Damaged Goods

This was a great Doctor Who book, but it is not for kids. This is the Doctor Who you read when you've grown up--the R-rated Doctor Who. The story includes references to cocaine, alcohol abuse, child prostitutes, swearing children, gay men hooking up at the park, and very graphic descriptions of violence and gore. These references do not detract from the story at all. In fact, it makes one even more pulled in to the reality of Davies world. It makes this one of the most believable Doctor Who stories I've ever come across. The gripping edginess of this realistic, harsh world makes the final battle all the more believable even though it is wildly fantastical. Davies writes a great Who book, and it's shame he didn't write more than one. But we can be thankful he is the producer of the new 2005 TV series:) Thanks, Russell!

Despite the continued release of massively restored old adventures onto DVD, over the course of the next twelve months DAMAGED GOODS will almost certainly be the Doctor Who story most revisited by fans. The reason is obvious. When author Russell T Davies wrote DAMAGED GOODS in 1996, he was simply a promising newcomer who had some relatively impressive television credits to his name. Since then, his career has done nothing but rise. He produced, created and wrote QUEER AS FOLK, TOUCHING EVIL, and THE SECOND COMING, was nominated for Sainthood, saved the humpbacked whale from extinction, caused the breakup of the Spice Girls, tricked a Martian invasion fleet to fly into the sun, and was named Producer of the still unseen Doctor Who TV revival. For Doctor Who fans, the last of these accomplishments is naturally the most important.I never got around to reading DAMAGED GOODS when it was first published; as with many of the books of this era (through no fault of their own) I found myself simply far too busy to get around to it. I knew of its impressive reputation and was pleased when I eventually secured a copy. So when I finally opened the cover I already knew that this Davies guy would be The Producer, The Writer And Main Pooh-Bah Of Doctor Who. I found myself giving the book more scrutiny than I otherwise would have, simply to see if I could find clues as to what sort of series he will create based on what he had written here. Upon completion of the book, I realized that this approach is, of course, absolute nonsense. What I didn't get out of the book was that the new series will feature two ex-cops as companions, or will take place in a London housing estate, or will feature big, evil monsters from Gallifrey's past. What I did take away was the book's fabulous attention to detail, Davies' ability to create sympathetic, flawed, interesting characters, and his talent for pulling them all into an engaging plot that gives each person an important part to play.Doctor Who on television almost always worked when it had interesting and believable characters. Whether the characters were realistic was another matter entirely, and while the concepts sometimes dovetailed, this, I feel, was rare. Sharaz Jek (to pick an example totally at random) is a fascinating creation whose obsessive behavior is believably conveyed. But you couldn't imagine him at the far future's equivalent of a supermarket, because within the actual story of THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI it made more sense to have a collection of archetypes rather than someone you would expect to meet on the street (or in any place outside the confines of the story being told). Davies manages to express both in his only Doctor Who novel (so far), which is a fantastic bonus as far as I'm concerned. His characters are interesting, believable, and also realistic. This formula certainly wouldn't be appropriate (or possible) for every Doctor Who story, but here it works, and thanks to Davies' skills,

The Doctor is on the track of something alien which is hitching a lift with some cocaine heading for the Quadrant in Thatcher's Britain. When he finally catches up with it he discovers a wealth of human tragedy and a half-mad weapon about to be unleashed on the unsuspecting inhabitants. This book is one of the best of the series and is a continuation of the psi-powers arc. Characterisation is spot on with Chris getting involved with one of the natives, Roz champing at the bit to engage the enemy and the Doctor knowing more than he's letting on. There is also another dirty secret from Gallifrey's past lurking in the shadows. This is a brave experiment by the author - mixing real-life scenarios and characters with science fiction and ending up with an emotionally-charged action adventure which will leave you breathless at the sheer pace of the story.