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arthurbdd's review
4.0
It's kind of a shame that Gareth Roberts has been infected by culture war nonsense in recent years, because this early effort is pretty good and evinces some attitudes which are more progressive than those he expresses today. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2024/03/05/the-virgin-new-adventures-nightshade-to-deceit/
scheu's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty entertaining. More in the line of 'like a televised story' than 'treading new ground'.
philosopher_kj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
philosopher_kj's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
scampr's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This story isn't doing anything crazy lore or character wise, but it doesn't need to - it's just a solid adventure that expands the 7th Doctor and Benny's early friendship. The warmongering Chelonians and an infamous space criminal Shelduker are the two main antagonistic forces, and they're fleshed out really well. I liked the humour and dialogue, and there were a lot of cool ideas at play here.
The opening third of the book focused on the mystery and worldbuilding in an engaging way, and the concluding third delivered some great explanations and climaxes to what was set up. The middle third was unfortunately the weakest section, and felt a bit tedious in comparison. I don't think it drags the rest down by much though, so as long as you push on there's a fun story and good moments overall.
My only other complaint would be that I really didn't care for Benny's subplot with a certain group of side characters, which felt a little pointless and convoluted. It was annoying that she got side-lined with that for a bit, while the Doctor and other characters were involved in much more fun and interesting things.
Despite some flaws, this is ultimately a good story though.
The opening third of the book focused on the mystery and worldbuilding in an engaging way, and the concluding third delivered some great explanations and climaxes to what was set up. The middle third was unfortunately the weakest section, and felt a bit tedious in comparison. I don't think it drags the rest down by much though, so as long as you push on there's a fun story and good moments overall.
My only other complaint would be that I really didn't care for Benny's subplot with a certain group of side characters, which felt a little pointless and convoluted. It was annoying that she got side-lined with that for a bit, while the Doctor and other characters were involved in much more fun and interesting things.
Despite some flaws, this is ultimately a good story though.
fullfledgedegg's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5