Seeing I [Paperback]

This is an appealing Dr Who novel.

It solidifies the relationship between Sam and the Doctor, after they had been apart for so long. The plot itself has some interesting details involving implant-technology, and aliens that acquire their technology merely by wresting it away from other planets, the inhabitants of which have actually done all the work. This is a colony-world, so I don't mind the exceedingly human face of the culture, or the Earthisms; other aspects of the story are otherworldly enough.

The subplot concerns Sam's growing love for the Doctor. At first glance, it reads as superficial, as she seems most drawn to his appearance. But a few passages allow for a deeper look, and given the fact that the TV show was on so long and, to my knowledge, this type of subplot was not mined, I'm all for it.

I also like the groundwork laid down for revelations that take place in the novel Interference (Books 1 and 2).

A superior Eighth Doctor story.

With SEEING I, we bring to a close the three book DOCTOR WHO mini-series that began with THE LONGEST DAY (which was followed by a solo Doctor intermission in THE LEGACY OF THE DALEKS), and followed by DREAMSTONE MOON - and up until now each story has tried to build on the one previous - but with little luck and even less entertainment. But with SEEING I we end on a high note which not only entertains, but also drops a few plot lines and problems with Sam that had dogged her since she first arrived on board the TRADIS. As for the story, it's a straight forward affair that will at once cause a few yawns, but at the same time open a few eyes (pun intended). The Doctor is still searching for Sam, and now having found her at the opening of the story, he is arrested and locked away for several years while we, the reader, pick up and follow Sam from girl to young woman as she lands without a friend on a distant planet, joins a environmental group, shakes up the place and battles a mega corporation - and all the while is allowed to grow up. I've never been a big fan of the Sam character. She was boring, annoying and her attraction to the Doctor was always a problem for me (and most writers tried to turn her into some kind of "sex object" for the Doctor to notice - see OPTION LOCK for the dreaded wet T-shirt scene), but here, finally, she allowed to grow up, acquire some skills (which she was seriously lacking in the previous novels - unless you consider screaming and running skills), and have a mind of her own. Like the rest of the series though, the fireworks are held back until the final third of the book and it's all rush, rush, rush from there until the last page, leaving the reader with abrupt conclusion to a story which was neither that exciting or surprising to begin with. SEEING I is not for first time readers, but for fans, it's one of the best and worth picking up.

This is the first of the "New" Dr. Who stories I have read, meaning the "original" stories that are not part of the series. I have got to say that it is one big soap-opra. Most of the scenes are with Sam on some Earth-like world doing Earth-like stuff. Booring. I read this about two years ago, so can only barely remember the scenes with Dr. Who. Most of the chapters are of Sam and her friends, or Sam and her new boyfriend blah! blah! blah! These books, all of them in my opinion, are like this. I don't know if it's the times(1999, 2000, 2001) or what but I guess people prefer soaps on another planet to adventure on another planet like the series. That is why these books have sold. That is why sci-fi shows today are so mushy(eg. Farscape, Star Trek, probably "Enterprise" released this fall, and Dr. Who if it was remade for today's audience, I guess I'm an old codger at age 30, don't know... Hmm!)