Quatermass' Book Reading Blog 3: Revenge of the Sequel

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The next book will probably be The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells.

Book 85...

REVIEW: The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells


Having read The Invisible Man for a previous book-reading blog, and The Time Machine and War of the Worlds, I felt it about time to read another of HG Wells' science fiction works. While vastly outdated in terms of the science involved, The Island of Doctor Moreau actually surprised me, quite pleasantly.

Having been involved in a shipwreck, Edward Prendick is rescued by a man called Montgomery, who is delivering a consignment of wild animals to his master, a reclusive scientist living on an isolated island. Prendick, however, is forced to throw his lot in with Montgomery's master, who turns out to be an infamous vivisectionist by the name of Dr Moreau. Surrounded by strange people, and convinced that Moreau is attempting human vivisection, Prendick is determined to flee, until he realises that the real truth is actually far more disturbing than he dared imagine...

The Island of Doctor Moreau's plot is extraordinarily simplistic by today's standards, and science has moved on from what Wells used to derive his plot. Surgery cannot exactly turn an animal into a human, or at least not in the way that Moreau describes. The characters are fairly one-dimensional, there more to move the story along than to offer any kind of depth.

And yet, as a piece of entertainment, the book works. HG Wells' writing of atmosphere is extremely well done, with Prendick often in danger from terrors both all too real and the result of understandable paranoia. This is a thriller, a horror story, a fantasy, and a science fiction story that shows that Wells knows how to write well enough to engross the reader.

And not just that. The theme of what divides humans from animals is prevalent throughout the work, starting from Prendick's struggles with fellow shipwrecked sailors, going through to his encounters with the beast-men on the island, and beyond.

The Island of Doctor Moreau, while rather thin on the ground in places in terms of plot and character, is still an excellently written book. HG Wells knew how to write, no doubt about it.



8.5/10

First words: ON February the First 1887, the Lady Vain was lost by collision with a derelict when about the latitude 1 degree S. and longitude 107 degrees W.

Last words: And so, in hope and solitude, my story ends.

There are a number of books that I am trying to read at the moment. There is Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter (that's the first Inspector Morse book, in case you're wondering), Otherland Book One: City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams, Worldwar: In the Balance by Harry Turtledove, and more.

Book 86...

REVIEW: Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter


Having earlier reviewed the first book featuring Inspector Frost, Frost at Christmas by RD Wingfield, I decided that I try looking at the debut novel of that other unconventional detective, Inspector Morse. Unfortunately, Last Bus to Woodstock, while a decent enough mystery novel, wasn't as entertaining as Frost at Christmas.

A decision to hitch a lift to Woodstock leaves a young woman dead, and raped. Inspector Morse, along with Sergeant Lewis, must find out who did it. Ranging from a university don with a mistress to a young man addicted to pornography, there are one too many suspects, and Inspector Morse may have the wrong suspect one too many times...

I'm not always a fan of mystery books, really, and I have to admit that, while its holistic approach is fairly novel as far as what mystery books that I have encountered is concerned (in other words, the focus is not just on the police, but rather, the point of view is told from the point of view of many suspects as well), Last Bus to Woodstock didn't appeal to me. It didn't have quite the sardonic appeal as Frost at Christmas had.

I'm also not quite certain that the book gave the atmosphere of Oxford, to me at least. I have been to Oxford and Cambridge while on holiday, and the atmosphere isn't quite there. That Oxford feel. Maybe others might get this, but I don't.

The characters, while moderately interesting, are not quite engaging enough. In fact, the irony is that the suspects are far more engaging and interesting characters than Morse and Lewis. Morse comes across as too flawed in his methodology to be a plausible investigator, and while Lewis is more plausible as both an investigator and a human being, he seems a little too bland for my liking, there to cater to Morse's whims.

Please do not get me wrong. This is still a decent mystery novel, with much to go for it. It was interesting enough for a time, and the revelation of the true murderer and their motives is very well done. The problem I have is not with the actual whodunnit, but the style of writing and atmosphere, mostly.

To me, Last Bus to Woodstock was average, and not entertaining enough. However, those who are looking to go into mystery books could do worse. It has a good ending, and a few decent twists along the way. If the style of writing improved, it would be better, at least in my own opinion.



7.5/10

First words: 'Let's wait just a bit longer, please,' said the girl in dark-blue trousers and the light summer coat.

Last words: He drove on to his home in Oxford.

The next book, in all likelihood, will be Otherland: City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams, to be followed by The Shining.

Book 87...

REVIEW: Otherland, Book One: City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams

Having enjoyed, to a certain degree, William Gibson's cyberpunk novels, I decided, after hearing about it, to come to the postcyberpunk Otherland series by Tad Williams. This is an epic (and I mean epic, as the first volume alone is over 900 pages long) romp through virtual reality that is exhausting but still entertaining.

It is the beginning of the 22nd century, and many entertainments and services are online. A man wakes up in a trench, supposedly in the First World War, but a strange apparition leads him into a dangerous flight through various worlds. A teenaged gaming wunderkind is killed (in-game) by a low level monster in an RPG when he is distracted by a strange vision. A South African virtual engineer's brother falls victim to Tangadore Syndrome, a mysterious illness that strikes kids online and leaves them in comas. And all around the world, a enigmatic and powerful group of people are bringing their ultimate goal, to its conclusion. And they are more than willing to kill anyone who even seems like they know what is going on...

If the above sounds vaguely familiar, it does. There are a number of similarities to the Dot Hack video game and anime franchise. But Otherland predates Dot Hack by several years. And even though this is the first book, it is an intensely multi-layered and long book that, nonetheless, is a tantalising glimpse of things to come.

The vast majority of the story centres around Irene 'Renie' Sulaweyo, a virtual engineer from South Africa, an unusual choice for a central protagonist (although there are many, many other viewpoints and protagonists, she takes up the most screen time, so to speak), but ultimately a brave and fulfilling one. However, most of the other main characters are also interesting and entertaining, such as !Xabbu, a former student of hers who becomes a good friend and ally, Orlando Gardiner, a terminally ill teenager and champion gamer, his friend Sam Fredericks, Paul Jonas, who appears to be trapped in various virtual worlds, and the enigmatic Osiris, the leader of the antagonists.

The plot is long and dense, but ultimately rewarding. It will take you time to get through it, but it is worth the hardship. There is a kind of resolution at the end of the story, but this is, after all, only the first volume of a gargantuan work, and there are many plot threads, by necessity, left up in the air. Like a number of strange entities within the online worlds, some benign, others very scary.

If there are faults, it is that Williams obscures a lot of things (presumably to set things up for later works in the series) and gives only hints. Not only this, but there seem to be too many characters, and there are a couple of characters who make me feel disquieted at their portrayal, particularly the psychopathic half-Australian Aboriginal Johnny 'Dread' Wulgaru, and the almost Magical Negro-like Bushman character of !Xabbu. Finally, given the density of the text proper, one feels that the whole story is in very serious danger of surpassing the Chandrasekhar limit and collapsing completely under its own weight.

However, the first book of the Otherland series is an excellent story that makes me want to read more in the series. I should start tracking down the other volumes soon, and find out exactly what happens. This is definitely one epic journey that I want to be part of.



9/10

First words: It started in mud, as many things do.

Last words: After a long silence, he turned and made his way to the elevator, leaving the other man alone with the silent tanks and the bright screens.

Book 88...

REVIEW: The Shining by Stephen King


Most of my prior acquaintance with the work of Stephen King has been mostly not with his horror fiction. Having enjoyed The Green Mile and the first three books of The Dark Tower, along with his Bachman story The Running Man, I now turn to one of his most famous horror works. And all I can say is...wow.

After losing his job as a teacher, Jack Torrance has to take up the job of winter caretaker at the remote Overlook Hotel, and he's bringing his wife Wendy and his son Danny. Danny has always been different from others, and from hotel cook Dick Halloran, Danny learns that he has 'the shining', a form of psychic power. But the problem is, the Overlook has a history of violence, and so does the recovering alcoholic Jack, and soon, something in the hotel is reaching out to tear this already troubled family apart, and worse...

Reading The Shining, I am reminded strongly of the claustrophobic 'base under siege' stories of Doctor Who that were popular in the mid-sixties. Self-contained, claustrophobic, and chilling, some of them remain the best examples of story-telling that Doctor Who has to offer. Here, King manages to make so much out of so little.

The story focuses mainly on five characters: the tormented ex-alcoholic Jack Torrance, whose history of being abused by his father looks to be visited upon his son; the conflicted Wendy Torrance, who is torn between divorcing Jack and staying for Danny's sake, as well as having issues of her own; five-year old Danny Torrance, who, thanks to his shining, is already getting some frightening conceptions of the adult world; Dick Halloran who, despite his tendencies to be like a Magical Negro stereotype, is a vital character; and the hotel itself. All of these characters, and the others who are a little more peripheral to the storyline, shine through (if you forgive the pun) and are interesting and entertaining.

The tension rachets up at a slow but engrossing pace, with the supernatural occurrences proper not happening until later. At first, it is hard to tell whether it is supernatural phenomena, fear fuelling Danny's imagination, or Jack's slow descent into paranoia and madness, and to King's credit, during the final, horrific conflict, it is strongly said to be a combination for the most part. This is a disturbing book, but done in the right way, where most of the disturbing things are about what are within the minds and souls of the characters, rather than anything supernatural.

I'm not sure what I can criticise about the story. The only thing that I can really criticise is the occasional one-note character, or the aforemention Magical Negro portrayal of Dick Halloran, though Stephen King has attributed this to his 'white liberal guilt', and in the story proper, you barely notice it because Dick Halloran fits so well into the story. Other than these minor blemishes, the book is pretty much perfect.

There is a reason that Stephen King is considered an excellent author, and that The Shining is considered to be one of the best novels of all time. It is a harrowing book, but in a good way. If you have to read two horror novels this year, make one of them Let the Right One In, and the other The Shining.


10/10

First words: Jack Torrance thought: Officious little prick.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 89...

REVIEW: The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham


Out of the various mystery shows around, I have to admit to liking Midsomer Murders, a series originally adapted from novels by Caroline Graham. An eccentric series about life and, more importantly, death in a fictitious county, and the exploits of the dogged Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, I have now come to the first book in the series that started it all.

The elderly Emily Simpson apparently dies from a fall in her house in Badger's Drift, but her friend, Miss Bellringer, is sure that something else happened. When Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy investigate, they find that the old woman was murdered by a mixture of red wine and hemlock shortly after making an unusual call to the Samaritans. For Simpson saw something that she shouldn't have. With the village filled with people with agendas of their own, from a creepy undertaker and his pragmatically nosy mother, to an artist with an uncooperative attitude, Barnaby and Troy have their work cut out for them...

Compared to the turbulent and opinionated Morse, and the rude but dogged and moral Frost, Barnaby is a refreshingly gentle policeman. While his performance in this novel isn't quite like the one that I am used to from the series, it nonetheless is refreshing compared to the slightly more antiheroic protagonists that I have seen in this line of fiction. Barnaby is portrayed, unlike Morse or Frost, as a family man with a tenacious attitude that is matched by his tact.

Most of the characters are interesting, particularly the more eccentric characters of Badger's Drift. We have the voyeuristic Mrs Rainbird, who spies on her neighbours in order to blackmail them, and the almost Marple-esque Miss Bellringer, who is tolerated by Barnaby. And when the responsible party for the killings is revealed, it is done in a fitting way, although the conclusion does have, if not a cliched feel, then something of the overly familiar.

If there is really a fault with the novels, it is that some of the characters are not quite interesting enough, and the responsible party for the killings was not interesting enough, just suspicious enough, like to Barnaby. And the device used to reveal the real motives involved at the very end does have a stink of the deus ex machina about it, though I may have missed an earlier reference. The book isn't as quirky as the series it was adapted into, either, though it is still quirky enough to be entertaining.

Strip away the insular and incestuous trappings of Midsomer, and The Killings at Badger's Drift would be a just-above-average mystery book. As it is, however, it is still a fairly entertaining read that is a good introduction into the cases of Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby.


8.5/10

First words: She had been walking in the woods just before teatime when she saw them.

Last words: 'Yes,' he said, 'that's about the size of it.'

The next book will probably be WorldWar: In the Balance by Harry Turtledove

Book 90...

REVIEW: WorldWar: In The Balance by Harry Turtledove


My own experience with alternative history, beyond what Doctor Who has offered, is fairly restricted. Not long ago, I read The Man in the High Castle, and last year, I read West of Eden. With the former set after an alternative World War 2 and the latter about the clashes between humanity and humanoid, intelligent reptiles, it is perhaps ironic that I read the first book in a series that, in all likelihood unintentionally, combines the two concepts...

The Race, a species of imperalistic reptilian aliens with an empire that spans multiple worlds, has set its eyes on the third planet of a star they call Tosev. When they sent a probe to Tosev 3, they found that the inhabitants were only at a medieval stage of development. Eight centuries later, they have come back, only to find that not only have the Tosevites come so far as to invent radio, but are now in the middle of a globe-spanning war. For Tosev 3 is Earth, the year they finally attack is 1942, and it is the middle of the Second World War. History, as we know it, is about to change as the Race attempt to take over the world, only to find that human technology and ingenuity are more than they bargained for...

What could easily be a jingoistic work (which military science fiction, which this is to a degree, is often in danger of falling into) is saved by the focus on not just the American point of view, but also the point of views of other characters from places like England, Poland, Russia, China, and even from amongst the Race itself. Very few of the characters are black and white, with some surprising changes in history leading to things that, while they may discomfort some, seem like they may have happened if this had happened.

The story itself is interesting and exciting enough to hold my interest over its length, in excess of 600 pages. While there are some rather dry patches, every viewpoint character has a story to tell, and even the antagonists of the Race have a number of sympathetic characters. The Race's reaction to the Holocaust is telling, and while they have strong contempt for humans (or Big Uglies as they nickname humans), they are also curious about them. It certainly was more exciting than The Man in the High Castle, and easier to follow.

Unfortunately, not every part of the story is exciting, and Turtledove's writing style, while good enough, does not sustain one over the less interesting parts, and at times, I feel like I'm reading a history lesson someone tried to spice up, with name drops everywhere that feel slightly forced at times.

That being said, WorldWar: In the Balance was a solid, entertaining read. I want to try and read more in the series, and if you like alternative history fiction, give it a whirl, and see if you enjoy it.



8.5/10

First words: Fleetlord Atvar strode briskly into the command station of the invasion fleet bannership 127th Emperor Hetto.

Last words: Like the war, his journey had a long way to go.

Book 91...

REVIEW: The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons by the members of Monty Python and Bob McCabe


Monty Python has influenced a good chunk of my adult life when I discovered it (well, had lots of people bugging me to watch it, saying it was good, and for once, they turned out to be right), and while I am not that hardcore a Python fanatic, I am still often interested in them, as well as the behind-the-scenes stuff about how Python came to be.

The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons is basically a coffee-table book-sized monster based on interviews with the surviving Pythons, along with extracts from previous interviews of the late Graham Chapman, and interviews with his brother John, John's wife Pam, and Graham's partner David Sherlock. Tracking them from the beginning of their lives all the way to 2002, we get an insight into what the group was like.

Having watched much of the documentaries that came with Life of Brian and Meaning of Life, along with Monty Python: Almost the Truth and the Michael Palin Diaries, I do have to confess that there is little here that is new. Certainly, The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons is, perhaps by necessity, a slightly abridged version of what would later become the basis of the television documentary Monty Python: Almost the Truth.

And yet, this is still quite an in-depth work, which looks at the childhoods and educations of each of the individual Pythons, as well as what they did in comedy before they came together, pretty much because they wanted to work with each other than any grand purpose, to become the group that eventually became Monty Python.

Not only are the interview extracts informative and interesting, but they are also supplemented with big, glossy photos, as appears to be mandatory in a book like this, and the presentation itself cannot be faulted.

If there is a fault with The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons, it is that there is not much focus on each Python's post-Python career. I enjoyed reading in the two volumes of Michael Palin's diaries published thus far about what he did between Python projects and after Meaning of Life. We don't hear any of that, or of Terry Gilliam's filmmaking except in an aside, or much about John Cleese's Fawlty Towers, which is a real pity. And there are some incidents mentioned in other places that would have been good to put into this tome.

Still, this is pretty much one of the definitive Python books any fan of Monty Python should have. It may be big enough to beat a goat to death with, but it's certainly value for money.



9.5/10

First words: The late George Harrison used to say that he felt the spirit of the Beatles had passed on to Monty Python.

Last words: It may well be we have to do this all over again...


I may stop this current book-reading blog after I reach 100 books. I'm getting fatigued, and I am running out of things to read...

Book 92...

REVIEW: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman


This book-reading blog seems to be something of a renaissance for me reading Neil Gaiman. First, his collaborative effort with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens, then, his adult fairy tale Stardust, and the modern Norse legend American Gods. And now, I come to the novel he based on the BBC TV series he created...

Richard Mayhew is a Scot living in London, an ordinary businessman. But when he stops to help a girl called Door (and ruining his relationship with his fiancee), he finds his world being turned upside down. After helping Door get back to her mysterious realm, he finds that he himself is starting to become non-existant to the people of London, and so tries to find Door, in the mysterious world of London Below, a mystical, dark version of London where magic resides. But Door is in danger from a pair of sinister men, and Mayhew has underestimated how dangerous London Below can be...

This story is a kind of unique mythology, on a par with what Gaiman did for The Sandman, and reminds me of many other similar concepts used in fiction. A comparable work to this, for example, could have been the Hiyao Miyazaki film Spirited Away. This is a hidden, magical world, an alternate London that itself is probably the best character in the book.

The characters, while entertainingly written, are not very deep, except for Mayhew himself, and he is merely the bewildered babe, out of his depth in a weird world. He would not look out of place in a role-playing video game. However, the odd couple of Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar, while done often enough in fiction, are amongst the most entertaining forms of their type of character, the thug archetypes who are Brain and Muscle.

The story itself, while very well written, is a rather stereotypical quest storyline, from beginning to end, reminding me of so many other stories. While this in itself is not a bad thing, Gaiman did do the same thing, and much better, in American Gods, and I expected something much less stereotypical from a man who is meant to be one of the most acclaimed fantasy authors of all time.

Still, while by no means the epitome of fantasy, Neverwhere is still an excellent example of Gaiman's writing. It would make a good introduction to him for those unfamiliar with him, and certainly something to tide people over if they want to read a different kind of fantasy.



8.5/10

First words: The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

If anyone is still reading this, I have three books currently on my plate: Romanitas by Sophie McDougall, The Road to Mars by Eric Idle, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The Road to Mars seems like the most likely candidate.

Book 93...

REVIEW: The Road to Mars by Eric Idle


As I mentioned above, I am, to a degree, a fan of Monty Python. However, as far as reading books by the Pythons themselves are concerned, I've only really read the Michael Palin Diaries and a couple of Terry Jones' history books. Eric Idle, however, fancied himself something of a novelist, and it is to this end that I am reading one of his novels, The Road to Mars...

Centuries in the future, Professor Bill Reynolds, a micropaleontologist (someone who looks at the ephemera of the world) is writing a thesis on fame, but now discovers a dissertation written by an android called Carlton. Carlton tried to get to the bottom of why comedy exists, especially since he was once owned by the comedic duo of Alex Muscroft and Lewis Ashby. But the story of how Carlton came up with his thesis is caught up with how Alex and Lewis ended up embroiled in a terrorist plot while they head for Mars, the entertainment capital of the solar system...

Idle's premise is an intriguing one. Like Solaris and Atlas Shrugged, he sets out to make a philosophical novel. Where Solaris was on the impossibility of contacting alien life, and Atlas Shrugged was a dissertation on Objectivism and why it is needed in human society (or so Ayn Rand and Objectivists think), The Road to Mars is about what comedy is, and why it is so much part of the human condition. Watching Python, it is often easy to forget that Idle, like the other Pythons, was university educated, and the discourses on what comedy is really about are fairly well thought out.

Idle manages to avoid making the same mistake Ayn Rand did, too, by making sure that the story proper was entertaining. While the characters involved, for the most part, are caricatures, they are at least entertaining and interesting ones, with enough extra parts (especially to Lewis Ashby, whom I've thought of as being played by Alan Rickman) to their natures to make them feel real.

The story takes a while for everything to come together, but everything makes sense in the end. Nonetheless, while this is a good book, Idle doesn't come up to the level of Douglas Adams, or Doug Naylor and Rob Grant, when it comes to comedy science fiction. There is just a little too much drama, and not quite enough comedy, and the sections going over Carlton's dissertation feel a little too disconnected from the action.

All in all, The Road to Mars is a decent enough comedy science-fiction novel. It may not have been as good as I was expecting, coming as it does from Eric Idle himself, but it is still a pretty damn fine work that tries to look into the true nature of comedy...


8/10

First words: Fame is a terminal disease.

Last words: He stepped forward into the spotlight.

Book 94...

REVIEW: Who Goes There? by John W Campbell


One of the notable science fiction novellas of all time was Who Goes There? by John W Campbell. Published in 1938, and adapted twice into a film (The Thing from Another World and The Thing), it is an influential story, one that I decided to read...

At an Antarctic outpost, an alien spaceship has been uncovered, inadvertently destroyed when a thermite charge used to try and thaw it burns the magnesium hull. A frozen alien corpse is pulled out of the wreckage, and soon thaws. A malevolent creature, the crew of the outpost soon realise that it can change its form, and can be any one of them...

I'll have to admit, I'm not a fan of most things written before 1950. The language and terms can seem all too antedeluvian for my liking. And while Who Goes There? has a very good concept at its core, it seems like it was written for a pulp magazine. Oh wait, it was.

There is no attempt at complexity, save beyond the interaction and suspicion between members of the base. That being said, there is a decent amount of atmospheric writing as well as some characterisation.

That being said, it is an average science fiction thriller that, while it inspired many things to come, does not exactly fire my imagination nowadays.



7.5/10

First words: The place stank.

Last words: "They came from a world with a bluer sun."

Book 95...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Room With No Doors by Kate Orman


I have to confess, I haven't actually read that many of Kate Orman's Doctor Who books. Which is a shame, she's a fellow Aussie and fairly well known in Doctor Who fandom for her New Adventure books. Having already read the last seventh Doctor New Adventure, Lungbarrow, I now come to Orman's work which immediately precedes it, The Room With No Doors...

Traumatised by their previous experiences, riddled with self-doubt and self-loathing, the Doctor and Chris Cwej trace a temporal anomaly to 17th century Japan, hoping to have a straightforward adventure. But even with old acquaintances in a monastery helping the Doctor, things aren't going to be easy. Rival daimyo warlords are fighting over an artifact that fell to the ground in a village, an artifact which is healing wounds, causing crops to grow. The villagers think it's a god. But two alien factions have traced the artifact, and whatever it is, they're not telling. A pair of time travellers, Joel Mintz, an old acquaintance of the Doctor's, and Penelope Gate, who claims to be a time-traveller from Victorian England, are also present, and Gate and Chris are both having dreams. Dreams of a Room with No Doors, a prison that is fated for the Doctor. The Doctor and Chris must prevent a deadly battle, but can they save anyone, when they feel that they cannot save themselves?

This is not just an adventure, but also a study in character. Travelling around in time and space, and fighting evil, can obviously be wearing, and this story, perhaps above all else, is the story about how the Doctor and Chris manage to shake off most, if not all, of their personal demons. In particular, they need to come to terms with the guilt of not being able to save everyone during their travels. Forgiveness, especially of the self, is a vital theme.

The main plot itself takes a while to get moving, but when it does, its engrossing enough to overlook some of the flaws. There aren't as many hints to the true nature of the artifact being fought over as I would have liked, and while most of the characters are interesting, I felt that the Caxtarid slave trader, Te Yene Rana seemed too singular a character, and the two daimyo (or feudal lords) seemed a little too interchangeable. What Joel does partway through seems a little abrupt and out of character to what I read originally, although the character of Penelope Gate was done well.

There is a certain amount of confusion throughout the story, and there is also an emphasis on Zen and samurai philosophy that seems a little too heavily emphasised, not to mention too much gratuitious Japanese. The ending too is a little abrupt.

Still, The Room With No Doors is a satisfying and entertaining book. Fans should read it, and see where the seventh Doctor learns to forgive himself, if he can...



8.5/10

First words: Christopher Rodonante Cwej opened his eyes.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)