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mbene502's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
andrew_j_r's review against another edition
4.0
Thirteen years after the very first story of the relaunched version of Doctor Who was transmitted, the book has been turned into a novel, under the Target banner, the first Target novel for decades. So was it worth the wait?
Well it’s a resounding yes. From the opening paragraphs fleshing out the character of Wilson, the unseen caretaker from the shop Rose works at, to the final scene where Rose makes her decision to leave the earth and Mickey and enter the TARDIS, this book is just full of wonderful references, a couple of in jokes, and grander characters. It’s the same story, told in in the same order, but if feels much more epic than the TV version ever did - whilst I loved what RTD did with Doctor Who overall, I was never a massive fan of this first episode.
It’s a lot more gory than the TV episode, with lots and lots of nasty death once the Autons come to life and start attacking London. The book also addresses some of the things that irritated me about the original episode - why Rose would be taking lottery money to the caretaker, I’ve worked and retail and that makes no sense, however it’s a syndicate, which does. And the section in the shed with Clive acknowledges the existence of Doctors other than the ninth - in the TV episode Clive verbally suggests there more than one, but here we get references to several other adventures. I understand why we didn’t on the TV show, it was vital to launch it without overwhelming the audience with back story, but as a fan I wanted to see what we get in this version, and it’s fabulous.
There’s even a wonderful in joke about the Graham Norton debacle (somehow live audio from the studio where his show had just finished airing was added to the sound of the show) which made me chuckle a lot.
It feels like a Target Doctor Who book. It looks like a Target Doctor Who book. It improved the story without really changing it, and I really hope RTD gets to novelise some more of his episodes, if this is anything to go by they will be fantastic!
Well it’s a resounding yes. From the opening paragraphs fleshing out the character of Wilson, the unseen caretaker from the shop Rose works at, to the final scene where Rose makes her decision to leave the earth and Mickey and enter the TARDIS, this book is just full of wonderful references, a couple of in jokes, and grander characters. It’s the same story, told in in the same order, but if feels much more epic than the TV version ever did - whilst I loved what RTD did with Doctor Who overall, I was never a massive fan of this first episode.
It’s a lot more gory than the TV episode, with lots and lots of nasty death once the Autons come to life and start attacking London. The book also addresses some of the things that irritated me about the original episode - why Rose would be taking lottery money to the caretaker, I’ve worked and retail and that makes no sense, however it’s a syndicate, which does. And the section in the shed with Clive acknowledges the existence of Doctors other than the ninth - in the TV episode Clive verbally suggests there more than one, but here we get references to several other adventures. I understand why we didn’t on the TV show, it was vital to launch it without overwhelming the audience with back story, but as a fan I wanted to see what we get in this version, and it’s fabulous.
There’s even a wonderful in joke about the Graham Norton debacle (somehow live audio from the studio where his show had just finished airing was added to the sound of the show) which made me chuckle a lot.
It feels like a Target Doctor Who book. It looks like a Target Doctor Who book. It improved the story without really changing it, and I really hope RTD gets to novelise some more of his episodes, if this is anything to go by they will be fantastic!
tabman678's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bernard_black's review against another edition
adventurous
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual content
elizabethcolls_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
saroz162's review against another edition
5.0
I had more than an inkling that Russell T. Davies would take the opportunity to expand on the original TV episode of "Rose" for his novel version, but even I was surprised how sprightly and engaging it ended up being. Davies' enthusiasm is infectious, even if his prose veers toward the staccato (he's clearly never met an impact sentence he doesn't like), and it's easy to see him hooting his head off as he wrote this stuff. He does that which every fan wanted him to do, and more: yes, all the Doctors (and then some!) cameo in the Clive sequence, but we also meet Mickey's friends, experience more of the Doctor's trauma, and learn why the Nestene Consciousness is now a giant vat of goo. There's even a callback to "Remembrance of the Daleks." It's not a perfect book - some of the Auton invasion feels like sheer overkill - but it's tremendous fun, and a sight better than what the actual TV episode was able to give us.
chocolatequeen's review
1.0
This is NOT a novelisation of Rose.
It is Rose as Davies wishes he could have written it, thirteen years ago. So many scenes were changed--not just little bits of dialogue added, but broad changes to characters and actions that left me completely disappointed.
I'm an author. I understand the desire to fix the problems I see in my older works. But thirteen years after the fact is far too long for the kind of rewriting and retconning that goes on in this novel.
And if you're wondering where the idea that Davies wanted to change things in Rose comes from, he did an article for the tenth anniversary of Rose where he watched the ep and shared his commentary and overall thoughts. (I believe it was in Doctor Who Magazine, but it might have been Radio Times.) Almost every change that happened in this book can easily be traced back to the things he said bothered him about the original.
I did not buy this book to get RTD's fixed version of the story. I read it hoping to get more insight into scenes I know and love. Sadly, those scenes were not present in this novel.
It is Rose as Davies wishes he could have written it, thirteen years ago. So many scenes were changed--not just little bits of dialogue added, but broad changes to characters and actions that left me completely disappointed.
I'm an author. I understand the desire to fix the problems I see in my older works. But thirteen years after the fact is far too long for the kind of rewriting and retconning that goes on in this novel.
And if you're wondering where the idea that Davies wanted to change things in Rose comes from, he did an article for the tenth anniversary of Rose where he watched the ep and shared his commentary and overall thoughts. (I believe it was in Doctor Who Magazine, but it might have been Radio Times.) Almost every change that happened in this book can easily be traced back to the things he said bothered him about the original.
I did not buy this book to get RTD's fixed version of the story. I read it hoping to get more insight into scenes I know and love. Sadly, those scenes were not present in this novel.
medxxna's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
It’s so interesting to see a different perspective from the episode. I’m happy this is the first book I’ve read this year.
librarycobwebs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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? Yes
4.75
A wonderful expansion of this classic Doctor Who story. Davies at his best centers characters who feel like real people at the heart of the story. This was a fun way to meet these characters again with even more insight into who they are