The Year of Intelligent Tigers

Kate Orman

for the defence: The Left-Handed Hummingbird (NA), SLEEPY (NA), Vampire Science (EDA - co-authored with hubby Jonathan Blum)

for the prosecution: Set Piece (NA - so, er, why does Ace leave at the end of this one???), Unnatural History (EDA - another co- job with Jonathan Blum)

Human colonists on a remote world suddenly discover that the supposedly non-intelligent tigers that inhabit the planet are actually quite clever. The tigers take over the human settlement, to force the humans to give them music lessons (stop laughing at the back there). The Doctor aids the humans, then aids the tigers, then gets cheesed off and brings down one hell of a storm on everybody, to make them peacefully co-exist.

Not sure how to take this one. Is it a one-sided love story, with the tigers being an obstacle between Karl and the Doctor, and where in trying to dispose of them, Karl loses the object of his affections? Is it an allegory, with Anji at the end understanding the tiger's language, as she finally comes to regard the tigers (and thus all aliens) as more than just monsters? Or is it just a regular 'Doctor brings peace' runaround masquerading as something grander? As always with Orman I've come away thinking I'm a bit thick, and that I'm missing something.100

For a more detailed, and frankly better, review check out Ian Cragg's thoughts. And while you're there, see what he thought of Eater of Wasps and Vanishing Point as well.

And no, I'm not counting that towards my 100 words.

Or that.

The repeatedly-misspelt Maddy (from Revolution Man) gets another mention on page 37, when Fitz reminisces about listening to I Am The Walrus with her. Coo coo cee choo.

And talking of The Beatles... Fitz stages a roof-top concert in this book. It is one of Fitz' finest ever moments, which perhaps makes up for the fact that there is absolutely nothing on the 'Fitz is a Stud' front this time around. Unless you count a momentary, and unreciprocated, interest in a stunning black professor clad in a red jumpsuit (let's all take a moment on that one shall we...)

Sam gets a passing mention, when Fitz recalls her telling him about the ozone layer (gosh, that sounds an exciting missing adventure doesn't it); and there is a photo of Miranda (from Father Time ) in the Doctor's wallet.

Mention of Father Time leads neatly into another sighting from its 'flash-forward' scene (fourteen to collect - can we get them all?). This time, it is the snippet of the Doctor playing a violin in the middle of a raging storm, which pops up here on page 94. And according to page 5 he can also play "harpsichord, flute, transverse cello, harp, banjo, theremin and wobbleboard." Far be it from me to point out that the first Doctor was incapable of playing a harp in The Romans (1965) and the fifth Doctor was equally uninspired in The Five Doctors... Ah well, at least all the musical themes (no pun intended) of the book allow Fitz the chance to play guitar again for the first time in a long time.

Interwoven with the story proper are a couple of flashbacks to the Doctor's residence on Earth - in 1962 he was in a monastery in China (he was chasing the dragon - honest, that's what it says here!). And in 1935 he was a sailor in the South Seas, which fits neatly with the reference to just such a life in Eater of Wasps, albeit the two books are a couple of years adrift. During the 1935 section we see the Doctor keeping press-clippings of strange events. One refers to a sighting of a dragon (now do you see?) and one refers to a plague of wasps attacking a train in England... Deja vu anyone?

Well it wouldn't be a Kate Orman book if the Doctor didn't get put through the wringer a few times, now would it (this is, after all, the woman who had him possessed by an Aztec God and stabbed in the TARDIS in her debut novel). He gets off comparatively lightly here, but there is still a large degree of Timelord angst. The main thrust seems to be the Doctor looking for somewhere to settle, somewhere he fits in. Personally, I don't think this sits very well with the past few books, since he was settled on one planet for a century or more, and by the end of it was keen to go off exploring the universe. Ah well, I suppose we all want what we don't have...

Here the Doctor instinctively sides with the human settlers at first, but when they appear to have no interest in peace he decamps to join the tigers. Although he does seem to have more success with them, he ultimately concludes that he doesn't belong with either species, and is forcefully reminded that he is NOT a tiger when a playful pat from one of the creatures knocks him out cold!

There is another display of his violent streak here, albeit not inflicted on a person this time. On page 31 he smashes a violin to pieces, at the height of his row with Karl. Also, although not exactly violent, his (re)solution at the end of the book is to take charge of the planet's weather control system and force the humans and tigers into having to work together to survive - ie, he has left them with no choice, which is a shift in attitude from the Doctor's more normal stance I think.

Other less significant changes (but still of interest to fans who, like me, are keen followers of fashion) are that the Doctor shaves his hair very short (think 'McGann photo-shoot') when living with the tigers, and that he spends most of the story NOT in his normal frock-coat, etc, instead donning "a loose white shirt over hemp trousers amd a black waistcoat embroidered with brilliant orange designs." Ice hot and high fabshion I'm sure you'll agree.

And finally (no, honest!) there are a couple of rather nice comments of the Doctor, from Karl's point of view. Early in the book he regards the Doctor as 'maternal' towards his companions, so that - in the absence of any alien invaders to protect them from - he is making sure Fitz & Anji are eating well and are generally OK. Later on, Karl refers to the Doctor (in respect of his not fitting in with either humans or tigers) as "still miscellaneous".

This Book: Again, I paid £2.50 (again, a saving of £3.49) to the again lovely Si Hart for an, again, mint copy.

Running Score: £31.62 against RRP