Timewyrm: Exodus

Summary: 9/10 In this book by Terrance Dicks, the Doctor and Ace discover that somehow the Nazis have won World War II. A fun adventure story, appropriate for all Doctor Who fans.

I've always found it interesting that Doctor Who had little contact with the World War II era until the Sylvester McCoy era. So it isn't surprising to see that the second New Adventure would tie in directly with World War II. And of course, Doctor Who is a good vehicle for the "What if the Nazi's won WWII?" story, one of the more common alternate-reality stories. The book doesn't just explore a Nazi-run England [which isn't that different from a Dalek-run England, or the one in any other version of this story, after all], but also plays around with where the time-line changed, visiting Germany throughout the rise of Hitler. As such, it plays with the historical side of World War II, as well as just creating an idea.

The characterizations are all around quite good; it would be easy to just play the Nazis as all-evil. However, they aren't. They are more to be pitied than just hated. Also, I believe it walked the line of not letting the Nazi's off the hook, by providing Timewyrms and War Lords as excuses for the Nazi's behavior.

The Doctor still has the chessplayer element of the Seventh Doctor, especially in playing different sides against each other, allowing the villains to self destruct, but with a slightly more sinister side than any other Doctor. It's also nice to see him pull the authoritative trick, which is both characteristic of the Second and Seventh Doctor. Ace's characterization struck me as along the path from where she was in the TV series to the more violent adult Ace.

The Timewyrm wasn't a major part of the story; in fact I wouldn't be surprised to discover that she was introduced in one of the later drafts.

There was one bug, I thought -- the Doctor made it sound like if the timeline had radically changed, that Ace would cease to exist. However, at the very beginning of the book, the world was radically different, but it had no visible effect on Ace.

It's interesting that this is only the second New Adventure -- perhaps it doesn't have the psychological overtones of some of the later books, but it's an enjoyable, well plotted, fun Doctor Who story. I think most Doctor Who fans could enjoy this book, especially fans of the War Games, or if you'd like to see him in WWII. 9/10