Doctor Who: Shell Shock by Simon A. Forward

Doctor Who: Shell Shock Reviews

• 
  Nicholas Whyte

  
  http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/shellshock.htm[return][return]This is a good piece, and if all Doctor Who fiction were of this quality the world would be a better place.[return][return]The Sixth Doctor and his companion Peri Brown arrive on a deserted warship on an unspecified planet which might be Earth. They get separated when the ship sinks, and the Doctor finds himself playing the role of mentor to a small group of cyborg crabs and their human friend Ranger, survivors of a vaguely (but sufficiently) described horrible war, now marooned on a beach where the mysterious monster Meathook is picking them off one by one. Peri meantime spends most of the book disembodied and trying to regain contact with the Doctor.[return][return]The plot jumps between viewpoints and back and forth along its own timeline, and for Scrounger the crab, one of the viewpoint characters, we switch to the present tense. This mimicks the effects of Ranger's shell shock, as a result of which he looks "at the world as through a splintered lens". It's a difficult trick to pull off but it's done effectively. The insane Ranger and non-human Scrounger make effective viewpoint characters.[return][return]We gradually build up a picture of Ranger's motivations and his real relationship with the crabs, Meathook, and the disembodied intelligence which takes Peri under its wing. Scrounger is an engaging cyborg whose story ends on a note of triumph. Peri's character also is given some added depth (controversial in fan circles, I understand) which makes her relationship with the Doctor more convincing. I half-recognised elements from China Mi
• 
  Numa Parrott

  What the heck was that? Props for great character development with Peri, but everything else was . . . too freaky. Even for Doctor Who, that was seriously weird.