Combat Magicks

"Death is nothing but a meeting place."

Writer: Steve Cole
Format: Novel
Released: November 2018
Series: NSA 65

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

"Witch, you will rise from my throne, for we are due a reckoning."

The TARDIS arrives in Gaul in 451AD, on the eve of battle between the forces of Attila the Hun and those of the crumbling Roman Empire. But the Doctor soon finds that both sides are being helped by sinister, supernatural creatures.

While Graham makes allies in the Roman camp and Ryan is pursued by the enigmatic Legion of Smoke, the Doctor and Yasmin are pressed into service as Attila's personal sorcerers.

But the Doctor knows there is science behind the combat magicks - and that the true war will pit all humanity against a ruthless alien threat.

Verdict

Combat Magicks was an excellent novel and definitely the best read of the Thirteenth Doctor's run yet! It has been an impressive debut trio for Jodie Whittaker's incarnation in prose and I really liked how this one started. There was trouble in the TARDIS and it lead its team to Gaul in 451AD. I thought this was a brilliant setting and I really liked how Ryan didn't know a great deal about the period compared to Yaz and Graham. Each of the companions showed their merit and I thought Cole did a very good job of splitting the team up and showing each of the characters' benefits and what they bring to the story. The Doctor's relationship with Bittenmane was delightful and I never thought a horse would be so crucial to the plot and resolution of a Doctor Who adventure -  he was absolutely pivotal! The Doctor giving up her sonic screwdriver so that Atilla the Hun wouldn't kill him was a lovely moment. He found the Doctor's emotional weakness right away. I liked how well utilised all the different tribes were and I thought the battles and war between the Romans and the Huns was presented terrifically. I really did like how well the setting was portrayed and it was also a pivotal part of the story. The Tenctrana served as fascinating and brilliant enemies for the big and I liked how despite this adventure having a theme of witchery, it was far different to that of The Witchfinders due to the setting. The Tenctrana had been planning and meddling with history for a millennium leading up to this battle as they fed on the energies of the dead. They predicted plagues that they then caused and benefited from, but it wasn't just human life that they feasted on and that would bring their downfall. Considering when this book was written, I thought the characterisation of the Thirteenth Doctor was sublime throughout as Jodie Whittaker's likeness was so well captured on the page. There was the perfect amount of humour and laughter at her own jokes. I really liked that. Ryan's relationship with Liss was fantastic and I found the whole concept of the Legion of Smoke hugely intriguing. They were like a Roman version of UNIT and I loved how they knew about the Doctor and the TARDIS due its appearances in The Romans and The Fires of Pompeii. Word of the Doctor travelled and I just loved that. Yaz was clearly struggling at moments during this story and I also liked how Graham was finding it difficult at times which sold the scale of the adventure very well. His relationship with Vitus was decent and I was intrigued when he helped him escape. Attila and Aetius thwarting their fighting to join forces against the Tenctrana was commendable and the little banter that came from dialogue between the two was quite humorous. The Doctor's desire to prevent the fighting was good and I liked the difficulties of the fixed point in time of the battle. People had to die and Yaz was quite saddened, echoing sentiments of Rosa and Demons of the Punjab. The way the Tenctrana were defeated, just as all seemed lost, was quick but brilliant. The use of the healing gel as a poison against the alien sorcerers was good and just as they took Bittenmane, they had to flush him out of their energy pull. The Doctor pounced and saw that all of the good energy would also be deposited. Using the DNA manipulator she had acquired from the Legion of Smoke, she was able to convert the Tenctrana's harvesting and literally turn them into compost. She switched human life with flora and their millennial cycle would continue, just not how they desired. Overall, a superb novel!

Rating: 9/10