Doctor Who: The Wheel of Ice

A fairly simple and short story, in the style of the recent Doctor Who novels, but one of the better instances of its kind. The title obviously echoes “The Wheel in Space”, and this is essentially the same setting a few decades earlier. It isn't, of course, something that could really have been written in the '60s. That's largely because, as one would expect from Stephen Baxter, it uses a lot of scientific knowledge about Saturn and its moons only uncovered in the last couple of decades or so. That's hardly a distraction, and fits well with at least the authorial intent of many near-future stories broadcast in that era (“The Moonbase” being another example, and, for that matter, Hartnell's “The Tenth Planet”).

The theme of the book also seems to fit well enough with the era, with '60s-style youth rebellion a major element of the plot, alongside a base-under-siege story of the sort very common during Troughton's tenure. Another obvious inspiration - actually referenced in the novel, presumably in case younger readers fail to get it - is Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Jamie and Zoe are nicely brought to life, although Zoe doesn't really have so much to do, and the Doctor himself seems oddly flat.

The short nature of the novel, and, I assume, limitations imposed by the BBC, mean that in-depth character development and the like are never really going to be an option. Within those bounds, its quite well done, as one would expect from an experienced mainstream SF author like Baxter, and it successfully merges elements from some of his more typical novels with the universe and ethos of Doctor Who.

But still, while it's good for what it is, those limitations still leave their mark.