Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

"WETWORLD – SLIMY SWAMPS, SMART OTTERS, AND MISSING MARTHA"

Mark Michalowski’s Wetworld opens with a splash—literally—as the TARDIS sinks into the swampy surface of Sunday, an aptly soggy human colony planet. With Martha dragged away by a tentacled creature and separated from the Doctor, it promises a high-stakes, atmospheric tale of survival and alien intrigue. Unfortunately, like the titular planet, it quickly gets bogged down in shallow waters.

SLIPPERY START, STICKY MIDDLE

It’s to the book’s credit that the setting is vividly realised. The planet of Sunday, still reeling from a recent flood that decimated its early settlers, is all dank textures, oppressive humidity, and murky swamps. The swamp world has a distinct Power of Kroll flavour, albeit with more otters and fewer giant calamari. There's an almost Fury from the Deep-like edge to the story, as slimy creatures lurk in the wetlands and human colonists begin behaving… strangely.

We get some charming nods to Doctor Who past: the psychic paper identifies the Doctor as “Madam Romana” at one point and later as an Earth Adjudicator, gently tying in with Colony in Space-era lore. And yes, we’ve been here before—a troubled human colony hiding some bio-horror secret—but the setup, involving intelligent otters and mind-warping slime, at least aims for a fresh spin.

MARTHA’S MISSING MOMENTS

Sadly, for a story featuring Martha Jones, she’s often criminally underused. After being snatched early on and dumped in a slimy nest of high-IQ otters, she spends far too long in a cycle of being rescued, falling unconscious, hospitalised, and then sidelined. Even when she does something significant—like succumbing to the alien influence or leading a furry army of otters—it feels like a footnote in a narrative far more concerned with exposition and colony politics.

When Martha finally does take centre stage, it’s to cure the possessed Doctor (of course he gets possessed—it’s practically in the Ten-era job description) and help lead the charge against the slime. But by this point, she’s been absent so long, her sudden reappearance lacks weight.

TEN GOES SLIME MODE

Speaking of the Doctor: something’s a bit off about Ten here. While Michalowski nails some of the verbal quirks and manic energy, he often reduces him to glib remarks and occasionally has him come across as uncharacteristically dismissive of Martha’s questions. His possession by the slimy intelligence—complete with bestial regression—is a classic narrative detour but ultimately serves little purpose. It’s a means to an end: revealing the alien’s motives, which we could have guessed already.

And while the psychic paper gets a clever use as a memory recovery tool (nice touch), the rest of the plot falls into a predictable rhythm: colony leader gone mad (Pallister, irritated delightfully by the Doctor’s deliberate mispronunciations), strange experiments, corrupt intentions, and the all-too-familiar “let’s build a bomb and spread across the stars” finale.

OF OTTERS AND OTHER ODDITIES

The supporting characters are a mixed bag. Candice Kane is a name that screams “Bond girl parody,” and doesn’t rise far above it. Ty is likeable enough but forgettable. Col and Orlo are standard-issue filler. The most memorable new characters are, amusingly, the psychic otters. They're cute, learn to speak, and end up pivotal in the climax. It’s a strange delight seeing Martha leading her own otter army against the sentient slime.

There’s a nugget of an interesting idea here—animal intelligence rising as humans regress—but it’s buried under thick description, sluggish plotting, and a general lack of urgency. The overly florid writing style may evoke a fully fleshed world, but it also drags the pacing to a crawl.

📝THE BOTTOM LINE:

Wetworld has an intriguing premise and a vividly described setting, but never quite capitalises on its potential. The narrative meanders, Martha is frustratingly sidelined, and the Doctor doesn’t feel entirely himself. A few fun moments—psychic paper tricks, cute otters, classic references—keep it afloat, but only just. It’s a story that sinks under the weight of its own swampy sprawl.

5/10