9th Doctor – Elisha's Book Reviews

*No Spoilers*

Leaving World War II behind, The Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack discover that Time Lord technology, lost in the wake of the Time War, is being sold on the intergalactic black market! Now the threat of a new temporal war brews on the horizon, with the Doctor and his friends caught between the twin threats of the Unon and the Lect – two species with intertwined histories who are jostling to replace the Time Lords on the universal stage. Can the Doctor stop history repeating itself?

I have a special place in my heart for the 9th Doctor. Besides him being my first Doctor, I love his characterization. Fresh from the aftermath of the Time War and him meeting Rose who reminded him of what it’s like to be alive. So let’s travel through time in this review of Weapons of Past Destruction.

I have dipped my toe in to the Doctor Who comics before and it’s something I’ve enjoyed but not something I’ve spent a lot of my time pursuing or collecting. I depend on the library for a lot of the bookish content I consume, and it’s no different here. This comic takes place shortly after season 1, episode 10 The Doctor Dances.

I like how Rose tends to get separated from the Doctor and thus sees and assess the situation through her perspective, then when she meets back up to the Doctor he is still in war mode to an extent. She reminds him that there are two sides to every story. She has been my favorite companion of the reboot era.

Overall, I enjoyed this comic. The artwork is nice, and I felt like this was a good Doctor Who story. Since this is so shortly after the Time War, we see even more of the aftermath that the war had on the outer universe. So, I would recommend you have a basic understanding of Doctor Who before you dive into this story.

FirstThree_9th

*Many Spoilers Ahead*

The Doctor and his companion, Rose Tyler, land on an alien planet where the ancient pyramids are being built. Before they can even leave the TARDIS, they are captured and arrested for trespassing. However, things as always are suspicious, and it’s up to Rose and the Doctor to fix things and save the universe.

***SPOILERS START***

I am a fan of Doctor Who, I’ve watched the rebooted version up to season 7, and I’ve watched the Classic episodes. I have read several of the novelizations and audiobooks. I’m not sure if I was expecting too much from this, or if it was just executed poorly. The villains, the Blathereen, even though they are the rival family of the Slitheen, still was predictable. Any Doctor Who fan would know where this story was going and fast.

Their plot was to take over the Justice planet system, and build a transportable wormhole so they can destroy other planets and sell the scraps for profit. A similar plot was used in season 1 of the Doctor Who 2005 reboot.

I enjoyed this novel, I love the 9th Doctor. Christopher Eccleston did a “fantastic” job as a reintroduction to the Doctor character. He is grizzled and battered after the Time War, so he is darker and edgier than his earlier previous incarnations.

The novelizations are usually a way to tell a Doctor Who story that might be difficult to tell on TV. Some call it glorified fanfiction. So to see this predictable of a plot disappointed me.

I would recommend this if you’re starting with the Doctor Who novels. It has familiar characters and villains that have appeared on Doctor Who before. The Slitheen and the Blathereen are very similar in goals and motives. So the slight name-change doesn’t make much of a difference.

Learn more about the Slitheen here

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