Another Life

Unlike the other ‘official’ TV spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood has spawned quite a lengthy range of novels. Another Life by Peter Angehelides is, arguably, the first; although the initial three novels were actually released at the same time.

It’s been a long time since I actually sat down and watched any Torchwood. In fact, I don’t think I’ve watched an episode since the rather disappointing Miracle Day series. Reading a novel featuring the original team of Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Ianto, though, brought the memories flooding back and I was immediately back in the Torchwood hub.

Pleasingly, this novel seems to sidestep, somewhat, the first series of Torchwood’s habit of throwing in sex and swearing to make it seem adult. There is more swearing, there is definitely more gore and there is a smattering of sex, but it all seems natural within the context of the plot and characters.
The story sees Cardiff Bay flooded (with a series of well-realised images) and a series of unexplained, savage murders. How these are tied together isn’t the most original of ideas, but it is a satisfying resolution and is well told throughout.

One aspect of the plot which is more or less abandoned half way through is the online virtual reality game being played by Owen. Much is made of Tosh improving the system and Owen using it to track down an old flame, Megan, but then it is forgotten about until the climactic scenes where it is suddenly brought back into play to trick the villain. There was a point in the story where I wondered whether the author had deliberately abandoned the whole idea because it has served its purpose of bringing Owen and Megan together. There is, of course, the parallel with the alien controlling humans by possessing their bodies in a similar way to the players of the game taking on avatars, but I didn’t feel like the two parts of the story gelled as well as they could. I also felt the whole game concept seemed a bit dated (although I had just watched an episode of Grimm from Season 2 with a very similar idea) and Owen was the last person of that team I would expect to be the ‘geek’ spending hours playing online (that’s more a Ianto or even Tosh kind of thing).

The inclusion of Megan as a potential new recruit from Torchwood ends, inevitably, with her death. As a way of developing Owen as a character it was interesting, but it was a shame that Megan’s fate was fairly obvious in the same way ‘surrogate’ companions in Doctor Who novels and audios are rarely to have a happy ending just because otherwise, their presence raises awkward questions for why they don’t appear or get referenced in the TV series (like how Erimem is absent from the roll call of companions in Resurrection of the Daleks).

All of the regulars are written well, although Tosh and Ianto don’t get a huge amount to do. There is a focus on the early relationship between Gwen and Jack and her difficulty with reconciling her new life at Torchwood with her old life with Rhys. It will be interesting to see how this changes in later novels when they start to reflect the development of the characters through Series 2. There are some nice hints to TV continuity as well such as a subtle reference to what Ianto has hidden in the basement.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read and a good start for the Torchwood novels. I look forward to reading more of them and it has actually made me eager to rewatch the TV series and become reacquainted with these characters.