*No Spoilers*
It isn’t the dead man cocooned inside a huge mass of web that worries the Doctor. It isn’t the swarming, mutated insects that make him nervous. It isn’t an old man’s garbled memories of past dangers that intrigue him.
With the village cut off from the outside world, and the insects becoming more and more dangerous, the Doctor knows that no one is safe. Not unless he can decode the strange symbols engraved on an ancient stone circle, and unravel a mystery dating back to the Second World War.
Doctor Who has a history of doing storylines with giant insects and/or spiders. Some examples include: “Arachnids in the UK”, “Planet of the Spiders”, and “The Runaway Bride”. This one is no different. However, the circumstances are more drastic than before. Soldier ants, attacking mosquitos, and barrier making spiders scattered along the countryside.
The episode “Arachnids in the UK” felt to me like more of an environmental message than a proper and complete story, but even the classics have subtle political messages (or so I’m told). There are more insects involved in this story than spiders so rejoice for readers who have arachnophobia.
I find no matter how many times the Doctor gets involved with any mystery involving World War II, it never gets old. The mysteries surrounding the horrific war leaves many to wonder how technologically advanced the Nazis actually were. It is involved in many conspiracy theory discussions across the Internet.
This story felt like a real episode of the TV show. I felt like the stakes were dire and there was a lot at stake. The Doctor always comes out on top no matter how clever the bad guy(s) think they are. It’s what’s kept the show going for over fifty years!
Overall, this novel is excellent at telling a great Doctor Who story. It has great character development, a great story, and the ending is actually satisfying. I would recommend this story for fans of Doctor Who and science fiction in general.
Elisha's Book Reviews 