Paradox Lost is a great novel. It is a novel that gets the ‘voices’ and the personalities of the characters completely right and the original characters are completely fascinating. It is a book that gives us some truly frightening monsters. It is a novel that gives audiences a rollickingly fun adventure, which makes the story a sheer joy to read.
The voice of the Doctor is one of those most acurate and interesting of the novel. The vast majority of his action in the novel is witnessed by Angelchrist, who lives in London during the 1910s. The Doctor and the character have a wonderful comraderie which gives way to some fun scenes, such as when the Time Lord makes the most of the oppurtunity to drive Angelchrist’s vintage roadster. However, it is perhaps the Doctor’s interactions with the Squall that define him within the novel. The alien menace is the main threat and are discussed further later in the review, but what is key is how the Doctor treats them. He gives them a chance to leave, to stop. As they refuse like they always do, he is ready to sacrifice himself to stop them, and that is completely in keeping with the essence of the character. In fact, the spot-on ‘essence’ of the characters is key to the novel’s brillaince. As this reviewer read the novel, it is very easy to imagine Matt Smith reading the dialogue. As such, it makes it much easier to visualise this story, and it is perhaps one of the easiest novels to read if you want a story that could and should appear on television.
As mentioned above, the character of Angelchrist is simply fantastic, being one of the novel’s greatest successes. The character has apparently served a long life fighting monsters and aliens and as such accepts the Doctor without question. This is one of the more interesting aspects of the character, however it is only mentioned in passing. Whereas in other novels, this may feel like a cheat, here it feels like just another aspect of this man’s life, that helps shape his actions. Angelchrist is the voice of reason throughout the novel, acting as a clear audience viewpoint. What is interesting is the character is quite a bit like the Brigadier and this feels like a wonderful tribute to a wonderful character. However, perhaps Angelchrist’s greatest attribute is his ability to take everything in his stride. Through the course of the novel, Angelchrist sees some fairly shocking sights such as the throngs of the Squall and the far future with it’s odd architecture, and yet he seems far from worried. He just points out the things that the Doctor may not have noticed and has great fun along the way. The conclusion of the novel features a beautiful moment where Angelchrist sees space and it’s wonders. It’s a strangely moving moment as he at once realizes how insignificant he is and yet, that he has also made an impact. Beautiful and some fantastic characterization.
The Squall are the main foe of the novel and are effectively creepy. Their entire purpose seems to be to really freak the reader out, which it suceeds in doing. From the way they talk (each Squall taking their turn to hiss a word) to the way in which they kill you (they make you bleed out through your eyes. Nasty), they are a rather succesful alien race. Perhaps the greatest problem with the race of beings is that they are never given any motivation. They seem to just want to feast on people’s minds, because it’s fun (which is quite a nasty idea in itself). Throughout the first half of the novel we aren’t really given any indication as to the strength and power of the race, which leads you thinking “Well, there’s only a few of them. They aren’t really that dangerous.” That all changes in the second half as the characters see hoardes of them. In fact, there are so many of them you can barely see the sky, at one point. Unfortunately, this lead this reviewer to be reminded of the Winged Monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. So, basically the enemies of this book are Winged Monkeys (that resemble bats) that kill people by making them bleed out their eyes? Brillaint.
The Doctor’s companions, Amy and Rory, continue the novel’s outstanding and astonishingly accurate characterisation. They are left behind by the Doctor to investigate some strange goings on in Earth’s far future. To cut a long (but, to be fair, fascinating) story short, the couple end up with a robot named Arven in the 1910s, where the Doctor is. But they get there a few days before. What is interesting is how they live their lives in an alien environment with aliens hunting them. It shows a nice new side to the duo. They are incredibly adaptable and able to survive in an unfamiliar time. Plus, they get to have fun at the same time. It’s interesting how all of the characters in this novel are actually enjoying themselves. Despite some rather nasty incidents, they somehow manage to have a great amount of fun. This is again in keeping with the parent show, and oddly in contrast with the previous round of New Series Adventures. Thus, this novel actually becomes more engaging as we are encouraged by the infectious attitude, and are encouraged to feel the character’s fun.
Arven the robot is again rather nicely characterized with some small touches which give a deeper insight. As an artificial intelligence, he is emotionless but the novel gives clues that Arven has a personality. For instance, when Angelchrist looks over to the robot and sees him standing away from the group, deep in thought, feeling out of place. It’s a nice little moment that gives audiences the chance to learn about the character.
Rather aptly for a novel entitled Paradox Lost, there are a number of timey-wimey moments. In the past, I have made no secret of my love for this sort of idea, especially when it is well executed. And in this novel, it is very well executed. Readers are given the chance to spot the timey-wimeyness before it happens, for those keen on putting the clues together. What is perhaps more interesting is the Doctor’s discussion of time and how some points can’t be changed and some points are fixed. It’s like the author is giving the audience a hint for The Wedding of River Song. It’s a small reference but it gives the impression that this could easily be a television story, with references to future stories and all.
This novel is really not going to win any awards for the best Doctor Who book ever written. But for pure escapism and a light read, this novel is perfect for the moment. The characters are excellent and the essence of the characters is spot on. Rather aptly the ending of the novel is a joyously happy ending that leaves you feeling in a good mood. The novel is creepy but overall this is overshadowed by a sense of fun, which is oddly rare in Doctor Who novels. And what do they say? Change is as good as a holiday…
The voice of the Doctor is one of those most acurate and interesting of the novel. The vast majority of his action in the novel is witnessed by Angelchrist, who lives in London during the 1910s. The Doctor and the character have a wonderful comraderie which gives way to some fun scenes, such as when the Time Lord makes the most of the oppurtunity to drive Angelchrist’s vintage roadster. However, it is perhaps the Doctor’s interactions with the Squall that define him within the novel. The alien menace is the main threat and are discussed further later in the review, but what is key is how the Doctor treats them. He gives them a chance to leave, to stop. As they refuse like they always do, he is ready to sacrifice himself to stop them, and that is completely in keeping with the essence of the character. In fact, the spot-on ‘essence’ of the characters is key to the novel’s brillaince. As this reviewer read the novel, it is very easy to imagine Matt Smith reading the dialogue. As such, it makes it much easier to visualise this story, and it is perhaps one of the easiest novels to read if you want a story that could and should appear on television.
As mentioned above, the character of Angelchrist is simply fantastic, being one of the novel’s greatest successes. The character has apparently served a long life fighting monsters and aliens and as such accepts the Doctor without question. This is one of the more interesting aspects of the character, however it is only mentioned in passing. Whereas in other novels, this may feel like a cheat, here it feels like just another aspect of this man’s life, that helps shape his actions. Angelchrist is the voice of reason throughout the novel, acting as a clear audience viewpoint. What is interesting is the character is quite a bit like the Brigadier and this feels like a wonderful tribute to a wonderful character. However, perhaps Angelchrist’s greatest attribute is his ability to take everything in his stride. Through the course of the novel, Angelchrist sees some fairly shocking sights such as the throngs of the Squall and the far future with it’s odd architecture, and yet he seems far from worried. He just points out the things that the Doctor may not have noticed and has great fun along the way. The conclusion of the novel features a beautiful moment where Angelchrist sees space and it’s wonders. It’s a strangely moving moment as he at once realizes how insignificant he is and yet, that he has also made an impact. Beautiful and some fantastic characterization.
The Squall are the main foe of the novel and are effectively creepy. Their entire purpose seems to be to really freak the reader out, which it suceeds in doing. From the way they talk (each Squall taking their turn to hiss a word) to the way in which they kill you (they make you bleed out through your eyes. Nasty), they are a rather succesful alien race. Perhaps the greatest problem with the race of beings is that they are never given any motivation. They seem to just want to feast on people’s minds, because it’s fun (which is quite a nasty idea in itself). Throughout the first half of the novel we aren’t really given any indication as to the strength and power of the race, which leads you thinking “Well, there’s only a few of them. They aren’t really that dangerous.” That all changes in the second half as the characters see hoardes of them. In fact, there are so many of them you can barely see the sky, at one point. Unfortunately, this lead this reviewer to be reminded of the Winged Monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. So, basically the enemies of this book are Winged Monkeys (that resemble bats) that kill people by making them bleed out their eyes? Brillaint.
The Doctor’s companions, Amy and Rory, continue the novel’s outstanding and astonishingly accurate characterisation. They are left behind by the Doctor to investigate some strange goings on in Earth’s far future. To cut a long (but, to be fair, fascinating) story short, the couple end up with a robot named Arven in the 1910s, where the Doctor is. But they get there a few days before. What is interesting is how they live their lives in an alien environment with aliens hunting them. It shows a nice new side to the duo. They are incredibly adaptable and able to survive in an unfamiliar time. Plus, they get to have fun at the same time. It’s interesting how all of the characters in this novel are actually enjoying themselves. Despite some rather nasty incidents, they somehow manage to have a great amount of fun. This is again in keeping with the parent show, and oddly in contrast with the previous round of New Series Adventures. Thus, this novel actually becomes more engaging as we are encouraged by the infectious attitude, and are encouraged to feel the character’s fun.
Arven the robot is again rather nicely characterized with some small touches which give a deeper insight. As an artificial intelligence, he is emotionless but the novel gives clues that Arven has a personality. For instance, when Angelchrist looks over to the robot and sees him standing away from the group, deep in thought, feeling out of place. It’s a nice little moment that gives audiences the chance to learn about the character.
Rather aptly for a novel entitled Paradox Lost, there are a number of timey-wimey moments. In the past, I have made no secret of my love for this sort of idea, especially when it is well executed. And in this novel, it is very well executed. Readers are given the chance to spot the timey-wimeyness before it happens, for those keen on putting the clues together. What is perhaps more interesting is the Doctor’s discussion of time and how some points can’t be changed and some points are fixed. It’s like the author is giving the audience a hint for The Wedding of River Song. It’s a small reference but it gives the impression that this could easily be a television story, with references to future stories and all.
This novel is really not going to win any awards for the best Doctor Who book ever written. But for pure escapism and a light read, this novel is perfect for the moment. The characters are excellent and the essence of the characters is spot on. Rather aptly the ending of the novel is a joyously happy ending that leaves you feeling in a good mood. The novel is creepy but overall this is overshadowed by a sense of fun, which is oddly rare in Doctor Who novels. And what do they say? Change is as good as a holiday…
VERDICT: 8/10
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