This is a little more difficult to get a hold of, especially as it’s not available by normal means on ebook or audiobook, but there are links to buy on Amazon & eBay on the site (affiliate links ) or don’t forget to ask your local library!
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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YouTuber “poparena” did several videos on the Wilderness Years novels. The series appears to have died after the “No Future” video. Anyway, here’s the video for “Timewyrm: Genesis”: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tSg6jbcoD8U
I’m on a Doctor Who roll now, so I’m going to jump straight into this one today. I’m pretty excited, as I have been planning on starting on the VNA’s for quite some time but have never gotten around to it.
That’s great! I also had planned to read the VNAs but never thought I’d get round to it. This book club is spurring me on to read which is exactly what I needed.
Agreed! There is simply not enough time and too much to read, despite the fact that I enjoy reading immensely. This club is motivating me to read more Who books (and the same goes for the audio club with the Main Range releases; I began listening to them a few years ago but stopped after the first ten or so releases).
I started reading the VNAs from the beginning roughly half a year ago so Genesys is pretty fresh in my mind. I am looking forward to your reactions and opinions on this book as I am having very ambivalent feelings towards it.
Happy reading
Five chapters down today. And this is something else. I knew about the darker, edgier, and more mature tone of this range going in, but in five chapters we’ve already had swearing, depictions of rape, someone’s guts being sliced out, as well as dated and unflattering depictions of women.
The main story is only just starting, and the novel has switched back and forth between POVs, from Gilgamesh in ancient Mesopotamia to the Doctor and Ace in the TARDIS. The writing mimics a Classic Who story pretty well; it’s a bit slow but builds on the details and characterization. It’s mildly interesting so far, and the writing style isn’t too dense. I do feel like the novel captures Seven and Ace pretty well as well (though we are introduced to them in a rather clumsily written chapter where Ace has lost her memory and needs to be re-explained everything about who she and the Doctor are; this is probably done to benefit readers who aren’t familiar with the show). And we also get cameos from Four, some old companions, and the Brig in that same chapter.
I look forward to seeing where this story is going from here…
I read this several years ago (some time pre-Covid) and don’t remember the “adult” stuff being that prevelant. I remember enjoying the general plot and that the novel was a fun read. Looking forward to re-reading it with you guys.
Well, personally I don’t find the stuff particularly shocking or graphic per se, it’s just a bit odd for a Doctor Who story and takes some getting used to
I’m currently at Chapter 16, so I think I can talk about it.
Personally, I think this is one of the worst pieces of DW EU I’ve ever consumed. For starters, the “mood whiplash” from the TV series is so big that it’s almost unbearable, from barechested 13-year-olds to Gilgamesh groping the wife of one of his “servants” (I don’t remember his name).
And the worst part of all: The Doctor justifying Gilgamesh’s gross and sometimes paedophilic acts and scolding Ace to be rightfully disgusted. Are. You. F–king kidding me?!
I’ve never watched a Seventh Doctor TV story, but even I could feel that it was extremely out of character, both for the incarnation and the whole “entity” of the Doctor.
This is not a mature novel. It’s how a peer of mine would think about a “mature” novel!
However, there’s something good about this novel: It boosted up my self-esteem in writing DW fanfics. Maybe I’m not that bad
I’ve read 5 chapters so far (I pushed on to that point so I could read @MrColdStream ’s post - the only issue with these threads is I want to read it all but want to avoid spoilers so I do keep going back and reading it after I catch up!)
It’s fine so far - the villain seems pretty cool and interesting, and the bad stuff everyone warned about was actually pretty typical of the era (I mean ancient Mesopotamia- not the 90s!) so I don’t find it that alarming. It’s not Torchwood
I actually find it easier to read than The Clockwise Man, probably due to not having so many characters names to remember. Although the character names in this are pretty difficult to remember
Oh no, now I feel guilty that I’m pushing others to read more than they want to
I agree with @shauny about the readability being better than in The Clockwise Man. I also quite enjoy the humour (there’s one remark around the word “mate,” which is similar to the one with Ten and Donna).
I seem to have given the book a 7/10. It’s been a few months since I read it though and I think a fair bit of it has slipped away from me. I liked how different it felt from the TV series though, and the setting as I don’t think we got to see Mesopotamia in classic Who. Of the Timewyrm books, it probably comes second on likeability for me though.
) or don’t forget to ask your local library!
