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Doctor
Who: Revolution Man by Steven E. McDonald A relatively adequate Doctor Who outing, presented in a somewhat episodic format, and rife with dangling plot threads -- the entire Chinese subplot vanishes in a puff of smoke at some point, after a big build-up and a direct statement that something nasty has been done to Washington (later implied to be false.) Leonard plays havoc with the period between 1967 and 1969, with assorted strange events connected to the mysterious Revolution Man leading to a severe enough disruption that by the end of the book, World War III has broken out, reality is tipping upside down, and uncertain companion Fitz Kreiner finds himself committing an act that forces the Doctor into a terrible position. Leonard manages to capture some aspects of the period fairly well, but it seems almost by dint of painting in some details in fairly broad strokes while leaving others vague or non-existent -- this is one of those books that could have used an extra 10,000 words to fill in the backgrounds and better establish the reactions of both companions. Sam is served better here than Fitz, who winds up focused once again on a woman and never really working through the adjustments that might be expected from a four year time displacement (Fitz having been plucked from 1963) even though he spends two years on Earth, away from the Doctor. Sam, meanwhile, spends a lot of time grumbling internally about the sexism of the period, while Leonard forgets to imbue her with any sort of sense of wonder -- a common failure, alas. Although Revolution Man is a patchwork affair, with no easily tagged antagonist, it is a fairly good read, with some interesting ideas and scenes, as well as ending that causes some Whovians to grimace in agony and scream, while others rage, some fulminate, and a few nod thoughtfully. I just wish there had been 10-15% more of it to fill it out. ©2000 by Steven E. McDonald |
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