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Article 3 of 137

Subject:      Millenial Rites - review by the Happy Guy
From:         gaffney@pcnet.com (Sean Gaffney)
Date:         1995/10/21
Message-Id:   <46b5fn$cfo@pcnet2.pcnet.net>
Newsgroups:   rec.arts.drwho
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Well, time for another review.  I'm happy to say that Millenial Rites is a
Laugh riot, filled with wit and charm.  Despite being a bit insubstantial, it
fits in perfectly with its...

Wait.  I got my novels confused.

(Puts down Romance of Crime)

Let's try this again.

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!

OK, now.  This was a tricky little book.  I started out disliking it, then I got bored,
but then it picked up and the last hundred pages flew by.  Odd duck, then.  Serious
bastard.  There isn't even a light epilogue, just heavy heavy hangs all the way through.

The Doctor - Excellent.  The sixth doctor is very well portrayed as the "turning
over a new leaf" type that we expected after the trial.  The discussions between
the Doctor and the Valeyard (hey, I said spoilers, didn't I?) is excellent, a bit of
Whovian philosophy in the midst of chaos.  And the last page is a great set-up for
Head Games, which I'm reading now.  Colin would have loved to do this!

Mel - Well, I had trouble with all the computer genius that wafted over Mel, IQ 163
and all.  But I understand that Craig had to do it for our sakes if nothing else.  And
the basic obnoxious perkiness is still there.  I find it difficult to work up an opinion
of her.  Comes from the original being such a cypher, I suppose...

Others - Barry and Louise were excellent, and I liked the books ending, for the
same reason that I disliked Infinite Requiem's.  I like happy things.  Anne Travers,
well, I haven't seen Wartime, but geez...bitter incarnate.  The villains were well-drawn,
and none of them could be drawn in shades of black and white, that was reserved
for the Doctor.

Plot - Conniving.  It got much better when Earth was transformed, as Craig spent
a lot of time widdling around for the first half.  Good climax, though, must have had Richard
Atkinson's help. (I can't believe I just wrote that.)

Mood - Great.

Continuity - I see Craig is trying to unseat David McIntee from the title of fan-wank God.
With the Web of Fear, The Invasion, All-Consuming Fire, System Shock, Wartime, and
The Trial of a Time Lord all playing a big part in the narrative, though, one can't accuse
Craig of it being pointless.

Overall - Better towards the end, but still a good book.  I look forward to the NA he's writing.

7.5/10

Next - Head Games.  Hoo-boy.

--Sean Gaffney
--"You git!  I thought you were dead!  Git git git!" - Benny, No Future

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