Harry Sullivan's War

"He hoped that nobody would find him."

Writer: Ian Marter

Format: Novel

Released: November 1986

Series: Target: The Companions of Doctor Who 02

Featuring: Harry, Sarah Jane, Brigadier

Synopsis

It is ten years since Harry Sullivan left UNIT and gave up his travels in the TARDIS with the Doctor and Sarah.

Since then he has been engaged in top secret work, developing antidotes to nerve toxins. But when he is transferred to Yarra in the Hebrides to work on weapons research, he has severe misgivings. For one thing, it goes against much of what he believes in. For another, someone is out to kill Harry Sullivan.

Who wants Harry safely out of the way? What significance does a painting by Van Gogh have in the affair? And can Harry's old friend, the Brigadier, really be involved in a scheme which threatens the security of the Western World?

Verdict

Harry Sullivan's War was a great little read! I didn’t know what to expect from this book but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a unique little gem of a story really and these Companion pieces in the Target range are a welcomed addition. It’s quite mad that they serve as the first original Doctor Who books and going with Harry and Turlough as the two companions may have been a questionable decision. It really is a shame they didn’t continue with any further original books at this point, but it was a more than pleasant read. Harry wouldn’t have been my first choice for a companion piece but with Ian Marter as the author you couldn’t be better placed. If anyone would know the character then it would certainly be the actor who played him! Things have moved on quite a bit for Harry since we last saw him in The Android Invasion and it was a decade on since he left UNIT. The continuity with Mawdryn Undead was welcomed when it came to the Brigadier’s involvement in the story and it was lovely to reunite the pair. It’s a shame it didn’t last for too long but the idea of Harry suspecting the Brigadier as being involved in the plot conspiracy was excellent. He couldn’t believe his old UNIT chum was involved. One of my favourite moments in the story was when Sarah Jane came to visit Harry in jail. That was a touching moment and hearing him call her old girl was tremendous. They were a wonderful companion pairing so having them back together after their travels in the TARDIS was a very nice moment. The life of Harry was fun to explore and just seeing what he was up to after moving on from UNIT was brilliant. His involvement with MI5 and their reaction to him name-dropping Davros was fantastically done. I think this story was rather unique as it felt like it could easily have just been a drama you would see on BBC or ITV. There wasn’t any major science fiction and the focus being on a deadly toxin that Harry had been experimenting on and had antidotes to was very good. It all felt very real world and I think that’s what made it relatable. I thought Samantha was a magnificent character and the way she was able to play and lure Harry in was great. She took advantage of him and he still showed concern for her. Harry having to leave her after a near fatal car incident was a powerful moment where he had to tackle with the realisation that she couldn’t be helped and he had to save himself. There really were no alternatives. The explanation to her miraculous recovery being that she actually had a twin in the form of Natasha. I’m not usually a huge fan of when that happens, but I thought it worked well here and that’s mostly because of Harry’s reaction. The way he disobeyed orders to leave the UK and use grid references was good and he would eventually do well to bring about the downfall of Brodsky and Grant. It tied things up nicely. The entire organisation of the EARACHES was excellent but crikey that name is just outrageously ridiculous. The connection with the infamous Van Gogh painting and it popping up everywhere was superb though. Overall, a really good book and I’d like to think that Harry would end up with Esther after all. They seem made for each other. A lovely read!

Rating: 8/10