Review: Silhouette (Doctor Who) - Justin Richards

The hapless Marlowe Hapworth is bumped off in a locked room after a visit to the Frost Fair's Carnival of Curiosities, while in the process of writing a concerned letter to Madam Vastra, the Great Detective..... Rick Bellamy, bare-knuckle fighter and drinking/fighting buddy of Strax the Sontaran, is found dead in an alleyway.... Meanwhile, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara are on the trail of an inexplicable power spike in late Victorian London. What can it all mean, and what does it have to do with a puppet show operated by the mysterious Silhouette?

I LOVE the Paternoster Gang and their Victorian crime-fighting escapades, and they are on fine form here, with some excellent moments for Strax in particular. (The idea of him drinking, in pubs, with mates, is a delight.) Jenny Flint also gets plenty to do, though less is made here than in the TV series of her relationship with Vastra. And there's a surprising moment for Vastra...

I'm liking Clara a lot better recently - I wasn't overly taken with her character last series, but am finding her more likeable and believable now, and that continues in this novel, where we get to see her interacting with lots of characters other than the Doctor. There's a real flavour of her personality coming through now which I, personally, feel was a bit lacking in the previous series.

The Doctor doesn't actually seem to have that much to do for much of the story, but his characterisation seems to be in line with what we have seen so far in this series and he has some good moments. (I'm particularly enjoying the change in his relationship with Clara.) I loved the bit where he repeatedly bumps into - well, you'll see - while remaining apparently oblivious. Blatant fan-pleasing stuff, but hey, I'm a fan, and I like to be pleased.

As ever, Justin Richards is a safe pair of hands where the writing of Doctor Who books is concerned, and on this occasion he has delivered superbly, with a gripping plot, recognisable characters and a satisfyingly villainous baddie. I loved this story!

Nowhere Girl: Review of Into the Nowhere by Jenny T Colgan

The last few months have certainly been a rollercoaster ride for Doctor Who fans. The Name of the Doctor! The Night of the Doctor! The Day of the Doctor! The Time of the Doctor! Splendid stuff, all of it. Not to mention a veritable plethora of audios, books, etc. (The Veritable Plethora of the Doctor, you might say.) It’s a great time to be a fan. Except – except for that one little matter. Come in, No. 11, your time is up. And much as I’m looking forward to Peter Capaldi’s tenure in the TARDIS (there’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to be brilliant), I’m really, really going to miss Matt Smith. Because, you know what, Doctor? You were my Doctor.

Thankfully he’s not gone, not entirely, because there are still adventures out there we haven’t previously heard about, and one of these has now been recounted, as part of the new Time Trips series, by Jenny Colgan. The series kicked off in style last month with A L Kennedy’s Fourth Doctor story, The Death Pit, and I’m glad to say continues in equal-but-different style with Into the Nowhere. This e-book features the Eleventh Doctor and Clara, and a planet which doesn’t seem to exist. It’s not in any of the literature. (There’s a lovely Douglas Adams reference here, which made me very happy – and a nod to Harry Potter later, too. I do like the idea that these universes co-exist.) But anyway, there it is, and of course they have to go there and find out more, and it’s… really not a very nice place, actually, though the reason why is not what you might expect.

Jenny Colgan – author of numerous romantic comedies, and one previous Doctor Who novel, the acclaimed Dark Horizons (well, I acclaimed it. I’m pretty sure other people did, too.) – writes beautifully here. This is dark and scary stuff, and it’s very very good. This planet with no name is a frightening place and the reader feels that, every step of the way. But as good, if not better, than this is the characterisation of the Doctor and Clara, which is insightful and believable. I’ll admit that I have struggled to really warm to Clara as a companion, largely because the – to my mind –rather uneven series 7b never totally gave me a grasp of who she was, apart from cute and pretty and with a nice line in sarky repartee. I didn’t feel much depth of personality came across, somehow, and hence it was hard to care what happened to her. I think she’s growing on me, though, and Jenny Colgan – by giving us insight into Clara’s inner feelings, post-Name of the Doctor, about what has happened to her and how it feels and what it all means – has helped to give her genuine depth. The Doctor is also very well characterised in all his lightness and his darkness. I don’t want to spoil the story for those who haven’t read it, so I’ll only say that things take an unexpected turn. It’s cleverly done, with some rather surprising imagery, and also very sad at one point in particular – but the end is satisfying and left me thinking.

Highly, highly recommended and I look forward to more Doctor Who stories from Jenny Colgan.