Option Lock is what I describe a competent Book, which is serviceable on all circles. Really I don’t have anything to complain, and yet I’d rate it a 2.5, because frankly it’s very “Middling”. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the Book was solid, but sadly not one that really made me want to go and re-read it like some of the best EDAs did. And frankly it’s just a bit unremarkable.

I'm gonna go ahead and say it: Option Lock is mid. There are definitely worse entries in this series, but this book struggles with many of the same issues.

The most notable one for me is the lack of focus on the Doctor and Sam. There are many moments in this book where I felt like the author wanted to be writing literally anything but a Doctor Who novel, which is a shame, because their stronger moments are what save this book from a lower rating and weeks of frustrated reading for me. While Pickering was an interesting and well-rounded character, and Sargent had his moments, I felt that most of the side characters were fairly one-note - not to mention that there are far too many of them.

Another recurring issue in this series that this novel struggled with is the pacing. This book spends so much time describing the minutea of the American political and defense system, the way every little thing about launching missiles works. It strikes me as a very odd choice to feature and name a president of the United States in a British sci-fi novel. It's possible that I just don't enjoy war stories (which I don't), but the way tense and initially fast-paced moments ground to a halt to explain things really grated on me.

Then there are other, more minor things. Aside from Vampire Science and maybe Genocide, this series has a bad track record with its treatment of women, and this book is no different. It also relies on the secret society controlling the world, a pretty well know anti-Semitic trope, made worse by the imagery of the Khameirians. It just left a veneer of bad taste over the entire book that I couldn't quite ignore.

That's not to say it's all bad; I already mentioned that I liked Pickering, and his and Sam's relationship is really wonderful. There's also more of Sam and the Doctor interacting the way I like, and the Doctor's terrible driving is a highlight. The concept of the Khameirians is interesting, if a little underdeveloped.

Then there's the stuff that's neither here nor there. The writing is pretty solid; some of the descriptions are vivid, but some are a little sparse and left me confused. Other than the military stuff and the first quarter of the book, the pacing actually wasn't too bad. The epilogue is good, though I know it's unlikely to matter.

At the end of the day, I think this book just isn't really for me. I understand why it's generally considered one of the better books in this series.

One of the stronger entries in the first few Eighth Doctor Adventures, Option Lock is a fun, breezy read. A mix of political thriller, secret society and ancient alien spaceship, I found myself finishing this one quicker than some of the previous entries and the plot and twists unfolding nicely, with satisfying explanations for everything. The Eighth Doctor is characterised well and Sam is fine. The other characters are fun and written well enough. I was initially slightly bored by some of the shift into the political thriller elements but I enjoyed it by the end, the action scenes are well written and it's a nice change of pace for a Who novel. Richards has some lovely prose and I enjoy some of the techniques he uses in this novel, making an engaging read and a solid Who adventure.

Enjoyable read!

The story overall was interesting. Alien ship feel to Earth ages ago and the consciousness of the aliens, the Khamerians, kind of lodged itself into the minds of 6 people. Due to this influence, these people's descendants over the years sought positions of power around the world. Their goal was to somehow get energy to power the "Philosopher's Stone" (actually a Khamerian artifact) to free their consciousness and revive them. The Doctor and Sam land close to the manor that's at center of all this, unknowingly powering up the stone with TARDIS energy which 1) leaves them stranded there until the TARDIS recharges and 2) speeds up the Khamerian's plan and set their final steps into motion. The plan? Trick Russians into launching a nuclear attack on the US so that the US reveals the existence of Station Nine, an orbital nuclear station. Once the Station is revealed, they arrange for one of their men to become its new commander. Then they trick everyone again into thinking the Chinese are attacking the US, so that they release the nuke codes to their guy on Station Nine so that their guy can bomb the manor in the UK, actually. The explosion would power up the Khamerians and they'd win. And most people in England would die.

It was pretty entertaining seeing the Doctor and Sam put these pieces together. And Sam has a proper subplot going on! I really liked her in this book! She gets to do stuff!!! Her relationship with Pickering (who was a good side character!) was nice to follow, and I was pretty sad with the way it ended. Between this and 'Kursaal', I'm finally getting the vibe of Sam and the Doctor's relationship and believing they are friends. The Doctor is delightful as always and gets to drive a car and a motorbike. Once again I profess my love for the Doctor's very capable but also unhinged driving skills. And once again suck it, psychic paper! He doesn't need you, he can use good old combination of lies, deception, knowledge and charisma to convince these people he and Sam are researchers that are very interested in this old manor. The Doctor does not get seriously injured this time. Good for him! But Sam gets brainwashed :( Doesn't last long, though.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The whole running away/trying to get to the TARDIS/being captured/escaping again going on in the middle of the book was a bit convoluted, though. I also felt this book was longer than it needed to be. A bit bloated, at points. But fun anyways!

2.5/5

Option Lock is, I thought, a very interesting book, with a competent complement of characters; certainly, a strong thriller entry into the Doctor Who expanded universe.

My lower rating then, comes from the fact that at around the midpoint of this book I realised that the main characters so far have had very little agency in the run of events and that the villains seemed to be lenient to them, for the sake of keeping the heroes in the plot. From then on, I was on the look out for the main characters having anything meaningful to do that affects the plot and ended up feeling like this never occurred.

The plot however is still interesting, and it feels clear that the author has a talent for the cold war thriller genre – in a rare turn for a Doctor Who book, I feel like the plot is hampered by the presence of The Doctor and all the sci-fi elements he brings with him. I wish I could read a version of this book that wasn’t a part of the Doctor Who universe.

I probably would give this book a slightly higher rating if I read this again, after all it is a competent exercise in its genre, I was just so dejected while reading by the perceived lack of agency of the main characters that I can’t currently give it a higher rating.