Have one to sell? Sell yours here
or
Get a £2.85 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card
Doctor Who: Emotional Chemistry
 
See larger image
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Doctor Who: Emotional Chemistry [Paperback]

Simon A. Forward
2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Available from these sellers.


Trade In this Item for up to £2.85
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Doctor Who: Emotional Chemistry for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £2.85, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.


Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: BBC Books (6 Oct 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0563486082
  • ISBN-13: 978-0563486084
  • Product Dimensions: 18.1 x 11.3 x 1.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 708,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Simon A. Forward
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Visit Amazon's Simon A. Forward Page

Product Description

Product Description

Doctor Who is a renegade Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. The Time Lords are an immensely powerful race, so named because they were the first to discover how to travel freely through time and space. Bored with his life on Gallifrey, the Doctor steals his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) and sets off to explore the universe. He believes passionately in truth and justice, and finds himself getting involved wherever he finds evil and malevolence - which is everywhere! Its 1812: The Vishenkov household, along with the rest of Moscow, faces the advance of Napoleon Bonaparte. At their heart is the radiant Dusha, a source of inspiration - and more besides - for them all. But family friend, Captain Padorin, is acting like a man possessed - by the Devil!Its 2024: Fitz is under interrogation regarding a burglary and fire at the Kremlin. The Doctor has disappeared in the flames. Colonel Bugayev is investigating a spate of antique thefts on top of which he now has a time-travel mystery to unravel. Its 5000: Lord General Razum Kinzhal is ready to set in motion the final stages of a world war. More than the enemy, his fellow generals of the Icelandic Alliance fear what such a man might do in peacetime. What can bridge these disparate events in time? Love will find a way. But the Doctor must find a better alternative. Before love sets the world on fire.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

5 star
0
4 star
0
3 star
0
1 star
0
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Book Critic VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I've now read most of the EDA's; some have been good, some have been excellent and some just don't work for me - Emotional Chemistry is one of the latter.

The plot is all, here, and it's a tale stretched thin, across three time zones - which is, of course, a staple of Who-fic and not to be grumbled at, but in this story, each bit of the tale seems far too short, so that the story never gains any momentum making the style annoyingly choppy.

There are far too many characters and this, coupled with the complex, three-pronged plot, means you never get to know any of them well. The original figures get all the love, there's just not enough Doctor and Fitz and even Trix - who's new, we need to get to know her - none of them get any flesh on their bones. The Doctor felt the least important of all, he seemed tacked on, an afterthought. I was left with the distinct impression that the author wanted to write a novel about Aphrodite and her Sisters Across Time but was forced into writing a Who book instead, had tried to shoehorn The Doctor and his companions into his concept and didn't do it well.

It just didn't work, not for me. I like The Doctor and Fitz, I needed much more of them in my EDAs and what you got here instead didn't make up for the lack.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:  2 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Complicated, but in the end good, story 1 July 2004
By Ed Matuskey - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The story takes place in at least 3 time zones and 2 worlds, sometimes simultaneously--it's easy to get confused if you're not careful! In pursuit of the recent 8th Doctor metaplot, our trio find themselves in the middle of a robbery that results in the Doctor being catapulted to the distant future (a little after the time of Greel, incidently, from "The Talons of Weng-Chung), while Fitz & Trix are left to fend for themselves. Soon these two are seperated as well, and all three end up in different time zones from each other. How these three times end up being connected makes for some fascinating reading, and the story takes on a surprisingly sentimental tone at times.

Some characters are introduced who know the Doctor from another time, which confuses the Doctor about as much as it confuses the readers, but in a good way--it hints at a either a future unlived, or a story untold; either way it's a nice air of mystery. If there's one problem with this story it's that there's no real antagonist--there are some bad guys, but they end up being bit players for the most part, background for the love story that ends up taking center stage. Still, it ends up being an enjoyable, if complex, ride to take, though if you're looking for advancement of the metaplot, you'll be disappointed--it's barely present as a bookend at both ends of the novel. However, the next novel (Sometimes Never) gives you all the metaplot you could handle, so that's all right then.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A scientific romance 12 Oct 2004
By Andrew McCaffrey - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
EMOTIONAL CHEMISTRY is an intricately constructed book that wraps a simple core. It's to Simon A. Forward's credit that he manages to keep his various plates in the air. There's certainly a lot going on: a plot that takes place over three time zones, a largish number of important characters, etc. But not only does it work, but it works extremely well. This is one of the best stories that the EDAs have given us.

First of all, EMOTIONAL CHEMISTRY is a treat to read. It comes across as a novel that was crafted with care and attention to detail. Its prose has obviously been labored upon and gives it a strong, powerful voice. And this is true for the book as a whole. It's engaging, and fascinating. Its characters come alive and there's an epic feel to the story which is effectively done considering how simple the heart of the story is.

Enough with the clichéd praise phrases. How did I like the book? Well, as far as readability goes, I simply hated putting it down. I, unfortunately, haven't had much time for reading lately, so I was forced to partake in small chunks at a time. Although I loathed having to set the book aside, I think this was a good thing in the long-term. This is a novel to be savored, not devoured, regardless of how readable it is.

Forward's prose is certainly impressive. There are neat observations, clever turns of phrase and amusing jokes all contained within superbly written sentences. This is not hastily written hackwork, or even quickly flowing, enjoyable narration; this is prose that begs appreciation in its own right. This is good writing.

And what is equally impressive is that it works on the macro as well as the micro level. Stand back from the phrases and sentences, and you'll see a complicated but logical story unfolding. A lot of what the author is doing is quite clever. Splitting the action between three time periods (past, near-present, and far future) allows him many fun comparisons. Effectively handled are the different ways in which love and war are portrayed. The relationships that crop up throughout the story make for an effective lead-in to the main "romance".

Given that there are three main time zones and that each setting has its own cast of characters, it would be very easy for the author to mush things together creating bland, one-dimensional characters. But he fails to fall into that trap. Even the bit players are given life and credibility. I'm also impressed by his depiction of Trix who, after an extremely shaky start, looks to become an extremely interesting companion (as an aside, I've begun visualizing her as blogger Wonkette).

Is there anything really to criticize here? Well, it's nitpicking to be sure, but I didn't care for the quick cutting between scenes. I realize it's a common feature of TV tie-in books; that doesn't mean I have to like it. Come on! I have an attention span! I can follow a scene for more than a page without getting bored! Forward is clearly better than others at this form of pacing, but it's still not something I enjoy.

Also, the sections taking place in the future seemed a bit vague to me. I suppose all the reader needed to know is that there was a war taking place, but I never really got a handle on who was fighting and why. I realize that this story takes its cue from the throwaway hints in TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG, yet that didn't really seem helpful as far as filling in the how's and why's. Perhaps the mere existence of the future war was enough to drive the plot, but I couldn't help but feel that it paled in comparison to the scene setting that took place in the other two sections.

Minor flaws aside, there is really much to enjoy here. And I'm at the point where I'm going to stop myself from simply listing out plot-points that I liked. EMOTIONAL CHEMISTRY contains a combination that has been lacking in the BBC novels of late -- both style and substance. It's a grand tale told over multiple time zones, and different levels of reality, yet ultimately concerning one simple romance. It's the sort of thing that one would think Doctor Who could do well, but very often doesn't. I am very impressed with Simon A. Forward's talents as demonstrated in this novel. His other two books have suddenly made great gains on my To-Read list.
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback