Story: “Warlock”, to put it plainly, is a book about drugs, and the people who use them in the search for some form of enlightenment. The main drug used in theis novel is aptly named, “Warlock.” Its properties are quite complex, it enhances and intensifies the mindset of the user. It can take you within yourself, feeding your present emotional state. If you are filled with self-doubt, you become a snivelling groveller. If you are confident, it gives you a sense of power over it, and others. Now, as with most narcotics, the trouble comes when too much is used, causing your mind to wander, literally. As in, leave your body and move about. The Doctor, who has been resting up on Earth for about a year, ever since that last weak adventure in the inside-out planet (see “Parasite”), has taken interest in the strange aspects of this new drug. He plays a very minor role here, acting as the chess player again – moving his pieces around the board of human experience. Bernice is sent to infiltrate the workings of the “International Drug Enforcement Agency” (I.D.E.A), who are also showing an unusual amount of interest in this drug. And Ace is captured by a group of scientists running a drug experimentation lab, where they test drugs on animals for the pharmaceutical companies. These so-called “scientists” feed her a dose of Warlock 100 times greater than any street-level user could find or afford. This, of course, causes her mind to go walkabout, ending up in the body of a cat. A very unusual effect of a very unusual drug indeed…
Review: Now let me say this – there are quite a few disturbing parts to this book. The detailed and clinical descriptions of animal experimentation for one. Don’t get me wrong, I am no prude, but this was pretty graphic. As a cat lover, it ain’t that great to read about cats being tortured just because somebody is in a bad mood. And then the sex – well, not really sex, but various sexually themed accounts. You know, a breast here, a nipple there, some heavy breathing, and a painful abortion thrown in for good effect. It’s all go in “Warlock”.
This is supposed to be a sequel to “Cat’s Cradle: Warhead”, but I read that book when it came out in 1992, and I didn’t read this one until 2001. So the connections were, if not hazy, not-existent at best. However, this book stood the test of time, and can be enjoyed on its own merits.
I will not give any more details about the plot, or characters. I do too much of that as it is. The situations are quite complex, and the motives are very complicated to get into. As far as Doctor Who books are concerned, this one steps outside the realm we find comfortable about it, and goes into a world the Doctor rarely visits – reality. The sci-fi is still there, but it is the peoples’ motivations that ring true. I won’t give a normal out-of-ten number rating as I usually do, just suffice it to say that I enjoyed it thoroughly. Even the Ace bits were good, and that’s saying a lot!
Year: 1995
Author: Andrew Cartmel
Publisher: Virgin
Pages: 272