Story: In a pocket-dimension some time in the future is the planet Zamper. For hundreds of years it has been flawlessly and expertly run by the mysterious Management as an extremely profitable ship-building enterprise. Zamper will supply any race of creature, with enough money, battleships of superior design, which will outlast and outblast all other ships in the Galaxy. These ships are much sought after, as they have the ability to tip the balance of any war to the owners’ favor. There are only two problems on this world: The Management is not what he appears to be, and he…it…is apparently dying. And the Doctor has arrived. The latest customers of Zamper’s wares are the Chelonians, who have sent two representatives to purchase a battleship. The sparsely employed planet has done everything to make their customers comfortable, although a couple of badly timed power failures have bruised the unmarred reputation of this planet and has lowered the Chelonians’ confidence in humans even more. The Doctor, with his party of three, arrive on Zamper quite by accident (of course), and on a planet that has never had unannounced visitors, this has raised some concern…
Review: That is all I am going to reveal about this book. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and periodically felt as if I was reading a novelisation. It is one of those stories which, given a BBC budget, could’ve worked a treat on the small screen. There are very few characters (less actors to pay) and the true enemy protagonist(s) are kept secret until very near the end. I got a huge kick out of the Chelonians’ interactions with each other, and with the humans (or “Parasites” as they call us). Apparently we smell like sour milk and are not very smart, in comparison to giant turtles anyway.
With the settings limited to but a few places – a couple of bedrooms, a dining room, a cave, and a spaceship, it was easy to get your mind around. It was not 400 pages of multi-dimentional cities, evil plans with 25 phases to drudge through, and inside-out planets hatching like eggs (oh, will the ghosts of Parasite ever fade?). It was, instead, a straightforward Doctor Who-style romp. The only thing that I’m having trouble with is this expanded TARDIS crew. Chris and Roz seem like add-ons, and don’t get much good dialogue or roles. I suppose it is early days yet, and when their characters get more fleshed out, they’ll get more to do than say: “Really, Doctor!”
This was another fine example of what a Who book can be. An 8/10 rating by my standards. If I read 4 books a month, for the next 10 months, I will finally get to read an 8th Doctor book! Then I have to keep that pace up for the next 5 years in order to be caught up to date in the world of Doctor Who. Be patient, I’m working on it!
Year: 1995
Author: Gareth Roberts
Publisher: Virgin
Pages: 250