Timewyrm: Apocalypse

"If everything is perfect then there's no need to progress."

Writer: Nigel Robinson

Format: Novel

Released: October 1991

Series: New Adventures 03

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

The end of the Universe. The end of everything.

The TARDIS has tracked the Timewyrm to the edge of the Universe and the end of time – to the lush planet Kirith, a paradise inhabited by a physically perfect race.

Ace is not impressed. Kirith has all the appeal of a wet weekend in Margate, and its inhabitants look like third-rate Aussie soap stars.

The Doctor is troubled, too: if the Timewyrm is here, why can't he find her? Why have the elite Panjistri lied consistently to the Kirithons they govern? And is it possible that the catastrophe that he feels impending is the result of his own past actions?

Verdict

Timewyrm: Apocalypse was an excellent novel to continue the New Adventures and Timewyrm series! It was a little shorter than the first two books comprising the story arc but that allowed for a good pace and it didn't actually feel that much shorter. The setting of Kirith was really unique and I really enjoyed the experimental society of its people. There was a lot going on here and whilst I thought the initial opening chapter establishing the planet and its people, with the hierarchy concerning the Panjistri, was a little bit too much of an info-dump, what followed was brilliant as we learned more gradually of what life was like on the planet. Establishing the timeframe the story was based was also brilliant and using a quote from the Logopolis novelisation to reveal that we were at the end of the universe where it had past its expiry date was fantastic. I thought the potential there was great and I enjoyed how that meant a lot of time had passed for the Timewyrm since the last encounter. I liked the presence of the Timewyrm throughout the book as we read some brief thoughts at the start of most chapters, but she only came into prominence towards the end where she combined with the Great Matriarch. That woman made for a good villain and I liked how despite the organisation she had created with the likes of Fetch as her devoted assistant and the Panjistri, she was very selfish and everything was centred to her own end goal. She was always influenced by the Timewyrm, and that influence also captured the Doctor. The little flashbacks and memories from the Doctor harking back to the Second Doctor era was really intriguing and I enjoyed the brief cameos of the likes of Ben and Polly, and Jamie and Zoe, with Victoria also remembered. The concept of the Timewyrm hiding in the Doctor's past due its links with the TARDIS was excellent and I loved that it picked a time where the Doctor was most vulnerable following his first regeneration. I'm not entirely sure how Lilith fitted in with The Power of the Daleks, but her ending up as the Great Matriarch made for a good story and some fun continuity. Ace had a really strong story, probably her best of the New Adventures so far, and she developed a really strong relationship with Raphael. She had the advances of a number of men on the planet because of her unique look among a physically perfect society, and her comment to one about getting started without her was perfect for Ace. The story surrounding Darien's disappearance and the memory wipe was really intriguing and played out well. I thought the Homunculus was quite the contraption and the idea of the Panjistri trying to create the perfect being with their God machine to save the universe was quite spectacular. Their needing Ace and her aggression as the final component was fun and it was a good use of her different qualities as companion. Miril was a good character as well as a senior statesman and father figure to Raphael, and his death was a very shocking moment! But they had to move on quickly. The attack from the giant creature was full of action and I thought there was a good build to the action of the climax. I thought it was a clever twist to have Raphael take over the God machine and quickly separate the Great Matriarch and the Timewyrm at the time of success, after five thousand years of waiting, was denied. Ace realising that his lack of wanting to kill, as evidenced by his distraught at shooting the Homunculus to save Ace, showed that the Timewyrm was merely banished and not killed which sets up the next book very nicely! Overall, a great read!

Rating: 9/10