Doctor Who: The Witch Hunters
Ratings6
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings6
Average rating3.7
In the far future, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack find a world on which fiction has been outlawed. A world where its a crime to tell stories, a crime to lie, a crime to hope, and a crime to dream. But now somebody is challenging the status quo. A pirate TV station urges people to fight back. And the Doctor wants to help until he sees how easily dreams can turn into nightmares. With one of his companions stalked by shadows and the other committed to an asylum, the Doctor is forced to admit that fiction can be dangerous after all.Though perhaps it is not as deadly as the truth. Featuring the Doctor as played by Christopher Eccleston, together with Rose and Captain Jack as played by Billie Piper and John Barrowman in the hit series from BBC Television.
Reviews with the most likes.
One suspects that most people familiar with genre fiction will have a pretty good idea which famous figure has a name that literally translates as “Son of the Dragon”, so it's no great surprise when the TARDIS arrives in 15th century Romania.
However, this is a straight historical, and it's the figure from history we see, not the supernatural version later popularised by Bram Stoker. This makes the story understandably gruesome in places, but it manages to work in a decently exciting story based around the real historical events of 1462. (As a non-expert, the only historical inaccuracy I spotted was that Radu the Handsome is here shown to be a Christian, whereas, in reality, he had apparently converted to Islam long before).
If there is a flaw here, it's that the author is a little too willing to excuse Vlad's behaviour as a product of the times. Such apologetics, however, did not seem to me to be as central a point as they were in “Medicinal Purposes”, and so were easier to ignore.
Which leaves a pretty good story, with some dramatic scenes and interesting characterisation of Erimem. The latter, of course, does not come from our enlightened times, and, moreover, since Vlad is from her future, doesn't automatically associate his name with the things that we would today. This obviously doesn't work out very well for her, but is quite plausible, given her background.
All in all, I enjoyed this, and I think it works well.
Series
60 primary booksAdventures of the First Doctor is a 60-book series with 60 primary works first released in 1965 with contributions by Nigel Robinson, Terrance Dicks, and 36 others.
Series
49 primary booksPast Doctor Adventures is a 49-book series with 49 primary works first released in 1997 with contributions by Mike Tucker, Robert Perry, and 34 others.
Series
4 primary booksDoctor Who: The History Collection is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 1995 with contributions by Jacqueline Rayner, Steve Lyons, and 3 others.
