Combat Rock

"Whores is whores. You always gotta pay."

Writer: Mick Lewis
Format: Novel
Released: July 2002
Series: PDA 55

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Victoria

Synopsis

When 400-year-old tribal mummies inexplicably return to life and begin murdering tourists on an exotic alien island, the Doctor's initial urge to investigate lands himself, Jamie and Victoria right in the middle of a jungle holocaust.

Ferocious cannibals and deadly beasts stalk the swamps, mummies lurk amongst the tress and the peaceful, civilised locals are reverting to long-forgotten head-hunting practices. Something is giving a clarion call to savagery, something that can only be found in the deepest darkness at the heart of the hostile rainforest.

It could well be the end of the river for the TARDIS companions as they find themselves involved in a horrific jungle conflict between desperate guerrilla tribesmen and merciless colonial forces. Cannibalism could be the least of their worries as evil stirs the pot and the dead reach for the living...

Verdict

Combat Rock was a rather interesting read shall we say. It was unlike anything I've ever read from the Doctor Who universe before and it was far from what I would expect from a Second Doctor tale. I was quite stunned and shocked at how adult-orientated this novel was and even then, it was still incredibly uncomfortable. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect words like whores and penis to be endlessly repeated in a Doctor Who story. I just couldn't believe what I was reading on times. There is no way this book would have received the go ahead nowadays, but it's incredible to think just how different times were even as recently as 2002. There was so much sexual referencing, but it wasn't anything to do with love or romance, it was purely sexual drive from a male perspective and a derisory attitude towards women. I think of myself as a feminist and one third of my MA History essays provided them with a voice that they hadn't got in historiography before, so I'm a big advocate of women but the way they were written here was just horrific. I might sound a little hypocritical here, but I did somewhat like the idea of placing the TARDIS somewhere incredibly uncomfortable. It did add to the realism and believability that the Doctor could end up taking his companions anywhere and encountering any kind of situation. Why wouldn't they come across cannibals and men who just lived through life whoring? That's a horrible word but I don't see any substitute. Having Victoria as the companion was an intriguing dynamic and I liked how horrified and grossed out by everything she was, but I had to draw the line on the way she was viewed by Pan and how she was sexually subjected at every turn. We didn't need a description of her thighs for goodness sake. Jamie on the other hand initially liked his new surroundings and his dreamy-eyed reaction to seeing half-naked women in the bars was exactly what I'd expect of him. That was well done and it added something to the relationship between him and Victoria which was nice. I thought the characterisation of the Second Doctor was nothing more, nor worse, than okay and his reaction to seeing heads on a spike when getting close to the Krallik, who I thought was a bit of a let down as the main enemy after a very lengthy build up. I thought the reveal of just what it was lacked impact as it adorns the cover and the revelation that the real Krallik was actually Kepennis just came a bit out of nowhere. I didn't like that much at all to be honest. One thing I have to say was that I couldn't understand why there was so much written about Pan and the Dogs. It went on for a long time in some instances and with the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria all split up from each other, I just felt that unnecessary. Victoria did eventually find her way to them but that was only towards the conclusion. I thought the ending itself was a little flat and just a bit messy sadly. One thing I was a big fan of in this adventure though was the alien forest setting. I thought that worked brilliantly and I like the uncertainty associated with it. Anything can happen and it isn't often used in Doctor Who so it was quite refreshing. Santi and Wima were also great characters, but I thought Wemus changed too drastically from when he was trying to get the Doctor and co to join the trip and then being on the trip itself. Clown and Drew were also rubbish I thought. Overall, an extraordinary read but not always for the right reasons.

Rating: 5/10