Eighth Doctor Adventures #7:

--- "Kursaal" by Peter Anghelides

My journey down the EDAs has had a rocky start. The Eight Doctors was a thoroughly mediocre affair, the Bodysnatchers was plain garbage and Genocide was a mess that had the gall to mess with Jo Grant of all characters. The only book to really illicit a positive reaction from me was Vampire Science and I only thought it was OK. Until I read the next book, Alien Bodies (due to an error on multiple sites, I thought this book was released before Alien Bodies. It is not), which is often considered a masterpiece, I don't think my opinion on the EDAs will change any time soon as the book is a very dull affair.

Landing on the pleasure world of Kursaal, the Doctor and Sam find themselves allied with eco-terrorists, fighting a corrupt police force and coming face to face with an ancient pathogen that transforms you into a wolf.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Starting with the positives, I love the concept of the Jax, werewolves as a virus that alive or dead, mutilated or complete, will infect and turn you is a gruesome and inspired idea. There's some great body horror here, with half decapitated corpses awakening and bodies slowly becoming more and more animalistic as the pathogen spreads. The book can be insanely brutal at times, everybody is in danger of dying and it manages to keep the tension nearly the whole read. The character of Kadijk is also a really good secondary antagonist, the pompous military man who clearly detests the people around him adds some great animosity to the scenes between werewolf transformations. Also, the final page, though I won't spoil it, is a great last minute revelation that really elevated the ending.

Unfortunately, Kursaal faulters in most other places I haven't mentioned, not significantly enough to deserve a lower rating than what I've given it but enough to push the book into mediocrity. Besides Kadijk, practically every side character is a forgettable mess so when they do eventually meet their end, it's hard to care. The setting of Kursaal is also severely under utilised, the huge theme park being built over centuries old ruins just feels like a generic city setting with absolutely no flair, only the third act really takes advantage of the book's namesake and that's mostly an uneventful run around a way too advanced theme park ride. Speaking of the third act, I felt the time jump was unnecessary; the story really could've just wrapped up two thirds of the way in. It really relies on you liking Sam and I just don't, I find her such a cookie cutter companion, like a toned down Ace with next to no personality. Other books have done the companion gets infected by vampires/werewolves/evil intelligence schtick better, I think Goth Opera pulled it off the best, and the image of a fully human Sam howling is hilarious rather than threatening. Overall, an inoffensive book you could probably skip.

6/10

Pros:
+ Great primary antagonist with a really inventive idea behind it
+ Well written and characterised secondary antagonist that isn't overshadowed by the Jax
+ Surprisingly brutal, I wouldn't get attached to any characters if I were you
+ Some fantastic body horror that really lends itself to the book's villain
+ Fantastic short but sweet epilogue

Cons:
- Forgettable and underwritten side characters fill out our side cast
- An unneeded time jump slows the story right down
- This book relies on you caring about Sam Jones, a companion so boring she's been done better more than three times
- The Jax do lose some presence towards the end
- Underutilised and mishandled setting
- Painfully generic