TheFeastoftheDrowned

The Feast of the Drowned by Stephen Cole

So I’m not just a horror nerd, I also am a big sci-fi fan. So of course being into science fiction I’ve always been a Dr. Who fan. For those not familiar with the series Dr. Who is a time lord that jumps around the universe and thru time getting into all sorts of trouble. Always along for the ride is his companion, normally an attractive young woman from Earth. Now while I’ve been a big fan of the show this was the first time I’ve tried out one of the novels that is released for the franchise. Honestly it was a bit of a disappointment.

The story revolves around a British Naval vessel that sinks under mysterious circumstances. The wreckage is recovered and towed back to London for investigation. Almost as soon as the ship is in London the family and friends of the sailors that died on the ship start to see the ghosts of those who died. The ghosts compel their loved ones to go to the Thames and throw themselves into the river. Then those people start to appear to their family and friends who do the same. Before you know it there is a line of people trying to get to the river so they can toss themselves in. Into this the Doctor and Rose (his companion) return to London and get involved when one of Rose’s oldest friends sees her dead brother. After checking out the situation the Doctor realizes that this is an alien invader that is trying to take Earth for themselves.

The book is all right and written pretty well, but it just missing something. Regardless of the actor playing the part the character of Dr. Who has always had a certain charisma and personality that is fun to watch. This written incarnation from author Cole just doesn’t have that. Also critical to the Dr. Who character is the interaction between the doctor and his companion. The book spends most of the time with the characters separated, which again just doesn’t work well. After splitting them up they are put with new characters created for the book (except of course for Mickey). These new characters just aren’t that interesting and really are just sort of bland and serve no purpose. The book only picks up when the Doctor and Rose get back together and start to get things sorted out. This is what the book should have focused on.

As much as I love Dr. Who I’m really going to have to recommend that everyone skip The Feast of the Drowned. It isn’t a very good Dr. Who story and as a work of science fiction it comes off as silly and a bit slow. Not recommended.

reviewed by John Shatzer