Timewyrm: Genesys

"Morality. The weakness that marks the fool from the genius."

Writer: John Peel

Format: Novel

Released: June 1991

Series: New Adventures 01

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

Mesopotamia – the cradle of civilisation. In the fertile crescent of land on the banks of the river Tigris and Euphrates, mankind is turning from hunter gatherer into farmer, and from farmer into city-dweller.

Gilgamesh, the first hero-king, rules the city of Uruk. An equally legendary figure arrives, in a police telephone box: the TARDIS has brought the Doctor and his companion Ace to witness the first steps of mankind's long progress to the stars. 

And from somewhere amid those distant points of light an evil sentience has tumbled. To her followers in the city of Kish she is know as Ishtar the goddess; to the Doctor's forebears on ancient Gallifrey she was a mythical terror – the Timewyrm.

Verdict

Timewyrm: Genesys was a brilliant book to kick off the Virgin New Adventures books! It's been a long time coming for me to get started on this range and whilst they can be somewhat difficult to come across at a reasonable price, I've managed to pick up the first seven books in the series so I couldn't wait to get started. I've read a lot about the reputation this series has so I was excited to get going and also to just have some sort of series and arc over a series of books, rather than individual adventures. It was clear that the events of this story took place shortly after Survival and I liked the continuity there. Starting with Ace having her memories lost was a nice subtle way to introduce Doctor Who to new readers who may have stumbled across the books and the Doctor had to describe everything about his life, the TARDIS, Time Lords etc from scratch. I wasn't a huge fan of the characterisation of the Seventh Doctor in this book as it didn't quite seem befitting of Sylvester McCoy's incarnation, and he was quite forward and brutish which didn't seem right with his personality. He's more quirky and mysterious on screen, but this felt more like the early days of the Sixth Doctor for me. Thankfully, it didn't impact on my enjoyment of the book and I look forward to that developing as the series goes on. On the other hand, I was a big fan of Ace and I liked how she continued to question her Professor on everything that he was doing wrong. He was considering the big picture, but he really should have kept her in the loop. The setting of Mesopotamia in 2700BC was magnificent and so unique. I really loved the politics there and the issues that were present between Kish and Uruk were really good. I loved Giglamesh as a character and the King and he was so brutish and exactly what I'd expect of the era. His attitude towards women was obviously questionable and it didn't seem right that the Doctor didn't have much to say about that or defend Ace, in fact he was pushing her to stay with him and venture off in search of Utnapishtim. I thought Ishtar made for an excellent villain and I really liked the prologue we got where we learned that she was far more than a mere human. She was forced to deceive her own people and fake a crashed landing to Earth where she had become a goddess. She loved her status and suited it well and the control she exerted with her Touch was terrific. I was a big fan of hers and the power she wielded. Her people believing the Time Lords a myth was great so the moment the Doctor got to reveal his species was terrific. He was enjoying his position and the challenge of Ishtar, and it's fair to say she wasn't easy to put down! We had the virus, then she was even shunned off into the Vortex, but still she came back. The warning from the Fourth Doctor from the time of The Invasion of Time was really good and I liked the irony of these events in turn creating Ishtar into the Timewyrm. It was a nice way to bring everything full circle for this book, whilst also kicking off the range and taking us into the next adventure. I liked that the Doctor still felt regret towards the deaths of Katarina, Sara and Adric and the former warning of the temple was a good way to start. Some of the characters in this book were superb with the likes of Ninani, Ta-Nin and Ennatum amongst the standouts. I really liked the female presence and status despite the era. Enkidu as the Neanderthal was a fun character too and the Doctor's reference to Ghost Light to assure him his species lived on was really nice. The excitement of the last few chapters was very good and I liked the tension and the task at hand being dealt with for the book, but not for the four-volume series. Overall, a great read!

Rating: 9/10