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Eighth Doctor Adventures #36
Doctor Who: The Ancestor Cell
The Doctor's not the man he was. But what has he become? An old enemy -- Faction Paradox, a cult of time-travelling voodoo terrorists -- is finally making him one of its own. These rebels have a mission for him, one that will deliver him into the hands of his own people, who have decreed that he must die. Except now, it seems, the Time Lords have a mission for him too...A gargantuan structure, hewn from solid bone, has appeared in the skies over Gallifrey. Its origins and purpose are unknown, but its powers threaten to tear apart the web of time and the universe with it. Only the doctor can get inside... but soon he will learn that nothing is safe and nothing is sacred.
Shot by both sides, confronted by past sins and future crimes, the Doctor finds himself a prisoner of his own actions.
Shot by both sides, confronted by past sins and future crimes, the Doctor finds himself a prisoner of his own actions.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 3, 2001
2 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
About the author
Peter Anghelides
50?books33?followersAnghelides' first published work was the short story "Moving On" in the third volume of the Virgin Decalog collections, which led to further short stories in the fourth collection and then in two of the BBC Short Trips collections that followed. In January 1998, his first novel Kursaal was published as part of BBC Books' Eighth Doctor Adventures series on books. Anghelides subsequently wrote two more novels for the range, Frontier Worlds in November 1999, which was named "Best Eighth Doctor Novel" in the annual Doctor Who Magazine poll of its readers, and the The Ancestor Cell in July 2000 (co-written with departing editor Stephen Cole). The Ancestor Cell was placed ninth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelisation or TV tie-in novel" category of that year.
Anghelides also wrote several short stories for a variety of Big Finish Productions' Short Trips and Bernice Summerfield collections. This led, in November 2002, to the production of his first audio adventure for Big Finish, the play Sarah Jane Smith: Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre.
In 2008, he wrote a comic which featured on the Doctor Who website
Anghelides also wrote several short stories for a variety of Big Finish Productions' Short Trips and Bernice Summerfield collections. This led, in November 2002, to the production of his first audio adventure for Big Finish, the play Sarah Jane Smith: Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre.
In 2008, he wrote a comic which featured on the Doctor Who website
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 10, 2023
It's quite an accomplishment to wrap up so many story strands during the early EDA's in this one volume, as the 'War' arc is finally concluded.
There's closure to the Compassion's journey whilst at the same time The Doctor must face Fraction Paradox one final time.
I could only imagine how impactful this novel must have been on initial publication.
It's important to have read the other books in the series, though the continuing continuity references help make this an enjoyable fast paced read.
There's closure to the Compassion's journey whilst at the same time The Doctor must face Fraction Paradox one final time.
I could only imagine how impactful this novel must have been on initial publication.
It's important to have read the other books in the series, though the continuing continuity references help make this an enjoyable fast paced read.
September 3, 2020
This is one of the Doctor Who Novels that should not be tread lightly as this is the Conclusion to the Faction Paradox Arc and the War in Heaven (Time War) arc that both of them started in the highly praised novel Alien Bodies
So, this novel is kinda fast-paced but there are some scenes that felt that they go longer than they suppose to. The writing is fine, nor I don't understand why this book needs over 50 chapters but I can't complain as it does make the reading quite of a breeze as I will say that this novel is rather a mess, It tries to do many things and it just got convoluted.
The further I have gotten to this Novel and I see the Parallels with NuWho and that is with the Time War, especially with the leading fate with the destruction of Gallifrey.
I also rather like that the Eighth Doctor is not the protagonist (He's not the antagonist either) in this book, that I can't explain it, it's more that you have to experience that for yourself.
So what I like is the Fitz and Father Kriener revelation, the Edifice in the structure of giant flower that hovers in the Skies of Gallifrey is the Doctor's TARDIS.
One thing I don¡¯t like is the reveal of who The Enemy are that the Time Lords of combating against.
The Story is not bad, the conclusions to the arcs are not strong but this book does leave an impression.
So, this novel is kinda fast-paced but there are some scenes that felt that they go longer than they suppose to. The writing is fine, nor I don't understand why this book needs over 50 chapters but I can't complain as it does make the reading quite of a breeze as I will say that this novel is rather a mess, It tries to do many things and it just got convoluted.
The further I have gotten to this Novel and I see the Parallels with NuWho and that is with the Time War, especially with the leading fate with the destruction of Gallifrey.
I also rather like that the Eighth Doctor is not the protagonist (He's not the antagonist either) in this book, that I can't explain it, it's more that you have to experience that for yourself.
So what I like is the Fitz and Father Kriener revelation, the Edifice in the structure of giant flower that hovers in the Skies of Gallifrey is the Doctor's TARDIS.
One thing I don¡¯t like is the reveal of who The Enemy are that the Time Lords of combating against.
The Story is not bad, the conclusions to the arcs are not strong but this book does leave an impression.
April 1, 2010
Now THIS is how you write a Doctor Who book. Goddamned Epic, that's what this is.
January 7, 2025
at times pretty interesting, at times quite exciting, at times impressively dark, and yet also deeply, deeply flawed..
of course the fitz/doctor/compassion stuff is very compelling and satisfying, with their characterisation being done very well. I especially enjoyed the doctor¡¯s reunion with father kreiner, the angst!!
but there¡¯s also a lot of pretty mindless sci fi technobabble and dull time lord lore to get through, plus some rather silly twists, and I rather hate the characterisation of romana here. #notmyromana
it is incredible how this book is just .. the time war though. I knew there were big parallels and similarities between the eda war and the new who idea of a time war, but this is the latter¡¯s time war even down to the minute details, with the doctor deciding to destroy gallifrey as a ¡®lesser evil¡¯ because the war will turn the time lords into monsters, and in the hope of also destroying himself. that can¡¯t be just a coincidence, surely?
of course the fitz/doctor/compassion stuff is very compelling and satisfying, with their characterisation being done very well. I especially enjoyed the doctor¡¯s reunion with father kreiner, the angst!!
but there¡¯s also a lot of pretty mindless sci fi technobabble and dull time lord lore to get through, plus some rather silly twists, and I rather hate the characterisation of romana here. #notmyromana
it is incredible how this book is just .. the time war though. I knew there were big parallels and similarities between the eda war and the new who idea of a time war, but this is the latter¡¯s time war even down to the minute details, with the doctor deciding to destroy gallifrey as a ¡®lesser evil¡¯ because the war will turn the time lords into monsters, and in the hope of also destroying himself. that can¡¯t be just a coincidence, surely?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2017
SPOILERS AHEAD
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This novel, the climax of the Faction Paradox and future war story arc, is epic but enormously sadistic. It makes the original series Doctor Who episode "Resurrection of the Daleks" look gentle. This is actually my second reading, but I evidently didn't read it closely enough the first time.
Comments, or aspects that interested me most:
This story very obviously influenced the Time War of the new series; some aspects of the Time War's conclusion are identical. The Doctor destroys Gallifrey in order to prevent Faction Paradox from taking over it and ruling time and space. But what happens in this book is much too violent to be be shown on television in its original form, only a massively sanitized version. The Time War replaced the Faction with the Daleks, for essentially commercial reasons.
There has probably never been a materially nastier, more graphically horrifying Doctor Who novel than this. I actually found Lawrence Miles' Alien Bodies even more unpleasant, but in a creepy and ineffable way I never understood. (I never finished it, and made no serious attempt to read Miles' postmodern filth Interference.)
Whovian readers have wondered why the editors chose to reset the novel's continuity with this book, purging it of the elements introduced by Lawrence Miles. The likely reason is obvious enough to me. It's almost certainly because Miles had made the series too postmodern; the editors' purge of the Miles elements was an attempt to pull it back in a somewhat more traditional direction while preserving the result they established in The Ancestor Cell: Gallifrey is gone, as it was in the modern television series until late 2013.
The novel may be disgusting, but I like doomsday stories, and got what I expected in this novel.
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This novel, the climax of the Faction Paradox and future war story arc, is epic but enormously sadistic. It makes the original series Doctor Who episode "Resurrection of the Daleks" look gentle. This is actually my second reading, but I evidently didn't read it closely enough the first time.
Comments, or aspects that interested me most:
The current incarnation of Romana, now president of Gallifrey, has no redeeming qualities. She is vain and arrogant (like the original played by Mary Tamm), but a cold, calculating politician. Her interaction with the Doctor in the story is actually fairly limited; but she feels no affection whatsoever toward him.
I believe many reviewers have noted this--the hero of the story is the TARDIS. Prefiguring the new series episode "The Doctor's Wife" but actually taking its theme further (while not presenting the TARDIS as a woman), the novel suggests the TARDIS intelligence loves the Doctor and would put itself to a great deal of suffering to save him.
The novel is poorly edited, with a few embarrassing typos; and the writing is just okay. For one thing, the book is full of not gratuitous pop-culture references (only a few, thankfully) but gratuitous restatements of famous lines from the original series.
Gallifrey faces not one but two enemies: Faction Paradox, and an unidentified "Enemy" the Time Lords have been preparing for with the handicap of knowing nothing about. The Enemy are revealed to be a race of extremely powerful alien organisms from outside the universe, believed to be the ancestors of all life therein.
Gallifrey's defeat is indirectly caused by what is essentially an accident. The Time Lords have a miniature universe in a bottle, which they had apparently stolen from someone else (in some previous novel) intending to use the miniature universe as an emergency bolthole from their unidentified Enemy. The bottle gets broken, and the energy released from it disturbs the Enemy (I have no idea why), who release an unstoppable energy wave that brutally destroys large numbers of people, crippling Gallifrey (already under siege by a fifth column of Faction Paradox-allied Gallifreyans) and allowing Faction Paradox to win the war.
Different authors have interpreted the Time Lords in different ways, but these authors' depiction of Gallifrey is implausible and inappropriate. In order to shoehorn their social criticism into a story it doesn't naturally belong in, the authors depict Gallifrey as having a highly pollutive industrial sector and rampant poverty and homelessness. That's absurd unless viewed as one of the time distortions caused by the Edifice: a society so advanced as to control time travel can't fulfill material needs and can't function without heavy industry?
This story very obviously influenced the Time War of the new series; some aspects of the Time War's conclusion are identical. The Doctor destroys Gallifrey in order to prevent Faction Paradox from taking over it and ruling time and space. But what happens in this book is much too violent to be be shown on television in its original form, only a massively sanitized version. The Time War replaced the Faction with the Daleks, for essentially commercial reasons.
There has probably never been a materially nastier, more graphically horrifying Doctor Who novel than this. I actually found Lawrence Miles' Alien Bodies even more unpleasant, but in a creepy and ineffable way I never understood. (I never finished it, and made no serious attempt to read Miles' postmodern filth Interference.)
Whovian readers have wondered why the editors chose to reset the novel's continuity with this book, purging it of the elements introduced by Lawrence Miles. The likely reason is obvious enough to me. It's almost certainly because Miles had made the series too postmodern; the editors' purge of the Miles elements was an attempt to pull it back in a somewhat more traditional direction while preserving the result they established in The Ancestor Cell: Gallifrey is gone, as it was in the modern television series until late 2013.
The novel may be disgusting, but I like doomsday stories, and got what I expected in this novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2011
Oh, I had such a hard time deciding what rating to give this. On the one hand, the ideas behind it are really, really awesome (the Discontinuity Guide calls it a mess, but I disagree) and the last third or so just flew by. But. The first two thirds did seem to drag a bit as all the various players were introduced, and some of the writing felt horribly clunky to me, and oh my god, what the hell has happened to Romana? If she's had a lot of character development as President that I've missed, I can just about accept Romana the War Queen, but otherwise, dear god no.
But the good bits were *really* good. I may have said this before, but Angelhides does horror incredibly well (obviously I don't know exactly which bits are by Cole and which by Angelhides, but going on past form...) And one of them really seems to *get* Fitz as he seems in my head - wise-cracking and, yes, a coward, but not so utterly useless as he thinks. Also, I have no idea how to read the Fitz/Eight relationship as anything other than epic romance. 'You left me, I left you, but *we'll make it work*, Doctor'. (Slightly paraphrased.)
IDK. I feel bad giving this such a low rating, because the last third was excellent. But I'm not sure it was good enough to make up for some of the other bits.
But the good bits were *really* good. I may have said this before, but Angelhides does horror incredibly well (obviously I don't know exactly which bits are by Cole and which by Angelhides, but going on past form...) And one of them really seems to *get* Fitz as he seems in my head - wise-cracking and, yes, a coward, but not so utterly useless as he thinks. Also, I have no idea how to read the Fitz/Eight relationship as anything other than epic romance. 'You left me, I left you, but *we'll make it work*, Doctor'. (Slightly paraphrased.)
IDK. I feel bad giving this such a low rating, because the last third was excellent. But I'm not sure it was good enough to make up for some of the other bits.
January 26, 2013
I enjoyed this story very much - written in 2000, five years before the re-boot of the Television show, its an Eighth Doctor(Paul McGann)adventure, and very dark it is, too! If you haven't heard any of the Big Finish Audio adventures you might wonder who Fitz Kreiner is - briefly he is the longest-serving of the Eighth Doctor's companions and has appeared in many audio adventures and books...
The story (without going into spoiler mode) is quite convoluted and has a few twists and turns along the way - and a few surprises. It also features Romana, and mostly takes place on Gallifrey or its environs.
I can thoroughly recommend it!
The story (without going into spoiler mode) is quite convoluted and has a few twists and turns along the way - and a few surprises. It also features Romana, and mostly takes place on Gallifrey or its environs.
I can thoroughly recommend it!
October 6, 2015
Finally clears up the whole Compassion story line and the Time War. This is a must read, but should be read after reading others in the series. It particularly references Interference. It is a page turner, and having Faction Paradox as the bad guys really works. It is difficult to review this without giving away major plot points. Just be careful if you have a fear of spiders. A really good read.
August 18, 2020
¡®The Ancestor Cell¡¯ is the climax of the events that altered the Doctor¡¯s timeline in ¡® and '. The Eighth Doctor is at his limits resisting the Faction Paradox virus and is trying to avoid Compassion, who is now an advanced TARDIS, from being captured by the Time Lords. Then there is the menacing Edifice that has appeared over Gallifrey and has some sort of link to the Doctor.
Character Development
The Eighth Doctor is not only, unsurprisingly, the protagonist of this novel, in addition to being the nexus of the various events which are coming together throughout. And in a peculiar twist, he is also the antagonist.
At the beginning of the book he is vaguely aware, though he has been trying to ignore it, that he is infected by the Faction Paradox virus. Soon after he arrives on Gallifrey¡ªvia the as yet unidentified Edifice¡ªhe is confronted by a Faction Paradox agent who forces him to acknowledge his impending fall to the Faction. From this point on his personality becomes more unpredictable than usual as he is driven by desperation, fear, and the virus itself.
His role in this particular story is that of a double agent. On the one hand he has been given orders by the Faction¡ªwhich we latter learn is to stabilise the Edifice¡ªand on the other he is compelled by the Time Lords to board the Edifice to retrieve the Type 102 TARDIS, Compassion. While the reader is inclined to believe the Doctor is seeking to avoid working for either side, and is instead struggling to save the Time Lord¡¯s from whatever fate the Faction have in store, it appears that he is being increasingly controlled by the virus.
When the Doctor learns the identity of the Edifice is his own TARDIS¡ªwhich he believed was dead¡ªand is in fact holding both his corrupted and original timeline in balance, there is a glimmer of hope. The Doctor keeps asserting that this means he may not be infected by the virus at all¡ªreferring to his original timeline is still being in play. But nothing comes of this, and this outcome seems less and less likely.
Finally, when he is confronted by his own future self acting as the Grandfather Paradox personified, his internal battle is played out externally. To begin with, it appears he has succumbed to the virus but this, as might be expected, turns out to be a ruse. The Doctor reveals how deep his desperation runs when he decides to destroy his TARDIS¡ªwhich the Grandfather attempts to prevent¡ªhoping his true timeline might assert itself. Of course, the end result of this action would be his death and the destruction of Gallifrey. However, though he follows through, his life is saved, and he is left as an amnesiac.
As is usual, the Doctor¡¯s companions play a crucial role to the story as well. Compassion, having become a TARDIS, is pursued but the Time Lord¡¯s in order to mother the next generation for the coming war. This is something she will never willingly do and at least once nearly destroys herself in her attempts to escape. She spends a considerable amount of time on the periphery of things as she tries to avoid her fate but she does enough to show that she is still rather indifferent towards others and does not respect the Doctor¡¯s morals¡ªshe is quite prepared to kill for her freedom and does so.
Fitz is much more present in these events as he ends up in the middle of a group of Faction wannabes led by a Faction agent in disguise. Though this Fitz is not the original but a ¡®remembered¡¯ version, he demonstrates most if not all the traits displayed in the original. He hides his fear behind sarcasm and spends most of his time ¡®admiring¡¯ any women in the vicinity. His confidence in the Doctor is almost absolute, something that is still buried in the original who is now Father Kreiner of the Faction.
When Fitz and Father Kreiner comes face to face they both assert that they are different from one another. Father Kreiner claims Fitz could never be the real Fitz and that he is just a copy, and Fitz claims he is more ¡®Fitz¡¯ than Father Kreiner could ever be. Ironically, though it takes a long time for it to become evident in Father Kreiner, they both share a strong faith in the Doctor. Even when the Doctor seems to have given in to the Faction Virus¡ªwhich causes a crisis of faith in Fitz¡ªthey ultimately refuse to believe the Doctor has changed.
This is in stark contrast with the Time Lords who know the Doctor¡¯s history better. Romana a former companion of the Doctor believes him to be a lost cause and states that if he can¡¯t be saved, he must be killed.
World Building
This is the culmination of myriad events that have been hinting towards the Faction Paradox¡¯s attempted takeover of Gallifrey. Most of the books leading up to this I have not read, so it is difficult for me to comment on how well this continues to build on them. From what I can tell the Doctor knew about the war that the Time Lord¡¯s have been preparing for but had refused to learn the details. In addition to this, the Faction had altered the Doctor¡¯s timeline and he would be taken by their virus during his Eighth incarnation for some unknown purpose.
From the moment the Doctor sets foot on Gallifrey, it is clear that Romana¡ªthe president of Gallifrey¡ªhas spent her time in office preparing for this war. In fact, the war seems to be the only thing of note that she and her council discuss. They apparently have future knowledge of the war that they shouldn¡¯t have, and it is from this that they believe they need the Type 102 TARDIS. The Edifice is an exception to what they perceive of the future and they recognise it shouldn¡¯t be, but not what it is or why it is there. While we don¡¯t learn much about the war itself the Doctor does see some of the future when Compassion forces the images on him telepathically. It is partly because of this that he is prepared to destroy Gallifrey and save them from degenerating into creatures of war.
The Faction Paradox finally reveal their plans for the Doctor and Gallifrey¡ªsome of which had been hinted at. Through the Doctor they wish to control the Edifice, but this is an aside born of their assumption it is of Faction origin. Their true goal is to use the blind spots created by the Edifice and the war to bring their Shadow Parliament to Gallifrey with the Doctor as the Grandfather. This they almost succeed in and would have done but for the Doctor¡¯s destruction of the Edifice.
Themes
The lesser of two evils is a major theme for ¡®The Ancestor Cell¡¯
With the presence of the Faction Paradox, the Doctor is constantly being directed towards actions that would result in a paradox. This leads him to the constant dilemma of whether ends justify the means. Several times it is pointed out he could save lives by causing a paradox, but this would lead to him falling further into the Faction¡¯s grip and doing their work for them. He knows that if he creates one paradox, then it will be too easy to create more, and if he falls to the Faction, they will not be of a benevolent nature.
The Time Lord¡¯s, aware of the evil their enemy will carry out, change to become more ruthless and will continue to do so¡ªassuming the Doctor¡¯s premonition was accurate. Some of the weapons which they have stored in preparation of the war horrifies Fitz when they are forced to use them against the Faction. Also they have a complete disregard for the lives of the Doctor or Compassion in their attempt to gain a Type 102 TARDIS.
In the end, despite believing that evil is evil, the Doctor is compelled to choose what he considers the lesser of two evils when he destroys the Edifice. This is something he acknowledges he would not be able to live with the memory of as it is in such conflict with his moral ideology.
Plot
This is a story of the Doctor¡¯s attempt to run from his past and finds he cannot. Each action he takes seems to trap him further. When he first arrived on the Edifice, he knew it was connected to him, but his instincts¡ªand some bone spiders¡ªmade him run. But he wasn¡¯t able to avoid the Edifice since the Time Lord¡¯s insisted he reboard it when they learn Compassion is aboard. The Doctor only considers it in order to free himself from the Faction Virus, but even then resists. Though they don¡¯t succeed directly, he still ends up back on the Edifice where he learns that it is his TARDIS.
While it is not stated at this point, it follows that destroying the Edifice would have had the potential to reassert the Doctor¡¯s timeline and he could have been free of the virus. Of course, this would have resulted in not only his death but the destruction of Gallifrey, which he was not ready to contemplate. Compassion tried to force him to stop running by showing him the future of the war, though it is unclear what she expected him to do.
It is only after the Faction have nearly won and he discovers he is destined to be the Grandfather Paradox that he returns to the Edifice and destroys it. However, it is left ambiguous whether he was still running and intended to die or if he knew Compassion would save him¡ªat least in this novel.
Writing
The general style is third person with the point of view switching roughly every chapter. Most chapters follow either the Doctor or Fitz, though not always from their perspective, with the occasional chapter following a Faction agent or another Time Lord (i.e. Romana).
In addition to the chapters that convey the main plot, there are five brief interludes. An unidentified character appears to be researching something about the war, but he has to be quick or he will be missed. The purpose of these chapters is ambiguous.
The only other unusual feature is that the first chapter is displaced in time and is in fact the same as the final chapter, but from the perspective of a different character. A woman is surprised by the presence of a man in her private train compartment in the first version. In the second the man wakes up to find himself on a train, having no recollection of who he is or how he came to be there. Though it is never stated, the man is clearly the Doctor. In the first chapter the reader is likely to suspect this but be left confused as to what he is doing there, but in the last chapter we know how he came to be there and why he might have lost his memory.
Brief Quotes
The Doctor stared at Mali, affronted. ¡®You stupid young woman!¡¯ he yelled. ¡¯You¡¯re completely missing the point! I¡¯m not a Faction agent.¡¯
Mali stared down at him, unmoved. ¡®Your bio data is riddled with their virus.¡¯
¡®No!¡¯ The Doctor shook his head, and felt the knife scrape under his chin. ¡®It only probably is.¡¯
Finally, the figure straightened, and she could see it clearly now. This apparition wore not bone but its own, cold face, the measure of its rank and stature. She took in the shaved head first, then the hooded, glittering glacier-eyes. The sallow skin, the cruel thin smile, aloof and alien.
She shook her hand free from the Doctor¡¯s grasp. Unable to articulate words, she backed away.
¡®My life ends as it began,¡¯ the Doctor whispered, his face twisted between fascination and disgust at the sight of himself looking out from the podium over the Shadow Parliament. ¡®Congratulations, Doctor. You¡¯re a grandfather again.¡¯
¡®Come on, Doctor,¡¯ Fitz muttered fiercely. ¡®Don¡¯t you recognise a half-arsed rescue attempt when you see one.¡¯
The Doctor¡¯s head lolled to one side like a corpse¡¯s, his eyes meeting Fitz¡¯s own.
And he smiled, but not in relief or in welcome. The cold sneer of a smile looked so wrong on his face, so out of place that the image affected Fitz far more than any of the carnage he¡¯d witnessed this day.
Summary
Having not read all the preceding story arc in the novels leading up to this I can¡¯t really give an accurate review but with my limited knowledge I did enjoy this book. I found myself very much journeying with the Doctor and experiencing his struggles with him. Early on I realised that the Edifice being destroyed was the most obvious but terrible solution to his problems. Of course I kept hoping that, as usual, he would find another way out.
The only negative¡ªand this might be down to me not having read some of the previous books¡ªwas that there were a couple of short segments that didn¡¯t entirely make sense. This could also have been a means of expressing the confusion the Faction Paradox was creating or the Doctor¡¯s state of mind. Either way, it wasn¡¯t a great hindrance and didn¡¯t impede my enjoyment.
Similar Books
This is typical of the style I have come to expect of Classic Doctor Who Novels and if you have not read any others, I would recommend that you do so.
Rating
Character development: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4.5)
World Building: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4)
Plot: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4)
Writing: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4)
Overall rating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4)
Character Development
The Eighth Doctor is not only, unsurprisingly, the protagonist of this novel, in addition to being the nexus of the various events which are coming together throughout. And in a peculiar twist, he is also the antagonist.
At the beginning of the book he is vaguely aware, though he has been trying to ignore it, that he is infected by the Faction Paradox virus. Soon after he arrives on Gallifrey¡ªvia the as yet unidentified Edifice¡ªhe is confronted by a Faction Paradox agent who forces him to acknowledge his impending fall to the Faction. From this point on his personality becomes more unpredictable than usual as he is driven by desperation, fear, and the virus itself.
His role in this particular story is that of a double agent. On the one hand he has been given orders by the Faction¡ªwhich we latter learn is to stabilise the Edifice¡ªand on the other he is compelled by the Time Lords to board the Edifice to retrieve the Type 102 TARDIS, Compassion. While the reader is inclined to believe the Doctor is seeking to avoid working for either side, and is instead struggling to save the Time Lord¡¯s from whatever fate the Faction have in store, it appears that he is being increasingly controlled by the virus.
When the Doctor learns the identity of the Edifice is his own TARDIS¡ªwhich he believed was dead¡ªand is in fact holding both his corrupted and original timeline in balance, there is a glimmer of hope. The Doctor keeps asserting that this means he may not be infected by the virus at all¡ªreferring to his original timeline is still being in play. But nothing comes of this, and this outcome seems less and less likely.
Finally, when he is confronted by his own future self acting as the Grandfather Paradox personified, his internal battle is played out externally. To begin with, it appears he has succumbed to the virus but this, as might be expected, turns out to be a ruse. The Doctor reveals how deep his desperation runs when he decides to destroy his TARDIS¡ªwhich the Grandfather attempts to prevent¡ªhoping his true timeline might assert itself. Of course, the end result of this action would be his death and the destruction of Gallifrey. However, though he follows through, his life is saved, and he is left as an amnesiac.
As is usual, the Doctor¡¯s companions play a crucial role to the story as well. Compassion, having become a TARDIS, is pursued but the Time Lord¡¯s in order to mother the next generation for the coming war. This is something she will never willingly do and at least once nearly destroys herself in her attempts to escape. She spends a considerable amount of time on the periphery of things as she tries to avoid her fate but she does enough to show that she is still rather indifferent towards others and does not respect the Doctor¡¯s morals¡ªshe is quite prepared to kill for her freedom and does so.
Fitz is much more present in these events as he ends up in the middle of a group of Faction wannabes led by a Faction agent in disguise. Though this Fitz is not the original but a ¡®remembered¡¯ version, he demonstrates most if not all the traits displayed in the original. He hides his fear behind sarcasm and spends most of his time ¡®admiring¡¯ any women in the vicinity. His confidence in the Doctor is almost absolute, something that is still buried in the original who is now Father Kreiner of the Faction.
When Fitz and Father Kreiner comes face to face they both assert that they are different from one another. Father Kreiner claims Fitz could never be the real Fitz and that he is just a copy, and Fitz claims he is more ¡®Fitz¡¯ than Father Kreiner could ever be. Ironically, though it takes a long time for it to become evident in Father Kreiner, they both share a strong faith in the Doctor. Even when the Doctor seems to have given in to the Faction Virus¡ªwhich causes a crisis of faith in Fitz¡ªthey ultimately refuse to believe the Doctor has changed.
This is in stark contrast with the Time Lords who know the Doctor¡¯s history better. Romana a former companion of the Doctor believes him to be a lost cause and states that if he can¡¯t be saved, he must be killed.
World Building
This is the culmination of myriad events that have been hinting towards the Faction Paradox¡¯s attempted takeover of Gallifrey. Most of the books leading up to this I have not read, so it is difficult for me to comment on how well this continues to build on them. From what I can tell the Doctor knew about the war that the Time Lord¡¯s have been preparing for but had refused to learn the details. In addition to this, the Faction had altered the Doctor¡¯s timeline and he would be taken by their virus during his Eighth incarnation for some unknown purpose.
From the moment the Doctor sets foot on Gallifrey, it is clear that Romana¡ªthe president of Gallifrey¡ªhas spent her time in office preparing for this war. In fact, the war seems to be the only thing of note that she and her council discuss. They apparently have future knowledge of the war that they shouldn¡¯t have, and it is from this that they believe they need the Type 102 TARDIS. The Edifice is an exception to what they perceive of the future and they recognise it shouldn¡¯t be, but not what it is or why it is there. While we don¡¯t learn much about the war itself the Doctor does see some of the future when Compassion forces the images on him telepathically. It is partly because of this that he is prepared to destroy Gallifrey and save them from degenerating into creatures of war.
The Faction Paradox finally reveal their plans for the Doctor and Gallifrey¡ªsome of which had been hinted at. Through the Doctor they wish to control the Edifice, but this is an aside born of their assumption it is of Faction origin. Their true goal is to use the blind spots created by the Edifice and the war to bring their Shadow Parliament to Gallifrey with the Doctor as the Grandfather. This they almost succeed in and would have done but for the Doctor¡¯s destruction of the Edifice.
Themes
The lesser of two evils is a major theme for ¡®The Ancestor Cell¡¯
With the presence of the Faction Paradox, the Doctor is constantly being directed towards actions that would result in a paradox. This leads him to the constant dilemma of whether ends justify the means. Several times it is pointed out he could save lives by causing a paradox, but this would lead to him falling further into the Faction¡¯s grip and doing their work for them. He knows that if he creates one paradox, then it will be too easy to create more, and if he falls to the Faction, they will not be of a benevolent nature.
The Time Lord¡¯s, aware of the evil their enemy will carry out, change to become more ruthless and will continue to do so¡ªassuming the Doctor¡¯s premonition was accurate. Some of the weapons which they have stored in preparation of the war horrifies Fitz when they are forced to use them against the Faction. Also they have a complete disregard for the lives of the Doctor or Compassion in their attempt to gain a Type 102 TARDIS.
In the end, despite believing that evil is evil, the Doctor is compelled to choose what he considers the lesser of two evils when he destroys the Edifice. This is something he acknowledges he would not be able to live with the memory of as it is in such conflict with his moral ideology.
Plot
This is a story of the Doctor¡¯s attempt to run from his past and finds he cannot. Each action he takes seems to trap him further. When he first arrived on the Edifice, he knew it was connected to him, but his instincts¡ªand some bone spiders¡ªmade him run. But he wasn¡¯t able to avoid the Edifice since the Time Lord¡¯s insisted he reboard it when they learn Compassion is aboard. The Doctor only considers it in order to free himself from the Faction Virus, but even then resists. Though they don¡¯t succeed directly, he still ends up back on the Edifice where he learns that it is his TARDIS.
While it is not stated at this point, it follows that destroying the Edifice would have had the potential to reassert the Doctor¡¯s timeline and he could have been free of the virus. Of course, this would have resulted in not only his death but the destruction of Gallifrey, which he was not ready to contemplate. Compassion tried to force him to stop running by showing him the future of the war, though it is unclear what she expected him to do.
It is only after the Faction have nearly won and he discovers he is destined to be the Grandfather Paradox that he returns to the Edifice and destroys it. However, it is left ambiguous whether he was still running and intended to die or if he knew Compassion would save him¡ªat least in this novel.
Writing
The general style is third person with the point of view switching roughly every chapter. Most chapters follow either the Doctor or Fitz, though not always from their perspective, with the occasional chapter following a Faction agent or another Time Lord (i.e. Romana).
In addition to the chapters that convey the main plot, there are five brief interludes. An unidentified character appears to be researching something about the war, but he has to be quick or he will be missed. The purpose of these chapters is ambiguous.
The only other unusual feature is that the first chapter is displaced in time and is in fact the same as the final chapter, but from the perspective of a different character. A woman is surprised by the presence of a man in her private train compartment in the first version. In the second the man wakes up to find himself on a train, having no recollection of who he is or how he came to be there. Though it is never stated, the man is clearly the Doctor. In the first chapter the reader is likely to suspect this but be left confused as to what he is doing there, but in the last chapter we know how he came to be there and why he might have lost his memory.
Brief Quotes
The Doctor stared at Mali, affronted. ¡®You stupid young woman!¡¯ he yelled. ¡¯You¡¯re completely missing the point! I¡¯m not a Faction agent.¡¯
Mali stared down at him, unmoved. ¡®Your bio data is riddled with their virus.¡¯
¡®No!¡¯ The Doctor shook his head, and felt the knife scrape under his chin. ¡®It only probably is.¡¯
Finally, the figure straightened, and she could see it clearly now. This apparition wore not bone but its own, cold face, the measure of its rank and stature. She took in the shaved head first, then the hooded, glittering glacier-eyes. The sallow skin, the cruel thin smile, aloof and alien.
She shook her hand free from the Doctor¡¯s grasp. Unable to articulate words, she backed away.
¡®My life ends as it began,¡¯ the Doctor whispered, his face twisted between fascination and disgust at the sight of himself looking out from the podium over the Shadow Parliament. ¡®Congratulations, Doctor. You¡¯re a grandfather again.¡¯
¡®Come on, Doctor,¡¯ Fitz muttered fiercely. ¡®Don¡¯t you recognise a half-arsed rescue attempt when you see one.¡¯
The Doctor¡¯s head lolled to one side like a corpse¡¯s, his eyes meeting Fitz¡¯s own.
And he smiled, but not in relief or in welcome. The cold sneer of a smile looked so wrong on his face, so out of place that the image affected Fitz far more than any of the carnage he¡¯d witnessed this day.
Summary
Having not read all the preceding story arc in the novels leading up to this I can¡¯t really give an accurate review but with my limited knowledge I did enjoy this book. I found myself very much journeying with the Doctor and experiencing his struggles with him. Early on I realised that the Edifice being destroyed was the most obvious but terrible solution to his problems. Of course I kept hoping that, as usual, he would find another way out.
The only negative¡ªand this might be down to me not having read some of the previous books¡ªwas that there were a couple of short segments that didn¡¯t entirely make sense. This could also have been a means of expressing the confusion the Faction Paradox was creating or the Doctor¡¯s state of mind. Either way, it wasn¡¯t a great hindrance and didn¡¯t impede my enjoyment.
Similar Books
This is typical of the style I have come to expect of Classic Doctor Who Novels and if you have not read any others, I would recommend that you do so.
Rating
Character development: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4.5)
World Building: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4)
Plot: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4)
Writing: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4)
Overall rating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï (4)
April 29, 2021
Lawrence Miles created Faction Paradox with an intention to write stories involving the mythic War in Heaven against the future Enemy of the Time Lords. The earliest seeds of Grandfather Paradox were seeded in Christmas on a Rational Planet before Alien Bodies and Interference setup just what Faction Paradox is doing with the theft of the Doctor¡¯s biodata, allowing Laura Tobin to become Compassion, and killing the Third Doctor on Dust. Since The Blue Angel and The Shadows of Avalon, Compassion has become a TARDIS and is being forced into becoming the template for the rest of the sentient TARDIS¡¯s. This was meant to be a long story arc, but as Stephen Cole left the range editor and Justin Richards took over, Lawrence Miles vowed never to write for Doctor Who again, a promise which he broke by writing for Big Finish Productions as well as writing The Adventuress of Henrietta Street. To wrap up the Faction Paradox and the Compassion arc, leaving editor Stephen Cole teamed up with Peter Anghelides to write The Ancestor Cell, a book determined to end this particular era of the Eighth Doctor Adventures and bring in the new team, finishing up the Faction Paradox and human TARDIS storylines. This had the potential to be a complete disaster as it¡¯s taking several threads and bringing them to a close all in one book. The book also may have one of the higher word counts for the Eighth Doctor Adventures, with the text being smaller than the standard to keep the page count to the approximate 280 pages of a BBC Books.
The Ancestor Cell sees the Doctor, Fitz, and Compassion split up with Compassion captured by the Time Lords, the Doctor by Romana, and Fitz taken by Faction Paradox. There is a bone flower growing in space out of the Doctor¡¯s original TARDIS and Romana is attempting to win the War with the Enemy at all costs. Anghelides and Cole essentially take a Lawrence Miles style story and write it in the practical style of say a Target novelization making this an interesting read to say the least. There are also several horrific images such as spiders made of bone and the degradation of Fitz Kreiner into Father Kreiner. Fitz¡¯s brainwashing by Faction Paradox is something incredibly slow over the course of the book and is really only saved by Compassion coming in and being compassionate. There is quite a lot of body horror and the voice of Father Kreiner is one of this jaded man, mad with power and an incredibly devious mind. Kreiner blames the Doctor for leaving him to die on the planet Dust, bringing back the fact that the version of Fitz we have seen is actually a clone. The modifications to Fitz throughout the book to slowly influence him into getting to become Father Kreiner. This becomes incredibly apparent when Fitz and Compassion have their final moment with the now amnesiac Doctor in the ruins of the destroyed Gallifrey. This is actually Compassion¡¯s final story which makes it interesting as she doesn¡¯t always appear throughout, but it makes her entrances into the plot and her contribution is her best appearance. This is the book that makes me actually really like where Compassion has been going and ends up here.
The reappearance of Romana III here is also incredibly important to make her a War Queen of Nine Gallifreys, each of which is slowly destroyed as several timelines clash. Romana blames the Doctor for starting the war, with the many Time Lord supporting characters having their own sense of madness which contributes to Romana¡¯s madness. What makes things the most interesting is the flashes of the old Romana which are included here and there give the cold President something human and the flashes. Meanwhile Grandfather Paradox works as a cold and dark reflection against the Doctor, as a figure that the Doctor may be destined to become if he gives into the Faction. The Doctor is perhaps the most distraught as he loses everything and the climax where he is responsible for starting the War and ending Gallifrey, all while losing his memory is absolutely beautiful. Yes it has become a joke that the Eighth Doctor gets amnesia, but this is one of the few times where it has actual repercussions for future books. The Eighth Doctor is also at his most sympathetic as he just finds himself broken at the end of this book. There is an issue with the conclusion not really allowing him to react and respond, as well as essentially ending on a conversation.
Overall, The Ancestor Cell somehow manages to be a brilliant novel out of two authors who previously failed to entirely impress, making something great. This deals with the destruction of Gallifrey in one of those stories where it actually feels important, giving some emotional closure to the story arc and prepares to usure in something new. 9/10.
The Ancestor Cell sees the Doctor, Fitz, and Compassion split up with Compassion captured by the Time Lords, the Doctor by Romana, and Fitz taken by Faction Paradox. There is a bone flower growing in space out of the Doctor¡¯s original TARDIS and Romana is attempting to win the War with the Enemy at all costs. Anghelides and Cole essentially take a Lawrence Miles style story and write it in the practical style of say a Target novelization making this an interesting read to say the least. There are also several horrific images such as spiders made of bone and the degradation of Fitz Kreiner into Father Kreiner. Fitz¡¯s brainwashing by Faction Paradox is something incredibly slow over the course of the book and is really only saved by Compassion coming in and being compassionate. There is quite a lot of body horror and the voice of Father Kreiner is one of this jaded man, mad with power and an incredibly devious mind. Kreiner blames the Doctor for leaving him to die on the planet Dust, bringing back the fact that the version of Fitz we have seen is actually a clone. The modifications to Fitz throughout the book to slowly influence him into getting to become Father Kreiner. This becomes incredibly apparent when Fitz and Compassion have their final moment with the now amnesiac Doctor in the ruins of the destroyed Gallifrey. This is actually Compassion¡¯s final story which makes it interesting as she doesn¡¯t always appear throughout, but it makes her entrances into the plot and her contribution is her best appearance. This is the book that makes me actually really like where Compassion has been going and ends up here.
The reappearance of Romana III here is also incredibly important to make her a War Queen of Nine Gallifreys, each of which is slowly destroyed as several timelines clash. Romana blames the Doctor for starting the war, with the many Time Lord supporting characters having their own sense of madness which contributes to Romana¡¯s madness. What makes things the most interesting is the flashes of the old Romana which are included here and there give the cold President something human and the flashes. Meanwhile Grandfather Paradox works as a cold and dark reflection against the Doctor, as a figure that the Doctor may be destined to become if he gives into the Faction. The Doctor is perhaps the most distraught as he loses everything and the climax where he is responsible for starting the War and ending Gallifrey, all while losing his memory is absolutely beautiful. Yes it has become a joke that the Eighth Doctor gets amnesia, but this is one of the few times where it has actual repercussions for future books. The Eighth Doctor is also at his most sympathetic as he just finds himself broken at the end of this book. There is an issue with the conclusion not really allowing him to react and respond, as well as essentially ending on a conversation.
Overall, The Ancestor Cell somehow manages to be a brilliant novel out of two authors who previously failed to entirely impress, making something great. This deals with the destruction of Gallifrey in one of those stories where it actually feels important, giving some emotional closure to the story arc and prepares to usure in something new. 9/10.
October 3, 2017
Faction Paradox rides again! I'd been looking forward to more of them and to the wrapup of the arc about Compassion and Gallifrey's obsession with their upcoming war, but I didn't realize it was going to be in the same book. I liked a lot of this, though I found much of the explanation for what exactly Faction Paradox were doing headache-inducing and nonsensical. I suppose that's part of the point. Less fun for me though.
Not exaaactly a zombie book, but, well, Faction's whole look with the bones and exposed skulls and ancient bodies held together by leather armor and servo-rotors...definitely hits a similar squick with me. Really liked the finality of the ending, though (of course they might still be back, but it was a good solid NOPE BYE for now).
I'm never too thrilled when Romana gets made evil, but she seemed to sort of be on our side again by the end? IDK. Love love LOVED that we get the real TARDIS again, though I won't say how. Can't WAIT to see her in action again, though I know I'll have to wait a couple more books because SPOILERS.
Oh, and Three in any form, ghost or not, can crash any Eight book any time ever. /continues shipping her tiny Doctorship
Not exaaactly a zombie book, but, well, Faction's whole look with the bones and exposed skulls and ancient bodies held together by leather armor and servo-rotors...definitely hits a similar squick with me. Really liked the finality of the ending, though (of course they might still be back, but it was a good solid NOPE BYE for now).
I'm never too thrilled when Romana gets made evil, but she seemed to sort of be on our side again by the end? IDK. Love love LOVED that we get the real TARDIS again, though I won't say how. Can't WAIT to see her in action again, though I know I'll have to wait a couple more books because SPOILERS.
Oh, and Three in any form, ghost or not, can crash any Eight book any time ever. /continues shipping her tiny Doctorship
December 7, 2020
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February 12, 2021
They say two heads are better than one but in this case two authors didn't help matters. It is clear that these novels (unlike canonical Who) are unable to be read in isolation and depend upon the reader having read the previous books in the series. I am clearly dipping in and out. The other trouble is that they were continuing a saga that the BBC has since re-commissioned making this story at odds with what we now believe to be reality. The third trouble is it's jargon filled, the prose is poor (quote: His bum felt as if) and there's no explanation as to what's gone before to get an understanding of where this novel fits in the big scheme. Others may enjoy it - I just couldn't.
April 29, 2019
On the whole this book is a load of UTTER wank but it's got Father Kreiner stomping his boot into the Doctor's face and trying to squeeze tears out of his head which, you know, nice. It wants so badly to be a Faction Paradox novel. A couple of lines really do manage to catch the vibe of the lore, and Mother Tarra is a gift, so I can't hate it completely. I just wish the good bits had found a better home in an actually good story.
June 8, 2023
A big dumb mess.
All due respect to Lawrence Miles, who apparently lived so rent free in some Who authors heads that they childishly knocked over his ideas and concepts like a schoolyard bully kicks over sand castles.
All due respect to Lawrence Miles, who apparently lived so rent free in some Who authors heads that they childishly knocked over his ideas and concepts like a schoolyard bully kicks over sand castles.
March 25, 2016
Not nearly as good as I was led to believe. Also, needs a massive TW for an important plot thread that's basically just continual rape threats against Compassion.
LIKES: Father Kreiner's arc.
The Time War stuff is a mess, but if it was simple and understandable we'd never believe it was a Time War. The ideas were generally good, with one exception: THEY GOT KLEIN BOTTLES WRONG! A Klein bottle isn't closed in 3-space either, that's the entire point: it's only got one side, what's inside is also outside. Even within the plot, how do you expect us to believe that people who construct time machines out of pure mathematics would make a geometry mistake like that??
DISLIKES: Author is sexist as hell. All the female characters are described as lovingly assembled collections of curves, "inviting" lips, sexy legs and butts, pale smooth skin, etc etc etc.
President Romana's motivations NEVER make sense, she does whatever the plot requires of her and functions as a bad guy for no real reason. Why does everyone refer to her as Lady President? The male Presidents aren't Lord President, and I don't think Romana would put up with that unevolved bullshit. She's a classic woman-hating mean girl herself in this regeneration, who surrounds herself with doddering old men she can control with sex appeal, and honestly, why?
Everyone wants to "breed" Compassion like a time-traveling cow, and her humanity is constantly in question, even by Fitz and the Doctor, even though her personality hasn't changed at all. There is a truly horrifying moment when a technician thinks about running away with Compassion to travel the universe... and the first perk that occurs to him is that he can alter her appearance into his ideal sexy woman.
Compassion's "win" at the end doesn't do anything to counter the rampant misogyny.
I was browsing my other EDA reviews, and oh look, the other Anghelides book I read, , was also full of misogynist tropes. Great.
LIKES: Father Kreiner's arc.
The Time War stuff is a mess, but if it was simple and understandable we'd never believe it was a Time War. The ideas were generally good, with one exception: THEY GOT KLEIN BOTTLES WRONG! A Klein bottle isn't closed in 3-space either, that's the entire point: it's only got one side, what's inside is also outside. Even within the plot, how do you expect us to believe that people who construct time machines out of pure mathematics would make a geometry mistake like that??
DISLIKES: Author is sexist as hell. All the female characters are described as lovingly assembled collections of curves, "inviting" lips, sexy legs and butts, pale smooth skin, etc etc etc.
President Romana's motivations NEVER make sense, she does whatever the plot requires of her and functions as a bad guy for no real reason. Why does everyone refer to her as Lady President? The male Presidents aren't Lord President, and I don't think Romana would put up with that unevolved bullshit. She's a classic woman-hating mean girl herself in this regeneration, who surrounds herself with doddering old men she can control with sex appeal, and honestly, why?
Everyone wants to "breed" Compassion like a time-traveling cow, and her humanity is constantly in question, even by Fitz and the Doctor, even though her personality hasn't changed at all. There is a truly horrifying moment when a technician thinks about running away with Compassion to travel the universe... and the first perk that occurs to him is that he can alter her appearance into his ideal sexy woman.
Compassion's "win" at the end doesn't do anything to counter the rampant misogyny.
I was browsing my other EDA reviews, and oh look, the other Anghelides book I read, , was also full of misogynist tropes. Great.
October 10, 2012
This is the completion of a storylines that has been going on for a long long time.
First is the Doctors subversion by the Paradox Faction, they killed him in the past
and now he isn't supposed exist, but he does this apparently allows them control over
him. The second is Compassion and Rommana and the Time Lords want her in the future
war between them and the Enemy. The Third is Fitz himself
Compassion, The Doctor and Fitz have finally been cornered. They materialize in a strange
place and then The Doctor and Fitz are separated and arrive on Galifrey. Fitz in the middle
of a weird ceremony and the Doctor in the Panoptican. There is a large structure in the Galifryian
sky. Strange things are occuring, changes nobody notices. The Paradox Faction is taking over.
The Doctor has to take a drastic action to stop the take over.
The story was a bit to complicated and relied on actions that happened in books written
years earlier. Of course this ties up most of the plot threads that have been building
up over most of the previous books. The problem for me is that I have been reading the
books off and on since they came out so quite a few plots were lost on me.
Biggest problem is that this book was crushed under the weight of its own canon.
Hopefully this cleans the slate for the next book
April 8, 2009
[return][return]This is the first of the books setting up the Faction Paradox timeline which I have enjoyed. The Doctor and Fitz return to Gallifrey in Compassion-as-Tardis, and find themselves implicated in a power struggle between President Romana and one of her predecessors, resurrected by the Faction Paradox. It contains the seeds of numerous ideas which we have seen in later stories, particularly the Gallifrey audios (though they of course feature Romanas I and II, whereas here it's clearly another Romana), and ends with the original Tardis regenerating itself and the Doctor stuck on Earth with amnesia - both picked up more recently in Big Finish continuity. Most importantly it rounds off a significant story arc, going back to the start of the BBC Eighth Doctor series in some ways, and does so very satisfactorily. Sometimes Who stories playing with Gallifreyan drama and temporal paradoxes get too clever for their own good, but this is just about right. Very satisfying.
June 18, 2013
Mind-boggling in the extreme. The writer does a good job of keeping a steady pace and making the Time Lords seem super brilliant.
Going to take a moment to brag that I figured out the whole Grandfather Paradox thing back in . That was a fun puzzle to solve.
The imagery was fantastic, but be warned, it does get a bit graphic and gory. Scary spiders. Eeek.
This one is very important continuity-wise, as it finishes up several story arcs.
If you love the Doctor, you've got to read it.
Going to take a moment to brag that I figured out the whole Grandfather Paradox thing back in . That was a fun puzzle to solve.
The imagery was fantastic, but be warned, it does get a bit graphic and gory. Scary spiders. Eeek.
This one is very important continuity-wise, as it finishes up several story arcs.
If you love the Doctor, you've got to read it.
January 4, 2011
There's a relentlessness to this novel that I find unsettling. Considering that Stephen Cole's Big Finish story "The Apocalypse Element" covers similiar ground with much more alacrity, I would recommend the audio adventure over this novel if you're looking for the ultimate invasion-of-Gallifrey story.
January 6, 2013
I liked the part where it just barely made sense. No, really. I liked it.
March 2, 2010
I'll be honest, it baffled me a little. Another to revisit.
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