Doctor Who: Wetworld [Hardcover]

Very slight spoilers...

Well my Doctor Who reading binge continues! After reading Sick Building I was just about to be done with them for a while as I didn't care for that one at all (sorry Paul Magrs wherever you might be!) but I decided to give this one a go as the others at the local Borders didn't appeal to me that much.

I kept passing this up because I was judging a book by it's cover. Every time I looked at the water-logged TARDIS, I just couldn't get excited. Plus I felt the back blurb was perhaps a BIT too generic. It made it sound like Martha would be trapped in the TARDIS the whole time, which I didn't find very exciting... little did I know! Covers? Books? Judging? Shouldn't.

First of all, the characterization. I have to say I thought the Mark Michalowski got it right, right down to some of the things I don't like! The Doctor seemed suitably doctorish and I could "hear" David Tennant saying the lines very easily. That's nice. I hate reading a DW book and running across an off line. The little David Tennant in my head just goes "Oh, now hold on - really? I don't think The Doctor would say that. Re-write! Re-write!" and it can throw the whole flow of the book off. Perhaps I'm revealing too much?

In any case, I didn't run into that here at all. Martha was pretty spot-on... but I'll admit I get annoyed when Martha acts all jealous. I thought it fit the character, but part of me just wants to smack her when she key getting jealous of Ty. But as one poster pointed out at least Martha HAD characterization, which doesn't always happen in the novels beyond a very shallow "voice" match.

As for the plot itself - VERY effective. I actually found myself liking the citizens of Sunday and found their plight interesting. It's funny, because there are so many things that can go wrong with colony worlds and a lot of the more mainstream scifi never really touches on that. It's all attacking aliens and mysterious diseases. Sure, the story does the former eventually, but the initial devastation by flooding seems very real, as does the use of "dirty" tech.

The otters were great! I really liked the way they were portrayed so as to not be too cutesy, and the ending twist was actually very fun. The Slimey itself (which will always remind me of Dragon Warrior, though my friend and I used to call them "Smileys" because were 10 and thought that was funny) was VERY creepy. Actually, I'm kind of surprised with the level of gore in the book, especially towards the end with the decaying puppet-man. Oh, and "ichor" is an A+ word. Really. I want to start using it in everyday speech. Thankfully I don't run into the need for such a word often.

I liked that the sonic was taken out of commission after being used sensibly at first. It served it's purpose, and then was disposed of when the going needed to get tough. I also enjoyed the way the threat was disarmed through a combination of the Doctor's know-how and by a guest character. Candy was a fun character, and she only saved the day because she disobeyed the Doctor's commands! I think that needs to happen from time to time.

The book itself felt pretty substantial. I took me a bit more than the 1 1/2-2 hours these books usually take to zoom through. That was nice - a bit more bang for your buck.

Well, I have gone on! But this was definitely in the "good" category.

With the books supporting the new series I never know what to expect. Some are frothy and fun but not particularly memorable, several are half-hearted, and a smaller number are solid adventures that really feel like extensions of the show. Happily, Wetworld leans toward the latter. The pace is fast, there are some good supporting characters (including beaver-like aliens that manage not to be overly cute--who would think?!), and the threat, as well as the resolution to the threat, are not predictable, as often happens with the new series books. Michalowski's writing is lively and descriptive (though one character swears, if mildly--something I expect from the DW8 adventures, but didn't in a DW10 story), and he takes his story seriously, creating a balance of conflict, humor, danger, and the usual tenth Doctor weirdness. A good read.

This is one of the best books I have read, a real page turner...
I have read one other of this authors books, and he is an excellent writer that doesn't leave you dissapointed, would read anything he writes. He keeps true to the characters, and it keeps you reading....

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews  4.6 out of 5 stars