The Indestructible Man

"Internal strife and divisions had been almost entirely overcome, as had the pernicious superstition of religion."

Writer: Simon Messingham
Format: Novel
Released: November 2004
Series: PDA 69

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

The Myloki. Mysterious aliens from beyond Space and Time.

Their target: EARTH.

The human defenders of PRISM are enmeshed in a doomed interstellar war against an unknowable invader armed with the power to possess, duplicate and destroy from within.

Only one man stands in their way. A man destiny has made indestructible.

Against all odds the legendary Indestructible Man saves the Earth but victory comes at the highest price. The world economy collapses, governments crumble and PRISM itself is torn apart by a best-selling expose.

AD2096; PRISM has gone underground, becoming the clandestine SILOET headed by new commander Hal Bishop.

Bishop receives an urgent summons to his headquarters. An infiltrator has been unmasked and captured in the heart of SILOET itself. Fatally wounded, the infiltrator makes a miraculous recovery. It appears he is indestuctible.

The implications are terrifying.

The Myloki may just have returned. And who is left to stop them? 

Verdict

The Indestructible Man was a very good novel and after a break of over six months I am delighted to have read a feature-length Doctor Who novel! It really does feel like forever since I blogged Dead of Winter but finally I am able to be back with a book and although I did read Doctor Who and the Nightmare of Eden last week, there's nothing quite like a full on novel. It was eventful, intriguing and full of mystery and really did challenge each of the main characters in very different ways. We had the Doctor nearly suffering a regeneration, Jamie mentally broken down and Zoe pushed to her limit as she watched the man she agreed to marry shot before her very eyes before being forced to help the man who did the killing. The 2096 setting was very interesting and I am quite surprised at Simon Messingham's depiction of planet Earth in the late 21st century. Will Earth really be as this book lays out? I guess only time will tell. One thing I do hope happens though is what is said in my quote for this story and that is that religion is realised as being mere superstition. Earth becoming secular would be a dream. I liked how this story followed on from a war thirty years previous that the Doctor had no involvement in and I also loved the abundance of past story references. The Doctor's reputation was huge in this novel and his connection in the events of The Tenth Planet, The War Machines, The Invasion and The Claws of Axos getting mentioned was fantastic. I also loved the reference to Spearhead From Space, which is of course later in the Doctor's timeline than this story takes place, when it came to regeneration. I liked that this book should have served as the Second Doctor's regeneration story but thanks to some Myloki intervention in the Doctor's DNA, he was spared a change of appearance, something he was rather surprised about. I thought the characterisation of Patrick Troughton's second incarnation was pretty good throughout the book and I did like that his friendship with Jamie was really highlighted. Zoe seemed a little separate from events at times which in itself was interesting but she was brilliant in her own technological way. There was more than one reference to The Wheel in Space too which was great. The Doctor mentioning the events of An Unearthly Child, The Gunfighters and The Web Planet when asked about his former life was superb and I also enjoyed the mentions of The Macra Terror, The Abominable Snowmen and The Moonbase. Bishop was a good character and I did like how stubborn he was when it came to dealing with the war against the Myloki and the issue the Indestructible Man provided in being the key to the solution. Captain Matthews reforming after being obliterated to dust was quite reminiscent of Captain Jack's survival following his explosion in Children of Earth: Day One. He really was indestructible. He was half human and half Myloki but had been created all at the same time. A perfect copy. Too perfect. The destruction of Taylor earlier on in the story had us believe that Matthews was destroyed but that wasn't the case. The Doctor working out just why the Myloki had returned and what they were was good to see and the gradual reveals worked well. I liked the inclusion of extracts from Verdana's book throughout the first half of the novel and the switch in setting to Barbados halfway through was good. Of course, a lot of the story also took place on SKYHOME which played a big part in the story's events. Our author did enjoy his acronyms and capital letters with PRISM also playing a crucial role. I was surprised every letter of Global Response wasn't mentioned as a capital. Alex Storm was a good character and his relationship with the Doctor was very cagey which made for good reading. I was quite shocked at some of Jamie's actions in the novel but that just emphasised the emotional trauma he had gone through in rightfully believing the Doctor had survived what was described as a graphic gunshot. The ending was quite sombre given the build but it did work quite well despite it being calmer than expected. The war that the human race didn't even know about had returned and was settled without them knowing about it again. The Indestructible Man entered another realm and to the Doctor's envy would be at one with himself. Overall though, a very good novel!

Rating: 8/10