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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The year of intelligent writing, July 15, 2001
This review is from: The Year of Intelligent Tigers (Doctor Who) (Mass Market Paperback)
The TARDIS crew are happily ensconced on Hitchemus - a world with a single island land mass. The human colony is largely based around the production of music, and the dominant native life-form, which closely resembles the terran tiger, seems harmless and friendly. With perfect weather all year round, it seems like the perfect refuge. But then... When you run through the list of Doctor Who authors, there are a few whose work receives almost universal praise. Kate Orman (with or without her husband, Jon Blum) is one of them. Yet again Kate has written a book based around a believable alien world, and while it has a strong story-line, the reader is most likely to take away memories of the excellent portrayal of the characters. Kate's take on the current Doctor, still with amnesia for events preceding the novel 'The Burning', is a very strong one, full of an enormous passion for life and a towering humanity. Her interpretation of both Fitz and Anji are great, and each is explored and moved forward in this book. And then there are all the many characters who may very well appear in this book only, who are nevertheless given very effective life. Beyond that, with this story set on a world where music is held in high regard, it is great to read musical ideas being constantly brought up within the context of the book. A devotion to music is a strong part of the characters, and so it is natural that it should be reflected in the way that many of the characters respond to the events of this book. And then there are the tigers... About whom I'll say nothing more than their characterisation was also brilliant. Read the book to see what I mean! I was also pleased to see Kate take one of the oft-used situations from the TV series, where the Doctor is forced to choose between the humans and the non-humans, and firstly give it a serious spin and then bounce it out the door. Things become clichés through overuse, but can be redeemed by turning them on their heads. Kate more than does this. I could rave on and on for hours about this book, but that's not really the point. All I'll say is this: you'll be doing yourself a favour by reading it.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Slow start - but very worth it!!, November 24, 2002
This review is from: The Year of Intelligent Tigers (Doctor Who) (Mass Market Paperback)
The TARDIS and crew arrive on the planet Hitchemus, where a human colony that shares a passion for music, share the world with its only other dominant life forms - harmless friendly creatures that closely resemble Earth tigers. Weather conditions and the peaceful tranquility of the world make it a near paradise to live in...but that's all about to change! I found that the novel starts off with a leisurely pace, but being quite slow and not really catching the reader with much interest and you're left hoping that it will get better. But, once the plot kicks into gear you'll find yourself engrossed and hard-put to put the book down with it's many twists and developments in both the planet's inhabitants, the Doctor's and his companions lives. Orman's characterisation is superb. Especially with the creation of the 'tiger' society being vastly more interesting than the 'run of the mill' human society it must go up against. The Doctor's actions do come as a surprise, but isn't uncharacteristic - the ending being the best and will leave you thinking "It's about time you done that, Doc" (No pun intended).
Anji's character is tested and is starting to really evolve as she must decide where her loyalties lie with the colonists or the Doctor, who has gone and abandoned them. Fitz is clearly running scared but his rock-hard faith in the Doctor is also great to see. Plus, the fun loving, innocent tiger 'Bounce' is a character you'll easily find yourself enjoying immensely. I found that the story does seem to resemble a 'mish mash' of different themes from the televised stories of the Doctor, with "The Silurians" being one of the main. Overall, as with all Kate Orman books, you will find this an enjoyable experience, and a great and refreshing break from the previous 8th Doctor novels preceding it. VERY RECOMMENDED!!!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Music to my ears, December 26, 2001
This review is from: The Year of Intelligent Tigers (Doctor Who) (Mass Market Paperback)
At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like THE YEAR OF INTELLIGENT TIGERS. It starts off quite slowly, with a lot of leisurely scenes that are interesting and enjoyable, but don't really get the blood pumping. It seems like it's trying to do the Doctor-and-companions-on vacation thing, but not doing it quite as well as Ben Aaronovitch had done in his fabulous THE ALSO PEOPLE. Fortunately, the opening sections are merely setting the stage for what comes later. The result is a book that is easily one of the best of the EDAs. This is a much more in-depth and demanding novel than the previous three in the EDA range, and it's all that much more rewarding. Once the plot kicks in, it drives the action in a relaxed, yet steady pace. Several wonderful set pieces space out the more story-driven sequences and provide us with numerous memorable images. The Eighth Doctor works incredibly well as a sort of mad violinist, and it's great to see him putting his passion towards something other than running around quickly. The musical references invade every part of the book, from the structure to the dialogue to the tone. The mentions are plentiful, but never clumsy, and are slipped in with a lot of care. The society of tigers is quite well realized and there is a genuine sense of mystery and anticipation as more and more of their culture and history is slowly revealed. I won't give away too much, but there are some great surprises contained in these sections. Numerous Doctor Who clichés are borrowed from, but they are all given a new twist. In some ways the basic plot resembles older stories and serials, but every time you think you know how the story will unfold, it cleverly takes a different step, defying expectation at most turns. Such familiarity in the beginning and middle sections helps to emphasize how inventive and unexpected the ending really is. The Doctor's solution is exactly what he has been working towards for the entirety of the book, but the execution of this plan is quite interesting. The tigers (though the story points out that they merely resemble Earth tigers, and are, in fact, an alien life-form) are characterized quite interestingly, slightly better than the individual humans are. Since we've seen hundreds of Earth colonies over the years, more time is spent building up the tiger society and so they get the lion's share of the attention. The regulars get quite a lot to do as well. Anji is really starting to come into her own as a companion. Here she's organized and resourceful, yet suspicious of the actions of other people. Without Fitz's experience, she's not quite sure where this Doctor fellow's loyalties really lie. It isn't overdone though, and it really helps to drive the action along. There is a great attention to detail present; every character's motivations are understandable and believable. No one acts merely for the sake of convenience. THE YEAR OF INTELLIGENT TIGERS is a great book, giving the Doctor a lot to solve, Anji a lot to angst over, and Fitz a lot to be frightened of. As someone who isn't terribly familiar with a lot of classical music, I suspect that there were a few references that went over my head, but the musical flavour and tone of the story is maintained quite well. Extra mention should be made of the historical flashbacks to Doctor's one hundred year exile to Earth. These are two of the best portions of the book, and makes one wish that the Ormanblum entity had also written a book during that particular story arc. In any case, TIGERS is one of the better EDAs and is a welcome addition to the current unfolding story.
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