Blood Harvest

Summary: 7/10; fun, and a worthwhile read. The Doctor sets up shop with Ace as an illegal bootlegger in Prohibition era Chicago, while Bernice is deposited on the Vampire Planet from State of Decay.

I was at a local book store, and on a complete whim, I picked up two Doctor Who novels. Not by coincidence, they were the New Adventure Blood Harvest by Terrance Dicks and the Missing Adventure Goth Opera by Paul Cornell. The idea that the sequel to a 7th Doctor story taking place with a 5th Doctor appealed to me, and the reference to Romana on the back cover of Blood Harvest also attracted my interest. I picked up two other NA's a long time ago that I have yet to read, and I had intended to read those before these two, but it didn't work that way because of a wait where all I had were these books. So, I chewed through my first MA and NA fairly quickly, and the first Doctor Who novels I've read this decade, and I figured it was time to write a review. It's the ex-fanzine editor in me. :-)

Blood Harvest is a sequel to about a half a dozen different television episodes of Doctor Who -- it is what makes it fun, but it also is it's biggest weakness. Admittedly, my recent re-interest in Doctor Who has been as much a nostalgia trip as anything else, so I'm somewhat predisposed to a romp that includes references to Deadly Assassin, Five Doctors, State of Decay, and Warriors Gate. However, this also causes problems, when some continuity slip-ups are made -- if it was as trivial to get into E-Space as it appeared in this story, why did the Doctor fight with Adric about going there in Earthshock? It's not a big deal, but it makes some of the continuity treats a little less tasty, especially when that's some of the stories appeal.

Being my first New Adventure, I was interested in seeing how the various main characters were treated. It was quite apparent that Ace was a number of years older than she was in the television series, and the violent tendencies she had as a teenager had been refined into something quite interesting. I was a little prepared for the more sexual elements of what she was put through [in particular her near-rape and her relationship with Dekker] due to following some of the threads on rec.arts.drwho, but adjusting to the more adult nature of the NA's will take a while. It was a children's show after all.

Bernice Summerfield is a new character to me and unfortunately reading the NA's out of order meant that it was a little bit more difficult to get a picture in my mind of her; and I didn't quite feel like I got to know her particularly well in the novel. However, I think it is fair, with as large a series as the NA's have become, for an author to recognize that any book will be someone's first NA.

I was very pleased with Romana's characterization. It was important that she had changed somewhat from when when she left the Doctor, and I felt she had matured some, with a little more of her first incarnation's personality. I was very intrigued by the relationship set up with the Doctor, after all, she has been [barring Susan] the only Time Lord that he has been involved with for an extended period of time. Her reluctance to call the Doctor was right on the ball, and I found that a nice touch. She had changed a little, but not a lot; which for me made sense.

"Doc", as he's called throughout most of the book, doesn't entirely feel like the Seventh Doctor to me -- perhaps I was trying too hard to roll the r's in my mind as I read his line. One thing that surprised me was that he choose to wear contemporary outfits throughout most of the period on Earth. While keeping Ace in the dark is characteristic of this Doctor, setting up an illegal bar and bribing politicians is something that doesn't quite coincide with my view of this or any Doctor. This is somewhat surprising, since I don't think there are many authors with more experience with the Doctor than Terrance Dicks.

The Earth setting went a little bit to the extreme in presenting a prohibition era mobster environment. Dekker wasn't too bad, but fitting in a number of historical characters is difficult, and I'm not sure how successful it was for anything except for a few laughs. I think it was interesting that Agonal appeared to be more interested in single-city conflicts rather than large planetary ones, focusing on only creating chaos in Chicago at the time.

The vampire planet in E-space was somewhat better treated, since it wasn't dependent on bringing in historical characters. It's always a little bit frustrating when villains are [literally] brought back from the dead, and I was pleased that the vampires from State of Decay were not brought back exactly as they were.

Gallifrey, unfortunately, was not very appealing here. I found it difficult to reconcile with Trial of a Time Lord, as it appeared to take place before that episode in Gallifreyan history [President Flavia, in particular]. I griped a little bit about continuity before, and this was another point that mildly irritated me. Also, I found "the Three" Gallifreyans to be exceptionally dull, and their primary goal seemed to be their endless chant. It's primarily played for humor, and I'm not convinced that it's for the best.

Blood Harvest has its moments -- it was a quick, enjoyable read, and all of the continuity references are quite fun. Agonal is a completely traditional Doctor Who villain, of course, and not particularly memorable. However, it doesn't completely fall together well, and would be a whole lot less fun if it wasn't for bringing back some old characters and situations in a fun way.

It's probably about a 7 or so -- it was worth the time and money I spent, and kept my interest enough to not put it down.

[I have some comments about the sequel Goth Opera .]