RTW: Book of the Month for June, 2013
It’s Book of the Month time again on YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday. In other words, the YA Highway team want to know:
What’s the best book you read in June?
I didn’t get through a lot of books this month, so my choice for June is not a book I would rave over, but it was still probably ever-so-slightly the best book I read this month, just beating out one other possible choice. And that book is…
OPTION LOCK by Justin Richards. OPTION LOCK is the eighth novel in the BBC Books series of Doctor Who novels featuring the Eighth Doctor and various companions. I’ll talk a little bit more about the series in a moment, but first let’s focus on this book.
The TARDIS experiences a sudden and rapid loss of atron energy, forcing the Doctor and his companion Sam to make an emergency landing. They end up on Earth, at the Silver stately home. The Silvers receive them as guests, and welcome them to stay–which the Doctor is glad to do while the TARDIS re-charges. However, something’s not quite right. There are top-level secret meetings with the military, people wandering around in trance-like states in the middle of the night, and something odd about the paintings. With his usual reckless inquisitiveness and disregard for personal safety, the Doctor investigates. The secret he and Sam uncovers not only explains the TARDIS’s sudden energy depletion and the strange behavior of their new friends, but could also put the lives of everyone on planet Earth in danger…
I’ve been (slowly) reading through the Eighth Doctor series of novels, and I had great expectations of this one, mostly because Justin Richards is one of the better writers for the range (he is also the series editor). I wasn’t disappointed. The story is well-written, and has all the elements we expect from Doctor Who: mystery, suspense, sci-fi, and humor. Justin does a good job of depicting the character of the Eighth Doctor, which is especially gratifying given the brief screen-time he received (one 90 minute movie in 1996). And Sam is a good companion–headstrong, able to hold her own, but still young and capable of questionable decisions. For those familiar with Classic Doctor Who, this story reminded me a lot of the old Third Doctor-U.N.I.T. stories.
As with all the books in this series, it’s not written for kids, but there’s really no sex, graphic violence, or profanity either. When I say it’s not for kids, I’m speaking more of the tone and style. Young fans of the new series may not appreciate these novels as much as older fans.
Now a quick word about the BBC Books series for those who don’t know much about this aspect of Doctor Who history (and who care to know). In 1989, Doctor Who was put on hiatus–which turned out to be a nice way of saying it was cancelled. This didn’t mean the end of Doctor Who, however. In 1991, Virgin Books started a line of Doctor Who “New Adventures” books, featuring the Seventh Doctor. This line continued until the TV movie came out, with the last of the Virgin series appearing in 1997. As a point of interest, among the writers for the “New Adventures” were Mark Gatiss, Gareth Roberts, Paul Cornell, and Russell T. Davies–all of whom went on to write for the revived TV series (indeed, one of Paul Cornell’s books, HUMAN NATURE, was adapted for a Tenth Doctor adventure in Season 3).
After the TV movie didn’t spawn a new series of Doctor Who, BBC Books picked up the franchise and started publishing Eighth Doctor adventures. The novels came out almost monthly, developing their own continuity, recurring characters, and story arcs. In all, BBC Books published 73 Eighth Doctor novels. When the TV series came back in 2005, BBC Books finished their Eighth Doctor series, but continued a line of “Past Doctor” adventures.
So much for my book of the month–what was yours? Have you read any Doctor Who novels? If you want to join in with the Road Trip, visit the YA Highway blog for details, and for a list of other Highwayers to visit.
I haven’t read any Doctor Who novels. In fact, I’ve just recently borrowed the 1st season of the BBC series but haven’t watched it yet. I’ve heard so many great things about Doctor Who though that I’m willing to give it a try.
If you’re new to Doctor Who, that’s the place to start: New Series Season 1.
You don’t have to be a Who fan to read the books–especially this one, where you don’t have to know a lot of Who back story to follow the plot. But it probably helps a lot in terms of what to expect if you’re familiar with the TV series.
I hope you get the chance to watch it soon. Be warned… I know of people who found themselves five episodes into a season set and unable to stop… 😉
I’ve never really gotten into Doctor Who (the TV show) and didn’t even know there were novels. I always like books better than movies though, so maybe I should check this series out.
If there’s the possibility you might prefer–let’s call it “Literary Who”–then this might be an option for you, Kate. There are quite literally hundreds of Doctor Who novels, both Eighth Doctor, and past Doctors. BBC Books also publish tie-in novels a few times a year, featuring the current Doctor/companion. So you have plenty of choice! 🙂
I haven’t read any Doctor Who books, so this has been quite an education. I had no idea there are so many!
I remember the 1996 TV movie. My friend’s uncle wrote the script so I considered myself famous by association. 🙂 Fab to hear there are books about that Doctor.
Wow, Kendra–that’s quite a claim-to-fame! While the movie does take some liberties (the Doctor being half human, bringing the Eye of Harmony into the TARDIS), and makes some missteps (e.g., the very questionable decision to have the Doctor regenerate 20 minutes in), it’s a part of Doctor Who history, it’s considered “canon”, and it gave us Paul McGann as the Doctor! All good reasons to be proud of that association. 🙂
I would love to see the Eighth Doctor get more screen time–perhaps a short-run spin-off series, or even just a part in the 50th Anniversary Special. At least we have the movie, the books, and the Big Finish audio adventures (another part of the Doctor Who universe I didn’t go into…)
I’ve read bits of a few of the more recent Doctor Who books (and by more recent, I think they might have featured Rose Tyler, but don’t hold me to that). I’ve not thought enough of them to actually go out and buy one. This book sounds interesting, though, so I might consider seeing if my local library has any of the Doctor Who books.
(I do like the strong Doctor Who presence on this blog! ;))
I’ve read a couple of the more recent Doctor Who books that are more TV tie-in, and the ones I’ve read are good, though I’d say they’re geared more toward the new series fan. By that, I mean they try to strike a tone that will appeal to a broad range of reader. These older books (e.g., the Eighth Doctor range) are skewed more toward the older reader (late teen+), so you might find a bit of a darker tone and a little more depth to the concepts and plotting.
I know I risk alienating some of my regular readers who are not fans of the show, but this blog bears my name, and if it’s true to who I am and what I enjoy, then it has to include Doctor Who. Especially this year! Thanks for the encouragement, Anna. At least I know a couple of people are still reading. 🙂
Doctor Who has been everywhere lately! I’ve never watched an episode or read the book so feeling a little on the outside! Hope you’re well Colin 🙂
Awww… sorry you’re feeling on the outside, Samantha! There’s a remedy for that: it’s called Season 1 of Doctor Who starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper! 😉 Seriously, though, you should give it a try. Who knows, you might enjoy it.
And I’m very well, thank you for asking. I hope you are too! 😀
I haven’t read any of the Doctor Who novels yet even though I own one of them. I should really read it and think about checking out more.
Cool, Rachael–which one do you have? I should probably blog about the different book ranges (Target novelizations, Virgin Books series, BBC Books series (pre-2005 and post-2005), etc.), as well as the Big Finish audio series. I don’t have all of these, but I’m sure there are fans of the show unaware of the vast number of Who stories available in various forms. They can certainly help fill the time between seasons!
I must read some of these Doctor Who books. I keep spying them around Waterstones. 🙂 And I’d definitely love to read more about the eighth incarnation. Paul McGann was my first Doctor. 🙂
I don’t think there are many places in the US that sell the Eighth Doctor books–I certainly haven’t seen any on the shelves in any book store over here. I got a lot of mine from my brother who bought them when they came out. I’m glad Waterstones is still selling them, though. They need to stay in print, at least in the UK.
McGann was your first Doctor? That’s so cool! And I bet he’d be chuffed to know it. 🙂