Mission: Impractical

"People think it's easy being a diabolical mastermind."

Writer: David A. McIntee

Format: Novel

Released: June 1998

Series: PDA 12

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis

When daring criminal Jack Chance masterminds the heist of a precious national treasure from the planet Veltroch, it is the first step in a chain of events that could lead to the destruction of two civilisations...

Pursued by bounty hunters, the Doctor and his shapeshifting companion Frobisher run into old acquaintances Glitz and Dibber – notorious rogues who have become involved in something big: a covert government agency on Vandor Prime is forcing the pair to turn their criminal talents to its own ends.

The Doctor and Frobisher are soon drawn into the mysterious scheme themselves – but what game is truly being played by the authorities? How is the group of Ogron raiders involved? And who is so desperate to see the Doctor dead?

Caught in a web of deceit and pursued by ruthless killers, the Doctor's mission – should he decide to accept it – is to join Glitz's gang and pull off the crime of the century. And failure will result in an interstellar war costing the lives of millions...

Verdict

Mission: Impractical was a somewhat average novel unfortunately. This was not one my favourite books and comfortably goes down as my least favourite Sixth Doctor book that I have read so far in my years of blogging. I was intrigued by what was going to happen with the pairing of the Sixth Doctor and Frobisher in the unusual format of prose as opposed to comic strip and while I like the idea of combining mediums and having this adventure set between two DWM comic stories, I'm not really sure what Frobisher offered. The author made reference in his opening notes about the work that went in to getting Frobisher and honestly it's harsh to say but I don't think it was required. He didn't really offer a huge amount which was a shame as there's so much potential with his character and shapeshifting abilities. I felt a little sorry for any readers who hadn't read any DWM comic strips as I don't think there was a good amount of information or backstory regarding Frobisher and how he came to be traveling with the Doctor. It wasn't mentioned that he was a Whifferdill until well over 200 pages in! I think this would have worked better with the Doctor travelling solo, especially when we had Glitz and Dibber making fun comebacks. They were great characters once again here and I really enjoyed the references and continuation from The Trial of a Time Lord for them and their dealings with the Master. The discussion about Mel was an intriguing point and I liked how it was said by the Doctor that he hadn't actually met her yet. It was a rare sidestep of a story taking place between the past and the future evidences of that aforementioned Season 23 story. The relationship between the Doctor and Glitz was fun and I loved how there was a long period where Glitz thought he had been poisoned and the Doctor was keeping that trail of thought current even though he'd already slipped him the antidote. I thought the revelation of that for Glitz was wasted though and should have been a much bigger moment! The premise at the heart of the story was actually quite simple with the Doctor reassembling the gang that stole a relic to go and steal it back and return it to its rightful owners. I don't understand why everything got so complicated and in the end I felt that there were just far too many characters and too much going on. There wasn't enough room to get to fully know characters like Liang and Chat or explore the relationship between Mandell and Kara, something that was very powerful at the end but didn't get the build it deserved. Jack Chance was a fun character and I liked how he was the last to be convinced to join the mission that very much was impractical. Karthakh and Sha'ol were very good villains in wanting to fulfil their contract and kill the Doctor and the dynamic of them being one of each species that war loomed between was fantastic. I liked how they were loyal to their contract which made them pretty unique amongst criminals! The Ogrons are always fun and they did have their moments in this book but again I just think they were a bit overkill. They weren't needed and they didn't have the role they deserved. The song that they sung was tremendous though! As a whole, the heart of the story was simple and pretty good but I felt that it got overcomplicated by too many characters. It had its moments, but as a whole I can't help but feel slightly disappointed by the book despite its good qualities.

Rating: 6/10