Revenge of the Judoon

"You've got the King, the castle, and the Judoon. What harm can impossible do you on my own?"

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: February 2008

Series: Quick Reads 03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Martha to Balmoral in 1902. Here they meet Captain Harry Carruthers - friend of the new king, Edward VII. Together they head for the castle to see the king - only to find that Balmoral Castle is gone, leaving just a hole in the ground. The Doctor realises it is the work of the Judoon - race of ruthless space police. 

While Martha and Carruthers seek answers in London, the Doctor finds himself in what should be the most deserted place on Earth - and he is not alone.

With help from Arthur Conan Doyle, the Doctor and his friends discover a ploy to take over the world. With time running out, who will fall victim to the revenge of the Judoon?

Verdict 

Revenge of the Judoon was a brilliant novel by the master of prose Who! Terrance Dicks really is the man when it comes to writing novelised Doctor Who, whether it's based on TV stories like the brilliant Doctor Who and the Deadly Assasssin or original works like the acclaimed Players, Dicks knows what he's doing. Like my read of Made of Steel last week, he knows how to pace a book expertly even in the Quick Read genre, as was again the case here. I loved this story very much with a fantastic use of pseudo-history. We had 1902 as the setting during the first year of King Edward VII's reign which was interesting I thought as I would have thought a more historically significant time period would have been chosen. Even the Doctor says that the time is pretty uneventful with the Boer War at its climax and World War One some way away yet. However, an uneventful time period in regards to history was perfect for this novel! That was the one the Judoon arrived and made things very significant! The description of it raining upwards was absolutely brilliant I thought with a wonderful throwback to Smith and Jones, a story that was referenced in quite some detail which was good. Carruthers was an excellent character in this story I must say. I really enjoyed how easy he got along with the Doctor and Martha after the latter prevented him from shooting a stag on their meeting. Harry seemingly being loyal but not too keen on working with the King was interesting and I think it's a good thing that despite his role being aide to the King, we didn't see a great deal of them together. The position was just used effectively which was good. Having a writer prominently associated with Classic novels, predominantly the Target range (a range I was extremely lucky enough to pick up 12 different copies, including the novels based on The Seeds of Death, The Keeper of Traken and Ghost Light, for a measly £12 yesterday!), is excellent because that can mean some wonderful references to past stories from the Classic series, something that doesn't happen as often as it should in the revived series. I absolutely loved the references regarding the master plan of Challoner and linking it with The Daleks' Master Plan! He was almost mocking his arch rivals by referring to them having a master plan every week, each one of course was defeated. The early adventure references didn't stop there though as Marco Polo, The Reign of Terror and The Abominable Snowmen were all beautifully included. However, the revived series references also had their fair share with Tooth and Claw expectedly referenced in excellent fashion. The Judoon abducting the castle was intriguing and I liked how they were seen as enemies for the most part during this novel, being tricked by the Cosmic Peacemakers of course. That's a group name I really was fond of! Challoner was interesting and I liked how he was trying to take over the world by extending the British Empire to a global scale. The references to the relations across the many royal families was fantastic! Some great historical references in this story which I loved! The climax was done very well with the Doctor revealing to the Judoon that they had been tricked and then the battle of the castle occurred! The description of the battle was done magnificently! Martha being threatened at the end added tension but the Judoon Captain showed no mercy to Challoner and execution was carried out. Overall, a fantastic novel with wonderful references, a brilliant plot and the return of a brilliant alien race! 

Rating: 9/10