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“The Clockwise Man: A Clunky Start for the New Adventures Era”

Justin Richards' debut New Series Adventure kicks off with potential but ticks a little too predictably.

The first New Series Adventures novel, The Clockwise Man, begins with promise, blending intrigue and character drama, but it quickly becomes bogged down by an overabundance of underdeveloped figures and a slow pace. Justin Richards crafts the narrative like a whodunit, introducing several characters in rapid succession, though none stand out enough to make a memorable impression in the early chapters.

The story is surprisingly methodical, taking its time to cultivate tension. While action scenes are peppered throughout and feel somewhat true to the revival era, the overall tone of the book feels more akin to Classic Who—unsurprising, given it was written before the new series aired. Unfortunately, the ultimate villain reveal lands with a dull thud, arriving after one too many red herrings and failing to surprise readers who’ve been paying attention. The grand scheme itself, while ambitious, leans heavily into James Bond-like theatrics, which might not be to everyone’s taste.

When it comes to characterisation, the Doctor and Rose don’t fully match their on-screen counterparts. The Ninth Doctor, in particular, feels generic and lacks the distinct edge of Christopher Eccleston's portrayal—likely due to Richards not having seen the series at the time of writing. Rose fares slightly better, with glimpses of her TV personality shining through. Their camaraderie, at least, retains a hint of authenticity, especially in their banter.

The villains—clockwork droids—evoke some familiarity with mechanical threats from both Classic and New Who (The Android Invasion and The Girl in the Fireplace, respectively), but they fail to leave a significant impression. Melissa Heart is an intriguing figure with her versatile masks, yet her potential is largely underexplored.

The 1920s London setting, while atmospheric, feels oddly restricted, offering little to truly immerse readers in the era. Similarly, the secondary characters struggle to leave a mark, often blending into the background.

📝Verdict: 4/10

The Clockwise Man shows flashes of potential, especially for fans nostalgic for Classic Who-style storytelling, but it stumbles in pacing and character depth. As the first entry in the New Series Adventures, it ticks along steadily but doesn’t quite strike the right chord.

3/5

Interesting set-up with historical characters and an alien/tech-based mystery, but just ends up a quite average adventure, solid, but nothing that stands out really. Maybe a few out of character moments later on, but not egregious/continuous.

There is more interesting books in the series, but its perfectly readable still.

I quite enjoyed this one. There's quite a few characters to keep track of like others have said, but as the story goes on it does focus in a lot more on who's important and who's not, with the extraneous cast getting little to nothing later.

The main thing I really like here though is Freddie. His presence really adds that sense of childlike wonder to the book, you can imagine kids reading this and seeing themselves in him. He's important, but not in a way that the actually really affects the story, in a way that makes him interesting, but still enough of a blank slate for kids to project themselves onto. And everything with him and Rose in this story is just lovely. I also genuinely couldn't tell if they were going to kill him off in the end. The book had me believe they might for just a moment.

This era of London is also just such a brilliant setting, and the clockwork motif does just add so much to getting you into the vibe of the setting. The description of the clockwork characters reminded me a lot of The Girl in the Fireplace, and it's really interesting to see where they're the same, and where they differ, I like the fact that here they're very much treated as robot characters rather than just robots. I also really like the descriptions of how London has changed so much in such little time, the moment of Rose running down Embankment and comparing it to Rose, so similar but so different, was really nice, though maybe that's my londoner bias coming through.

Overall though, while there's a lot to like, while I enjoyed the twists and turns and the ending set piece, I dont' think anything really 'wowed' me enough to rate it higher than a 7/10

It’s starts quite intriguingly, with moody descriptions of a 1920s London and several mysterious threads. As sometimes happens with Doctor Who though, it devolves into a breathless runaround which goes on and on.

In its fairness it’s aimed at a younger audience which may have impacted my patience, but I enjoyed reading descriptions of clockwork aliens which pre-date The Girl in the Fireplace by a year.

Sadly, this one doesn’t impress. It’s far from being ‘bad’, but if I have to describe it, it would be ‘competent, even if it’s a little flat’. It feels clear that this was written before the Revival really came out, and at times it does benefit it. I feel like the Supporting Cast is build up fairly strongly, and I can’t lie, a Book with Nine that feels like the classic Series has a touch to it. Sadly, Nine feels very generic here and doesn’t feel like his TV Self all that much, and the same can be said for Rose. It’s a decent read and really has an Oddity Status due to it being clearly more inspired of the previous Identity of the Show, sadly it doesn’t engage me all that much. The Story is fine, but a bit cliché. Not as egregious as the Start of the VNAs, but sadly much more boring to discuss than Timewyrm I.