Millennium Shock

"If someone's trying to kill us we're really getting somewhere."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Novel

Released: May 1999

Series: Past Doctor Adventures 21

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Harry

Synopsis 

It's 1999 and the Millennium Bug is threatening to bring the world's computers to a standstill. Experts struggle to avert disaster, but a powerful force seems determined to work against them.

As the government realises the full implications of Year 2000, one company seems to promise all the technological answers... but what exactly are the methods and motives behind the operation?

What is the connection between the Millennium Bug, a raid on a Russian nuclear base, a break-in at a British defence contractor, and a pen that Sarah Jane Smith kept as a memento of a past adventure? The Doctor and Commander Harry Sullivan of MI5 must discover the truth before the world is plunged into a digital winter.

No longer just an expensive miscalculation, the Millennium Bug could also be the key to an alien takeover of Earth...

Verdict  

Millennium Shock was a great novel! I’m a huge fan of the Past Doctor Adventures range and having this as a sequel to the Missing Adventures book of System Shock was a terrific surprise. I only read that book a few days ago and it was only after reading that I realised there was a sequel so with the events fresh in my memory I thought it would be prudent to purchase on eBay and get blogging it. I was delighted with this and it was a fitting sequel consistent in quality which is always welcomed. At the same time, this one somehow felt both very different whilst being similar to its predecessor in the fact that we had the front of a big business this time around with Silver Bullet. However, this adventure was more about the potential return of Voractyll rather than having this augmented AI creature as the villain. That was good because we already knew the threat it carried so the Doctor was adamant that it couldn’t return. I really enjoyed the continuity between the two books, especially with the sequel’s first page being a repeat of the first book’s final page. That was really good stuff as we popped in on Harry and Sarah Jane meeting up after the whole Voractyll incident. Sarah Jane had departed as companion now for the Fourth Doctor, and it was a rare chance to see him travelling solo which was great. I loved having him reunited with Harry and he feels more mature now with his position at MI5. He’s not so clumsy and is a bit more confident which made him a fine companion for the novel. I think it was a good move to have a different branch of Voracians featured here whilst the intended software theme was rather different here. This time around we were concerned with the millennium bug which is a terrific concept. The explanation coming from an article written by Sarah Jane was a lovely touch and it’s such a gripping idea because the potential scale of things going wrong is extraordinary! It’s also fun to think that this book was released in 1999 prior to the millennium actually turning so it captured the craze of Y2K very nicely. The way this story captured contemporary politics was terrific in highlighting the Soviet threat and fears. The idea of their technology being even more susceptible to the millennium bug was amusing but it would only highlight the lack of capabilities of Prime Minister Brooks. The moment where he revealed that he’d actually been involved in the millennium bug fixes being reversed and the SB005 chip ensuring that the turn of the millennium would mark disaster was tremendous. He wanted to create a situation where martial law was warranted with the apparent coup attempt from Randall, but revealed all when threatened with a Russian missile and the audacity of him thinking that the Soviet countdown would be in English. That was a stellar moment! I thought Andi Cave was a disturbingly good character although her demise was rather brutal. The description of the amalgamation between flesh and robotic was gruesome with the hanging of the former. I find the whole concept behind the Voracians intriguing as they seek to add flesh components, although it was good to see them convert Dave Hedges to their cause as well. The role of Krimkov in the political tension was great too and Attwood revealing himself as being in league with the Voracians was good stuff. Sylvia was a lovely character as being in Harry’s employ with her fate in hospital being a pivotal moment in the story. Harry felt awful that she’d ended up there and couldn’t help but blame himself, but it was nice that the Doctor was there to try and ensure that he didn’t do that. He couldn’t be to blame. Constantly visiting her in hospital was lovely though. I thought the emergence of Voractyll was paced very well and the conclusion came with strong excitement as the snake came back to life ready to infiltrate the millennium bug SB005 chips to takeover the entire world with the chip being in literally any electronic appliance. The Doctor had ensured that wouldn’t happen though as it would actually emulate the millennium bug but it in the opposite way so there was no threat after all. The description of Voractyll within the system being angered by that was terrific though. Mike Foley was another good complimentary character as part of the CIA to help flesh out the PM. As a whole, I thought the story was very good and a really interesting exploration of a fun craze that sadly I wasn’t old enough to fully experience. Imagine social media at a time like that! Overall though, a strong read. 

Rating: 8/10