The Glamour Chase

"It's only since hanging out with you, Doctor, that I've started looking for significance in the insignificant."

Writer: Gary Russell 

Format: Novel

Released: July 2010

Series: NSA 42

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

"Why are you hear? I mean - who are you, exactly?"

An archaeological dig in 1936 unearths relics of another time... And - as the Doctor, Amy and Rory realise - another place. Another planet. But if Enola Porter, noted adventuress, has really found evidence of an alien civilisation, how come she isn't famous? Why has Rory never heard of her? Added to that, since Amy's been travelling with him for a while now, why does now think the Doctor is from Mars?

As the ancient spaceship reactivates, the Doctor discovers that nothing and no one can be trusted. The things that seem most real could actually be literal fabrications - and very deadly indeed. Who can the Doctor believe when no one is what they seem? And how can he defeat an enemy who can bend matter itself to their will? For the Doctor, Amy and Rory - and all of humanity - the buried secrets of the past are very much a threat to the present...

Verdict 

The Glamour Chase was a really good novel and one I thoroughly enjoyed reading on the train home from university. I head home for three weeks now as part of the Easter break and I think the reason I read this novel so quickly was the excitement of not only returning to wonderful Wales for three weeks, but also because I had a pit stop before going back to my house and seeing my family for the first time in a month. There was the small matter of a football match to attend at my local team and it is fair to say that it was completely bonkers. But anyway, I love my football team so the thought of being back at our home stadium for a match for the first time in six weeks filled me with excitement and if I'm anticipating something then I tend to read a lot quicker. That actually occurred with my last novel of The King's Dragon thirteen days ago when I headed on the train to an away fixture and back. The novel itself started wonderfully with an unspecified previous incarnation of the Doctor showing a young girl a glimpse of the universe. I had in my head the image of the Second Doctor from some of the ambiguous detail but I think it's good we didn't get to know which Doctor it was. It didn't really matter but the idea was great. Since reading Nuclear Time, also on a train journey, I have grown to love this TARDIS trio of the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory. There's just something so perfect about them in the prose format and it really does work so well. I don't know what it is but I'm so used to just TARDIS pairings in the novels that I've read so far so I think having a trio, that also work so well together, is a breath of fresh air and I am really keen to push on with the novel series of this trio. There looks to be some fantastic stories ahead and I can't wait to push on. Prior to reading this book, I hadn't actually given any thought to the title and although the Glamour itself in this story was certainly different to that of the same name which made consecutive appearances in the recent Twelfth Doctor novels. There could be some similarities between the Glamours and there weren't really contradictions that said they couldn't be the same thing, but after researching I was intrigued to find out that Glamour had appeared in Ghosts of India, a novel that I do own but am yet to read. There was a lot of twists in this novel which was good but one thing I am not happy with in any novel is when characters are named as numbers. I don't care how it's explained, I just don't think it should happen. It gets confusing and frankly in my opinion it's very annoying. Characters should have names not numbers. It didn't take much away from the story which was strong but it definitely contributes to some of the dropped marks that this story got. As you can tell from the rating, I still very much enjoyed. The Doctor trying to make conversation with a sheep was hilarious and so brilliantly typical of the Eleventh Doctor. Matt Smith's superb Doctor was characterised excellently throughout, as he has been in the recent novels and I definitely think that his likeness is captured better in these novels than in the ongoing DWC comic strips. The setting of Shalford Heights was really good and the story was definitely suited to a village. It wouldn't have worked elsewhere so that was positive. The focal point around the mound where the Weave spaceship was buried was really good and I liked how Enola had an obsession with what was housed beneath it. She'd dedicated her whole life to it and she would actually see it in the end. Nancy Thirman was a humorous character in the library and I think that was because of Rory mainly. Speaking of which, I thought Rory was outstanding in this novel and for the first time probably outshone Amy as the companion, which is something very rare because I simply adore Amy. I love how feisty, courageous and sexy she is. All those qualities were present here but Rory was just brilliant. Oliver Marks was a fantastic character too and the description of the way he lost his fiancé, Daisy, was horrific. It's no wonder he was suffering from PTSD. The Tahnn obliterated everything he knew. The war between the Weave and the Tahnn was very good but it definitely seemed that the latter were superior due to the technological advancements they had. The wool aspect of the Weave was intriguing and their ability to take on any form wasn't dissimilar to the Zygons. The references to The Eleventh Doctor, The Vampires of Venice and Amy's Choice were very good and Amy's brilliance in referring to Mars as the Doctor's home was very clever. The Doctor's subtle references to the Ice Warriors were brilliant as well. The revelation that Nathaniel Porter was a hybrid between the two species at war was unexpected and things really took off from there! The end was full of action and surprises and I liked the Glamour being spilled and then cleverly returned to the ship which enabled it to take off. The way it took care of the Tahnn was very good and it provided a good part of the story. Overall, a really good novel that wasn't perfect but was certainly great. 

Rating: 8/10