Time for another NSA! This week we’re reading Beautiful Chaos by Gary Russell.
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I absolutely love this book! So first let’s talk the Noble Family! One the the strongest parts about 9 and 10’s runs are the impacts that traveling with the Doctor had on the families! And the books go a lot into it too, with Sylvia suffering from her husbands death, Donna’s loss of her dad and the strained relationship with her mom, and Wilf trying to be a mediator. And now Wilf has a wonderful friend, Netty.
Netty is brilliant, fun, witty, and suffering from Alzheimer’s. Wilf is trying to be a good friend and look out for her but we also see there is some strain from all this on Sylvia as well. I like that it has a lot of these messy dynamics in it, and I love that despite Wilf trusting the Doctor and having such a high opinion of him, there is an actual moment in the book where he is so angry and hurt by the Doctor’s actions. And it was so cute for Wilf to invite the Doctor to a dinner held in his honor and I think my favorite part was when the Doctor was asked if a star was ever named after him and he says no, but internally he honestly can’t remember if one ever has but it doesn’t matter because he would have said ‘No’ regardless because it’s Wilf’s night!
Also the book’s antagonist is the Mandragora helix, so that’s back. The actual plot of the book was okay and the pacing was fine. I honestly cared more about the characters and their dynamics than what was going on with the stars appearing and solving the problem to be honest.
I also listened to the audiobook after reading it. It’s read by Bernard Cribbins so that’s is a huge recommendation too!
My main issue with NSAs I’ve read is wonky characterization, but that is the exact opposite of a problem with this one. Nails the characters, nails the interpersonal dynamics, adds just a little more depth, and also more Wilf! Really solid book
I read this book.
Without going and reading a synopsis, that’s all I can say about it. Nothing about it is retained in my memory.
Just finished this and to be honest I wasn’t that impressed. Nothing in the story really grabbed me which really surprised me, both because of the reputation of the book and also because of its connection with The Masque of Mandragora, which is one of my favourite classic stories. Yet I was left disappointed. I really don’t like how Sylvia comes across in this, to me she feels much more mean-spirited in this than in the show. Wilf shines throughout as does the general chemistry of the Tenth Doctor and Donna but it still always feels quite dull to me. I kept reading, waiting to finally get hooked in the story, but I just didn’t care.
5/10
I absolutely ADORE this book. 12/10 type of book.
This was a great book! I am glad that I did the audiobook version since it was amazing having Bernard Cribbins read it. I especially liked the first part that really went into the sorrow of the death of Donna’s dad; it felt unexpectedly deep for this series. 4/5
Now this is what a good NSA looks like. It could easily be a TV episode, and if it was, it would be really beloved. Really high-quality story.
Side Note: I own the 50th Anniversary edition of this book, and that comes with a special introduction from Gary Russell which is a nice read.