TITLE

History 101

AUTHOR

Mags L. Halliday

PREVIOUS FORM

for the defence: Erm... nope, nothing.

for the prosecution: Um... nope, still nothing. Here's a link to her blog instead. That's writing isn't it?

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT ALFIE?

A member of something called 'the Absolute' (beings who spend all their time observing humanity) is affected by one of Sabbath's agents, and goes mad. The setting is the Spanish Civil War, and the Doctor and co spend a very confusing time unsure of what's going on. Not unlike this particular reader...

THE 100 WORD REVIEW

The idea is ingenious, with people's perceptions, rather than actual events, being manipulated, and as an allegory for the Spanish Civil War, that works well, since propaganda rarely sits comfortably with absolute truth. The author has clearly researched both the period and the setting, and it is an engaging read. If it has one problem, it's that Sabbath and his agent aren't really needed and as such things get a little TOO complicated, at least for me. The ending too is a bit of an anticlimax, but I think a second reading of this one may well be in order.

THE C WORD

Not much from the front line here - reference is made to the TARDIS previously being in "the basement of a bordello" and to Sabbath escaping from his chains (both in The Adventuress of Henrietta Street), as well as to the planet Albert from Grimm Reality.

More irritating, though, are references that don't serve to enhance the story, just to alienate the casual reader - the Doctor almost bumps into Kim Philby here more than 20 years before their first meeting in Endgame, for one. Even more inscrutable is a sequence on pages 158/9 where the Doctor is trying to work out who wrote a note, which he apparently always carries around with him. The only notes of significance that I can recall are the ones from Mary Minett (although since that was in Casualties of War, he ought to remember that anyway) and the one telling him to meet Fitz in St Louis, which he had with him when he first popped up without his memory in The Burning. Presumably that latter note was written by either Fitz or previous companion, sentient TARDIS Compassion, but I'm not aware that the Doctor has ever been concerned over its authorship before. The prose here reads as follows, from Anji's point of view: "...this was the note. One of those strange, unspoken things which were never brought up by any of them." N-E-V-E-R is right, so far, and I think the editor should have been all over those pages with a big red pencil.

Fitz' memory, recently not 100% reliable where it concerns events pre-The Ancestor Cell, seems to have improved again, since he categorically states on page 33 that "the TARDIS rebuilt herself from the smallest atom upwards" - I can't somehow imagine him knowing that for a fact, if he doesn't know why. Yes, a really big red pencil...

Not really continuity, but mourning over Buenaventura Durruti (a real person) is dated in the book as November 23rd. A quick check on the internet suggests that this does in fact tie in with the actual dates of his death, rather than just being a Doctor Who reference too far.

Oh, and Anji quotes Catatonia's "Mulder and Scully" song, although Fitz has no idea what it is. His own musical talents, playing the guitar, are referred to later in the book, when his hand is severely damaged and he is concerned as to whether he'll be able to play again. Sadly for Anji and the Doctor, the prognosis seems to be that he will...

I - AM - THE - DOCTOR!

Well, cosmetically, fashion fans may be interested to know that the Doctor sports a dark red jacket here, rather than the normal blue-green one. He also considers regrowing his beard, appearing with a face full of stubble - Anji says it never suited him before, after which one assumes that he decides to shave after all. What is she, his wife?

Characterwise, during the middle-section of the book, when the Doctor and Anji are trapped with a crippled TARDIS in Barcelona for several months, the Doctor seems to sink into a depression, doing little except hoping the TARDIS will fix herself overnight. This unhelpful behaviour is mainly seen through Anji's eyes, and while it allows her organisational skills to come to the fore, it doesn't really do much for the character of the Doctor. I think we have to assume that he is supposed to be heavily affected due to his unspecified connection with the TARDIS, but it does make one want to slap him around the face and tell him to do something.

There's also an uncomfortable plot development towards the end of the book. The narrative requires that the destruction of Guernica happens, and that people are aware of the horror of it, and so Fitz is given instructions from the Doctor to go back in time and make sure it does take place. Although the complete faith that the Doctor and Fitz seem to have in each other can be very touching, there's something unsettling about the Doctor almost glibly leaving Fitz to cause so much death and destruction, rather than doing it himself.

The issue of the Doctor's developing propensity for violence is also touched upon, not by any particular action, but rather by a moment of contemplation (page 206): "It was tempting, always, just to lash out in pain. He knew he had done it in his past, succumbed to that desire for swift revenge, the kick or the shaking that expressed that hurt." Not that I want to start seeing patterns in things that aren't there, but the above sentiments fit well with the Ninth Doctor's behaviour in The End of the World, when he allows the Lady Cassandra to die...

MONEY IN THE BANK ZILDA!

This Book: I went exploring in the Amazon (well, Amazon.co.uk anyway) for this one, spending £3.97 and therefore saving £2.02 on the deal. On the downside the darned thing didn't arrive for three weeks, which is why I ended up re-reading f*****g Transit!

Running Score: £79.57 against RRP to date.