Doctor Who: Plague of the Cybermen by Justin Richards

Doctor Who: Plague of the Cybermen Reviews

• 
  Ken

  The Cybermen seem even more sinister during their latest plan in the little village of Klimtenburg during the 19th century, the mix of gothic horror and technology fit seamless alongside a real Frankenstein vibe during this enjoyable NSA.
  
  With The Eleventh Doctor travelling alone, it was vital for Richards to really capture Smith's mannerisms perfectly.
  
  It was also quite nice to spot all the various nods to The Tomb of the Cybermen as Smith himself said that was one of his favourite stories whilst researching on how to play the role.
  
  A really strong mix of Classic Who that also felt fresh and new.
• 
  Bill

  Matt Smith's Doctor takes on the Cybermen in a small village in the 19th century. The Doctor soon realsises that a wasting disease may be more to do with his old enemies than natural causes.
  This is an adventure that starts well, but soon becomes a fairly standard si fi story. Thankfully the narration by actor David Warner is excellnt & often better than the story itself.
• 
  Joshua Martin

  ... ... What a mess. A perfect example of what happens when an author gets lazy part way through writing. I was really enjoying the story and had high hopes for it until the Cybermen were introduced (yes, I know it is a novel about Cybermen. I actually like the Cybermen. Just not here). Not to mention his poor writing of the Doctor and the many simple mistakes that were made.
  
  The story started out quite well. Plague Warriors stalking in the night, talismans killing people, and grave robbers. But that was all a set up. A ruse to get you hooked, and then the mess came.
  
  It really seemed like Justin Richards set out writing this story with the intention of creating a new villain/alien, BUT he got lazy or lost along the way and decided to use the sloppiest version of Cybermen he could think of and have them act out of character, and just tweaked the beginning to fit his "new" Cybermen story.
  
  The Cybermen are not only grave robbers, but they somehow become stronger as they run low on power. All according to Justin Richards. One example; Cybermen are so low on power they can't beat down a wooden door BUT that doesn't stop them from climbing a stone wall, while punching hand and foot holds into said wall, only to go right back to beating on the wooden door and stone wall around the door after being knocked from the wall multiple times.
  
  Then there was the immense build up to a very lackluster ending. Can't even say much more on that. It just is.
  
  The up-side to this novel is that it was one where NO ONE in the story fell in love with the Doctor (probably because he was written poorly and out of character, as well). Which may be the reason I even gave this book a star.
• 
  Gabs

  So, I promised an actual review, and here it is. This was a good book. It started out as a great book, but after page 70 lost a bit of luster.
  
  This was my first experience with a Doctor Who book, and I was not disappointed whatsoever. It wasn't as good as the tv shows, but it was still a great read for any fan of Doctor Who. The story was interesting and not hard to follow, even for someone who only knows basic facts about the Doctor. (You do have to know BASIC facts though; otherwise you'll be shaking your head and asking yourself, "What's a sonic screwdriver?")
  
  The one thing that I did not like was that some parts moved rather slowly. The beginning was next to perfect, but the middle could have sped up a bit. Other than that? No complaints.
  
  Yes, I liked it. It was a satisfying story that I do not regret reading. I just wish it could have moved a bit faster.
  
  I recieved this book via Goodreads Firstreads. This in no way affects my review.
  
  This review can be found on:
  http://myfullbookshelfreviews.blogspo...
  
  
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  Wow! I cannot WAIT to read this book. Another giveaway win!! DR WHO!!!
  
  My very amazing friend got me hooked on this addicting tv show, and when I found out that there were books, I knew I HAD to read them. Dr.Who is one of my newest favorite shows!! I am honestly sooo impatient for this book to arrive! Thanks to the people that made this possible!
• 
  Lauren Stoolfire

  Plague of the Cybermen (Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #49) by Justin Richards is a good story featuring one of my favorite iterations of the Doctor. The first half was pretty great but the second half not as much. I wish the Doctor in this story wasn't companionless making it probably set in the second half of series seven, but it was cool to see him face off against the Cybermen and get up to his tricks.
• 
  Dan

  This book sees the Eleventh Doctor face his old enemies the Cybermen. It is not entirely clear exactly where it is set in the Doctor Who continuity but it sees the Eleventh Doctor companion-less so it is probably after "The Snowmen".
  
  The Doctor arrives in a 19th century village to discover the locals dying of a plague or being taken away by "Plague Warriors" and the dead apparently walking from their graves. It's obvious from the title what the real cause of all this is and it soon turns into a generic Cybermen story. It's certainly a good story but it doesn't really cover any new ground. A big chunk of it was based on "Tomb of the Cybermen" which is certainly no bad thing. In fact if you are a fan of that excellent Patrick Troughton story there are a few little treats for you in this book.
  
  As someone who has been writing Doctor Who books since the series returned in 2005, Richards has no problems in characterising the Eleventh Doctor. In fact I would say this is the most accurate prose version of the Eleventh Doctor out of all the books starring him I have read. We have a one-off companion here named Olga who makes a decent companion, although she is pretty much a copy of Clara.
  
  Overall a good quick read for Doctor Who fans but not the most innovative Doctor Who book you can find.
• 
  Brendan

  I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
  
  I love Doctor Who. This is the first Doctor Who novel that I've read. I found the writing tedious especially at the beginning. The author seemed to be trying too hard and had an inordinate love of sentence fragments which distracted from the story. Once the Doctor got involved the story improved as the author seemed much better at dialogue and captured the voice of the Doctor well.
  
  However, the book came from an awkward point of view. The struggles seemed to drag out too long. It just seemed to be one problem after the other, which is normal for the doctor, but not to this extent. As the story continued on I quickly lost interest and tired of the prose.
  
  The big reveal near the end of the story wasn't really that big of a reveal. In the conflict towards the end the Doctor seemed to do things that were very un-Doctorish which was disappointing.
  
  The highlights of the book are near the beginning and then it is all downhill from there.
  
  Overall, I would not recommend this book.
  
• 
  Angela

  The Doctor is travelling by himself, and lands near a village that is suffering from a plague. When he investigates, he realises there is more to this than he first thought. Plague warriors are killing people, and dead bodies are going missing. This is a decent fast paced Cyberman story, it feels slightly like Tomb of the Cyberman, but with a modern series twist. The character of the Doctor is spot on, and it is a page turner. A very good read.
• 
  Stewart

  Under normal circumstances, this would have been a 2-star affair. It's not a great Doctor Who story. It's strangely dull and overly silly even considering the canon.
  
  It get a bonus promotion to 3 stars solely because the audiobook is narrated by the great David Warner, who is one hell of a narrator.
  
  Recommended for fans of Doctor Who and Time Bandits.
• 
  Adia

  'You like being alone,' she told him. 'I can see it in your eyes, I can hear it in your voice.'
  liked this one very much. if i had one criticism, it's the length; i think the story would have done better shorter.
• 
  Ashlyn

  I don't know what it was about this one, but it wasn't my favorite in this series. Even though I own the physical book, I ended up listening to the audiobook. The audio wasn't the best, but I listened to it anyways. The story was okay, but I wasn't fully engaged into it. I think I just wanted a little more from this one to make it more Doctor Who like.
• 
  Michael Kelly

  This is a Cyberman story and it turns out to be a bloody good one, serving the creatures well. It has an atmospheric setting, in a tiny German village two or three centuries ago, where rain and thunderstorms are perpetual and the village is afflicted by a plague (actually radiation poisoning).
  
  The book isn't fault free. A lot of the characters are very bland and two dimensional, and they all seem far too trusting and accepting. Most of them simply struggled to seem 'real'. The Watchman and his machinations added a layer of additional intrigue to the story, but its implications and aftermath seemed muted and unconvincing.
  
  Nevertheless, the Cybermen were particularly effective in this novel, powerful and relentless, with something of their early body horror restored. The Doctor is also well written, his actions and dialogue clearly expressing Matt Smith's take on the role.
  
  Overall, a triumph, though the secondary characters and plot do detract.
• 
  Angela

  This was one of the first Doctor Who books that I've read. It accurately portrayed the Eleventh Doctor, his mannerism and way of speaking. It was also a believable (Doctor Who) story. What I enjoyed was that it mentioned the Tomb of the Cybermen, a classic story from the Second Doctor, and it tied in nicely with the new series (being the premiere of Nightmare in Silver).
  
  The only criticism I have is that there were points that the story rapidly changed scenes with very little description. This works well when scene cutting in a TV show but not so well in book format.
  
  I don't think that any Doctor Who fan would be disappointed with this original story.
  
• 
  Jane (It'sJaneLindsey)

  This was just ok, at best. Plague of the Cybermen was my first Doctor Who novel, and while I enjoyed another adventure with my beloved Eleventh Doctor, reading this book was nothing compared to watching the show. I hate to say that, but it's true! This didn't have any of the excitement or thrill that you get with watching Doctor Who, and the story in this book wasn't much to write home about to begin with. It felt as though the author got a bit lazy, to be honest.
• 
  Keiran Thegreat

  I read this book on a long train journey. It was a really good read. I enjoyed the writing style of the author and the plot was both clever and well paced. The Doctor's character is well described and captures Matt Smith's portrayal. Excellent.
• 
  Ariana

  3.75 Stars
• 
  Helen Hnin

  I'm torn between 4 and 5 stars but well, fuck it. I loved this book and will unapologetically give it 5 stars.
  
  To be honest, cybermen aren't my favourite Doctor Who "monsters." I don't really have a list but I don't think they're even in my top 10. A lot of Justin Richard's Doctor Who books are (in my opinion) hit and a miss. But damn, this book was a great read. Also, I'm hyped about series 12 finale and I just needed to quench my thirst.
  
  The Doctor was amazing but one of the things that I liked was that the companion was a middle-aged women. I'm not saying I'm sick of young people being companions. I'm just saying seeing an old person beside the Doctor makes me realy put the Doctor's own age in perspective. (Olga got confused when she was called "girl" by the Doctor and I was like "oh Damn.")
  
  Also, I enjoyed the little twists. The ending could've been a bit better, no doubt but I've already made up my mind! This is 2020's first 5-star Doctor Who novel and I hope for more to come my way soon. Fingers-crossed.
• 
  Adam Graham

  The Doctor arrives in a 19th century village where residents have been suffering for years from a plague. The Doctor sets out to find the truth, and begins to dig into the town's secrets and discovers an old enemy at work.
  
  This one is a pretty solid story. There's some complexity to this town and a few interesting characters, although I think there are probably too many named characters to properly keep track of. While the story's not a great Cybermen story, it captures the body horror of the Cybermen in some good detail.
  
  Writer Justin Richards' characterization of the Eleventh Doctor is a bit mixed. At some points, he captures pretty well, but on occasion he goes a little too far, and the result is a bit cartoony, even for the 11th Doctor.
  
  I did enjoy David Warner's reading. He brought the story and all of its characters to life, though I think with Warner, you wouldn't expect anything less.
• 
  Aleigha

  This was my first Doctor Who read and it was not bad at all. The whole reason I picked this book was because I love the Eleventh Doctor and Cybermen are my favorite of the Doctor's monsters and when I finished the book I was not disappointed. The only reason I gave this three stars was because it was just a little slow and with a doctor there's always room for more excitement. But I mean come on if you're a doctor who fan reading one of these books can never be a waste of time and I know I'll be picking up another one of these books with the Tenth doctor.
• 
  Natalya

  3.7 stars. Richards’ characterization of the Eleventh Doctor feels vibrant and rings pretty true—I enjoyed it a lot. The plot was engaging; I honestly couldn’t put it down. Admittedly, there were some parts I was confused about during the second half. And if you’re really into the Cybermen as they’re characterized in the show, you may or may not enjoy this take on them. Regardless, I’d recommend this novel to anyone who is fond of Eleven and his banter. I’d read it again. Despite the fact there was some room for improvement, it was entertaining.
• 
  John Toman

  I bought this for a bus ride on a school field trip, and it was quite good! While I was reading, I would cycle through all the different Doctors’ voices in my head, and aside from the necessary Bow Tie quote, you can imagine your favourite doctor instead of the 11th (but 11 is already my favourite) as the hero of the story. My main problem is that the ending was slightly unsatisfying, at least for me. But, as one of my favourite companions (Although River is not in the book) would say, Spoilers!
• 
  Gi

  I picked this up as a thematic spooky October read.
  A really cool story (gothic setting, zombie Frankenstein cybermen, a radiation poisoning plague) told in the most flat and boring way, with a detestable characterisation of Smith's Doctor. I remember liking Justin Richards other DW books growing up (Silhouette, The Clockwise Man, and The Deviant Strain are particular highlights), so slightly shocked how dull I found this to read.
  Also a staggeringly quick read, baring in mind I read this in three busy days without much reading time.
• 
  James Kinsley

  Perfectly decent yarn, running about and the usual Doctor malarkey. The eleventh Doctor comes over well, Cybermen make for a good villain, and the 19th century European setting makes a nice change. Would have made a decent serial, with Olga doing sterling work as a quasi companion, in the absence of any regulars. All in all, ticks all the boxes and makes for an enjoyable read.
• 
  Tali

  This is an eleventh Doctor story with no companion that is loosely placed when he is searching for Clara although that isn’t mentioned in this particular story at all. My measurement of Doctor Who books is how much they keep me engaged and how well the doctor is portrayed and this book succeeds at both points. I liked the characters that were introduced for this particular story. The cybermen are the villains of the piece as you can tell by the title and were used well.
  
  Audiobook comments: the reader did a good job keeping it dynamic but doesn’t do different voices for the characters is that’s important to you.
• 
  Chris Davis

  What an absolute mess of a story. It feels very much like the author superimposed the Doctor Who characters and lore over an already existing story after watching a single episode of Matt Smith’s Doctor.
  
  The Doctor was completely out of character, despite the author repeatedly shoehorning in the Doctor’s habits and trademark freneticness.
  
  Avoid this book at all costs
• 
  Cheryl

  Read just like watching the show I could picture Matt Smith's personality of Doctor Who throughout the book. The Doctor arrives in a village with a plague killing people. The Plague Warriors are really Cybermen.