From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon May 29 11:01:51 1995 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Path: news.ifm.liu.se!liuida!sunic!sunic.sunet.se!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!gatech!swrinde!sgiblab!uhog.mit.edu!news!nobody From: rctst2@vms.cis.pitt.edu Subject: Who Reviews: Goth Opera Message-ID: <3pand4$bc1@usenet.srv.cis.pitt.edu> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Sender: news@media.mit.edu (USENET News System) Organization: University of Pittsburgh Date: Tue, 16 May 1995 18:41:02 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu (Alan Wexelblat) Lines: 65 The Who Reviews Volume III #1 by Ray Tate Goth Opera: Paul Cornell Finally! The new Doctor Who books have reached American shores. They still may be hard to find. Barnes & Noble and Borders were empty, but little ol' B. Dalton and unbelievable, my own campus store had the Doctor in stock. Paul Cornell entertained Who-fans with TYMWYRM: REVELATION, LOVE and WAR and NO FUTURE. He's due to fall on his face, but he hasn't reached the deadline yet. GOTH OPERA is a Missing Adventure featuring the fifth Doctor. Readers may recall Mr. Cornell's excellent characterization of the cricketer in TYMWYRM: REVELATION. I suspect Peter Davidson was Mr. Cornell's favorite Doctor as he really knows this character. The fifth Doctor wasn't the most vulnerable. He was the most moral. Though often faced with the same dilemmas as his previous incarnations and his future selves, he always searched for a peaceful solution. His Doctor never wanted to fight evil. He wanted to seek knowledge and enjoy life. GOTH OPERA places the fifth Doctor with Nyssa and Tegan at a time shortly after the wise removal of Adric and is tensously linked to Terrence Dicks' excellent BLOOD HARVEST. As one might deduce from the cover, GOTH OPERA is about vampires. SPOILER ALERT! Nyssa is unwillingly "brought across" by one of the most vile creatures in Who-history, Child. Her transformation is truly painful. Readers can hear Sara Sutton's hurt voice. SPOILER ENDS. I've become jaded when reading vampires. I'll read the rants and raves by reviewers, pick up the book and yawn. Seen it. The Anita Blake vampire hunter series by Laura K. Hamilton is an exception, and recent episodes of "The X-Files" have tread new ground; the aforementioned BLOOD HARVEST surpassed "State of Decay" and now GOTH OPERA makes fascinating comparisons between vampires and Time Lords. It offers a compelling scientific argument for vampiric powers and wards, and it morphs the vampires from oh-so-sexy blood-thirsty rapists to individuals treating their afflictions/blessings in different ways. GOTH OPERA explores the fifth Doctor's relationship with his companions and hints to juvenile deliquency on Gallifrey. It reveals the fifth Doctor's determination to save lives no matter the cost and shows the Doctor's crimes against his people to be more serious than grand theft TARDIS and malicious interference. Surprise guests aid the Doctor in his battles, and Tegan and Nyssa are well drawn. The same guts Tegan displayed when facing down the Cybermen shine in this novel. Best of all, the opening chapters foreshadow the vampires' ultimate defeat. The Doctor's victory is logical and satisfying. This is a fairplay how-does-he-win-this-time and highly recommended even for non-fans. %A Paul Cornell %T Goth Opera %I Vigin Pub. Ltd. %C London %D 1995 %G 0-426-20418-2 %O pb, U.S. $5.95 %S Missing Adventures of Doctor Who "When I say run, run....Run!" --The Doctor -- --Alan Wexelblat, Reality Hacker, Author, and Cyberspace Bard MIT Media Lab - Intelligent Agents Group finger(1) for PGP key Voice: 617-253-9833 Pager: 617-945-1842 wex@media.mit.edu http://wex.www.media.mit.edu/people/wex/ "Are we fugitives from the law?" "Yes." "Idiocy is our only option."