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futurama1979's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
i found this book almost out of place in tone and presentation from most of the rest of the series so far(a good thing!) but the content was very much the same (mining operation gone wrong, human colonist military, creatures underground, conflict of morals vs. money). it was a bleak story, and in a distinctly different way from how, say, [b:Doctor Who: Longest Day|71397|Doctor Who Longest Day|Michael Collier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519681542l/71397._SY75_.jpg|69141] was bleak. the bleakness of Dreamstone Moon wasn't just an onslaught of tedious atrocity within eyesight of a teenager who still has a bit of belief in something. it was this utterly brutal, systemic display of the inefficacy of any form of goodness or any will to do good in the face of a colonial corporate-military complex. we're shown level by level that there are good people, or at least people with good in them, in not only the activist group but the miners, the head of the mining base; there's even reluctant humanity in a military commander. and we're also shown that at any level of power no amount of sympathy will ever be enough for anyone to actually act against anything happening, and the people who try to act are doing so completely futilely. characters who know they're wrong go to their last scenes realising they can't even defend their actions and still carrying them out with dumb obedience. these are high ranking characters in this corporate-military complex. once colonialism has begun even if the actors start to regret it the action is in motion and the need to preserve their image will keep them on their original course.
the character work was done in a scattered manner, but was still more interesting than anything in the last few books. the doctor didn't do much, but especially towards the end we got some fascinating choices out of sam, ultimately of course. i think having her finally in a position where she can face her attraction to him with enough distance she can actually consider it in a less biased way, and having her come out realising it's not something she wants to engage with to the point she willingly gives up not only having a single familiar person there for her but also her only way home if she ever wants to go back-- that was a bold and also great character move.
there were some things that didn't work for me; the framing of certain characters and things put me off, and i thought the pacing was all fucking over the place in a way that, sure, added to the sense of disorientation in the story, but read as loose and unintentional. i've heard so many good things about [b:Doctor Who: Seeing I|71399|Doctor Who Seeing I|Jonathan Blum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1204851766l/71399._SY75_.jpg|69143] i'm looking forward to finally reading it.
i found this book almost out of place in tone and presentation from most of the rest of the series so far(a good thing!) but the content was very much the same (mining operation gone wrong, human colonist military, creatures underground, conflict of morals vs. money). it was a bleak story, and in a distinctly different way from how, say, [b:Doctor Who: Longest Day|71397|Doctor Who Longest Day|Michael Collier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519681542l/71397._SY75_.jpg|69141] was bleak. the bleakness of Dreamstone Moon wasn't just an onslaught of tedious atrocity within eyesight of a teenager who still has a bit of belief in something. it was this utterly brutal, systemic display of the inefficacy of any form of goodness or any will to do good in the face of a colonial corporate-military complex. we're shown level by level that there are good people, or at least people with good in them, in not only the activist group but the miners, the head of the mining base; there's even reluctant humanity in a military commander. and we're also shown that at any level of power no amount of sympathy will ever be enough for anyone to actually act against anything happening, and the people who try to act are doing so completely futilely. characters who know they're wrong go to their last scenes realising they can't even defend their actions and still carrying them out with dumb obedience. these are high ranking characters in this corporate-military complex. once colonialism has begun even if the actors start to regret it the action is in motion and the need to preserve their image will keep them on their original course.
the character work was done in a scattered manner, but was still more interesting than anything in the last few books. the doctor didn't do much, but especially towards the end we got some fascinating choices out of sam, ultimately of course
Spoiler
her decision not to reach out to the doctor when she finally got the chancethere were some things that didn't work for me; the framing of certain characters and things put me off, and i thought the pacing was all fucking over the place in a way that, sure, added to the sense of disorientation in the story, but read as loose and unintentional. i've heard so many good things about [b:Doctor Who: Seeing I|71399|Doctor Who Seeing I|Jonathan Blum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1204851766l/71399._SY75_.jpg|69143] i'm looking forward to finally reading it.
decembera's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nenya_kanadka's review
3.0
Great Sam voice in this one (I love Sam!) but I spent the whole thing on edge waiting for her and Eight to get back together. I really love Doctor/companion interaction and hated that they had to be separated. But I see that gets resolved in the next book or two. One of the first times I realized that this series is actually one long interconnected tale, like a TV show; it does actually matter if you read them in order!
qualiareedauthor's review
4.0
This was another one of the 8th Doctor adventures that is just great sci-fi.
This series of books, added to the audio adventures from Big Finish, were what made the 8th Doctor MY Doctor.
This series of books, added to the audio adventures from Big Finish, were what made the 8th Doctor MY Doctor.
hidekisohma's review
3.0
Okay! Onto book #11 of the EDA. How was this one? Well, it was better than Longest Day! Yeah, Low bar i know.
So this book basically has Sam and the Doctor still separated. Same adventure, different paths. Normally, i wouldn't have a problem with this, but for the longest time, the doctor isn't even in the story. For the first 2/3 of the book, the doctor's in MAYBE 40 pages out of 160. This book is predominantly a Sam story. While i think Sam's fine, i really read these for the doctor, so when he doesn't show up for long swatches of time, i get a little bored.
I really liked some of the aliens in this story though. i like the idea of a tentacly octopus thing as one of the story's main characters well as one of the incidental characters' cat-girl girlfriend. It's nice to see some doctor who aliens in classic who other than "humanoid with weird eyebrows" that aren't villains and this book took the time to explain and show some non-humanoid aliens and i thought that was pretty neat.
In fact, i actually quite liked the first third of the book where the world was being explained and the characters were being introduced. However, when stuff went to hell (as it always does in who books) that's when the story took a dive for me and i really didn't care as much anymore. I didn't exactly zone out, but i didn't really CARE about the "exciting" parts of the story. I don't know, it just wasn't for me.
It seems that i just end up not liking Doctor who stories that involved space suits. Not BECAUSE of them, it just seems to end up being that way.
On a side note, One of the main side characters doesn't make it and i wasn't too fond of that. I feel like the author could have done better with that.
The previous book I read by Paul Leonard was "Genocide" and i will say this book is MILES better than that one. Once again, that's not saying a whole lot, but i felt it needed to be said.
The doctor was fine in this one, while Sam was a bit whiny as is seemingly per usual at this point. This story is definitely just fine. Not great, not bad, just fine. it told a story, it kind of had a resolution, and we learned the lesson of "mining bad. people need respect nature." You know, that lesson we've already known from 100 other stories.
So yeah, this book, Even 3 out of 5. no halves, just...even 3 out of 5.
So this book basically has Sam and the Doctor still separated. Same adventure, different paths. Normally, i wouldn't have a problem with this, but for the longest time, the doctor isn't even in the story. For the first 2/3 of the book, the doctor's in MAYBE 40 pages out of 160. This book is predominantly a Sam story. While i think Sam's fine, i really read these for the doctor, so when he doesn't show up for long swatches of time, i get a little bored.
I really liked some of the aliens in this story though. i like the idea of a tentacly octopus thing as one of the story's main characters well as one of the incidental characters' cat-girl girlfriend. It's nice to see some doctor who aliens in classic who other than "humanoid with weird eyebrows" that aren't villains and this book took the time to explain and show some non-humanoid aliens and i thought that was pretty neat.
In fact, i actually quite liked the first third of the book where the world was being explained and the characters were being introduced. However, when stuff went to hell (as it always does in who books) that's when the story took a dive for me and i really didn't care as much anymore. I didn't exactly zone out, but i didn't really CARE about the "exciting" parts of the story. I don't know, it just wasn't for me.
It seems that i just end up not liking Doctor who stories that involved space suits. Not BECAUSE of them, it just seems to end up being that way.
On a side note, One of the main side characters doesn't make it and i wasn't too fond of that. I feel like the author could have done better with that.
The previous book I read by Paul Leonard was "Genocide" and i will say this book is MILES better than that one. Once again, that's not saying a whole lot, but i felt it needed to be said.
The doctor was fine in this one, while Sam was a bit whiny as is seemingly per usual at this point. This story is definitely just fine. Not great, not bad, just fine. it told a story, it kind of had a resolution, and we learned the lesson of "mining bad. people need respect nature." You know, that lesson we've already known from 100 other stories.
So yeah, this book, Even 3 out of 5. no halves, just...even 3 out of 5.
rebelbelle13's review
4.0
This installment, number 11 in the Eighth Doctor Adventure series, is better than the last three books combined- which isn't hard to do since both Option Lock and Longest Day were dreadful, and Legacy of the Daleks was just okay. Dreamstone Moon was refreshing. The plot moved along quickly, all the side stories were important, and every character given time and pages figured prominently into the plot. It didn't feel like there was any wasted time in between the main story and action sequences. There's a mysterious planet in the future, a variety of aliens, humans looking to profit, and Sam and the Doctor embroiling themselves into all of it. This absolutely felt like it could be an episode of Classic or even New Who. The only frustrating part of it was the fact that Sam and the Doctor kept just missing each other, rather like the Doctor and Susan in the previous book. It would have been a five star read if the two of them were working together to solve the mystery of the moon. As it stands, it was a fun, fast read, even though Sam and the Doctor were separated.
wynnifer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
eightfitz's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
caedocyon's review
3.0
I think my favorite part of this one was Sam learning the quantitative science of activism in the 22nd century. I need that crash course, and I know a lot of other people who would really like to bone up on "Interorganisational Relations Theory" and "Protest Management."
cronareads's review
4.0
The story drags a bit with some of the muti perspectives without adding a whole lot. Themes of extraction, xenophobia and when violence is warranted, what is a life worth saving and responsibility are handled fairly well.
Spoilers after here-
---
The doctor ending up killing the antagonist was surprising to me, and very much was an act of killing one to save many. It's always interesting how the doctor is willing to make these decisions but admonishes others.
This choice waxes and wanes depending on which doctor we have become more pronounced as time goes on, though 9 struggles to do so due to time war trauma. But 10, 11 and 12 do make these choices.
I appreciate this story recognizing previous losses the doctor has had and the theme in the EDAs up to this point of his taking of companions especially young ones, explicitly referencing Ace.
Spoilers after here-
---
The doctor ending up killing the antagonist was surprising to me, and very much was an act of killing one to save many. It's always interesting how the doctor is willing to make these decisions but admonishes others.
This choice waxes and wanes depending on which doctor we have become more pronounced as time goes on, though 9 struggles to do so due to time war trauma. But 10, 11 and 12 do make these choices.
I appreciate this story recognizing previous losses the doctor has had and the theme in the EDAs up to this point of his taking of companions especially young ones, explicitly referencing Ace.