The 4th Doctor
Leela
Set between The Talons of Weng-Chiang and Horror of Fang Rock
Written by Jim Mortimore

It was a month or so since I actually finished this book before sitting down to write the review.  Bearing in mind this book’s unusual structure that was probably a bit of a mistake – but I decided to have a decent stab at it, all the same.

The story sees the Doctor and Leela aiding Horace Stockwood, an archaeologist, to solve the mystery of moving statues on Easter Island as well as absolving his guilt for leaving his friend to die.  What they discover is an alien plot to seed the universe with their DNA.

Looking back, the plot of Eye of Heaven isn’t actually very complicated.  What makes this book stand out is the unusual structure.  Each chapter jumps back and forwards in time showing us events in England, on Easter Island and at sea.  It’s a little reminiscent of the film Memento with the reader slowly piecing events together and understanding the cause and effect of character’s actions.

The idea of unnamed aliens seeding their DNA into the islanders of Easter Island – or as it should be known, Rapa Nui – is a bit confusing; as is how the moai statues actually move around.  But I didn’t feel like I was being short-changed and just that maybe I needed to be paying more attention to pick up all the clues.

The main strength of this story, though, is the characterisation – particularly of Leela.  Jim Mortimore writes her perfectly.  Every line of dialogue and every internal thought rings true.  With Louise Jameson’s proliferation of appearances in Big Finish productions, it was also incredibly easy to hear her ‘performing’ the part.  The 4th Doctor is also well written with Mortimore nailing Tom Baker’s Season 14/15 stylings.

The guest cast are generally well formed although I did get a bit confused between a few of the characters particularly as the chapters jumped around and I lost track of who was allied with who.  The ‘villain’ of the piece, Jennifer Richards, didn’t really make an impact and I think her characterisation was one of the few things which suffered at the hands of the unusual structure.

I chose this novel as an epilogue to my 19th Century marathon and it’s 19th century setting is well-realised through both the description of England and of the characters and their sensibilities (although this was where Jennifer Richards didn’t quite work for me as I found her characterisation to be a little too modern).

It’s intriguing to know that Mortimore planned a linked story to this novel which, ultimately, never saw the light of day.  I wonder how this would have developed the story from Eye of Heaven.

I would recommend Eye of Heaven but with a health warning.  It’s not an easy book to read and you really have to pay attention, but the characterisation is so expertly done it’s well worth the price of admission.