Charlene's Reviews > Players

This novel delves into some real history with the life of Churchill, the rise of the Third Reich, and some real facts behind Edward VIII's relationship with Wallis Simpson. The novel also allows the Second Doctor to make an appearance when the Sixth Doctor shares a memory with Peri. For fans who have seen the Second Doctor serial, The War Games, this book also provides some great continuity. With the amount of ground this book covers, I was very impressed by how well it weaves in and out of time periods without letting the pace flag. The Doctor and Peri moves through time, cleverly adapting to the challenges the mysterious target on Churchill and later the Doctor and Peri presents. What I was also impressed with in this book was the subtle way the author made the Sixth and the Second Doctor so distinct in the storytelling. And having more than one Doctor in one story felt like a great bonus! For a Doctor Who fangirl like me, I was so thrilled to have some great characters from The War Games reappear and again help the Doctor.

I've always loved the playful antagonism between the Sixth Doctor and Peri, and their interactions in this book perfectly captured that. Peri's quiet resignation as she plays along with Sixie's extravagant gestures was so funny! There were some scenarios that I thought very interesting to put the Doctor and Peri in - one was the Doctor's efforts to become integrated in the social circles of 1930s London and the other is a rather hazardous situation Peri finds herself in. There are twists and turns I didn't see coming in this book, that kept me eagerly turning pages.

And then there's the main villains, the Players. While it is understandable that they are shrouded in mysteries as that is their nature, they aren't very convincing as bad guys because you really don't know anything about them. I didn't think the Players were really evil but they just had no regard for life and justice and they felt because of their nature they felt entitled to that. But because they are supposed to work indirectly I felt more antipathy for the misguided people who helped them. The Players were a necessary device to make the story work, and in that I think I was disappointed because that was all they functioned as.

But that didn't dampen my enjoyment of this adventure because it moves so quickly and has some great comedic moments. The Doctor and Peri were both realized so well, and this book also gave me a very interesting history lesson, especially with the life of Winston Churchill.

(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review.)