2006-06-09
Dark Progeny
Author: Steve Emmerson
EDA-48, w/Eigth Doctor, Fitz, Anji
Anji is sick. A virus is affecting the telepathic centers of her brain, and she needs medical care from an advanced civilisation. The problem is, the same virus seems to be affecting the TARDIS, and it's out of control. The Doctor desperately crash lands on Ceres Alpha, right in the path of a moving, terraforming city-machine whose volume may be measured in cubic miles. Also in the path of the machine is an archeological dig site which turned up some very interesting artifacts. Why isn't the CEO of WorldCorp stopping his machine from running right over the dig? How did Anji get sick in the safety of the TARDIS? And what does her illness have to do with the twelve couples who recently gave birth with no surviving babies?
Dark Progeny is good work. The mysteries are set up early, the conclusion is satisfying, and in between there's no real desire to put the book down.
The Doctor is front and center in this one. His amnesia isn't played up too much and his character is strong. He gets plenty of "screen time" because Anji is mostly out of commission and Fitz is out of the picture. This is, however, the primary criticism: Fitz's side story seems to be written in as an afterthought when the author realizes he needs to survive too. The story would have been even smoother if the Doctor had only one companion. Maybe the manuscript was drafted for the Doctor (it could have been any of them, since the surrounding events of the eigth Doctor's life have no bearing on the story) and one companion, and when it was published as EDA-48 Fitz just had no place in the story. To his credit, Emmerson does not devote unnecessary pages to Fitz or Anji just for the sake of having their names printed more often. This story is about Ceres Alpha, featuring the Doctor.
As a secondary criticism, the big bad guy is a little shallow. But other characters are not. I don't think he's shallow because of the author's inability to create a more interesting character but rather because there isn't meant to be any ambiguity about him. He is the Bad Guy of the Month. Let him be.
I'd say that given the lack of strong ties to the ongoing EDA arc a person could pick up Dark Progeny at any time and enjoy. I recommend this story for fans of futuristic sci-fi that want to be shown how Dr. Who does it well.
EDA-48, w/Eigth Doctor, Fitz, Anji
Anji is sick. A virus is affecting the telepathic centers of her brain, and she needs medical care from an advanced civilisation. The problem is, the same virus seems to be affecting the TARDIS, and it's out of control. The Doctor desperately crash lands on Ceres Alpha, right in the path of a moving, terraforming city-machine whose volume may be measured in cubic miles. Also in the path of the machine is an archeological dig site which turned up some very interesting artifacts. Why isn't the CEO of WorldCorp stopping his machine from running right over the dig? How did Anji get sick in the safety of the TARDIS? And what does her illness have to do with the twelve couples who recently gave birth with no surviving babies?
Dark Progeny is good work. The mysteries are set up early, the conclusion is satisfying, and in between there's no real desire to put the book down.
The Doctor is front and center in this one. His amnesia isn't played up too much and his character is strong. He gets plenty of "screen time" because Anji is mostly out of commission and Fitz is out of the picture. This is, however, the primary criticism: Fitz's side story seems to be written in as an afterthought when the author realizes he needs to survive too. The story would have been even smoother if the Doctor had only one companion. Maybe the manuscript was drafted for the Doctor (it could have been any of them, since the surrounding events of the eigth Doctor's life have no bearing on the story) and one companion, and when it was published as EDA-48 Fitz just had no place in the story. To his credit, Emmerson does not devote unnecessary pages to Fitz or Anji just for the sake of having their names printed more often. This story is about Ceres Alpha, featuring the Doctor.
As a secondary criticism, the big bad guy is a little shallow. But other characters are not. I don't think he's shallow because of the author's inability to create a more interesting character but rather because there isn't meant to be any ambiguity about him. He is the Bad Guy of the Month. Let him be.
I'd say that given the lack of strong ties to the ongoing EDA arc a person could pick up Dark Progeny at any time and enjoy. I recommend this story for fans of futuristic sci-fi that want to be shown how Dr. Who does it well.
