I never imagined how hard this post would be to write.
This was one of the only Doctor Who books I'd read before we started this project. I liked it because it was good, semi-hard SF. I liked it because the characters made sense and were internally consistent. I liked it because I liked the protagonists, from Blondie to Ming to Kadiatu. Even the razvedka bad guys were at least understandable. Ben Aaronovich is an incredible writer who takes you on an amazing ride, from dropping country names like Burkina Faso to the blind pilot to talking about the meteor dropped on Paris by a war in the not-too-distant past. (And I'm being deliberately elliptical, because I want people who haven't read it before to enjoy it immensely without my spoilers.)
But as a Doctor Who novel, I didn't like it as much on the second read.
Partly it is because we just met Benny, and to drop her into this and have the things happen to her that happen to her... well, it's hard to realize how out of character they are. Partly it's because I'm coming off the previous book and not terribly sympathetic to the Doctor. I think if this book had come two books later, I would have enjoyed it much more. And as I said, I really like it as a SF book. This is not at all a "don't waste your time" post... read it, by all means!
But as a Doctor Who book, well, I just don't enjoy it as much.
