Decalog 2

Summary: 7.1/10 Not as good as the first Decalog, but there are still some good stories here. Too bad there are also some poor ones. And the so-called theme, about the Doctor's various properties, fails most of the time.

[I'll go story by story here...]

Vortex of Fear by Gareth Roberts

Roberts has Zoe, Jamie, and the Second Doctor down just as well as he did the Doctor and Romana II in Romance of Crime. The story is short, nicely disturbing, and succeeds all the way around. A class act. 10/10

The Crimson Dawn by Tim Robins

The first of two fourth Doctor/Leela stories. It takes place on Mars. It has the Ice Warriors in a sympathetic role. I really don't have much else to say about it. 6/10

Where the Heart Is by Andy Lane

UNIT, Jo, and the the Third Doctor. It takes the general UNIT idea, with aliens with different morality than ours, and twists in on top of a story dealing with the funding of UNIT. It does mean the story is a bit of a parody. The characterization is good, but there is an automatic point deduction for making a "Doctor Who?" joke in the last line. 8/10

The Trials of Tara by Paul Cornell

Hysterical. The seventh Doctor and Bernice go to Tara, where they reacquaint themselves with everyone from The Androids of Tara and, of course, the Kandyman. And they all find themselves in a Shakespearean comedy. Very unique. 9/10

Housewarming by David A McIntee

Rubbish. There's nothing wrong with doing a K9 and Company short story, but the villain feels all wrong, it makes a mess of dates, trying to put Sarah and Mike Yates firmly in the 1990's, I thought. And the obvious X-Files reference. Try again. 3/10

The Nine-Day Queen by Matthew Jones

Another Ian,Barbara, and first Doctor story. I think they're trying to put to many stories inbetween Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Rescue. It's a little long, but it's a nice moral dilemmia, and with Susan's recent departure it allows for some emotion on the Doctor's part. 7/10

Lonely Days by Daniel Blythe

A fifth Doctor and Nyssa story. This is a fertile ground for stories to be put in, and this story does a nice job of it. There is some uncharacteristic Baker-style whimsy here, with an Intergalactic Lottery starting off and what works out as a Star Trekish resolution. 6/10

People of the Trees by Pam Baddeley

Leela and the Fourth Doctor in their second story in the book. It has some interesting colonial type themes, and a number of proper aliens. The people's Gods, which appears mystical, and clearly has an effect on them, isn't completely resolved at the end of the story. I quite like that. 7/10

Timeshare by Vanessa Bishop

The Sixth Doctor and Peri visit a bizzare house. The characterization of the two characters is quite good. I'm still a bit confused about exactly how time travel technology was involved in the ordinary day-to-day operation of the timeshare. But there's a good degree of mystery, so it work as one of the better stories of the book. 8/10

Question Mark Pyjamas by Robert Perry and Mike Tucker

Bernice, Ace, and the Seventh Doctor find that the Doctor's house has been somehow transported to an astroid-based theme park. And the park's caretaker thinks that the three new arrivals will make a nice happy family. One of the more bizzare stories, and one that actually deals with the theme in a decent manner. 7/10

It averages out to a 7.1/10. Not nearly as good as the first Decalog, the theme (about the Doctor's various homes) often feels as if it's been pasted on to the story. There are some good stories here, and only one that I thought was poor. Perhaps it would have been better as a fanzine? Back to ? Home Page