What a wizard book. The story is absolutely enthralling -- I nearly missed my stop this morning because I was so absorbed in the plot. Basically, this is a novelization of a Second Doctor serial called "The Mind Robber", in which the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves outside of time and space in a land peopled with fictional characters. Riddles and puzzles abound, and it's almost like their arrival was expected. What will happen to them, and will they make it out alive?

As I said, this is a great story. The writing is fairly standard with a tendency to go overboard in the simile and metaphor department (and a bit in the adjective department as well), but it doesn't get in the way of the plot. If you don't know what the Second Doctor is about, give this book a try. It's a very pleasant diversion. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1031032.html#cutid2

The original TV version was one of the most surreal stories ever; the novel takes some liberties with the script, but basically improves it further to make it one of the better Second Doctor novels. Even the Karkus somehow makes better sense here. One to look out for.

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3836799.html

One point to add is that even though Ling did not actually write the first of the five TV episodes, he gives it more page time (38 out of 144 - 26%) than any of the others in the novelisation. ( )