Time for another book! We are going to read together: The Deviant Strain
Please discuss below - no need to finish it first, discuss as you go along but please add spoiler tags for anything that could be considered a spoiler!
If you’ve previously read the book and want to join in the discussion, that’s great too!
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Just for fun, add your rating here:
Very long time since I’ve read so grain of salt. It felt very grim reading this as a kid, bit dark for Doctor Who compared to what was in series 1, I’ll have to give this a reread as an adult I think and see if I still think it feels that way
I read this one a while ago! It was alright, but probably my overall least favorite story with Nine, Jack and Rose. My main issue with it is that it was pretty boring at times, I feel like it could have been way shorter. It did have touching moments but it’s not a story I’m likely to reread any time soon.
I remember this one being a little bit meh when I read it years ago. I have an odd relaitonship with Justin Richards in that some of his books I find very engaging and enjoyable (like The Burning or Demontage for example) but others I find a real slog (Dreams of Empire and Option Lock amongst others). But he also wrote an excellent children’s book series called The Invisible Detective (with more than a dash of Who influencing the book titles and ideas).
Oh I’ve read this one! Manyyy manyyy years ago, but I do remember reading it and liking it. I can’t remember what happens very well, but I distinctly remember having the hardback.
oooo I think I’ll join this, I haven’t read any books with nine in ages 
Feel free to hop into any of the Book Club posts. Just because we’ve moved on to a new book doesn’t you can’t join in on the old ones.
I’m starting this today. I’m somewhat apprehensive going in because it’s written by Justin Richards, who also wrote The Clockwise Man, which I find slow and messy. But then again, this one has Captain Jack joining Nine and Rose and the remote Siberian setting sounds interesting, so this one might be more to my liking!
I like this book quite a bit! I agree with others that it goes a bit slow at times and probably could have been shorter, but the character interactions are quite good and the story is for the most part interesting.
My favorite part is when the Doctor and Jack can’t find Rose and Jack says something like “Rose wouldn’t be daft enough to go onto that submarine.” And then he and the Doctor look at each other and simultaneously realize that she definitely did go onto that submarine. Such a great character moment that exemplifies what I love so much about the dynamics between those three.
That sounds just like something that would happen on TV. As much as I have a tricky relationship with Richards’ books, he is very good at capturing the regulars in all of his books.
I have listened to 10 chapters now and it feels like it is starting to pick up the phase after a slow start. It might also be because I fell asleep 2 times when I was listening and had to relisten to parts of it 
I’m about two thirds through the book. It’s more focused and enjoyable than The Clockwise Man, and Richards gets Nine, Rose and Jack right. The setting is interesting, and some of the story details remind me of Horror of Fang Rock and The Stones of Blood. I agree with @Tian that it’s pretty slow at first and doesn’t really pick up pace until around the halfway point. The story also hasn’t been particularly memorable so far.
Six chapters in and I agree with what has been said so far about the slow pace - a bit more reminiscent of Classic Who in that aspect.
That said there is definitely potential in the setting, so I’m kind of interested to see how it all pans out.
Just finished this book. The second half was better than the first (did not fall asleep during this part). I think the story was okay but not that memorable. I liked the Tardis crew. I had some trouble with the supporting cast, not that I did not like them more than I had some problems with remembering who was who.
6/10
Only 11 chapters in now, going at a chapter a day.
There is nothing wrong with the story it is a perfectly cromulent Doctor Who story, I just don’t connect to it - which is an ongoing thing with the NSAs we’ve read so far. It’s like they are too “safe” and lacking that endless imagination that is a hallmark of the Whoniverse. I’ve read a couple of the later ones where I didn’t have that same issue with, so it might just be a case of the range finding it’s feet in how to write books for the 2005 iteration of Doctor Who.
Started the audiobook on Friday I think and just finished Chapter 4. It’s interesting, slow, but just interesting enough for me to keep going. Is it sad to say that I find Nick Briggs to be the best narrator so far? Nothing against Stuart Milligan (who played Nixon in Series 6 opener and Garundel on Big Finish), he’s a serviceable narrator and is good enough for me to keep going. At least here I can tell who’s speaking at any given time (which was my complaint with Camille Coduri, who I love as Jackie, just not as a narrator). As for the story, while slow, the mystery is enough of a hook to keep me going.
I’ve only had time to read right before bed this past week and I’ve fallen asleep within 10 minutes each of those days 
Just a couple more chapters to go, it is really not like me to take ~ 20 days to finish a book…
I feel the same with the recent New Adventures Club. It feels like I never going to finish that.
I read that one in 2 days about 8 or 9 months ago. Sometimes a book just doesn’t do it for you 
But I want to finish this one soon so I can read something else before the next NSA Book Club 
