Doctor Who: The Shadow in the Glass

This was one of the best Who books in a long time. Not perfect, but a darn good read. Anytime the Doctor doesn't appear in the first 60 pages and I don't notice, it's a good book. This book really helped to solidify the relationshp between the Brigadier and the Doctor. Nazis, aliens, nosey reporters. This book has it all. At times scary, other times silly, and often over the top, this book captured a little of everything about Who. I don't care if it took only 3 weeks or 3 hours to write, it is a good read.

In the midst of World War II, a strange craft is shot down by British fighter pilots. It lands in a small English village. Over fifty years later, that village remains under military occupation, closely guarded from prying eyes. One reporter manages to sneak in and get some footage on video. The disturbing contents of the tape draw the attention of UNIT, and its retired former head, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. Meanwhile, an associate is investigating the secret meetings of an elite supremacist group -- meetings that are being attended by someone who looks an awful lot like Adolf Hitler. The Brigadier, of course, summons an associate best equipped to deal with strange and impossible occurrences. The three of them begin to uncover a mystery involving trapped aliens and the intended rise of a new world order...In contrast to a previously read adventure written by Justin Richards, this one is quite enjoyable. While at times it feels like two separate stories were imperfectly merged into one, for the most part it works pretty well. The main plot builds on unsolved mysteries surrounding the outcome of the war (historically based, but with a certain amount of artistic license) and it is interesting to see how the pieces fit together as the novel progresses. This is always one of the fun things about historical time travel stories.The characters from the show are faithfully portrayed. The Doctor's sixth incarnation retains his trademark arrogance, yet is sympathetic when need be. And while his mannerisms are a bit more subtle than say, the fourth Doctor's, the authors are observant in including them at the right times. Likewise the Brigadier. It is easy to picture the television actors when reading both roles. Claire, the reporter, is intelligent, resourceful and useful, like too few of the show's companions.Apparently this novel was put together and rushed out in a shorter time than is normally given. Even so, it's one of the better new adventures I've read.

The Brigadier needs the help of an old friend and that old friend comes arunnin'... albeit slightly bothered... at first.I think this was a classic Doctor Who adventure. There really was no actual need for the aliens involved in this tale. It would have sailed along on its own merits with just the Fourth Reich group, a resurrected Adolph Hitler!?!(I won't spoil anything) and the time travel to WWII.Both the Brigadier and Doctor are brought to life in this story. Although, neither this incarnation nor the Brig met in the original series, the conversations between them are just right. You can easily picture/hear Colin Baker and Nicholas Courtney saying these lines.The solo trip back to WWII by the Doctor and the subsequent trip with the Brigadier were pure Doctor Who fun.And I myself was not surprised by the ending. In traditional Doctor Who fashion... all the clues of what was going to transpire was there in the text.A fun Doctor Who adventure! I can't say that for a lot of the novels I've read in this series. But I can on this one. Give 'The Shadow in the Glass' a try!

Right off the bat, forget that this book was plotted overnight, and written in just three weeks by the former and current "Doctor Who" editors at BBC Books. In spite of the behind-the-scenes woes (shown here as spelling errors and details that change in the middle of scenes), the book is quite enjoyable.As with any Justin Richards book, the story sets up slowly, each chapter introducing a new character and idea, or a new setting. "Shadow/Glass" opens as a UFO crashes near a RAF military base in 1944, and slowly works up to the present day. Neo-Nazis gather in England and Antarctica, using alien technology -- and someone who looks a lot like Adolf Hitler -- in preparation for the Fourth Reich (given how many other Fourth Reichs there have been in recent DW, this should really be the Eighth Reich...).As the mystery unfolds, the retired Brigadier and intrepid journalist Claire investigate Hitler's death, and the Sixth Doctor travels through time and meets a war epic's worth of historical figures. Tension mounts and builds up to the showdown with the aliens, and Hitler's suicide in the Berlin bunker in April, 1945.At the end, the book self-destructs, with a too-short action sequence and a too-stale historical reenactment. Because this is the Sixth Doctor, there's some forced angst literally on the final page, and the Brigadier makes an unusually clumsy metaphor to try and cheer him up.But never mind the rushed ending -- "Shadow/Glass" is a fun mixture of time travel and authentic history that, in its best moments, summons up the thriving spirit of "Doctor Who" and makes for great potboiler sci-fi. Highly recommended.

This book is great, even more so because it was written in such a short time and yet managed to maintain that fun sense of adventure. Nobody will ever confuse it with literature, but if you want a fun read, this is it.The Sixth Doctor meets up with the Brigadier, and hijinks ensue. Since the Sixth Doctor has already met the Brigadier in the book series (in one of Gary Russell's books), there is no need to have yet another initial meeting between the two. Instead, Justin and Stephen can get on with the story.And what a story it is. Did Hitler survive the events of the bunker at the end of the war? What's going on in that strange house? Why has an entire English village been cordoned off since World War II? All of these mysteries come together in a delightful fashion.Colin Baker *is* the Sixth Doctor in this book. I could see him perfectly in this part. The Brigadier is perfect as the wise old soldier who's still got the will to go on an adventure even though his body may not agree. The "companion" role is taken by a television reporter who is also well characterized. She's got a nose for a mystery, and it shows. What happens to her in this story actually surprised me, though it was almost poetic when I thought about it afterward. It's something that Cole and Richards couldn't do if they had been forced to use a real companion from the series.There's also a wonderful use of continuity in this book. I love continuity as long as it's used well (for an example of how not to use it, see The Quantum Archangel). This book references both the series, a previous BBC book and also a previous Virgin book, which surprised me a bit. This book is a lot of fun. Don't expect anything truly deep and meaningful out of it, but it's a nice, straightforward adventure that will make you smile.