Time for another NSA! This week we’re reading The Story of Martha.
Please discuss below - no need to finish it first, discuss as you go along but please add spoiler tags!
If you’ve previously read the book and want to join in the discussion, that’s great too!
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I read it a long time ago and absolutely loved it. I want to listen to the audiobook to rediscover the story; when I first read it, I was just starting to read in English. I had to look up so many words in the dictionary that it interrupted the experience a bit =D
I remember this being a mostly so-so book, but I absolutely loved the Rob Shearman story The Frozen Wastes — which was so lovely I think I might reread it right now!
I found the most interesting part to be Marthas journey during the lost year. That part was much better than the BF box. But overall a pretty mid book and I rated everything a 3 or a 3.5. Fun to get an extra badge for it:
Oh a book I have read! Many years ago now, probably close to when s3 aired, but I remember liking it but not loving it. None of the stories are incredibly memorable I think
I reread the book for this and I still enjoyed it. The stories were nice and I liked the small fleshing out of Martha’s journey. My favorite part was when Martha encountered a group of UNIT agents who used ‘Sergeant Benton’ as a code word to indicate their support of the Doctor.
The only complaint I had was some of the stories didn’t exactly fit the frame. Like Martha was having a conversation with someone and would be reminded of something that she would tell a story about, but the story didn’t always fit the conversation before. I did enjoy them though.
This was a ten out of ten for me. While one or two of the stories with ten dragged on a bit, all the bits about Martha’s travels were spectacular. I have to get back to actually doing homework, so I’m just going to copy paste my TARDIS Guide review.
So one of the fun things about this book is that it’s an anthology, with a series of stories being told by Martha during her year on the run. The stories are generally fun, but it’s the overarching story that takes place during the present that makes this book shine. Martha Jones deserves compensation. After every story, we return to Martha on the run (also Martha’s personal hell). The physical and mental stuff she goes through is brutal. This book delves into all the experiences that turned Martha from a med student into a soldier. This book had me thinking about a post I saw that said Martha should’ve had the big hero moment at the end of the season 3 finale. Because while she’s telling stories about the Doctor, the Master’s men are saying she’s already become a figurehead of the rebellion by week 7. I loved that everywhere Martha went, she picked up her own companions (often to her advantage, sometimes to her chagrin). While I’ve loved a lot of the NSAs, this is the only one I think has actually enhanced some of the TV stories for me. 10/10.
So I’ve not been reading this one, but listening to the audiobook, and I’m quite enjoying it so far! I’m hooked!
Usually I hate little kid characters (I could beat any kid in a fight) but the kid is great!
The soldiers after Martha is quite cool.
This is making me want to rewatch the series 3 finale, as I’d forgotten just how bad things were for Martha.
I love the description of how it feels to use the vortex manipulator!
You could beat any kid in a fight, but could Doctor Who?
About 3/4 through this but might not finish today. Have to say though, The Frozen Wastes is exceptional and stands suspiciously apart from the rest of the book in terms of quality. A very interesting, very Doctor Who story that I look forward to thinking about separately.
Otherwise I’ve been enjoying this enough. I worried the NSAs might be a bit childish for my taste in writing, and I’ve definitely got some criticisms that will find their way into my ultimate review, but I’m a big fan of Series 3 and I’m really enjoying to get to flesh out Martha’s involvement. It’s something I’ve been very passionate about from the TV side of things, so it’s sad to hear from @Tian that the audios might be a miss.
I might have to find out a way to not end up writing a short essay for every 3.5/5 story I read, but here we are.
I think this is really a mixed bag. There’s some really strong writing, there’s some clunky writing. I think the tone is inconsistent. I think the short stories are varied in quality and don’t always fit naturally in the wider narrative. And I think the biggest sin of all is that I just expected slightly more from Martha’s hero arc - if this was the year that turned her into the badass that arrives at the season finale, I wanted just a little more juice to her obstacles.
But it’s still a fun little book. The Frozen Wastes remains the highlight - that’s worth a read on its own more than anything. And as I highlight in my review, most of all I love the theme of storytelling as a means to defeat evil, and as a way to play with the structure of the book.
Side note, I don’t know if this is a @Shauny jobbie, but the “Discuss” button on the story’s page does not link to this thread.
On the whole, the short stories in this aren’t all that interesting. The main appeal for me was the linking material, which is a really fun glimpse into what Martha was doing during the year without the Doctor. Favourite short story was the Shearman one.
