markk

In a small North African country, government forces campaigning against rebels suddenly vanish without a trace. In the rebel encampment, a British reporter witnesses a battered UNIT jeep crash into a tent, driven by a dying man exuding a honey-like substance. And in England, the Doctor detects a vision of the future, one in which the Brigadier will shoot both him and Jo Grant in cold blood. Together the three events point to the latest alien threat facing the Earth, one that threatens to consume all of humanity unless the Doctor can stop it.

 

This was the second of Paul Leonard's contributions to the Doctor Who franchise that I have read, and i approached it with expectations shaped by his previous novel for the Virgin Missing Adventures series, Venusian Lullaby. Perhaps this is why I was so disappointed with the work. Unlike his previous novel, which drew its strengths from its quirky setting and immersion into a truly alien culture, this one suffered from a tired premise poorly developed by it. With numerous characters hurriedly introduced into the plot there is little investment in their fates, nor is there any suspense in a climax that doesn't measure up to its supposedly epic scale. With an ending that is equal parts rushed and predictable, the result is a book that is not among the better contributions to the series.