25 - Legacy

As Gary Russell’s first contribution to the New Adventures, Legacy is a nostalgic and comfortable return to Peladon, offering very little that fans haven’t seen before but acting as a pleasant homage to ‘70s Who.  It’s primarily a Benny-focused novel, which is a nice change of pace given how many of the previous stories prioritized Ace.

One of the most common criticisms I’ve seen for Gary Russell’s work is that he’s obsessed with fan service, peppering references to the classic show throughout his stories.  This often works in his favor, such as in the fabulously self-indulgent audio special Zagreus, but I’ll admit that the avalanche of classic references in Legacy did start to get a bit excessive.  Apart from the obvious Peladon cast, the novel includes a young Mavic Chen and Chancellor Goth, with references to the Ogri, Lurmans, Cantryans, Osirians, Vogans, etc.  These incessant callbacks didn’t bother me very much, but some readers may find them grating (especially if they don’t have the context for some of them).

As for the plot itself, I found this one to be unremarkable but somewhat fun.  It’s a whodunit on the planet Peladon, where the Doctor is expectedly framed for murder and nearly executed in his search for the real killer.  It also starts with a bit of background on Peladon told in the style of an old fable, which I found to be delightful.  I wish the rest of the story kept that vibe, but unfortunately the plot proceeds in a standard fashion that some readers may find dull.  It’s clear to me that Russell doesn’t quite know what to do with Ace now that her baggage with the Doctor is gone; for most of the book she’s involved in a mostly unrelated subplot to track down a war-causing MacGuffin called the Diadem.  Meanwhile, the Doctor and Bernice conspire with an Ice Lord named Savaar, who turns out to be a fun character that I wish we got to see more of.  Otherwise, there’s not much else to say without going through the plot beat by beat.  It feels just like the other two Peladon stories, so if you liked those you might like this as well.

Legacy is a strange, lore-filled foray into Doctor Who’s past that overwhelms the reader with its constant references, but it somehow manages to stay entertaining.  It’s very skippable, but I think it’s worth a read.