Subject:      Eternity Weeps:  Review by the Happy Guy
From:         gaffney@iconn.net (Sean Gaffney)
Date:         1997/01/10
Message-Id:   <5b5jd2$98f@news.iconn.net>
Organization: i-Conn
Newsgroups:   rec.arts.drwho

Well, here's a review I had to think about.  Lots of ambiguity
here, folks.

SPOILERS!!  for Eternity Weeps...

I was looking forward to EW, as I mentioned to Andrew Kaplan.  I was
looking forward to it despite the fact that I really didn't like Parasite.  I
was hoping it would be more like Blood Heat, which I enjoyed tremendously.

Well, it was like Blood Heat in its portrayal of Bernice.  Unfortunately, that
was the one thing I *didn't* like about Blood Heat.  And the ending and
sheer hopelessness of it all were very reminiscent of Parasite, which is
also not a good thing.  Some of the writing, however, rose to the levels
of Lucifer Rising, which is excellent.  Basically, this book does wonders for
a schizophrenic, as I have opinions bouncing back and forth.

PLOT:  Actually, pretty damn good.  Sort of a cross between The Ten
Commandments, Die Hard, and King Lear.  The plot skips along, letting
you bask in the doom and destruction.  No problems here.

THE DOCTOR:  N/A.

THE DOCTOR:  Oh, all right.  Virtually absent, and when he is there, he
seems to have retreated from the more human Doctor we saw in Bad
Therapy.  This characterization would fit right into the Alternate Universe
cycle - not a good thing.  You'd swear Cartmel wrote him.

BERNICE AND JASON:  I kept hoping against hope that this was the
evil Benny and Jason from Witch Mark, then I remembered there's no
such thing.  Words cannot describe how annoyed I was at Benny's
characterization.  Jim has done what no other NA author has succeeded
in doing - making me dislike her.  And Jason isn't much better.  I realize
that a point was being made, but using characters to make points is always
dangerous ground.

CHRIS:  Has apparently gone into deep catalytic shock about Roz,
something Bad Therapy was supposed to take care of.  Stands around,
acts befuddled, does what he's told...bleah.

LIZ SHAW:  Cannon fodder.  Was there any reason for Liz to be the
scientist, except to make us care more when she died?  It didn't work, I
was beyond caring when Liz dissolved.  What a pointless cameo, intended
to have yet another companion meet a bad end.

OTHERS:  Also cannon fodder.  The plot really takes the ball and runs
with it, and the auxiliaries are interchangeable.  Candy, the only really
likeable 3-D character, got killed off first.  *sigh*...

VILLAIN:  Tammuz, I guess.  Pathetic.  The Astronomer Royal doesn't
really count.

STYLE:  Speaking of which, take Chapter 10 and put it on your walls.
The main reason I'm in two minds about this book is that some of the
writing is just gorgeous.  Lyrical, moving, even a few jokes or two.  EW
really shows Jim's talents at the craft.  And the Astronomer Royal's lines
had me rolling on the floor.  Made the book worthwhile.

OVERALL:  Jeez.  I loved the writing.  I hated the characterization.  The
plot was great.  The ending bit.  And why does Jim always have to kill
*everyone*?  What did they do to him?  I'm tempted to skip a number
grade, as I really am torn between grudgingly liking and really despising
this book.  But, go with tradition, if only to bug certain people...

7/10.

Let's hope Dying Days or the Benny adventures can solve the little
problems we get here.

Next:  Burning Heart, Dave's most serious novel, if you don't count
the penguin, Queeg, the Disney parody, most of the lines...well, more
serious than Sky Pirates!, we'll put it like that.

--Sean Gaffney
--"Why did we divorce?  I have no idea." - Benny, EW, as well as my
--feeling on the whole subject