Seb Hasi's Reviews > Doctor Who: Timewyrm - Exodus

The second Virgin New Adventure was certainly more exciting than the first given a certain factor: Terrance Dicks. Beloved Dr Who legend of the 1970s, writing the second novel, supposed to canonically continue on from season 26, was obviously incredibly exciting. Having to incorperate the Timewyrm arc definitely took an effect on the story being told, but for what the main story was, it was excellent.

Another pseudo-historical just like Genesys, Timewyrm: Exodus does the story format slightly more justice involves you with real historical events and almost does what the Hartnell’s used to do, trying to teach you as well as entertain you. I was absolutely transfixed learning about Nazi Germany, especially all the details they left out when I was in school, giving the story’s setting and characters and incredibly lifelike feel. Incredibly descriptive settings and descriptions of what goes through the characters minds, help develop the educative element, and of course it’s the timey wimey elements that give the story its entertainment.

History being changes and the outcoming world as a result is a tried and tested idea in Dr Who, sometime it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but in this it definitely does. The opening half of Ace and The Doctor exploring Nazi occupied England is very tantalising, and I feel we definitely do get to see the characters, main or otherwise, interacting with their surrounding environment to new feel shortchanged, or feel as if the idea has been wasted. The story continues to enterain as The Doctor and Ace go back to shortly after the invasion of Poland, and we get to see some incredible pieces of history play out. Bits like Ace seeing a Jewish man harrased, and get interrogated as a spy are an amazing glimpse into what that era was like.

I see a lot of people who whinge about the dynamic between Ace and The Doctor in Genesys, but honestly its the same in this book, and that’s no bad thing. Loveable and light-hearted, but evenly pragmatic and manipulative, which is tonally a perfect blend of seasons 25 & 26. They interact perfectly with the surrounding world and characters and nothing feels amiss about them. I can hardly commend or criticise characters like Goerring and Himmler as they are just history book characters there to inform, not so much be crucial to the story, that role… is for the villain!

I won’t spoil who the real villain of the book is, as everyone loves an old cameo but it’s certainly nice to see throwbacks and incorperate a bit of Dr Who’s past into it’s future. If you are waiting for the Timwyrm’s next evil appearance after the events of Genesys, then get reads to be dissapointed as she is barely in it, she just sort of shows up, turns Hitler into a god then vanishes. Honestly the only thing that stops this book from being faultless is the fact that it spends so much time going on about the Timewyrm, which detracts from the story and doesn’t allow you focus on events, too busy anticipating a surprise that never really happens.

Aside from this I absolutely loved the book, and am definitely a fan of the Virgin New Adventures so far, just hope that it can maintain this strength of quality, and ideally the Timewyrm pisses off so we can have stories, not about bland and mostly crap villains like her.