Review — Lords of the Storm

First Published:
Sonic Screwdriver #94

Publish Date:
January 1996

Comments:
Actually, not having someone to ask "What’s this, Doctor?" can be tricky. Still better if you can pull it off though.

Before I start, just one warning: read this book before you read Shakedown. Otherwise, like me, you’ll know a big plot doo-dah all the while through. But onto the review…

If I had the time to write a Missing Adventure, I would, unquestionably, use the Fifth Doctor and Turlough team (well, okay, I might try Davo with Nyssa in that little bit of peace there was before Tegan returned). They’re both technologically advanced, so you get to avoid the "What’s this, Doctor?" cliche, it’s easier than writing for a regular cast of thousands (cf. current New Adventures), and there’s that lovely contrast of the Fifth Doctor’s selflessness versus Turlough’s instintive cowardice. So, I should Lords of the Storm, right? Um, maybe.

Lords of the Storm (that’s the Sontarans, by the way) has possibly one of the simplest basic ideas to any of the New or Missing Adventures yet. But it’s such a cunning and appealling devious little plan of the Sontarans (in their never-ending quest to wipe the universe of their arch-enemies the Rutans) that it makes you wonder if the seventh Doctor has taken a commission with them!

The book is really good on the characterisation of the Sontarans and the Rutans; we get tidbits of information on their style and technology all the way through, and at times you’re very tempted to side with either the Sontarans or the Rutans. And then you change your mind again. I was on the side of the Sontarans for this one (as opposed to Shakedown, where the Rutans got my patronage) except for the little fact that a side-effect of wiping out a sizable chunk of the Rutan forces would be the mass vaporisation of the people on the human colony of Raghi.

Actually, no, I tell a lie. I really didn’t care if the Sontarans blew up the planet, because author David A. McIntee simply didn’t make them all that interesting to me. I must have a hunger for an all-out action book between the Sontarans and Rutans, and whoopee to any "collateral damage".

Turlough is cool in this book; he gets to race up drainpipes to escape chasing Sontarans, worry about looking stupid, be rash, get put down by the Doctor, and complain about how stupid all these humans are, and how he wishes someone would treat him seriously. You can definitely see the lead-in to The Earthlink Dilemma here! He’s definitely the best character after Karne and Loxx the Sontarans and "Fred" the Rutan. The others, including the Doctor, I can’t say I felt that much for, and this is the greatest fault of the book. I wanted the Sontarans to win, and given there was bugger-all chance of that, you tend to lose interest.

Oh yeah: I’m in awe of the cover. Alister Pearson draws the most freaky photo-realistic stuff. Wow.

End of Review

This page last updated by David J Richardson on Wed, 20 Apr 2005.