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Title: So Vile a Sin (Doctor Who: The New Adventures) by Ben Aaronovitch, Kate Orman ISBN: 0-426-20484-0 Publisher: London Bridge Mass Market Pub. Date: May, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: So Might Have Been
Comment: This was supposed to be the "It" novel of 1996. The Virgin "Doctor Who" New Adventures had been given their death sentence, a victim of the US TV movie which regenerated the Doctor. The NAs promptly adjusted by crafting together a series of novels which brought the 7th Doctor right up to death's door, while closing out the storylines and themes of 60 well-received books. _So Vile A Sin_ had the task of writing out companion Roz Forrester and sealing the NAs' version of "future history" with an ironic little bow.
So what happened? The novel died. A victim of author Ben Aaronovitch's ambitions and the much ballyhooed "hard-drive crash" that torched the original publication date. Four subsequent Roz-free books hit the market, and indeed the Virgin license had technically expired, by the time a restored "Sin", now written by Kate Orman, hit the shelves, sans the "Doctor Who" logo.
It remains to this day hard to judge just how good "So Vile" is. Orman and Aaronovitch have vastly different styles, but they essentially write to the same purpose. Their "joint" novel takes us to the ends of the Earth Empire in the late 30th century, from the moons of Jupiter to the planets of the distant sun Agammemnon, from the Time Lords' darkest secrets to the death of Doctor Who. And yet, for all that travel, we barely see a thing.
Properly set up at 400 pages as intended, this book may indeed have been a wonderful epic. Instead, it feels more like a string of disjointed episodes. Many characters are introduced in a sprawling, harshly-written prologue that must have been written by Aaronovitch (drenched with military speak, cultural annotations, and a too-long history of 30th century prostitution -- "Doctor Who" was originally a kids' series). However, the chess pieces fade in and out for hundreds of pages at a time, and their role in the grand finale is unclear until you read the book at least twice.
And then there's Roz. Clearly this was meant to be her apotheosis. The book's third and final segment shows how the honorable yet disgraced 30th century cop is torn between her sister's Imperial ambitions and Doctor's unique sense of justice ("You might be asked to choose sides. Do you want my advice? Don't."). We learn of her family's history, and rise to nobility. Roz has hard decisions to make, and her exit from the series is heroic and boneheaded all at once.
Where's the problem? Well... Roz *had* no character, for the 18 or so novels before this one. News of her death was well-known to fandom, long before her first adventure belatedly hit US bookshelves. If all of her books had been like this, her finale may have been grandly moving. Instead, there's a bit of an "eh" to it. Ben Aaronovitch clearly understood her better than anyone, but he only wrote for her twice. Kate, in his place, merely ramps up some aimless sexual tension between her and the much younger Chris Cwej. There's a very muted family tragedy that I'd completely forgotten about, again probably due to missing text.
Surprisingly, the psi-powers element of SVAS is well done, even as the preceding stories in the psi-powers arc were among the worst the NAs gave us. The book's first great scene (all the way along on page 111) shows the root cause of psychic powers in the Universe, and there's a great mini-speech by the Doctor later on about how Time Lords came to be. These are grand visual moments, what DW always did best.
Other things of note: old companion Bernice Summerfield's return for Roz's funeral; Roz's young 30th century clone; and the "alternate" Doctors accidentally released by the book's psi-powered bad guys, the Brotherhood. But in the end, it's a space opera, with lots of cramped spaceships and dark tunnels and claustrophic marketplaces. In this one instance, less was not more, and the best version of "So Vile A Sin" probably still resonates in Ben Aaronovitch's head. Or on his computer.
Rating: 5
Summary: Packs a punch
Comment: This is the last novel in the 'Psi Powers' series in the New Adventures. Due to Ben Aaronovitch's hard drive crashing, it also proved to be the last NA, since publication was delayed. And what an ending! In many ways, although rescued by Kate Orman, 'So Vile a Sin' is typical Aaronovitch Doctor Who. The story is vast and huge, involving elements left behind from the Time Lord war with the Great Vampires, to the 30th century conflict between various factions in the Terran empire (home to Roz and Cwej). Manipulating everyone is a particularly nasty bunch... Because this novel comprises so many elements (from previous NAs too), it can get a bit confusing in places. Especially when the Doctor fills the ill-effects of a 'probability intercession' . This involves thousands of Doctors being created throughout time and space, each one having made a different decision than the current incumbent (i.e. like one who took Salamander's place as dictator of Earth). A multitude of Doctors is confusing enough, but the action also takes place over what seems to be a vast number of places. But the novel is never less than very entertaining. You read on, confident that these puzzles will be resolved. There are nice touches, like the inclusion of the Unitatus soldiers, but there are also irritations. The Doctor kills the Empress of the Galaxy just because she asks him to. This killing, which is later, absurdly, swept under the carpet - the Doctor could have been accused of 'treason' for not doing so - is quite reminiscent of the destruction of Skaro, but without the big guilt trip. If there's one reason for preferring Terrance Dicks, it's that his version of the Doctor doesn't do this sort of thing. A large part of the novel is also quite derivative, stealing a lot of the style of Frank Herbert's work. 'Dune' had Dukes and the Landsraad, 'So Vile a Sin' has Dukes and the Landsknetche. Still, 'Dune' could hardly be described as 'original', as it also derives from a great number of other texts, knowingly employed. The 'Dune' element seems to be continuing in the current strand of novels (i.e. 'Dead Romance'), where Chris seems to be turning into another Duncan Idaho, and maybe Babylon 5 has influenced too. This is the novel where Roz snuffs it. This may be one huge spoiler (it certainly ruined Roz's day), but the book has been out for two years, and is now out of print. This does make the end a bit mawkish though. Bernice Summerfield seems to lose all character in her diary entries, and the Doctor has a rather embarrassing heart attack at the funeral (all leading to 'Lungbarrow', I suppose). All in all, it's a glorious piece of space opera , in the style of Iain M. Banks (yes, another influence!). But it still proves that great fiction can be crafted from the deviations of derivations. In this, 'So Vile a Sin' is typically Doctor Who at its (his) best.
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the best character books in the series with POW to!
Comment: This is without a doubt one of the best in the series, it's breathtaking. The story moves along with enough speed to keep you interested, but also gives you a deep look into the characters personalities, especially roz's, which the book focuses on. The story line is well thought out and presented superbly. It focuses on Roz's and her family but also her relationship with her companions and her strong moralistic views, which by the way end up getting her killed. It takes her character to many different dimensions which many of the other books failed to do, thinking of her and Chris as mere replacements for Benny and Ace. Kate and Ben really managed to make this character shine in her final moments. Be warned though that if your not careful your room will be turned into niagra falls in no time! The main plot Focuses on the last of the psi power stories with the Doctor trying in vain to finish the brotherhood for good, but as usual has no idea what is involved ( or at least it appears so). While Chris is his usual energetic self, Roz focuses on her future as well as her past. I personally have read a large majority of these books and definetely recommend this one as a must!
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