A warm welcome! If you feel like it, you can pop over to introductions to introduce yourself and let us know more about you!
2 Likes
Hey!
Welcome to the forum!!
2 Likes
Welcome to the forum @beardedwhovian - good to have you here. As MrColdStream says, do pop over to the Introductions thread and tell us a bit more about yourself.
1 Like
I was the same - but donât worry, Exodus is a real page-turner! Iâm having the same problem again now with Timeâs Crucible though. Going to give it a rest and catch up on the NSAâs for Book Club once Iâve finished The Long Sleep
2 Likes
I am reading At Childhoodâs End. I like the concept that the actor like their character and decide to write their own stories about them. Also fun to get companions paired with the wrong Doctor.
5 Likes
Yeah Timeâs Crucible was a bit dull for me lol
Especially coming on the heels of Revelation, it felt like a backwards step in terms of characterization
Finished Killing Ground. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the idea of the Cybermen essentially running a farm planet, returning every few years for more conversion tributes. The Agorans policing themselves, as well as the rebellion contemplating converting their own soldiers into off brand Cybermen all felt suitably dystopian.
The Cybermen themselves were decently portrayed. I loved all the jokes and debates over logic, the jabs at the Cybermenâs performative âemotions,â as well as the Cyberleaderâs bewilderment that Hegelia was willing to be converted, because the idea was illogical. That made me chuckle. In contrast, the sequence where Hegelia is converted and trying to narrate the process was a suitably horrifying read.
This is definitely a step up from Time of Your life pacing wise. There are much fewer subplots, so everything feels a lot tighter. On the flip side, Lyons mightâve cut things down a bit too much. The novel has a tendency for leaving characters in precarious situations, then revealing that theyâre fine when we eventually cut back to them. It worked once with the Grant death fakeout, but the fakeout where the Doctor considers just giving up on the irradiated Selachian warship, only to have clambered onto the TARDIS offscreen felt a bit unsatisfactory.
The worst offender of this pacing issue was easily the epilogue though. Weâre just given a basic summary of the conversation that the Doctor and Grant had, rather than actually getting to see the conversation take place. After all the drama and tension between them during the bookâs 2nd half, it was disappointing to see such a pivotal moment in their relationship relegated to a footnote.
Speaking of which, I should probably talk about Mr Markham. Boy did Grant get dealt a raw deal on his first trip. Separated immediately from the Doctor and having to live under a tyrannical regime for the three weeks. Platform one looks almost quaint. While I do like the immediate stakes of having the Doctor captured, forcing the companion to step up, it does mean we donât get a chance to flesh out the dynamic between the pair, which is a shame given that this was their final proper story together (outside of some short stories). Iâm surprised Big Finish and the BBC books never did more with Grant. Though then again, I suppose heâs a little bland when compared to sixieâs other companions.
While I do ultimately appreciate the attempts made by Lyons to usher in a new chapter for the 6th Doctorâs life, I think Big Finish did a much better job of it with Evelyn Smythe. She was precisely the companion that this Doctor needed at that point in his life, and I think the stories were better off for almost completely rejecting the Saward era mould and tackling new genres. Though I canât really blame Lyons for this, as it doesnât seem like the VMAs were built for ambitious, longform storytelling like the VNAs were. A valiant effort nonetheless.
All in all, a really gripping read, let down by some pacing issues and an underdeveloped Doctor-Comapnion dynamic. 
1/2 stars.
Next up, The Infinity Doctors.
4 Likes
It always amused me that Grantâs headshot on the cover is basically just the artist Alastair Pearson.
3 Likes
To be fair, his cover art for the VMAs were pretty cool. I think he earned that little bit of indulgence.
2 Likes
No disagreement here. Pearson is a fabulous artist. Always loved his covers for things.
3 Likes
Finished âDoctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleksâ today.
Really interesting to see the differences as we get a whole new start to Doctor Who which goes straight into the Daleks.
It is a fine narrative device to experience the story entirely from Ianâs perspective, except itâs not really the Ian we know and love - he is more brusque and his charm is almost nonexistent. Also the relationship between Ian and Barbara is really odd - what does she see in him, why is she being so standoffish towards him if she has an interest in him and why is she consistently referred to as a girl. The Doctor is spot on - David Whittaker really paints him in a good light. Susan English is a bit of a nonentity for much of the book.
Definitely worth a read 
5 Likes
Currently, Iâm just working my way through the âVirgin Missing Adventuresâ.
Iâve read some of them already, but this time Iâm trying to go in order.
âGoth Operaâ was really fun.
âEvolutionâ was⌠well, the writer has reputation for some pretty vile content and it wasnât great.
Currently, Iâm about a quarter of the way through âVenusian Lullabyâ. Itâs really bizarre, but I love how Paul Leonard treats the reader with a bit of intelligence. The world-building is absolutely strunning too; which is my favourite part of any book.
1 Like
Remind me here, is âSpeed of Flightâ the book which was weirdely meant to be a prequel to âTimelashâ - of all things?
1 Like
I struggled big time with Venusian Lullaby (and many of Leonardâs books to be fair) but as I read it when I was a spotty teenager, I always think it would be worth me revisiting the MAs and NAs now, in my advanced years, because I think I would appreciate them in a whole different way.
1 Like
Currently making myself read Ready Player One because my non-Doctor Who prose reading is shockingly poor.
1 Like
I sort of had a similar experience. I read through the first fifteen NAs when I first got into the range in 2018, and gave up about half way through âWhite Darknessâ - realising that I much preferred the audios.
Decided to dig my books out of the wardrobe last year, and now the complete opposite is true. Nearly caught up to where I was with the NAs (âLucifer Risingâ is next up, and I remember it being superb).
With the MAs, I tried going through them in any order to begin with and foud some excellent ones. âBurning Heartâ was a real surprise - world-building was supreme, and Dave Stone has such a wonderful approach to writing.
2 Likes
When I think about reading these back in early to mid 90s onwards, phrases like âwhen I first got into the range in 2018â make me ever so slightly aware of the inevitable approach of old age and death!
2 Likes
Yeah I wasnât even born when the NAs and MAs were released, which is weird to think of.
2 Likes
Iâm working on Autumn Mist at the moment, recently finished Earthworld too since it happened to be at my local library
5 Likes
âAutumn Mistâ is a McIntee book, isnât it?
Think itâs one of few by him that I know absolutely nothing about.