Note: Review contains Mild Spoilers

This was my first foray into the Wilderness Years proper, and going in I had a couple things I was expecting, due to the reputation the Wilderness at large has gained. Among these was abstract, incomprehensible concepts that are only achievable on the written page, uncomfortable treatment of the female companions, and a brutality unseen in the classic show. I found many of these expectations met, however I also found something deeper, in the form of a really damn good story.

Now the plot itself is rather barebones. Not much actively happens throughout the book, and it doesn’t really pick up until late in the book. Hell, the TARDIS doesn’t even show up until around 50 pages in! However, this does not matter, as the strength of the book lies in its characters. Almost every character present is supremely interesting, both in who they are and how they react to the problems at hand, and each is fully explored within the pages allotted. The unique aspect awarded by prose of allowing the reader to get inside the characters heads helps immensely with this, and by novels end you fully understand how and why everyone is acting the way they do. A notable standout is Byron Carter, who has a slow, satisfying shift from a desperate, nervous wreck to a man with full faith in himself and his beliefs. His journey is exemplified by a beautiful monologue on the nature of creation delivered by the First Doctor, a monologue which is bound to stick in the mind of any who reads it. 

The strength of character is not limited to the supporting cast, not at all, as our main characters all get a strong look in. That said, the story is never written from The Doctor’s perspective. He is always an outside force, existing through the perception of others. Despite this, he’s represented very well, and all his actions are completely understandable.

But the star of the show here is undeniably Steven. If, like me, you were disappointed by the show's handling of his emotions after The Massacre, this novel is for you. Diving into Stevens' head, we find a full understanding of his motivations, learn more of his past, find out his reasons for staying after the Massacre, and even lays the groundwork for his eventual exit in The Savages, something I had been unsatisfied with before now. And beyond all that, he even has a small, self-contained character arc of self forgiveness within the book, standing entirely on its own.

Despite all these praises, this is where an unfortunate criticism comes in, and that is of the novel’s treatment of Dodo. It makes an amicable effort at salvaging her character, providing a reason for her shifting accents and her blasé approach to time travel, leaving her former life behind. This is good, and it works, even playing into the threat's defeat at the end, but it has the unfortunate side effect of making her already poor exit in the War Machines even poorer, as she shows no signs she’d be willing to go back to London at any point in this book. But I guess that’s an external criticism, what’s on the page is fine. That is, except one thing.

Remember how I was expecting uncomfortable treatment of a female companion? Well, I got that right away, as in chapter 2, Dodo is the victim of an attempted sexual assault. It is then swiftly forgotten about in the next chapter, only mentioned in a few throwaway lines and not treated with the severity it requires. To make matters worse, the perpetrator of the assault is a major character that we are meant to sympathise with later on in the story! To be fair, the entity did not know what it was doing, believing the act to be a simple show of compassion between friends, however that does not make it sit anymore comfortably as a reader. I feel a less upsetting act should’ve been considered in it’s place, or just cut the altercation entirely, as as it stands it feels brutally out of place and casts an unfortunate shadow over the rest of the book.

If you (somehow) manage to look past that, you will find not only brilliant character work, but also an incredibly well written book. Steve Lyons takes to prose like a moth to a flame, writing numerous wonderful sequences throughout. Notable moments include the monologue mentioned earlier, a passage where a non-conscious non-material entity slowly forms a body and a mind written from the perspective of the entity, and a quiet landscape description contrasted by the remains of a massacre from the night before. A particular highlight of the book is chapter 9, where Lyons masterfully jumps between each character he’s explored so far, showcasing each of their unique reactions to the same scenario, before eventually the situation explodes in a cacophony of violence and dread.

All in all, it’s a good book, with fantastic character work, an interesting threat, and excellent writing talent, with an unfortunate shadow that makes it difficult for me to recommend. I do recommend it, as despite its failings, at its core it’s still really damn good

This one was quite a fun listen, something which I was happy to find, as the previous two 1DA’s (Demon Song and Incherton Incident respectively, yes I listened to this series in reverse) I’d listened to I found to be rather lacking.

The plot of the thing is rather weak in all honesty, however that doesn’t seem to be the point. The story seems aware it isn’t that deep, so instead decides to have fun with itself. And it’s very fun. All the characters bounce of each other in a farcical way that’s reminiscent of the Romans, and the brutal nature of the subject matter leads to some brilliant dark comedy. Additionally, the presence of Rufus Hound as the Monk is as wonderful as always, and Myles plays to his comedic strengths wonderfully.

The story is not without flaws, of course. The main conflict of the plot is pretty much resolved within the first five minutes of part 4, leaving little to do for the remaining half hour resulting in the story meandering a tad. Additionally, the lead performers, particularly Steven Noonan, have not quite settled into their roles fully. Noonan particularly has moments where he sounds very little like the First Doctor, however the personality and mannerisms he presents are in line with the character. Due to the more recent releases from this range, I can confidently say this is merely an issue of early instalment problems, as both Noonan and Cornelius feel far more natural and comfortable in the following release.

All in all, it’s a solid little story, though not amazing. I’d recommend it, but don’t go in expecting some grand masterpiece, as it is not that, nor is it trying to be. For the fun little story it is, I’d argue that it’s quite good.

Ah, Evil of the Daleks. Who doesn’t love Evil of the Daleks?

Well, me, as it turns out. A fact that gives me no pleasure.

I went into this story expecting something great. This is a story that has been mythologised a fair amount by the fandom at large, but moreso by myself. I expected a fantastic Dalek story in league with DMP and Power of the Daleks, exploring the horror in how great their evil can be in a larger capacity than before, exploring their home planet and ruling systems with the presence of the Dalek emperor. Instead I got a story where Jamie goes through an obstacle course for 3 parts and a forgettable hypnotism mystery plays out in the other 4.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad story. Most everything here is actually very good and well written. Part 1 is especially fun, following on directly from the previous story and not using the TARDIS as a framing device, something which is (thankfully) becoming more common as the show goes on. The central mystery of part 1 is very good, although slightly predictable. And of course the part 1 cliffhanger is brilliant, as always with Dalek stories.

Then, in part 2, we are introduced to the setting we will be trapped in for the next 5 parts. The Edwardian house itself is fine. The story here, again, is good. All the characters are well written and memorable, reminiscent in some ways of the strong supporting cast of Power of the Daleks. Waterfield is very well done, a man who has unwittingly released forces beyond his comprehension that are starting to tear his life apart. He’s very similar to Lesterson. And Maxtible, who acts as the major antagonist for a lot of the serial, is very well acted by Marius Goring.

Again, it’s not…bad. It’s just not as good as it could’ve been. The idea of humanised daleks, as well the daleks weaponizing the concept in reverse, is very interesting. As is the concept of the Dalek Emperor, the giant prop somehow meets any impossible expectations for a ruler of the daleks. The problem is these ideas are trapped in the last part, leaving only 25 minutes to explore them. The rest of the serial is spent in Maxtible’s house and is more interested in Jamie having some action-y scenes than anything else. The fact that the episode is missing doesn’t help this, but what remaining footage does survive of this sequence is not massively engaging.

Again, it’s not bad, just…not as good as it could’ve been. Trying to find positives in what we have, there’s a fairly interesting character dynamic in the doctor outright manipulating Jamie to support the daleks. The problem is it isn’t really explored at all. It just kinda happens, and when Jamie finds out he’s upset for about five minutes then it’s off to Skaro for the big finale. And since classic who doesn’t know what character work is by the start of the next story Jamie’s forgotten entirely.

Idk, I feel I’m too hard on this story. It’s not bad, and looking at other peoples thoughts on it I can’t help but feel I might be missing something. But every time I think about this story I just get little disappointed at the loss of what could’ve been.

A story which is basically all set-up for the upcoming Titan run, which is expected. It's the free comic book day story, I wasn't expecting much. I will say however it makes me wish Ncuti had a more consistent outfit on TV. His CoRR fit looks so good throughout this issue, especially when it's paired with a horse and Tri-corn hat, it's a shame we won't see it used much on the main show.