwood fans everywhere.

It's not a bad ending. Nor is it a good ending. Nor is it that Nintendo game. But it is a sad ending. The idea is a simple one. A man has become loose, unstuck, in time and space. Which is funny, because for a spin off from Doctor Who we don't deal a lot with time and space. Anyway, this is a character driven story, in which all the characters, at one point or another, have met the poor guy as it is tossed about. And he is being chased by men in hats. Bowler hats. Scary. Because these men are not men at all.
We also get to see little scenes from the character's life, little memories and flashbacks, that tell us a little more about Torchwood and the folks who work in the HUB.
Think epic scale. Think gritty, realistic ending. Think aliens who do NOT wish to be our friends. Think about buying it.

I loved this book! This may be my favorite Toorchwood book. I simply enjoyed the complex storyline. I found the look into each Toorchwood member's past something of interest to help define the characters. With this book I was able to identify with their human characteristics that I could relate to. Bottom line: good book and a must read for any Toorchwood fan!

Really the centre of the story isn't one of the Torchwood crew at all, but that's all I'll give away. I liked the story and I would recommend it to any Torchwood fan :-)

The first thing I want to say about the fifth Torchwood novel, Trace Memory, is that I love that cover art--those undead guys are creepy! So anyway, this guy named Michael from the year 1953 suddenly appears in present day Cardiff--not that unusual a phenomenon for a city on a Rift, except that each member of the Torchwood institute encountered Michael some time in their individual pasts. Owen remembers him as a presumed mental patient when Owen was a young doctor in training; Tosh remembers him as a strange intruder when she was a young girl growing up in Osaka; Ianto was just beginning work for Torchwood One in London when Michael appeared and caused the facility to go into intruder-alert lockdown; Gwen encountered him on her first patrol with her future partner Andy; and Jack--well, Jack, being Jack, encountered Michael in a more . . . intimate way. It's all tied to an ancient alien race called the Vondrax and a mysterious orb that emits tachyon radiation, but most of that stuff is left appropriately mysterious. I wouldn't say this was an awesome novel, but I did really like getting a chance to see the members of Torchwood before they joined up.

Can't get enough Torchwood on DVD ?(the only way we here in the States can enjoy the show).The book series is wonderful. Warning for the squeamish, detailed descriptions are more intense than watching a similar scene on TV.