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APRIL 2007

I’ll level with you - I thought that this novel was going to be awful. Perhaps it was the dreary title – after all, how do you top a title like The Stone Rose? - or perhaps it was because I’ve got used to Russell T Davies’ Saturday night sensationalism: Dickens! Daleks! Devil! “Dodo” just didn’t get me quite as excited. I should have had a little more

faith in Jacqueline Rayner. Whilst The Last Dodo is not the best novel in the range, it is

still a reasonably enjoyable one.

Here Rayner does what Doctor Who authors seldom dare to do by writing many passages from the companion’s perspective, past tense. Not only is this refreshing to read in terms

of style, but it’s also fascinating to experience Martha’s thoughts concerning the accidental “genocide” that she perpetrates (which the Doctor undoes. Phew!) first hand, as well her larger feelings about the Doctor and their travels together.

Unfortunately though, these passages feel a little constrained. Clearly written with a

younger audience in mind, they certainly

are not as true to life as Benny’s Diary

was in the New Adventures range, for

instance. Furthermore, Martha’s story

arc on television seems to be about her

unrequited feelings for the Doctor and The Last Dodo makes only the most fleeting of ref-erences to this – surely something so invasive would permeate her thoughts more often?

However, the book’s premise is fascinating. MOTLO (Museum of the Last Ones) is sort of

a cross between The Space Museum and Noah’s Ark; it literally houses the last of every species. Dodos, Velociraptors, Dong tao chicken, Mervin the missing link, the last of the Time Lords…

There is action aplenty as dinosaurs are set loose on Earth and Dodo’s lay bombs instead of eggs (no wonder they died out). There is also the wonderful device of the I-Spyder Book of Earth Creatures guide which underscores the whole novel in a wry, Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sort of way. And of course, there is the rarest specimen of them all – dominus temporis – who, as always, is captured perfectly on the page by Rayner.

The Time Lord is a rare bipedal, bicardial mammal. It frequently mingles with herds of Homo sapiens, but can be distinguished from

them by its unique physiology and distinctive fearless behaviour.

It is between approximately 1.5 and 2 metres in height,

and can have white, black, brown or blond hair.

It is most commonly found in Europe, especially the United Kingdom.

It has been suggested that the Time Lord is of non-terrestrial origin. However, sightings spanning several millennia indicate that,

even if it did not originate on Earth,

It should now be classified as an immigrant species.

I-Spyder points value: 8963400

On the whole The Last Dodo is another decent effort; one that I’m sure will be a hit with the younger readers. Nonetheless, reading this last batch of novels - armed the knowledge that a dramatisation of Human Nature will be hitting our screens at the end of month - has been a rather sobering experience. These post-2005 novels are not breaking new ground; they don’t need to. The television series is taking care of that. I just find it a little deflating to think that it could be a very long time until I pick up a new Doctor Who novel that has the kind of impact that many of the pre-2005 books - particularly Human Nature - had. Still, it’s a small price to pay…

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2007

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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