A new collection of stories that feature the Doctor’s encounters with dukes, despots and galactic emperors.
1 Comment
Styre
on May 9, 2016 at 3:33 AM
SHORT TRIPS: THE QUALITY OF LEADERSHIP
While I don’t think the earlier anthology “Destination Prague” worked, I liked one thing about it: the attempt to bring in established authors new to Doctor Who. Sadly, they produced stories that seemed more appropriate for Star Trek than Doctor Who — and this feeling didn’t inspire confidence in “The Quality of Leadership,” the twenty-fourth Short Trips anthology from Big Finish. Keith R. A. DeCandido edited it, you see, and not only is he well-known for his Star Trek writing, he brought in a number of Trek tie-in writers new to Doctor Who. Fortunately, my expectations were overturned: this is an excellent anthology, with only one story falling below par.
From Little Acorns… / Epilogue — John S. Drew — Primarily a framing story. It’s not especially imaginative, but then it doesn’t have to be: it’s here to present the Doctor as the wise man/Merlin figure guiding a young king to have confidence in his ability as a leader. Furthermore, the epilogue underscores the legendary nature of the Doctor’s adventures. Solid stuff.
One Fateful Knight — Peter David — David finally writes a Doctor Who story, and it’s… a sequel to “Battlefield”?! None of this should work — it manages to retcon both Doctor Who and Arthurian legend — but it’s written in such an easy, elegant fashion that it dances off the page. The frozen Merlin explanation makes sense, and David makes it quite clear how the seventh and eighth Doctors are ultimately built from the same core. Impressive.
The Slave War — Una McCormack — I think McCormack wrote something for DWM a while ago, and she’s got an NSA under her belt now, but you’d think she’d been writing for the series for years based on this story. She absolutely nails Troughton, something nigh-on impossible for most Who authors, and tells a stunning early Hartnell-style historical using the early Troughton crew, managing to lay the groundwork along the way for Ben and Polly’s departure. Fantastic.
Goths and Robbers — Diane Duane — I’m fairly sure this is the first Doctor Who story to involve a search of the TARDIS for a jar of Newman’s Own pasta sauce. It’s also one of a very few to involve a trip to the post-Rome time of the Goths. No, it’s not the most complicated story in the world, but the regulars are perfectly-captured, making for an entertaining read.
Good Queen, Bad Queen, I Queen, You Queen — Terri Osborne — Another historical figure we haven’t seen before, this story of an encounter between Boudicca, the fourth Doctor, and Romana is most notable as a character piece about the Time Lady companion. Romana I is most interesting when learning the true nature of the Doctor’s travels, and this story captures her better than almost any TV story. I’m not sure I like the twist at the end, though — I see what Osborne was going for, but it didn’t seem necessary. Still, this is an excellent read.
The Price of Conviction — Richard C. White — Too simplistic. Hartnell is a caricature, Susan reads like an audience-identification figure, and the interactions between Martin Luther and his various antagonists are too broad and straightforward. Entertaining enough, but somewhat out of place with the rest of the anthology.
God Send Me Well to Keep — Linnea Dodson — Hilarious, above all else. Nyssa becomes embroiled in the court of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard is presented as a particularly impressive example of stupidity, the Doctor drinks an entire kitchen full of guards under the table, etc., etc. As with most of the stories in this anthology, the characterization sings, and it’s generally refreshing to read a Davison-era comedy. Fun and worthwhile.
Peaceable Kingdom — Steven Savile — The star of the show is Savile’s worldbuilding, specifically the Kortani culture, efficiently fleshed out over the story’s brief length. The Doctor’s final moral dilemma carries serious weight due to this accomplishment. The “preacher” is a fascinating character as well, so much so that his true motives, when revealed, are somewhat disappointing. This story is significantly “harder” science fiction than the others, but doesn’t suffer a minute for it.
Rock Star — Robert T. Jeschonek — Odd, in that it’s entertaining when the regulars are “offscreen” and irritating when they’re around. Genus is a fascinating character faced with a significant dilemma, but unfortunately the Doctor and Jo are recognizable as themselves in name only. Also, the last line is eye-rolling at best. The only misstep in the anthology.
On a Pedestal — Kathleen O. David — The historical elements function almost purely in caricature, but the true heart of this story is the Jamie/Victoria relationship, as each character has a preconception destroyed before their eyes. The Doctor is captured well, but he’s almost an incidental character in this one. Worthwhile.
Clean-up on Aisle Two — James Swallow — I’m surprised there aren’t more stories like this in the anthology, as this is exactly the sort of story the Doctor would tell: an ordinary man learning to become a better leader in a stressful time. I like Randall: he’s wrapped up in video games, yes, but he’s not an idiot, he just doesn’t know any better. And who better to drive this than McCoy?
The Spindle of Necessity — Allyn Gibson — We can now add the Socratic dialogue to the list of Doctor Who story styles. And the dialogue is by far the best part, with the arrogant sixth Doctor challenging preconceptions and deflating sacred cows. Not sure about the ending, though, in which the Doctor is actually shown to be wrong — but I showed it to a friend and fellow fan with a PhD in classics, and he liked it, so that works for me.
Overall, “The Quality of Leadership” is an excellent offering from Big Finish. The stories are fewer in number but longer than usual, and the authors bring interesting new perspectives to Doctor Who. This is the sort of thing I’ll miss from this range. Highly recommended.
SHORT TRIPS: THE QUALITY OF LEADERSHIP
While I don’t think the earlier anthology “Destination Prague” worked, I liked one thing about it: the attempt to bring in established authors new to Doctor Who. Sadly, they produced stories that seemed more appropriate for Star Trek than Doctor Who — and this feeling didn’t inspire confidence in “The Quality of Leadership,” the twenty-fourth Short Trips anthology from Big Finish. Keith R. A. DeCandido edited it, you see, and not only is he well-known for his Star Trek writing, he brought in a number of Trek tie-in writers new to Doctor Who. Fortunately, my expectations were overturned: this is an excellent anthology, with only one story falling below par.
From Little Acorns… / Epilogue — John S. Drew — Primarily a framing story. It’s not especially imaginative, but then it doesn’t have to be: it’s here to present the Doctor as the wise man/Merlin figure guiding a young king to have confidence in his ability as a leader. Furthermore, the epilogue underscores the legendary nature of the Doctor’s adventures. Solid stuff.
One Fateful Knight — Peter David — David finally writes a Doctor Who story, and it’s… a sequel to “Battlefield”?! None of this should work — it manages to retcon both Doctor Who and Arthurian legend — but it’s written in such an easy, elegant fashion that it dances off the page. The frozen Merlin explanation makes sense, and David makes it quite clear how the seventh and eighth Doctors are ultimately built from the same core. Impressive.
The Slave War — Una McCormack — I think McCormack wrote something for DWM a while ago, and she’s got an NSA under her belt now, but you’d think she’d been writing for the series for years based on this story. She absolutely nails Troughton, something nigh-on impossible for most Who authors, and tells a stunning early Hartnell-style historical using the early Troughton crew, managing to lay the groundwork along the way for Ben and Polly’s departure. Fantastic.
Goths and Robbers — Diane Duane — I’m fairly sure this is the first Doctor Who story to involve a search of the TARDIS for a jar of Newman’s Own pasta sauce. It’s also one of a very few to involve a trip to the post-Rome time of the Goths. No, it’s not the most complicated story in the world, but the regulars are perfectly-captured, making for an entertaining read.
Good Queen, Bad Queen, I Queen, You Queen — Terri Osborne — Another historical figure we haven’t seen before, this story of an encounter between Boudicca, the fourth Doctor, and Romana is most notable as a character piece about the Time Lady companion. Romana I is most interesting when learning the true nature of the Doctor’s travels, and this story captures her better than almost any TV story. I’m not sure I like the twist at the end, though — I see what Osborne was going for, but it didn’t seem necessary. Still, this is an excellent read.
The Price of Conviction — Richard C. White — Too simplistic. Hartnell is a caricature, Susan reads like an audience-identification figure, and the interactions between Martin Luther and his various antagonists are too broad and straightforward. Entertaining enough, but somewhat out of place with the rest of the anthology.
God Send Me Well to Keep — Linnea Dodson — Hilarious, above all else. Nyssa becomes embroiled in the court of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard is presented as a particularly impressive example of stupidity, the Doctor drinks an entire kitchen full of guards under the table, etc., etc. As with most of the stories in this anthology, the characterization sings, and it’s generally refreshing to read a Davison-era comedy. Fun and worthwhile.
Peaceable Kingdom — Steven Savile — The star of the show is Savile’s worldbuilding, specifically the Kortani culture, efficiently fleshed out over the story’s brief length. The Doctor’s final moral dilemma carries serious weight due to this accomplishment. The “preacher” is a fascinating character as well, so much so that his true motives, when revealed, are somewhat disappointing. This story is significantly “harder” science fiction than the others, but doesn’t suffer a minute for it.
Rock Star — Robert T. Jeschonek — Odd, in that it’s entertaining when the regulars are “offscreen” and irritating when they’re around. Genus is a fascinating character faced with a significant dilemma, but unfortunately the Doctor and Jo are recognizable as themselves in name only. Also, the last line is eye-rolling at best. The only misstep in the anthology.
On a Pedestal — Kathleen O. David — The historical elements function almost purely in caricature, but the true heart of this story is the Jamie/Victoria relationship, as each character has a preconception destroyed before their eyes. The Doctor is captured well, but he’s almost an incidental character in this one. Worthwhile.
Clean-up on Aisle Two — James Swallow — I’m surprised there aren’t more stories like this in the anthology, as this is exactly the sort of story the Doctor would tell: an ordinary man learning to become a better leader in a stressful time. I like Randall: he’s wrapped up in video games, yes, but he’s not an idiot, he just doesn’t know any better. And who better to drive this than McCoy?
The Spindle of Necessity — Allyn Gibson — We can now add the Socratic dialogue to the list of Doctor Who story styles. And the dialogue is by far the best part, with the arrogant sixth Doctor challenging preconceptions and deflating sacred cows. Not sure about the ending, though, in which the Doctor is actually shown to be wrong — but I showed it to a friend and fellow fan with a PhD in classics, and he liked it, so that works for me.
Overall, “The Quality of Leadership” is an excellent offering from Big Finish. The stories are fewer in number but longer than usual, and the authors bring interesting new perspectives to Doctor Who. This is the sort of thing I’ll miss from this range. Highly recommended.