The Burning

As a reader new to the literary world of Doctor Who, this reviewer had doubts as to the possible merit of this book. Having read only one other book in this line, I was quite prepared to be disappointed. Surprisingly, The Burning turned out to be highly readable, in spite of some plot weaknesses and my having no knowledge of what had brought the good Doctor to the state we find him in when he arrives in Middletown. He seems not to know exactly who he is or why he is there, yet in many other ways, he is the nearly all-knowing Doctor that fans love. A Mr. Nepath arrives before the Doctor and just after the tin mine that has supported the residents of Middletown has to close. The good Lord Urton and his wife kept it open and the men employed far longer than they should have, but the hope of finding a new vein of tin, or any other reason to keep the mine open, is gone. As is their money. However, Nepath offers another use for the mine, where he asserts there is something else of value to be brought out. The offer seems like a gift from heaven, but slowly people begin acting strangely. Then they start dying. The weather has already been acting oddly -- warm in the middle of winter -- and scientific experts arrive to check things out. Among all of these arrivals, the Doctor settles in, neither explaining who he is nor why he is there. But as things worsen in Middletown, he seems to be the only person with any idea of how to solve the mysteries and hopefully how to save the town and its people. Although the end is telegraphed early on, it is still satisfactory after a fashion. The only real clinker in the whole thing involves the reverend's daughter, although some readers may find it satisfying as well. The Doctor's behavior in the end is, as always, shocking and shows why fans love the character and generations keep coming back to watch and read his adventures.

As a long-time fan of the classic TV show, and a discerning reader, it took me a long time to summon the courage to approach the Doctor Who books series. I was very much afraid that my sensibilities would be deeply offended by some ghastly fanboy writing, and my happy memories of the show would be spoiled as a result. As good fortune would have it, one of the first of the new Doctor Who books I picked up was "The Burning" by Justin Richards.Richards, I can state with relief, knows his craft. His prose is modestly assured and succeeds in projecting the new Doctor's mysterious charm with effortless poise. Also, the casual reader is not seriously disadvantaged by not knowing story-arc details; Everything one needs to know is contained within this volume.The story brought back for me the delight of watching Doctor Who on television. The tragically misguided villain reminded me of many other similarly afflicted baddies from the show, and his monster henchmen conjured images of BBC actors in garish fibreglass suits, without allowing the narrative to descend into parody for even a moment.A well-deserved four stars. It's not without its flaws, but science-fiction fans can do much much worse than to read this.