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Island of Death Author: Barry Letts Review Island of Death features the Doctor in his third incarnation as played by Jon Pertwee and Sarah Jane Smith as played by Elizabeth Sladen. On screen, these two had very little time together and Sarah is more commonly known as a companion to Tom Baker than the short stint she had with Pertwee. Therefore, there is quite a lot of scope for developing the Pertwee-Sladen relationship and more stories can certainly be eeked out of this. Indeed, it was just this scenario that was chosen for the early to mid nineties audio dramas The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space, coincidentally also written by Barry Letts. Even the Brigadier is here to flesh out the scenario. The story is an interesting one, with an alien menace controlling a cult that threatens to destroy the Human Race, the Skang. Essentially, the 'regulars' of the Doctor, Sarah Jane and the Brigadier track the Skang cult accross the world, eventually ending up on an island where they can have a final encounter. Despite the Brigadiers presence, there is no Captain Yates or Sargeant Benton, but there is a military presence. The navy are here in the form of the crew of the Hallaton, who provide their own plot lines and solutions on and around the island. When reading a Doctor Who book, I think the success or failure relies not only on a good story that is well told, but whether the dialogue from the recognisable characters 'feels' right. The dialogue of the Doctor here is in my opinion spot on, so the book is all the more engrossing because of that. The dialogue from the Brigadier and Sarah Jane isn't quite as good in my opinion, but is nearly there so doesn't detract from the telling of the story. All of this wouldn't matter though if the plot and story telling were not up to scratch, but here it certainly is. I was very critical of Letts writing in his nineties audio dramas, but the story here is very well thought out and well written. It manages to engage the reader in the plot, and doesn't reveal too much too early so you keep coming back for more. My only criticism really is about the ending, as it is rather sudden and could have been better thought out. Often in Doctor Who stories we have a situation whereby the solution sought is to have some wonderful gadget that eventually ends the threat, and this is used here in the form of a temporal recursion circuit. After all the build up, a solution like this was a little bit of a let down. That said, there were many excellent points throughout the book, such as the hallucenagenic gas that also brings about euphoria, the Skang plan being believable in the context of Doctor Who and the political element with Alex Whitbread being very interesting, particularly nowadays with such an apathy towards politics and politicians. Overall, Island of Death is a good read. It is very well thought out until the ending which is rather sudden, and the use of the technology here rather belittles the excellent writing that has gone before it. That said, this book is still well worth a read and would make a decent addition to any fans book collection. Rating:  |