| Title | : | The Plotters |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0426204883 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780426204886 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 287 |
| Publication | : | First published December 21, 1996 |
London, November 1605. The TARDIS materialises at a crucial moment in British history. While Ian and Barbara set off for the Globe Theatre, Vicki accompanies the First Doctor on a mysterious mission to the court of King James.
What connects the King's advisor Robert Cecil with the sinister hooded figure known only as 'the Spaniard'? Why is the Doctor so anxious to observe the translation of the Bible? And could there be some dastardly plot brewing in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament?
As a history teacher, Barbara thinks she knows what to expect when she encounters a man called Guy Fawkes. But she is in for a very unpleasant surprise.
The Plotters Reviews
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Arriving in London during November 1605, Ian and Barbara plan to visit the Globe theatre whilst Vicki accompanies The Doctor to King James court.
Interesting that Roberts would eventually go onto write The Shakespeare Code, theres a real sense that he’s knowledgeable on that time period.
Set between The Space Museum and The Chase there’s a real historical feel that you get with the Hartnell era. Whilst there’s also a throw back to stories from the second season.
Vicki dressing up in disguise as ‘Victor’ (The Crusades) then King James subsequent pursuits were very similar to Nero with Barbara (The Romans).
It’s a fun First Doctor romp with plenty of artistic twists that helped keep the story ticking along.
I practically liked the lines of dialogue, there was certainly enough humour in here too. -
When the TARDIS once again misses its intended destination, the surprise is less that they failed to arrive than that it was closer than usual. For while the Ship materializes in London, it's not the London of 1963 but the London of 1605, with a dissolute king on the throne and discontent between Protestants and Catholics barely below the surface. As Ian and Barbara set out for the Globe Theatre, the Doctor and Vicki make their way to Whitehall to see the King James Bible taking shape. Yet awaiting everyone is the impending opening of Parliament — and with it the plot by a group of Catholics to blow it up. The Doctor and his companions soon discover, though, that the history of their plot is far more complicated than they know — and one in which they quickly find themselves inextricably enmeshed.
As both a novelist and as a screenwriter Gareth Roberts has enjoyed a long association with the Doctor Who franchise. With this novel, his skills as a writer are on full display, as he puts together a cracking good adventure that embodies all of the elements of a classic First Doctor adventure. The plot is a straightforward historical adventure common to the era, and his characterization of the Doctor and his companions rings true to their portrayal on the show. That it isn't hard in the least to see how it could have been made into a serial for the show is a testament to his achievement with this book, which is among the best of the "Virgin Missing Adventures" series and which fans of the earliest Who tales likely will find enjoyable reading. -
This one is pretty good, the story suits the series and although it seemed to stretch a little to me it was mostly entertaining. I thought the characters were close most of the time with a few notable deviations. Our 25th century Vicki is cheeky as ever but not as intelligent as she would be. The Doctor certainly gets some classic cheeky moments too but I was a little concerned at his lack of interest in Barbara and Ian in this one.
In a bit of a humorous comeuppance, this book sees Ian take a fairly useless role for most of the story. It's only nice that it wasn't Barbara for a change, she actually gets an interesting role this time. -
Was für ein tolles Buch. The Plotters fängt die Atmosphäre der Hartnell Ära (vor allem deren Historicals) perfekt ein. Der Doctor und seine Begleiter, Ian, Barbara und Vicky wirken wie aus einer Episode der 60er geschnitten. Der einzige Unterschied bestand darin, dass ich mich im gelesenen Format herrlich über die Dummheit und Naivität Vickys amüsieren konnte und sie so das erste Mal überhaupt wirklich gut fand.
Die Geschichte ist spannend geschrieben, und selbst wenn man mit den Ereignissen des 5. Novembers 1605 vertraut ist, kommt durch die Vielschichtigkeit der Erzählung und der Hinzudichtung weiterer Facetten der Verschwörung keine Langeweile auf.
Ein von vorne bis hinten empfehlenswertes Buch. -
Pure historical adventure set within the days of the first Doctor, meaning no sci-fi trappings except the TARDIS bringing them there. This is most important to note following a certain death.
Roberts captures this period perfectly, both the TV Dr Who and the first Elizabethan Age. I live and breathe it. All the TV characters are on top form as are the locals (as far as we can tell). The humour is funny and the tension suspenseful. 10/10
Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent. -
An excellent adventure for the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki set in early Jacobean London, 1605 to be precise.
I really enjoyed the story and felt it was pacy. The action scenes were great as was the twist about one of the characters identities.
The writing was terrific, Roberts made the reader feel as if there were right there in 17th century London along with the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki.
As a historian this was right up my street and I would highly recommend this to both Doctor Who fans and fans of historical fiction. -
The TARDIS lands in London, November 1605 and the Doctor and his companions get entangled with Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament.
In the story Barbara gets the worst of it by getting kidnapped. Ian's part of the story is mostly spent trying to find Barbara and I found this boring. The best of this was with the Doctor and Vicki and their time spent as guests of King James. It all balances out to be an average story for me. -
У этой книги очень положительная репутация фандоме, и хотя тут есть от чего получить удовольствие как от чисто исторического сюжета, но в лучшем случае она просто очень медленная, в худшем - есть линия, где король Джеймс постоянно "комично" домогается замаскированной под мальчика Викки.
И в целом недавнее скатывание Гарета Робертса в полную трансфобию сложно игнорировать местами. -
While reading the 90's tie-in novels, it's always fun to pick out the ones that have most influenced the contemporary revival of Doctor Who. The Plotters is a look at some of the work by Gareth Roberts, who's done some of my favorite screenplays of Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
The Plotters is very much what it says on the tin. The Author's Note clearly warns that a) the events as chronicled are not remotely factual and b) the story's aim is to recreate the feel of a televised Doctor Who episode of its time. Roberts goes on to compare his story with Dennis Spooner's The Romans. If you enjoy the 'straight' historicals of the Hartnell era, this one's for you.
Roberts does indeed play fast and loose with events (and historical persons), but at the same time conveys an authentic, vibrant atmosphere. London comes alive, with rollicking public houses, dusty libraries, and the palace of Whitehall all populated with sharply drawn supporting characters. Roberts takes great care with the speech patterns of the day (or at least a believable facsimile thereof) and has great fun with Shakespearean ripostes and rejoinders.
The characterizations of the Doctor, Vicki, Ian and Barbara are spot-on. Everyone is precisely as they should be -- even when they're not exactly making the best decisions -- and you can really hear the actor's voices in the lines that come off the page. The gentle humor and affection between the characters is plain; even though they're split off into two different groups right off the bat.
As long as you're not hankering for a page-turning thriller, The Plotters is a breezy read. It's a romp, or a farce, full of mistaken identities and convenient assumptions. As a traditional historical, our heroes don't advance the plot in any meaningful way. They are carried along by events and the tension is carried by the hope for everyone to land on their feet when the dust settles.
The Good: Strong characterizations, snappy dialogue and immersive experience.
The Bad: Barbara is kidnapped. Again.
The Ugly: Good thing James I can't sue for libel. -
This was the first book I've read by Gareth Roberts that wasn't fourth doctor and Romana II. It was a first doctor adventure with Vicky, Babara and Ian. While I didn't love it as much as the Romana books it was still very good. It felt like a proper first doctor historical adventure, with a lot of humour thrown in for good measure. Roberts included a very good disclaimer at the begining that said it was not intended to be historically accurate and recommended a proper history book on the subject of Guy Fawkes if you wanted to know what actually happened. But intended it to be historically accurate in the way the Romans was. And I have to say he succeeded very well.
Like the Romans there were no space aliens hiding in the period trying to take over the world. All the plotting came from actual humans who lived during the period, Guy Fawkes and his fellow plotters and Robert Cecil. There were amusing sub plots where Vicky had to dress as a boy, and quite naturally ended up being fancied by King James I. (A plot that probably wouldn't have happened in the original first doctor adventures but worked very well). It included the idea that the Catholics were being set up by Cecil to further his anti-Catholic policies. There were secret tunnels, cross dressing, taverns, poor people and all sorts of adventure. I enjoyed is so much I'm thinking I should try some of the EDA that Gareth Roberts wrote. As so far I've been very impressed. -
This is a really good book. I don't want to give too much of the plot away but suffice it to say that The Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Vicki arrive just prior to the opening of Parliament on The 5th of November. As usual they all get embroiled in the plots and machinations of those intending to bring about the Gunpowder Plot.
The writing is very good, the character are excellent and the plot is deserving a William Hartnell era story; which is the author's intention. Although I love the whole Dr Who genre it is nice to have a purely"historical" adventure without alien interference. It does irk me a little that when the Doctor visits a historical period aliens always just happen to be planing some devious scheme. In Plotters the antagonist is excellently portrayed. Although it must be mentioned that there is an excellent scene where The Doctor turns the tables on him.
I haven't read any of Gareth Roberts' Dr Who stories before but this one is very enjoyable. I look forward to his others. He writes a preface warning that we should not expect historical accuracy (it is a 1960s style Doctor Who story after all) but there are some very clever period witticisms from characters encountered in a tavern and a well presented Whitehall Farce as King James takes a liking to Vicki who just happens to be disguised as a boy..... -
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http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1271423.html[return][return]A Doctor Who Missing Adventure novel, featuring the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki and the Gunpowder Plot. I think this is the first Who book I have actually given up on. I found the first hundred pages stylistically dull, historically stupid (James I's father was not blown up at Bannockburn, the Doctor is rather unlikely to have tried staying at monasteries in England in 1605) and really offensively anti-Catholic. I skimmed a couple of online reviews of the whole thing to see if it might be worth persevering, but I rather got the impression that it just gets stupider and more annoying. I am glad to say that Roberts' other efforts at this period (DWM comic strip 'A Groatsworth of Wit' and TV story 'The Shakespeare Code') are much more successful." -
Regardless of what you think of Gareth Roberts he manages to capture both the tone of the show and the atmosphere of the setting.
All the characters are well realized and are entertaining to read. The book in general is very humorous, though it has many dark moments; it is overall very well balanced.
Being the only pure historical in the Missing Adventures range it is hard to compare to the others.
This review has been edited to better reflect my opinion upon reappraisal of this book. -
Another Gareth Roberts triumph -- the season 2 crew captured perfectly, a joyous level of farce worthy of Steven Moffat, a massive respect for the details of the historical period...in every way, a triumphant slice of William Hartnell/1st Doctor magic.
