Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's nice to see a woman's touch for a change, 19 April 2001
This is the Doctor's first trip into a futuristic galaxy for some time.The story is set on New Jupiter and 'Earthworld' is their glorified ( and gigantic!) theme park. Having materialised in the prehistoric zone, the TARDIS crew are soon separated and are faced with homicidal triplet princesses, teen terrorists, crazy androids, a pathetic president and an Elvis impersonator. Jacqueline's novel focuses on the character of Anji and her introduction to the TARDIS team. We follow her antics through the pages, looking through her eyes and relating all too well to another recent addition to the Doctor Who companion list. Anji tries desperately to avoid thinking of her recently murdered boyfriend and Fitz comes to term with his carbon-copy self. The Doctor meanwhile still hasn't got his memory back, but he's worked out how to get his sonic screwdriver working again. The plot is relatively simple, it's easy to read and a refreshing change from the heavy dramatics we have been used to; of which I do not complain! Doctor Who is such an expansive concept - that's its beauty. Well done Jacqueline! A very successful first attempt!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The next phase begins..., 24 Feb 2001
By A Customer
Jaqueline Rayner's 'Earthworld' marks the beginning of the next phase of the Eighth Doctor stories and sees the Doctor teaming with Fitz and new companion Anji on the planet New Jupiter where the Earthworld theme park is about to open. But people are dying there, and the androids seem to be the only people who could be responsible. I'd enjoyed the stranded on Earth arc that dominated the books prior to this title, and this novel continues their trend of providing solid entertainment. Earthworld is an excellent read with some good writing and plotting. The story itself serves as Anji's introduction to the time and space travel game as much of the focus is on her. Introducing new companions into these books has never been an easy task for the range, but Jaq Rayner really builds on what was established about Anji in Escape Velocity to make her into a really interesting character. Her thoughts about her boyfriend Dave who died in the previous novel dominate her thoughts, and although the idea of using a diary type device to show this characters thoughts about something has been done before in Who fiction (with Bernice in the NA's mainly), there is a different spin on this with Anji sending Dave e-mails throughout the novel. I'm not quite sure I like the Doctor's current characterisation much - he's the Doctor but he doesn't remember much about specific details - but hopefully he'll regain his memory in time. Fitz works really well in this book as he confronts what he discovered about himself in the Ancestor Cell and finds a new purpose in his travels. Overall, Earthworld is an excellent book. It's got some good humourous scenes in it, particularly the one where Fitz Fortune and an android Elvis duel each other, and some good advancement of character with Anji. Highly recommended.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wheres Yul Bryner?, 27 Aug 2001
By A Customer
This book has been written through the eyes (for the mast part) of the new companion Anji in a style that totally ruins any chance the book had of being likeable. Set in a massive theme park (think Westworld) populated by androids running amok, this could have been good in the hands of a competant author. However, it has been written in a comedic, parody style. The opening pages supposedly seeing the point of view of Anji are patronising, simplistc, and guilty of sending up Doctor Who as though the writer is making fun of the whole thing. Paragraphs for example, where the character of Anji is saying to herself that she can't die because if this were a tv show she would be one of the main characters, or dialogue where "(gasps)" are inserted to show the character is out of breath are quite terrible. This style continues throughout as if its a sitcom. The character of Anji is annoying and not very likeable. The characterisation of the Doctor is abysmal; for the most part you wouldn't know it was the Doctor, and the triplets are irritating beyond belief. The supporting characters are dull and lifeless and the whole experience is one of detachment. I didn't feel for any of the characters and nor did I care how or if they got out of their predicaments, which seemed to consist entirely of running away and getting captured repeatedly. And having Anji write emails on her organiser was totally pointless. Where the author has tried too write a light, humourous read she has failed miserably. Truly, truly bad. Avoid at all costs!
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