| Title | : | Doctor Who: The Last Dodo |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1846072247 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781846072246 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 |
| Publication | : | First published April 19, 2007 |
Preservation is the museum's only job - collection the last of every endangered species from all over the universe. But exhibits are going missing...
Can the Doctor solve the mystery before the museum's curator adds the last of the Time Lords to her collection?
Doctor Who: The Last Dodo Reviews
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loving that tiniest hint of the Time Lord Victorious when the Doctor said he’d never forgive the Time Lords for exiling him on Earth back in his third incarnation 👀👀👀
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Oeeeeeeeeeeh. I just love Doctor Who so much. Even the books are great. I'm not a fan of Martha as companion, but the store only had Doctor Who books with Martha as companion and I really wanted to try one.
And how right was I! It was awesome, from start to end. I really read this in the Doctor voice. The way this was written is exactly as he talks. And he talks great.
If you love Doctor Who you should definitly read these books.
Now if you could excuse me, I'm off to buy the other Doctor Who books. -
I think the basic premise of this book, in which the Doctor and Martha visit the Museum of the Last Ones, is quite cool; the book in general, however, is rather blah. Not terrible, but it reminds me why I don’t usually bother with tie-in novels (and why, if I need some extra-show kick, fanfic is infinitely preferable): they completely lack the ability to change the status quo. I think it’s the rare tie-in novel in which you’ll encounter a “gasp” moment—a moment where the established paradigm shifts, or a character grows and changes. Those moments are one of the major reasons I enjoy serialized entertainment as much as I do. (That and the pretty pretty boys.) Without them, you’re not left with much. And unlike in fic, in tie-in novels, you don’t even have the expectation of sexxors to spur you on.
Sorry, this has turned into MY THOUGHTS ON TIE-IN NOVELS. Back to this particular tie-in: weaknesses included not particularly interesting OCs, no real Doctor/Martha relationship development (purely platonically, understand), and some headdesky moments whenever Rayner shifts into Martha first-person POV, as opposed to the alternating generic third. I just don’t believe it sounds like that in Martha’s brain—very scattered and fluttery? No. Martha’s a doctor, I want to see her think like a doctor. Also, I really doubt she’d see a black man driving a fire truck and think, “There’s a black man driving a fire truck.” I could be totally off-base, of course, but I think Rayner needs a Characters of Color POV lesson from
Neil Gaiman (or even better, any writer of color; but see
Anansi Boys if you don’t know what I mean).
I liked all the stuff about the extinct animals, mostly because I like weird facts about things like extinct animals. For that, I’d probably be better off reading
Gerald Durrell, though.
HOWEVER, these thoughts are based on my impressions from when I actually read this book, several months ago. Since then, I’ve sat through the Doctor Who S4 premiere. In comparison, this novel seems AWESOME. Way to lower my standards, Rusty. -
The first book of my 2008 book log (note the shift in icons to designate these posts!) is another Doctor Who novel: The Last Dodo, by Jacqueline Rayner. I'd previously read and enjoyed her The Stone Rose, so I wanted to give her another shot. This one's a Ten-Martha--but I have to halfway wonder whether Rayner just has a preference for Ten-Rose, or perhaps just a better grasp of Rose, because she didn't seem to get Martha quite right at all for me.
Which is a shame, because there's a big chunk of this book that's from Martha's point of view, so there was plenty of opportunity to delve into her as a character. Thing is, much of Martha's sections were actually in first person--and Rayner gives her a voice that comes across as a bit too ditzy and teenager-y for the young woman we see on the show, especially given that Martha's supposed to be a medical student after all. And this is related to the book's other major issue: it really needed another edit pass or two. The Martha sections alternated between first and third person for no apparent reason, and to have a first person Martha section immediately followed by a third person was quite jarring. So was the one occurrence I found where two short paragraphs were repeated one right after the other on a page.
This is not to say it wasn't a fun read, though. The concept was pretty basic; SF/F has certainly seen the concept of a mad collector trying to get the last one of every extinct species into a zoo before. This time around, the collector in question trying to corner the last Time Lord certainly has some potential for interest--though this wasn't explored nearly as deeply as I'd hoped. Still, the Doctor reacting to and sympathizing with all the trapped creatures rings true for him as a character, and even if Rayner's grasp on Martha is kind of shaky, she's good and solid on the Doctor. Two and a half stars. -
So this was my first venture into a tenth doctor Tennant book. I figured i might as well give him a shot even though he's by far not my favorite doctor.
How was it? Well, it sure was...okay.
The first thing you'll notice about this book is the language. As this is both my first Tennant and Jacqueline Rayner book i don't know whether this is the author or the doctor but MAN is this book written with easy language. Like, i don't normally complain if a book is written in easy to understand language, but normally the doctor who books have a slight air of... prose to them. This one absolutely reads like a YA novel. (for an example there's a line where she says "he used his non-sonic screwdriver holding hand") i don't know, the book sounded a little.....fanficy to me? Especially in the scenes when Martha was talking in first person (it switches from 1st to third person throughout the book)
The story in itself was fine and the characters were on point even IF the twist was kinda weird. So there's that. However, like i said, i'm not a big fan of Tennant, so that didn't really do much for me.
Due to the language of the book, this book is a VERY fast read. I think i read the whole book like less than 4-5 hours.
That being said, the book is fine. It kept me interested, i wasn't ever really bored and it was all right. If a book can keep me interested the whole way through i at LEAST consider it a 3. If i liked tennant more i'd probably have given it a higher score.
I'll give another tennant and another Rayner book a try so i can see if this was just a perfect storm, or if the tennant books are written easier for the tennant fangirl audience.
3.5/5 rounded down to a 3. -
This is the weakest Doctor Who I've read to date. The idea for the story was okay but the execution was badly done. 3 narrator, 2 in the first person, one is Martha and the other the dodo and a third external narrator. The point of view blinks from one to the other. It's tedious and somewhat amateurish. This is not the first Who book for this writer but she completely missed the boat in this one. So the plot, there's this museum of the Last Ones where the last specimens of a specie is kept in stasis for eternity. Of course, the curator wants to put the Doctor as the Last Time Lord in her collection. It could have been a good story but too much short cuts, out of character actions from the Doctor and Martha and paper thin support characters sank this story.
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The first TRUE New Series novel, as far as I'm concerned. All the others were merely a preamble to this wonderful book. There's a depth to this novel that is lacking in most of the previous works...luckily, it's a harbringer of what follows.
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This book really brought out the Doctor for me. It had his personality pretty spot-on and made me smile while reading it. It also reeeeeally makes me want a Dodo; it was adorable. It had a lot of cute moments and I can never turn down dinosaurs being brought back to life!
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The TARDIS lands in the mysterious Museum of the Last Ones. Each exhibit has an extinct creature up to the present day.
But there’s one last specimen that’s missing from the collection.
A Timelord from Gallifrey.
Another fun New Series Adventure featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha. -
This was a mixed bag for me. I'm a big Dr. Who fan (obviously, why else would I read this?), so I've read the novels about him, Torchwood, and would read Sarah Jane if I knew of any. I've found the books to be hit or miss, and this had some of both.
The basic idea is that, after a mild disagreement about zoos, the Doctor tries to take Martha to see a dodo. They end up at the Museum of the Last Ones, a place dedicated to preserving the last member of any species. The Doctor isn't pleased with the place to start with, and less so the more they learn. Then it doesn't help matters any when they realize his status. There are a lot of surprises and twists along the way.
The writer nailed the Doctor as played by David Tenant. He was dead on perfect and I could see him doing the things in the book. There was a brief, temporary companion who was really well written and had a few entertaining moments. The villain made sense, and had a rationale for what they were doing.
Martha didn't feel quite right to me, I'm not sure why. And, as happens even on the show sometimes, the sonic screwdriver got a bit deus ex machina.
It's a decent read that should be fine for Dr. Who fans, especially of the Tenth Doctor. -
Interesting idea, but I don't feel the author captured either the Doctor or Martha in personality or voice.
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I didn't like that it switched from Martha's first person narrative to third person. Also, I didn't feel Martha's 'voice' was quite right.
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I really enjoyed this, Martha as narrator really added to it
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本物のドードーを見に行こうとしたはずが、"絶滅種の1番最後の存在"博物館にさ迷い込んでしまったドクターとマーサ。そこには数数え切れないほどの絶滅種が粉。コールドスリープで生きたまま展示されていた。この宇宙に存在し、絶滅してしまった種族を余すところなく展示する、それを使命とする館長のイブが次の収集品として目をつけたのが、最後のタイムロード、ドクターだった。
絶滅危惧品種、研究教育という名目での動物園や水族館、博物館でのあり方を改めて考えさせられるお話。
ドクターが捕まってしまうという展開は最初から予測していたにも関わらず、捕まってコールドスリープ状態にされた時のドクターの精神的なダメージぶりが、あまりにも痛々しくて、こちらも激しく動揺。とにかく早くなんとかこの状態から解放してあげて〜！！！という思いで、一気に読み進められてしまいました。
自分の種族の最後の存在になることの孤独をドクターとドードーを通してひしひしと。もしそうなった場合その最後の生き残りにとっての幸せとはなんなのか。
少なくともドードーの孤独を少し和らげてあげられたことがドクターにとっても少しの慰めになっていればいいなと思う。どんなに愛されていても、"自分の種族から永遠に切り離されるということはどんなに他の存在から愛されたとしても辛いことなんだ"というドクターの孤独ぶりに、ほろり。 -
Not as bad as I thought it'd be (not had good overall reports of the Martha books). I liked all the i-spyder facts in it (not sure what was fact or fiction, but meh) and I liked the image of the Doctor facing down dinosaurs, lol. But a lot of it was very confusing and in the end I was glad to finish it.
But it really wasn't all that bad, and I kind of want a pet Dodo now, eheh. -
It was good, but Monsters Inside was better. Tennant is the best, but I've never liked Martha's character. She was out of place and the story was just like a program from Animal Planet with some diary posts from Martha. Then there was some nice plot twists and it become a good, but not a great book at all. I'm so glad that this story never made it to Television.
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This book is somewhere in the middle for quality of Doctor Who books. I’m not a big fan of Martha and found the switch between first and third person frustrating, however the plot itself worked well and had twists and turns throughout to keep the reader turning the pages. Good for rainy day (or tired from New Years Day) Reading!
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I read this when I was 11 and I'm still not over how boring this was.
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after several not so good dr who books i loved this one.
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Nice throw back by naming the Dodo Dorothea. I could've done without the Martha narrative.
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Dragged on a bit but had some heart warming highs and funny parts
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Damning with faint praise, but this was better than I expected it to be!
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Dear GOD this book NEVER ENDS. And it perpetually switches between third person and first person, which makes it difficult to follow.
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This is one of those books that was ok but I definitely think I'd have gotten more enjoyment out of it if I'd have actually read it when it came out (aka back in my die hard Doctor Who days). I liked the set up and the idea of keeping the last of its kind in a museum so that it will forever be preserved, I also liked the little information factsheets that we got at the end of every chapter about a creature mentioned previously.
I like how the animal trade was mentioned and that people do sell live animals (I would definitely be Martha in that situation, I hate the idea of anything being kept alive in a marketplace store only to be eaten, I think it's so cruel). The book definitely didn't shy away from the darker aspects of how animals go extinct which I did appreciate because this book is mainly aimed at children so it was nice to see (well hunting animals to extinction is never nice but you know what I mean).
For me the book did go a little downhill toward the end, things suddenly started going wrong and I just found the whole thing confusing and even had to reread a few parts just to clarify what I had just read (which is never good for a book aimed at children/teens) so for me it sort of dropped off toward the end, especially after such a great start.
I would definitely still recommend this book, it is extremely short but still packs in a full story that doesn't feel too rushed. Obviously it did now come out many (MANY) years ago but if you already own it and you're debating whether or not to read it I would definitely say give it a go. It touches on some darker topics but it's nice that it wasn't all happy and the real issues were faced. -
In all honesty, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as others. I loved the concept of the book: it was a brilliant idea. However, I don’t think it was executed that well. The whole book was about the last of each species, so of course it was going to mention The Doctor being the last of the time lords. However, that wasn’t really explored enough and I feel the book would have had much more depth if that had been elaborated on and how the doctor felt. Instead, the doctor accidentally mentions it, gets put in a cage, gets released and it’s never mentioned again.
I also wasn’t a massive fan of it being mainly from Martha’s point of view. I love Martha, I do, but it was a bit jarring going from her speaking in 1st person to 3rd person and I felt since we mainly just saw the doctor from Martha’s point of view, unlike most of the other books where we hear the inner thoughts of both the doctor and his companion, we didn’t get the depth of the doctor’s character and his inner dialogue, which is always fascinating.
There also wasn’t that much clever thinking or action displayed, apart from when the doctor fights a Sabre Tooth Tiger. Overall, it wasn’t a terrible book, I’m just honestly disappointed because I love the concept and had such high hopes. -
A planet for a museum housing the Last Ones - the last of every species throughout the universe, run by Eve who sets her sights on the last of the Time Lords...
Beginning with the tale of the dodo, it's quite saddening as we find ourselves in a museum full of the last of every species, some we know and some are yet to come. The Doctor and Martha end up in this enormous museum and the Doctor isn't impressed with what's on display. Soon they discover a plan afoot and the sinister side to the exhibits as they're pulled into the mystery of the missing Last Ones and discover a lot more than they bargained for.
An interesting story but with a few details I wouldn't attribute to the Doctor or Martha, mainly in how they say things. It's quick and easy to read with some engaging facts about different species interspersed throughout. It's quite intriguing to read things from Martha's perspective throughout the book and how she gets on with her book.
I love how it ends - a thoroughly enjoyable story. -
I liked this book, but there were a few things that threw me off. One of them is that it switches back and forth a few times between a first person where Martha is directly addressing the reader as though she is telling you the story, at some points asking for advice or describing events recently past, and others take place in a third person omniscient perspective. The frequent perspective shift is jarring and unpleasant, but I got used to it as I became more engaged in the story. The plot itself was one of my favorites for Doctor Who, incredibly timey-wimey, and also fantastic in that it had several plot twists I didn't see coming, and balanced stakes that felt alternatively high and low just when they needed to be. There were a few things that were easier to spot that others, but over all I found myself surprised and delighted. 4.5 stars
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DW novels often seem to be 100 pages too long and this one is no exception. I REALLY enjoyed reading it – until page 137. Then the interesting, structured crime story becomes pure chaos! It’s almost as if the author had to frankenstein two different stories together in order to get to the usual 250 pages. Then it ends with a ton of timey wimey that doesn’t make much sense and is just damn frustrating. So are the last 10 pages that fix some plotholes but don’t feel satisfying at all. Also we don't get an explanation why sometimes a rambling Martha is the narrator of the story.
But let's end with a fun fact: The book was published in 2007 and it lists the Kakapo as extinct since 2017. It is 2021 now and since then their number almost tripled! So, hooray for the Kakapo!
