The One With the Killer Cats and a Faceless Lady Or Otherwise Known As...

The Clockwise Man (New Series Adventure 1)


Author: Justin Richards

Published by: BBC books

Hardcover: 288 pages

Category: SciFi/Drama

Synopsis: In 1920s London, the Doctor and Rose find themselves caught up in the hunt for a mysterious murderer. But not everyone or everything is what they seem. Secrets lie behind locked doors and inhuman killers roam the streets. Who is the Painted Lady and why is she so interested in the Doctor? How can a cat return from the dead? Can anyone be trusted to tell - or even to know - the truth? With the faceless killers closing in, the Doctor and Rose must solve the mystery of the Clockwise Man before London itself is destroyed...This title features the Doctor and Rose as played by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in the hit series from BBC Television.

Introduction: Okay the synopsis on the back promised a sort of a mix between a sleuth mystery and science/fiction but what we got here is a a lot of characters and I mean a lot and a slightly confusing plot and holes as big as…well you get the picture.

Lets start with the premise—it's fairly interesting, e.i. the mysterious killers, possibly aliens in the 1920s, the 9th Doctor and Rose meddling into the affairs, like always and getting into trouble, nothing new there but what you do get is a whole collection of new characters.

The plot beginns with introducing the first new character, who I will not name and describing the character’s fear and superstition related to black cats. Hmm, interesting how later a cat returns in the TV series and graces us with her presence in the first couple of minutes of The Empty Child. Coincedence? And what was the point of the black and white cat’s appearance in that episode? So that the Doctor could chat with it about his future and past companions’ affinity to not listen when he tells them to wait for him? I mean what’s the connection between the Doctor and the cats? I’ve always wondered about that. There were cat appearances in the classic series, just remember the 6th Doctor’s metal brooch in the shape of the white cat, who he used to rub for luck, or the appearance of the Cheetah (cat) people in the 7th Doctor's final episode Survival…and the list goes on. Oh and let’s not forget the Sisters of Plenitude from the 10th Doctor's episode New Earth…But that’s threading into another territory which should be explored some other time.

Anyway, soon we’re back in the TARDIS with Nine and Rose, who are heading for the year 1924, because the Doctor wanted them to visit the British Empire Exibition. And as Rose wondered if they’re going to meet anyone famous, the Doctor found somebody in trouble and then they waltz into another dangerous situation and we get an introduction of the mysterios mechanical killer that moves with the sounds of a ticking clock. Tick-tock…the exibition is forgotten for the time being, while the Doctor and Rose find something more interesting to occupy their time.

Well it started relatively interesting, with our space and time travelers arriving correctly to a right destination, with the TARDIS being precise for once and introducing a baffling mystery.

‘Someone’s in trouble – can’t you hear?’

The Doctor—being a Time's Champion that he is—rushes right into the heart of the matter and saves the victim, while the attacker runs away, leaving a cloud of mystery behind.

Who is the attacker and what did it want with a mere steward? Then we follow the Doctor and Rose to the steward’s house of employement, where we meet with another set of characters: a lord, his wife, her young son Freddie and their asteemed guests: Colonel Oblonsky, another lord, Repple and Aske—two soldiers apparently exiled from their homeland—baring a name that sounds made up—the wife’s noble relatives from Russia and a couple of other not so important faces. We soon find out that nothing is really as it seems and that overyone has something to hide, even the cat…

Up until uh, chapter five we had a real mystery—people getting killed and even the Doctor's leather jacket and sonic screwdriver getting lost in all the mess—but after that we delve into a confusing set of events and colorful characters that you have to remember by name.

I for some reason or other, had trouble remembering who was who and kept confusing the one with the other and the plot got slightly boring when it went on and on about political matters, the genocide…soon we find out why the Painted Lady appeared menacing from the beginning and what is her intent with the Doctor. Well not exactly, we don’t really find out what makes her tick, pun intended but we do find out that she’s supposedly evil but her evilness toned down by the last couple of chapters when we find out that this plot had no sense or reason to go on this long and that the mentioned genocide had no real purpose except to add some angst and most importantly fifty or so more pages, so that this novel had the required amount prescribed and limited by the BBC Books. And it has such long sentences as this one.

It was entertaining and a good edition for the first in the range of novels featuring the 9th Doctor and Rose but it was also slightly disappointing, seeing as thought this work comes from one of the best Doctor Who writers. And this is all he came up with?

Okay, the clockwork droids made their first appearance in this form and they were certainly interesting and slightly menacing, especially the Painted Lady and her numerous masks of expressions...but when they went into subplot B, they stopped being interesting and their reasoning behind the killings, sort of silly. And then we learn of another alien and his involvment in the affars and then I literaly fell asleep.

I must admit I’ll have to read this again sometime to get all the characters right and see if there was something I missed and if there weren’t actually that many plot holes to begin with…or what was it all about anyway?

For now this novel gets a good 8 out of 10 for ideas and 6 for execution of those ideas. I mean this was supposed to be a book for children or young adults and yet it’s so confusing at times that an adult has trouble keeping up with it. So there you go, that was another point to consider.

But of course my little nitpicks should be ignored as always and if you miss the 9th Doctor’s appearance in the series, then this novel will make you feel better. Because the Doctor and Rose are perfectly captured in this edition and even though you’ll wish to see more of Nine, this’ll come as a good enough substitute.

Anyway, I’m sure Mr Richards will get another chance for something better. And I do still have The Deviant Strain to read and see if it’ll fix his mistakes.

Meanwhile you can find out if I was right and get the book here.

Update June 16th: Okay I read it again and surprise, surprise - there was a plot involved and it did end on a positive, less confusing note. So I guess I should change my final note to 9?

And next time I'll avoid reading books at night...less of a chance to fall asleep that way and miss the plot;)

Update June 25th: Another cat appearance in the classic episode The Two Doctors, where Six contemplates eating one but his only dillemas are: cooked or baked?

Update July 1st: Hmm, interesting...We got another mention of the cats in the new series ep. Fear Her and the Doctor said he doesn't like them. I wonder if there'll be more cats in the future? Stay tuned for the cat monitor...