More books

This time around, I looked through my list of reviews and realized that I hadn't reviewed two of Kate Orman's books that I read a while ago, and two recent Missing Adventures that I've read that didn't quite have a full multi-paragraph review behind them.

Return of the Living Dad by Kate Orman [8/10]

I read this almost six months ago now, but I realized when I wrote my review of Room With No Doors that I never commented on the book. Of course, it's Kate's most fannish book; as such, it shares a lot in common with Paul Cornell's No Future and Happy Endings, however this book was able -- with the possible exception of a few of the aliens, able to avoid the silliness trap that I felt Paul's "fan" books sometimes did.

Sleepy by Kate Orman [9/10]

I really did forget to write reviews for some of Kate's books... Another very good book, of course. As I look back on the book, I remember that the characterization of Chris was exceptionally strong. He's an interesting companion; different from many of the other male companions that we saw in the series (with the possible exception of Steven).

It's interesting to think back on books you read a while back -- the impressions you have are fuzzier, of course.

Venusian Lullaby by Paul Leonard [6/10]

Not one of my favorite works to date; while I thought the aliens were clever, I wasn't quite comfortable with how either Ian or Barbara were set in this book; nor did I feel that the Doctor's characterization was on either. I thought that Sorcerer's Apprentice was far more successful in capturing the earliest era of Doctor Who and putting a twist on it (something I like in a Missing Adventure)

The Menagrie by Martin Day[8/10]

I wasn't quite looking forward to this one; Conventional Wisdom has said that there haven't been any good Second Doctor Missing Adventures. It's placement at the bottom of the Novel Rankings certainly didn't raise great confidence. Fortunately, Conventional Wisdom was wrong here -- I enjoyed this novel quite a bit; and I felt that it was quite readable. It's certainly a better example of a Second Doctor story than Invasion of the Cat People, and I think it's well worth a second look if you've passed on it in the past.

Maybe I'll have to read The Pit next.

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