Doctor Who: Year of the Intelligent Tigers (Mass Market Paperback)

One of the most appealing aspects of Orman's work is the fact that she is able to convincingly create alien worlds that are believable and incredibly convincing. The world of Hichemus continues this trend, with the world brought to life through Orman's wonderfully evocative writing. The early chapters of The Year Of Intelligent Tigers where the setting is being established are exceptionally well written, and the city of Port Any is brought vividly to life through it's music and atmosphere that Orman creates for it.

The Year Of Intelligent Tigers is a very good book indeed, but it is not without it's problems. The first one hundred pages or so are absolutely mesmerising as Orman sets the story up so well, creating this seemingly idyllic world so vividly that it becomes very easy to visualise the world of Hichemus, and the moment when the tigers make their move to impose themselves over the colonists is very well written. Surprisingly the book seems to loose focus during the middle part, and there was a very real possibility of loosing interest in the novel, but although this lasts for around 50 pages or so, Orman shifts back into gear for the last hundred pages which are equally as good as the first hundred.

Her characterisation of the regulars is good. The Doctor is excellent, particularly in his musical scenes, and Orman has really successfully conveyed that there is a very real sense of unpredictability to the Doctor now which makes for interesting reading. Fitz gets more to do that in last month's Eater of Wasps but it's Anji who gets the better treatment out of the companions again with some very interesting scenes where she makes some fascinating descisions in reaction to what the Doctor has done.

The human characters, with the exception of composer Karl and Xenobiologist Besma Grieve who are both very interesting characters, are rather forgettable. The tigers themselves are very believable and well characterised, with the leader Big and the impetuous Longbody being the most memorable.

Overall, The Year Of Intelligent Tigers is highly recommened. It doesn't manage to keep up the quality of the first hundred mesmerising pages for the entirity of the novel, but what it does do is offer an excellent novel with interesting ideas which is, of course, very well written, with good use of the main characters. It's not a perfect novel, but it's probably the best EDA since Father Time.

When you run through the list of Doctor Who authors, there are a few whose work receives almost universal praise. Kate Orman (with or without her husband, Jon Blum) is one of them.

Yet again Kate has written a book based around a believable alien world, and while it has a strong story-line, the reader is most likely to take away memories of the excellent portrayal of the characters. Kate's take on the current Doctor, still with amnesia for events preceding the novel 'The Burning', is a very strong one, full of an enormous passion for life and a towering humanity. Her interpretation of both Fitz and Anji are great, and each is explored and moved forward in this book. And then there are all the many characters who may very well appear in this book only, who are nevertheless given very effective life.

Beyond that, with this story set on a world where music is held in high regard, it is great to read musical ideas being constantly brought up within the context of the book. A devotion to music is a strong part of the characters, and so it is natural that it should be reflected in the way that many of the characters respond to the events of this book.

And then there are the tigers... About whom I'll say nothing more than their characterisation was also brilliant. Read the book to see what I mean!

I was also pleased to see Kate take one of the oft-used situations from the TV series, where the Doctor is forced to choose between the humans and the non-humans, and firstly give it a serious spin and then bounce it out the door. Things become clichés through overuse, but can be redeemed by turning them on their heads. Kate more than does this.

I could rave on and on for hours about this book, but that's not really the point. All I'll say is this: you'll be doing yourself a favour by reading it.

I agree with another reviewer here, Kate creates living, breathing alien races and planets. The overall effect is spellbinding, and her characterisation of the Doctor is as ever stylish.

This is an essential read for anyone wondering which recent 8th Dr novel to try. Recommended.