Well, that was a marathon read!
Having read the entire BBC Books 8th Doctor series, this was obviously the one I've been anticipating for some time. The series has ranged from the absolutely fantastic to the frankly awful, but has nontheless kept me hooked until the end. The 8th Doctor (Paul McGann), despite only appearing in one TV story has developed into a fascinating literary character, with great depth and appeal, his assistants too, paticularly Sam and Fitz were just great companions (and bear uncanny resmblences to Rose and Captain Jack in the new series).
Its a real shame that these books have a niche audience as a lot of these books deserved wider readership, Lawrence Miles, Justin Richards and Kate Oram in particular have certainly added immense quality and kept the series compelling at the very least. Lance Parkin too has produced some great stories and was a worthy choice for the author of this final tale in the saga.
The book has plenty of surprises and unless I'm mistaken, does tie up the many loose ends that have been tantalising readers for so long. There are at least two jaw droppers which were completely unexpected, of which I applaud Mr Parkin wholeheartedly. There is a tendency towards some cringeworthy contemporary references to show how up to date this all is (Revenge of the Sith and The Scissor Sisters, come on!) and the end is a little too backslappy for comfort. But... its great and a fitting end to the journey, which I have enjoyed ridiculously and will miss even more. Thankfully BBC books are planning on releasing non ongoing saga stories for Doctor No 8 and his predecessors, which will be a welcome alternative to the new TV tie-ins which nice as they are, are basically kids books. To the many authors involved, thanks, its been a blast.
