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Title: Placebo Effect (Doctor Who Series) by Gary Russell ISBN: 0-563-40587-2 Publisher: General Distribution Services Pub. Date: July, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.95

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Average Customer Rating: 2.6 (5 reviews)

Rating: 2
Summary: Could have been really good, but falls flat
Comment: In my review for SEEING I, I stated that I was happy at the increase in quality and that I was left wanting to read more in the series like it. As the book immediately following, PLACEBO EFFECT was not exactly what I had in mind. Don't get me wrong now, I did not think that this was a particularly horrible book - just an average one that's let down by one or two poorly thought out parts.

As is revealed in the introduction to the book, this is the long-awaited story that features the return of not one but two old Doctor Who villains. Perhaps "long-awaited" is not quite the correct way to phrase the return of the Wirrrn (Gary Russell insists on using the novelisation spelling) and the Foamasi, but I was quite curious to see how they would turn out. To my great surprise, I found myself quite enjoying them in this setting. As the book is set during the Olympics in the year 3999, I was half-hoping that we would be treated to the sight of the Foamasi running around in track-suits getting ready to compete in the 100m hurdles. Alas this was not the case.

The majority of the book plows ahead confidently, never being too flashy or too hideous. However, there are one or two points where the book skids to a complete halt leaving the reader to wonder just what was going on. The most glaring example of this is an evolution versus creationist argument that suddenly comes from nowhere to blind-side the reader. I'm really not sure what the point of including this was. The background of everyone involved in the debate had already been explained and gone over repeatedly, so there wasn't anything new revealed with that. The religious overtones have already been set up, so we're just getting more repetition rather than further insight. And worst of all is that the argument itself relies on the fact that neither side knows very much about the other's viewpoint, or even about the details of their own. So we're just left with a rather superficial and silly argument about evolution that adds nothing and goes nowhere. I doubt that the intention was to show both sides as shallow, yet that's exactly the impression that one is left with. This really should have been cut from the book.

In the previous book, Sam spent most of her three-year separation from the Doctor growing up and learning about the universe and herself. Unfortunately, very little of her maturing seems to have stuck with her, as for the majority of it she seems to be more of a generic companion than the Sam who left in the TARDIS in SEEING I. There are one or two places where the new Sam can be recognized, but for a majority of the story this is not the case. This is a real shame, as the Sam that rejoined the Doctor in the previous story was well on the way to becoming an interesting character that was more than just a few cheesy catch-phrases.

The descriptions of the Wirrrn taking over peoples of different species are far and away the best part of this book. The Wirrrn and their human agent are genuinely frightening, taking the best elements from the series and bringing them to life again. Unfortunately they hardly appear in the story at all, often disappearing for chapters at a time. The book would have been far better with more of these passages and it's rather telling that the Doctor doesn't even know about the Wirrrn's presence until thirty pages from the very end of the book. The conclusion to the Wirrrn section of the book (which one assumes is the main plot) is therefore rushed though and ultimately feels very unsatisfying. One wishes that Russell had taken more time in crafting this portion of the book, as there was a lot of wasted potential here.

Overall, this is a fairly flawed work that's enjoyable in some places and tedious in others. A lot of the right elements are there for this to be a far better book that it is. With some generous editing and more effort, this could have been a really good story.

Rating: 3
Summary: Where's a good can of Raid when you need it!
Comment: A good story that reintroduces the Wirrrn. The book quickly becomes creepy and if you dislike bugs like I do it becomes downright icky!

The action takes place on an artificial world called Macawber's World where the year 3999 Millennium Olympiad games are about to take place. Add in corporate espionage, a fanatical religious group, a Royal Entourage (reminded me strongly of Diana at first and quickly degenerated), a wedding where the Doctor is the Best Man and green scaly aliens and you've got yourself a ripping good story. Makes you long for a really BIG can of Raid!

Rating: 1
Summary: Early hilarity gives way to excruciating mediocrity
Comment: This book starts with great humour as we see a Foamasi alien discuss human sexual behaviour. We have those ominous scenes which tell of a thrilling adventure to come...but it all subsides in a whimper. Gary Russell's problem as a writer in this story is that he is too self-indulgent, having so much fun with old ideas and concepts that he forgets to pace the plot nicely. The end, which could never be called a climax, is particularly dissatisfying. When a book draws upon a TV show as heavily as this does and dabbles too much in homage, it can never hope to succeed as gripping fiction. But the humour gives the story its moments and Sam's recovery from her crush on the Doctor is a refreshing change. And Russell does deliver some nice moral arguments which, if emphasised over the schlocky plot, would have made the book a much better work.