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I wasn’t a fan of this one. It felt a bit dry and not at all engaging until the last third.
The Clean Air Act tries to channel the eco-paranoia of 1970s Doctor Who, with alien plants and environmental warnings, but it’s let down by dry writing, off-key portrayals of the regulars, and a dull supporting cast. Only the last third, where the Doctor nearly gets devoured by a deadly alien plant, really clicks. A story that wilts rather than blooms.
Here’s my non-spoilery review for those who fancy a read. Thanks!
I found it a bit dull but as I said in the currently reading thread, I was quite sleepy when I read it so wasn’t really giving it the best chance.
I agree with comments above and the dryness and denseness of the text but then I’m not that surprised because its by Matthew Sweet who, as great an interviewer as he is, I find to be a very dry, dense writer (I can’t stand Year of the Pig or Voyage to the New World).
It did feel that it fit the era but I don’t feel the regulars particularly stood out. Pairing Jo with the environmental activist is clearly trying to echo her later dealings with Clifford Jones’ group but I didn’t feel enough was made Anoushka or their relationship for it to really hold much weight. But that’s partly the problem of short stories where things like that have to painted with broad brushstrokes because of the limited word count.
I was able to give solid reviews after ~half a year for the first three stories, this one however… it’s just completely gone from my brain
I remember that there’s extracts of ‘non-fiction’ in it, and liking it that the time, but if that’s all I can remember, that’sa real shame (can’t even remember what companion it was, and there’s only three to pick from, at a guess Jo, but I’ll check again now)
Okay yeah, I was right, I vaguely remember her flirting with some UNIT soldiers now, or something like that, but I don’t remember the plot itself at all
There are some interesting ideas in here, but it’s not terribly clear what’s actually going on until the end, and even then it’s not terribly clear. Do the radioactive plane parts actually have anything to do with what’s going on? Or is it just the alien plants that are siphoning the air back to their planet?
I liked some of the ideas this story had, with the plant from another world trying to take the atmosphere from Earth. There were a few moments I was amused about, like Benton and Yates suspecting a woman might be the Master due to her name ‘Masterson’ combined with their rising paranoia of the Master before Yates is like ‘he’s good, but not that good,’ (also Benton didn’t deserve to be hit before that and Mike, wait until you learn about Missy and that Time Lords can regenerate in any body).
It was an alright story, not my favorite in the collection but enjoyable.
Nothing special here. I like that Benton and Yates are here. I like the Doctor. The climax is fun. But the plot feels disjointed and boring. Just watch the green death instead
I actually really liked this one. I was fascinated the whole way through to find out just what had happened with the incident and I thought the way book extracts and such were mixed in was rather clever
