The Eyeless

"Living in the shadows is better than dying in the light."

Writer: Lance Parkin

Format: Novel

Released: December 2008

Series: NSA 30

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

At the heart of the ruined city of Arcopolis is the Fortress. It's a brutal structure placed here by one of the sides in a devastating intergalactic war that's long ended. Fifteen years ago, the entire population of the planet was killed in an instant by the weapon housed deep in the heart of the Fortress. Now only the ghosts remain.

The Doctor arrives, and determines to fight his way past the Fortress's automatic defences and put the weapon beyond use. But he soon discovers he's not the only person in Arcopolis. What is the true nature of the weapon? Is the planet really haunted? Who are the Eyeless? And what will happen if they get to the weapon before the Doctor?

The Doctor has a fight on his hands. And this time he's all on his own.

Verdict

The Eyeless was a decent novel to kick off my reading of the Tenth Doctor's solo novel run! I thought this one started really well and whilst it perhaps didn't quite live up to its beginning, it was still a solid read overall. I thought the use of the Tenth Doctor travelling solo following Journey's End was very good and it was clear throughout that he was missing companionship. That really was evident throughout the book and I do think this story would have worked better if the Doctor had someone travelling with him. Of course, this is far from being the first solo adventure for a Doctor but it was noticeable here more so than other stories which was intriguing. I loved the setting of Arcopolis and learning of its past was terrific as I really did like the predicament that the current society was in. The aftermath of a weapon being used on the planet to literally wipe everything out in an instant was quite something and the fact that there were around 37 people left to repopulate the planet fifteen years on was excellent. The opinions on the planet differing for males and females based on the ability to reproduce was extraordinary and the Doctor's reaction to that was great. I was a big fan of Alsa in what was probably the closest character to a companion role and her psychotic nature was superb. Her relationship with the Doctor was brilliant and I really liked how she was challenging him whist needing his abilities. The whole presence of the Fortress was brilliant and the booming nature of it overpowering the skyline of Arcopolis was very impressive. Its role in the events of fifteen years previously was good and it also being the home of the reason why the Doctor was on the planet was great. His efforts to come and destroy a weapon were brilliant and I liked that he knew of its significance and that it couldn't end up in anyone's hands other than his. I thought the mystery behind the Fortress was really good and I actually preferred the novel before the Eyeless were actually introduced. I wasn't a massive fan of them despite them being the titular characters. I did enjoy their hive-mind nature and the description of them being glass men was magnificent, but they didn't really live up to being the centre of attention for the book in my opinion. The way they read minds telepathically was good and I enjoyed that they were on the planet to take the TARDIS rather than the weapon, but their equations soon altered once they found out what else was in play. That was an impressive dynamic that worked well, but other than their relationship with Alsa I didn't think they offered much. There was too much going on with them to follow clearly which was a bit of a shame. There was a huge chunk of action around the two-thirds mark of the book that probably went on a bit too long for the format. I rarely find that action works well for long periods in novels, at least for my preferences. One element I did very much enjoy was the Doctor's take on the Welsh language and how he hadn't bothered with that, as well as having a book translating Gallifreyan to Cymraeg! I wonder who wrote that? Although, the continuity here didn't exactly fit with the Ninth Doctor's translations in Boom Town. Speaking of the Ninth Doctor, the implication here that this incarnation travelled for an extended period before Rose on his lonesome was interesting and works well with the Big Finish audios featuring him. The use of the ghosts in the book was very good although I wasn't a huge fan of them being blast shadows. That didn't seem to work for me but I did appreciate their role in the plot as a whole. The ending with the weapon getting used made for a good chapter cliffhanger but I'd have liked some more explanation as to why the Doctor, Alsa and Dela surviving. The final chapter showing the Doctor accidentally dropping Alsa off twenty years in the future once a semblance of normality was restored to Arcopolis was a nice touch though. Overall, a decent read!

Rating: 7/10