The Bodysnatchers (Dr. Who Series)

Rating:
Summary: it was great.
Review: I think this book was great.

when I got to the part when the 8th. dr. got poisoned I said "aw man." but was happy that he was ok.

I also felt sorry that he accidentally got rid of the whole Zygon group.

Rating:
Summary: The Black Plague of Aquatic Dinosaurs!
Review: My favourite Eighth Doctor comic strip is "Endgame" because it is a perfect visual example to what is achieved in "The Bodysnatchers" - the blending together of past elements to produce a whole new adventure, in this case the Doctor and Sam enlisting the aid of the gentlemanly pathologist George Litefoot (last seen in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang") to solve the gruesome disappearance of a hapless employee at the bottling factory of the sinister Nathaniel Seers. ...
As I said before, a brilliant mix of old characters with new plots. I am glad that this trend has continued in such stories like "Genocide", "Legacy of the Daleks" and the two book "Interference" storyline by Lawrence Miles.

Rating:
Summary: it was great.
Review: The characters in the story The Bodysnatchers are well crafted for the most part. The Doctor is portrayed as a concerned yet offbeat protagonist who tries to solve a problem without violent means. Sam is shown in the novel to be a brave teen since she shows very little fear when she comes face to face with the Zygons. Prof. Litefoot is an old man who is curious and loves a good adventure but finds himself having more questions than answers regarding the Doctor and the Zygons. Emmeline and Nathaniel Seers are clueless as to what is going on and know nothing of their enemies. They are poorly fleshed out but their role in the story is minimal at best. Jack Howe is shown to be a greedy, violent, and ignorant man while his companion Albert is weak willed and only cares what Jack will do to him if he doesn't obey. Balaak is shown to be a one minded leader who has no respect nor patience for anyone or anything but Tuval is his foil in that he does have a degree of patience and does respect the Doctor and Sam by listening to them and not harming them. The viewpoint in The Bodysnatchers does serve the story well but it would have been more interesting if some of the scenes were presented through a Zygon viewpoint than always through the Doctor, Sam, or Litefoot. The structure of The Bodysnatchers does serve the story well but the only portion that should have been eliminated is when the Doctor escapes the Zygon ship only to re-infiltrate it by using scuba gear. This scene in the story could have been rewritten and revised better. The tension in The Bodysnatchers keeps it moving from one page to the next but this was not the case in the chapters before the Doctor discovered it was the Zygons behind the abductions. The setting of 1894 London did serve the novel well. The author does describe perfectly what city life was like during that time era and numerous detail is given. For example, filthy cobblestone roads, toothless women, and drunkards. Also, the detail of how dirty the Thames River was and the sewage floating in it also added to the feeling of evil that the reader is supposed to infer. There is no theme to the Bodysnatchers but the Doctor discovers that even the best intentions can lead to disaster. When the Doctor finds out what he accidentally did to the Zygon crew he experiences and demonstrates his own vulneribility and anger to Sam who is surprised by what she sees. The style of the Bodysnatchers does work for and against it. The description of the Zygons and the dialogue do work for the story but the scenes with excessive gore, such as the Zygon version of Nathaniel Seers dismembering bodies and Jack Howe smashing a shot glass into the face of a taunting bystander, were unnecessary and Morris seemed to write those scenes and others like it in the novel just so he could show how gory the novel could be. Morris should take a lesson from Blum and Orman when they wrote Vampire Science. When Blum and Orman wrote a scene when a vampire attacked they did it with excellent description but at the same time they did limit the gore. Morris could have described these gory acts in a more subtle approach as opposed to the direct approach he uses. Morris' description of the Zygons' bodies decomposing was more tasteful and did paint an excellent image in the reader's mind. Morris should have picked another title instead of The Bodysnatchers. Not only is the title overused by other writers and media but the Zygons do very little or no bodysnatching at all. The narration and dialogue in the novel are balanced well. Emmeline's dialogue did seem overly polite and it wouldn't have hurt Morris to let her dialogue be a little impolite now and then.

Rating:
Summary: I wish this were a video!
Review: This is an excellent book! The Doctor is prefect and so is the setting. One becomes depressed and feels chills when immersed in the dank, murky atmosphere of Victorian London. We're talking fog enshrouded streets, walks along the banks of the dirty Thames, all fodder for the imagination.

The return of Professor Litefoot is delightful and the new and improved Zygons terrific. It was wonderful to have the chance to delve into their society and technology. The poison stickers inside their suckered-palms was a nice addition.

When the Doctor realizes he has made a horrible mistake it is a chance to see that he can be failable and that he has not basically changed in all of his regenerations. His childlike wonder of discovery and his love of all life no matter what form it takes is a constant.

Do yourself a favor and BUY THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: What do you expect from a horror writer.
Review: This novel is the most gruesome Doctor Who novel I have ever read. It contains some familiar faces: notably George Litefoot and the Zygons. Both are well depicted and a joy to re-discover. The plot was simple enough but not too difficult to follow. This is the third installment in the 8th Doctor series and this book coupled with Vampire Science are my favorite BBC books to date. A "must" read!