The Price of Paradise

"These people saw the planet as a goddess."

Writer: Colin Brake

Format: Novel

Released: September 2006

Series: NSA 12

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

Laylora – the Paradise Planet. A world of breath-taking beauty, where the peace-loving inhabitants live in harmony with their environment. Or do they? The Doctor and Rose arrive to find that the once perfect eco-system is showing signs of failing. The Paradise Planet has become a death trap as terrifying creatures from ancient legends appear and stalk the land.

Is there a connection between the human explorers who have crash-landed and the savage monsters? And what price might one human have to pay to save the only home he has ever known?

The Doctor and Rose are in a race against time to find a cure for a sick planet.

Verdict

The Price of Paradise was an excellent New Series Adventure novel! At long last I have completed the original novel run for Rose as companion and it only came nineteen years after the book was released. I thought this was excellent from start to finish and whilst absolutely fitting into the feeling and era of Series 2 – which is a huge bonus – this felt so unique and different with the alien planet setting. It's actually staggering to think how little Rose actually travels on screen away from Earth and even if she does, it's very rarely on an alien planet! That's all thrown out of the window here and the Paradise Planet of Laylora really is spectacular. I was a massive fan of this setting and that was before we learned more about it and its reliance on equilibrium. The idea of sentient planet isn't a new one but this one did have a different feel to the likes of Planet of Evil and I think that was because of the need for balance. The analogy to the internal makeup of a human was great too when describing the Witiku as almost the planet's antibodies. The truth behind them in being the missing people was really good and Rose accidentally stumbling upon a method to return them to their normal selves was quite amusing. When in danger, throw a cuppa over the enemy! I actually listened to the Power of Three podcast episode focused on this novel the same as I completed the book which was fascinating and whilst I'm unaware of the Star Trek; New Generation influence because I haven't watched a second of it, it's intriguing that another sci-fi franchise is where inspiration came from. I liked the dynamic of the story with the three pillars of the local inhabitants, the TARDIS arriving, but then also the crashing of the Humphrey Bogart. The crew that made up the travelling party of that ship were fantastic but the obvious highlight has to be Professor Shulough. Her emotional journey over the course of the novel was really nice to read because she starts off so uptight and not giving much away to showing compassion by the end. It's really good to see her desire to have found Laylora but she is clearly hurt by some past trauma. We learn that this is the death of her parents at a young age which is completely understandable and her connection to Guillan that came was not wholly unsurprising. I must admit I thought she was actually going to turn out to be Rez's birth mother but it finishes nicely with her taking on the role as his guardian in order to take him away and restore Laylora's balance. I like that Guillan realised the effect their presence was having on the planet and left, but the mythical status of the Paradise Planet being found true was wonderful. I really liked the deep-rooted history in finding it. The pace of the novel was terrific and I was a big fan of the longer chapters. I think they actually really help with flow as you're not often stopping and I was just engrossed. It was a joy to read. I thought the earthquake that came towards the conclusion of the book was a fantastic inclusion as just when you thought things were wrapping up, a natural disaster like that came and really shook things up! Rez knowing that he was the gradual cause of all of the bad weather and phenomena that was new to Laylora over the last fifteen years was powerful stuff because there would only be one way to restore paradise. He would have to leave the only home he had known. I thought finishing with Shulough wanting to help him find his parents as a new quest was a nice touch and gave her a rare smile. The death of Jae Collins was a shocking moment I need to mention also as I didn't quite see that coming. Overall though, a magnificent read that was full of superb world building and a fascinating concept at its heart. Perfectly of its era.

Rating: 9/10