- Paperback: 258 pages
- Publisher: Dr Who; First Edition edition (18 Feb 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0426203771
- ISBN-13: 978-0426203773
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 10.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 676,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
Legends speak of the planet Sakkrat, home of an empire destroyed by its greatest achievement - the Highest Science, the pinnacle of technological discovery. When TARDIS alerts the Doctor and Bernice to the presence of a temporal fluctuation, they are unaware of the connection with the legend.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
After the controversial, but hugely imaginative, Transit, The Highest Science is a low point for the NAs' attempt to tell stories too big for the TV. I've liked a lot of Gareth Roberts' stuff down the years and the era with which he's most comfortable, the team-up of the fourth Doctor, Romana II and K9 gave us two of his best books: The Romance of Crime and The English Way of Death.
The Highest Science hankers after that era but fails to make it work with the increasingly dark angsty tone that would characterise the NAs. The storyline is inconsistent - attempts at Douglas Adams-style digressions fall flat - Bernice taking a drugged out ride with a bunch of losers purely to get her to the right place to reconnect her with the Doctor is utterly contrived and seems to be there purely to eke out the word count and the Chelonians are neither funny or menacing, perhaps because the author tries to make them both.
Characters get killed off randomly almost because the author seems to decide he's bored and feels like throwing a murder into the mix. And the book really just stops at a certain point, rather than has an ending. Paul Cornell eventually resolves the ending 39 books later.
All in all, a very weak novel and thankfully not a direction in which the books continued. Some NA authors peaked with their first novels: IMHO, Paul Cornell's best book was Timewyrm: Revelation, Mark Gatiss's was Nightshade and Kate Orman's were The Left-handed Hummingbird and Set Piece. Other authors like Lawrence Miles and Gareth Roberts started low but became much, much better, eventually writing some of my favourite Who novels.
The Highest Science is part of the loosely-connected 'Future History Cycle' which began with Love and War and ended with Lucifer Rising. This sequence of novels was pivotal in developing the continuing style of the NAs and as such is a mishmash of styles and ideas, with many people loving some of the books and hating others. After Lucifer Rising, the series settled down and we lucky readers had years of great novels to work through. Of this cycle, the likeable Love and War is required reading for the introduction of warrior Ace and Bernice Summerfield, as are Deceit and the excellent Lucifer Rising. I loved Transit and The Pit is . . . well . . . a weird but often fascinating tale giving more background to Time Lord history, although it literally sells Bernice up the river to keep her out of the way (a change in schedule meant that the writers of Transit up to Deceit were all writing without a complete character outline for Benny and had to sideline her.)
Anyway, The Highest Science is readable enough fluff, but there were much better books before it and many more to come!
The Highest Science hankers after that era but fails to make it work with the increasingly dark angsty tone that would characterise the NAs. The storyline is inconsistent - attempts at Douglas Adams-style digressions fall flat - Bernice taking a drugged out ride with a bunch of losers purely to get her to the right place to reconnect her with the Doctor is utterly contrived and seems to be there purely to eke out the word count and the Chelonians are neither funny or menacing, perhaps because the author tries to make them both.
Characters get killed off randomly almost because the author seems to decide he's bored and feels like throwing a murder into the mix. And the book really just stops at a certain point, rather than has an ending. Paul Cornell eventually resolves the ending 39 books later.
All in all, a very weak novel and thankfully not a direction in which the books continued. Some NA authors peaked with their first novels: IMHO, Paul Cornell's best book was Timewyrm: Revelation, Mark Gatiss's was Nightshade and Kate Orman's were The Left-handed Hummingbird and Set Piece. Other authors like Lawrence Miles and Gareth Roberts started low but became much, much better, eventually writing some of my favourite Who novels.
The Highest Science is part of the loosely-connected 'Future History Cycle' which began with Love and War and ended with Lucifer Rising. This sequence of novels was pivotal in developing the continuing style of the NAs and as such is a mishmash of styles and ideas, with many people loving some of the books and hating others. After Lucifer Rising, the series settled down and we lucky readers had years of great novels to work through. Of this cycle, the likeable Love and War is required reading for the introduction of warrior Ace and Bernice Summerfield, as are Deceit and the excellent Lucifer Rising. I loved Transit and The Pit is . . . well . . . a weird but often fascinating tale giving more background to Time Lord history, although it literally sells Bernice up the river to keep her out of the way (a change in schedule meant that the writers of Transit up to Deceit were all writing without a complete character outline for Benny and had to sideline her.)
Anyway, The Highest Science is readable enough fluff, but there were much better books before it and many more to come!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well, just when I was despairing of reading another worthwile installment in the Virgin New Adventures series Gareth Roberts comes up with a very satisfying read. Some of the plot strands are unsatisfactorily resolved but the rest of the novel makes up for that; fast-paced, entertaining and intriguing from start to finish.
The Doctor has to use all his experience and ingenuity to deal with the insane but deadly criminal mastermind named Sheldukher as well as the bloodthirsty human-hating tortoise-like Chelonians, and the so-called 'Fortean Flicker', a disturbance in the space/time continuum that could herald an apocalypse. Bernice meanwhile becomes dangerously addicted to a narcotic soft drink (some for-once subtle satire) and caught up with a group of anarchic tearaways, with their own agenda.
The body-count is high, The Doctor is at his mischievous best and the aliens are impressive. All-in-all a decent addition to the series.
The Doctor has to use all his experience and ingenuity to deal with the insane but deadly criminal mastermind named Sheldukher as well as the bloodthirsty human-hating tortoise-like Chelonians, and the so-called 'Fortean Flicker', a disturbance in the space/time continuum that could herald an apocalypse. Bernice meanwhile becomes dangerously addicted to a narcotic soft drink (some for-once subtle satire) and caught up with a group of anarchic tearaways, with their own agenda.
The body-count is high, The Doctor is at his mischievous best and the aliens are impressive. All-in-all a decent addition to the series.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A highly enjoyable book
21 Oct 2003
Format:Paperback
An intriguing plot - assorted groups of humans and Chelonians get transported, seemingly at random to an alien planet (Sakkrat?), in a future time. The Doctor, and his (relatively new) companion Bernice Summerfield arrive on the same planet, attempting to discover the source of time disturbances (Fortean Flickers). At the same time, another group of humans arrive in a space ship, searching for the fabled 'Highest Science'.
The Chelonians are probably Virgin's greatest creation (apart from Benny of course). They work extremely well as an alien race. The author gives us an excellent insight into their culture, their thoughts. 'Flower Arranging' or 'War'? - Gareth Roberts actually manages to bring such a career choice off with his portrayal of the Chelonians. "Chelonians don't kill Chelonians!" Yeah, sure, and Minbari never lie and Klingons are honourable!
The Doctor is portrayed as a clownish character, reminescent of Sylvester's first season. As he is being crushed to death, he states, 'This is ridiculous, I'm the only one wearing a tie', and after being dropped from a height, and landing on his feet he claims 'I had to land on my feet as I wasn't wearing a crash helmet'.
Bernice seems more a cross between the Bernice to come and the Ace of old. Ace's violent tendencies were sometimes prevalent. Generally a good portrayal though, laying a solid foundation for the more rounded character to come.
Has the loose end ever been tied up? The 8-12s and Chelonians were left stuck in a time bubble. OK, maybe the Doctor doesn't always have the answers, but it did diminish the impact of the book somewhat to leave them stuck like that.
A highly enjoyable book.
Introducing the Chelonians
5 May 2001
Format:Paperback
Investigating a Fortean Flicker, a rare space-time hazard with potentially disastrous side effects, the Doctor and Benny find themselves on the planet Sakkrat, a planet long thought vanished, which had produced the Highest Science, the exact nature of which is shrouded in legend. But they are not alone on the planet: some temporally displaced commuters, a troop of Chelonians, and the galaxy's most renowned criminal and his gang have arrived through one method or another, and conflict is looming...
'The Highest Science' is a fun adventure story, with humorous trappings wrapped around a serious core. The displaced groups have very different cultures, and their interactions with the Doctor and Benny are interesting to watch. And then there are the plot twists...
For readers of Doctor Who books published by Virgin, this one does a very important thing: it introduces the Chelonians, a race of cybernetically enhanced giant hermaphroditic turtle (no, I'm not joking). Hugely threatening and bizarrely humorous by turns, this race are a masterful creation who turn up in several more novels. Quite frankly, they're worth the price of admission alone.
This is Gareth Roberts first novel, and a very accomplished one it is too. He is a writer with a fine touch, and if you enjoy this book, be sure to look for his others.
One of the better NA's
4 July 1997
Format:Paperback
This was, for me, probably the most enjoyable New Adventure to come out. Easily the book most faithful to McCoy's Doctor, it maintains a perfect balance between humor and pathos and was the only book I read that made me wish it could have been made as an episode
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