Saturday, February 14, 2009

OT: Calling Martha Jones

One of the latest set of Doctor Who books is The Story of Martha by Dan Abnett which reveals what Martha got up to in the year after the Master captured the Doctor.

Martha travels the globe, on the run from the scar-faced Griffin and his team from the UCF (Unified Containment Forces), aided only by her TARDIS 'perception filter' and the Underground resistance movement.

Interspersed amongst Martha's tale are a handful of short stories (written by other writers) telling of some never before revealed adventures that she and the Doctor have had. Martha tells these to the people she meets.

In the tv series there are 'Doctor lite' episodes (where the Doctor doesn't appear except at the beginning and end) but this book has shied away from that by having the Martha/Doctor adventures at regular intervals. Personally I'd have preferred it if they'd dispensed with those and had the whole book about Martha; there are several months and continents not covered in The Story of Martha.

In conclusion I enjoyed the story about Martha which was tense and exciting and also learning how the Earth fared under the rule of the Master, but I didn't feel the extra Doctor stories added much. This is probably the last time Martha will appear in print, and for saving the world, I feel she deserved a whole book to herself.

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