John Binns (1)

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2679695.html

Another of the Big Finish collections of Doctor Who short stories, this time all set in the year 2040 (an anagram of the year of writing, 2004, though the link is also made with the Doctor's TARDIS being a Type 40). I didn't think this was one of the more successful collections, with the linking narrative between the stories (about the invasion of Earth by an entity called the Ethereal) seeming to get in the way a bit. But there were a couple that I really enjoyed - "Artificial Intelligence" by Andy Campbell, a retake of Flowers for Algernon, and "Anteus" by Rebecca Levene featuring a fractured future London which seemed all too much in tune with this month's events.… (mer)

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2640741.html

Seventh in the series of short story collections from Big Finish featuring the first eight Doctors, this time with a theme around the science of life - which normally means biological, but can extend into other areas too. To be honest I felt his was a bit flat, with only two stories that grabbed me, both more about artificial intelligence: "Lant Land", by Jonathan Morris, bringing Five, Tegan and Turlough to a world where the local version of the Sims has become something much more horrible, and "The Reproductive Cycle" by Matthew Griffiths which takes the frankly unpromising concept of positing that Kamelion and the Tardis had a secret love-child, and does it rather well.… (mer)

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2631534.html

The theme of this book is explorations of closed environments, and how the Doctor's arrival might change them (or not). I couldn't help but think that the steel sky as a concept is closely related to the TV studio where the programme is actually made. Anyway, the book is divided into four sections each exploring different aspects of this idea; each of the four had a standout story for me, to wit:

1) "A Good Life", by Simon Guerrier, where neither the villagers nor their apparent imprisonment turn out to be exactly what the Eightht Doctor and Charley expect;
2) "No Exit" by Kate Orman, where a group of colonists have had their reproductive freedom brutally restricted, but what can the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan do about it?
3) "Doing Time", by Lance Parkin, where convicted prisoners end up worse off than before despite/because of the Fourth Doctor and (first?) Romana;
4) "Cold War", by my old friend Rebecca Levene, where a participant the human/Silurian conflict undergoes agonising twists of perception witnessed by the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield.

No particular turkeys either, I'm glad to report.… (mer)