ACQUIRED: Doctor Who Novel by Michael Moorcock
Last week I picked up the new Doctor Who novel by famed sci-fi/fantasy writer Michael Moorcock, The Coming of the Terraphiles.
The novel stars the current Doctor (as portrayed by Matt Smith) and his companion Amy Pond (as portrayed by Karen Gillan). The BBC has previously published hundreds of Doctor Who books, but they are making a big deal about this novel as it’s the first special release in a lengthier hardback format. Here is the description of the book.
There are dark tides runing through the universe… Miggea – a star on the very edge of reality. The cusp between this universe and the next. A point where space-time has worn thin, and is in danger of collapsing… And the venue for the grand finals of the competition to win the fabled Arrow of Law. The Doctor and Amy have joined the Terraphiles – a group obsessed with all aspects of Earth’s history, and dedicated to re-enacting ancient sporting events. They are determined to win the Arrow. But just getting to Miggea proves tricky. Reality is collapsing, ships are disappearing, and Captain Cornelius and his pirates are looking for easy pickings. Even when they arrive, the Doctor and Amy’s troubles won’t be over. They have to find out who is so desperate to get the Arrow of Law that they will kill for it. And uncover the traitor on their own team. And win the contest fair and square. And, of course, they need to save the universe from total destruction.
I’m really looking forward to reading this novel! This will be my first Michael Moorcock book. I’m aware of his Elric and Jerry Cornelius fame, but I’ve never gotten around to reading one of his novels before.
Wow. I really wouldn’t have expected to find Moorcock doing licensed works rather than his own stuff. Though I seem to recall that he wrote some sort of writing guide for DC’s multiverse at some point, so it’s not *that* far-fetched.
Having read the main Elric, Hawkmoon and Corum books, and a few of the others, I’m going to say that the original Elric series is his best (or at least the best of what I’ve read). I’d also recommend the Hawkmoon books from a world-building perspective, set in a distant future Earth. (Technologically, it’s science-fiction, but the feel is more in line with sword-and-sorcery adventure.)
I suppose the big push is because, as Kelson says, it is a little surprising (though not unheard of) for big-name genre authors of Moorcock’s status to be doing media tie-in fiction. (I think K.W. Jeter’s Deep Space Nine novel, “Warped,” was a similar instance; Pocket Books made a big deal because Jeter was an established author, but then — judging from reviews; I’ve not read it — the book turned out to be not so great.)
I have been tempted by some of the recent Doctor Who novels, sitting all nice and pretty on my Barnes & Noble’s shelf with Matt Smith’s and Karen Gillam’s faces on them… but I usually end up feeling let down by tie-in fiction these days, so I have restrained. Let us know whether you think this one is worth picking up or not!