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Another Life

JANUARY 2007

As one of the first batch of Torchwood novels, Another Life has an important

job to do. Along with its two partners, it has to convince a new audience that Torchwood

can work as a range of original novels. Pretty much all television series in the genre are granted a tie-in novel range these days, but precious few of them use this opportunity well and produce something really worth reading. Doctor Who is one notable exception – is Torchwood another?

Based on this novel, I would say that the series has a good chance of becoming a success. Although the book occasionally slips into the sort of adolescent ‘aren’t we grown up’ sort of thing that the early televised episodes did, shoehorning in sexual references where they don’t feel comfortable, overall the novel expands and explores the world of Torchwood well. In fact, it really thrives on this treatment, giving the readers a chance to explore the regular characters more fully.

The story is mainly Owen’s, a good opportunity to look into a character who seems woefully under-explored on television. Even in later episodes, his brash exterior all but obliterates

any internal development. Here, we get to see that Owen’s arrogance is a facet of his need to have others rely on him. It’s a combination of these two traits that lead him to attempt to bring an ex-girlfriend, Megan, into the Torchwood fold. It seems especially self-important of him to take this task on himself, without the knowledge or assistance of any of the rest of

the team glibly handing out details of Torchwood’s operations to Megan without a thought

to security or the possible negative consequences. In the end, he has to pay for his actions. While this is all very welcome, I don’t really buy the idea that Owen is a social networking geek – the passages concerning his time playing the fictional virtual reality game Second Life seem to be padding, as well as a contrived way to get him to reunite with Megan. And although the game resurfaces in the closing part of the book, it’s essentially unnecessary and feels tacked on.

It’s not only Owen who is focused on, however. All the main characters, and indeed several subsidiary ones, are explored. As well as some quietly emotional scenes of Gwen and Rhys’ home life (their unselfconscious, private chats some of the most realistically written scenes

in the book) we get hints of Ianto’s coming betrayal, as he sneaks off downstairs whilst his own feelings of doubt ferment. Yet we also get hints of the attraction between Ianto and Jack, something that was barely explored on screen until the second series.

We also get the occasional monsters-eye-view, and a number of sequences written in the second person, which add a real urgency to the proceedings. The switching of viewpoints

is occasional performed confusingly, but on the whole is very effective.

The main storyline, concerning an alien presence beneath the bay, is unspectacular, but enjoyable, linking giant alien starfish, brain-eating and cannibalisation, British army life

and even the Blaidd Drwg power station from Boom Town. Whilst he takes time to explore characters and their motivation, Anghelides doesn’t let the pace drop, and the novel feels like part of the same breathless series as the best television episodes do, whilst all the atmosphere and tension are cranked up by the chaotic weather that is deluging Cardiff.

One small niggle is the story’s resolution, which, although cleverly utilising Jack’s unique characteristics, does rely on a bit of a loophole, as the mind-controlling alien apparently forgets that it can read its victims’ thoughts for long enough to get defeated.

Nonetheless, this is a fine start to the Torchwood novel line, and it’s also good to see a memoriam to the late Craig Hinton in the opening pages.

Copyright © Daniel Tessier 2009

Daniel Tessier 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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