Beautiful Chaos

"Mandragora swallows the skies, and smiles down upon you all."

Writer: Gary Russell
Format: Novel
Released: December 2008
Series: NSA 29

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna

Synopsis 

Wilfred Mott is very unhappy; his granddaughter, Donna, is back home, catching up with family and gossiping about her journeys, and he has just discovered a new star and had it named after him. He takes the Tenth Doctor with him to the naming ceremony. But the Doctor soon discovers something else new, and worryingly bright, in the heavens – something that is heading for Earth. It's an ancient force from the Dark Times. And it is very, very angry...

Verdict

Beautiful Chaos was an outstanding novel! I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish and even though the run of the Tenth Doctor and Donna in New Series Adventures was a short one, this was definitely the standout of the bunch! I thought everything about this one was just perfect to be honest. It captured the feel of Series 4 so brilliantly well and worked in every way in encompassing Donna's family life and the difficulty she has had balancing that with her journeys in the TARDIS. Given that there was a reference to Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, this adventure took place quite a way into Donna's time journeying in the TARDIS and that was written really well as it was clear she was comfortable with life alongside the Doctor. There were continuous references to the likes of The Runaway Bride, Partners in Crime and The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky which was good and I enjoyed how they were often used to highlight Sylvia's continued dislike of the Doctor being in Donna's life. The same could not be said for Wilf who was just wonderful and whilst he fully encouraged Donna to go off with the Doctor, I thought it was lovely how he made sure the Doctor knew that if anything were to happen to his granddaughter then there would be hell to pay. The whole plot of the book being a sequel to The Masque of Mandragora was outstanding and I really enjoyed how the motive of the Helix here was absolutely revenge. But it was revenge with a purpose and instead of just defeating or killing the Doctor, it wanted his body which I thought was a neat distinction. Revenge with a purpose is always fantastic and it worked well here. The references to that aforementioned Fourth Doctor serial were most welcomed and I liked how they provided comparison between the fifteenth century of that story and bringing the Mandragora into the 21st century here. Its ability to use technology and benefit from it was superb and I was absolutely kicking myself when the Doctor pointed that Dara Morgan was an anagram of said enemy! How could I possibly have missed that? Some of the characters in this one were really good, with Caitlin being quite a lot of fun as the assistant to Madam Delphi. The way she just shot Cal dead towards the end after the Doctor made him realise who he used to be before the Helix was incredible. So sudden! Delphi actually being revealed as an artificial intelligence of sorts was unexpected but a terrific twist and that made the authority she had shown previously all the more impressive. The probable highlight of the novel was actually the relationship between Wilf and Netty. Her suffering with Alzheimers was a little uncomfortable to read and I can't imagine what it must be like to endure that disease, but she was just wonderful and I loved how she was with Wilf and how happy they made each other. Sylvia had a strong showing too as she was clearly going through a lot on the anniversary of her husband's death. With Donna missing without a word so often and for so long, she was enduring a tough time. The Doctor and Donna were magnificent together and this was actually a rare occasion where I thoroughly enjoyed the London setting. Everyone being inundated by the technology announcements of MorganTech was very good and the speed at which Delphi through the Helix was able to change the files for them to acquire a number of companies was excellent. I thought the way the book was bookended by events post-Journeys End was quite harrowing and showed just how heartbreaking Donna's end as a companion really was. Getting the letter Donna had sent before that happened to her through Lukas was incredibly sad and poignant. She really was a marvellous companion and I loved that she got to showcase that here. I thought the format of the book was very good in that it didn't really have chapters, and was just split into four main segments to cover a four-day period. That was really fun and different and definitely worked for me. The way the Doctor used Netty's condition to defeat the Mandragora was quite spectacular and the way he'd goaded the Helix into taking her form was just superb. Seeing the Helix literally suffering from Alzheimer's and forgetting all about its purpose and nature was outstanding. I thought that was fantastic and made Netty a real hero, followed by a stark reminder of the disease and how the Mandragora had only given her a temporary reprieve. Another element of the adventure I enjoyed was how The Mark of Mandragora was referenced and explained as just being a little fraction of the Helix, but we got the whole thing here! Overall, a sublime novel.

Rating: 10/10