tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800091210753201638.post6212299306903165977..comments2023-06-04T17:53:06.332+01:00Comments on Neil Is The Best Dalek: Doctor Who: The Virgin Novels #30 – Blood Harvest by Terrance DicksUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800091210753201638.post-75581501676073769682016-11-06T10:12:18.580+00:002016-11-06T10:12:18.580+00:00I read this New Adventure as a very fun bit of pul...I read this New Adventure as a very fun bit of pulp fiction. I loved Terrance Dicks's "Timewyrm: Exodus," and once again he wrote a fun and fast-paced adventure set in an interesting historical period. 1920s Chicago comes to cinematic life, and the Doctor fits right in, even opening his own speakeasy as a cover. The other half of the book is a revisit to "State of Decay" through the fresh and witty perspective of Benny. Wonderful also to see Romanadvoratrelundar and Gallifrey again.<br /><br />It figures that it would take the author of one the earliest New Adventures to restore Ace to a likable character after all the abuse, angst and mutation she suffered in numerous subsequent books. She abandons her combat suit, cracks jokes, enjoys herself and her friends, and still gets to shoot things up. The Doctor is also less Machiavellian and more relaxed and helpful. They are joined by a stereotypical but delightful private eye.<br /><br />The ending however is rather rushed, and there is an epilogue which might do better as the prologue for "Goth Opera" to which it refers. Still as another reviewer of the television show pointed out, the expectation in Doctor Who is that the plot will be entirely solved in the last ten minutes regardless of logic or the rules of drama.<br /><br />Yet another thought, considering my enjoyment of "All Consuming Fire" and "Blood Harvest":<br /><br />I think I enjoy the historical and semi-historical Whovian tales best, because it is so much fun to constantly consult Wikipedia and other sources while reading them. A puzzling reference to a "growler" or an "antimacassar" can send me off for up to an hour on a happy little digression in the aether.<br /><br />On the other hand, there are rarely hidden depths behind things like the Time Soldiers and the Garvond (beyond perhaps some spoilers for another unread book or comic). Even references to things from the rich continuity of the Whoniverse cannot maintain their attraction beyond the first thrill of recognition, because we saw the television episode and there is no vast history or culture lurking behind the factoid.Talliferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08541684895097153972noreply@blogger.com