The Cradle

"You feel what it wants you to feel."

Writer: Tasha Suri

Format: Novel

Released: October 2023

Series: 60th Anniversary 02

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

It is London, 1978, and tensions are high. Seema and her family are struggling, but she has learnt to keep her head down, not create trouble.

That is until she and her two friends, Terrance and Inderjit, decide to join an anti-National Front protest in the East End. 

And when trouble does inevitably find them, the friends are saved by the appearance of a mysterious, seemingly broken-down bus.

But inside this bus it is like nothing any of them have ever seen. It is a journey through the most wonderful landscapes, where visions of hopes and dreams envelop the lost group. 

Who – or what – is this strange place? The tall, grumpy man with white hair might know the answers, but then he seems jus as scared as they are...

Verdict

The Cradle was a bit of an average read as I continue my way through The Decades Collection to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of Doctor Who! It's going to take a lot to live up to the standard set by Imaginary Friends and I felt this one was almost a bit like a take it or leave it. It wasn't too exciting and didn't really feel much of a celebratory tale for the 1970s. It felt wrong that this decade was represented by the Twelfth Doctor and throughout much of the book I didn't feel the Doctor was necessary. That's probably why his presence was dwindling at best which was a shame. I'm never a huge fan of books that take a long time to introduce the lead characters as whilst it is important to establish the setting and characters, it's also worth remembering what we came for. Seema was a decent little character and she worked well as the narrator with the book annoyingly being in the first person! She had a lot going on in her life after losing her dad in a racist attack three months ago and tensions were building between her mother and sister. Anjali as the latter was a strong character who was part of the protest revolution aiming for change. The racial tensions in this book were interesting to explore and I must admit it's a historical event that I wasn't aware of, but it was a bit on the nose. Some of the representation almost felt forced which was a shame as I really enjoyed the togetherness of Terrance, Inderjit and Seema on the bus but for them all to be minorities with multiple characteristics seen as not the norm was slightly on the nose. That probably is a little harsh but I felt the message could have been conveyed purely going down the race route which seemed to be the focus and the main form of educational value here. It was good to explore Seema's inner thoughts though and the struggle of her revealing that she liked girls. Her perfect girl in her head of Jaya manifesting itself in the Cradle with the alien others was good and she really was blushing. It felt a bit of a let down that she didn't actually come to stay on Earth! I thought the Doctor was a little bit too much of a background character in the book and honestly if he didn't feature I don't think things would have changed too much. The space bus was a little weird and whilst I initially liked the connection to Seema's travels to primary school on a special bus, the fact it stayed disguised as that vehicle felt a little silly. Some of the sci-fi elements were a little lacking here in my estimation. The titular reveal of the Cradle was decent and the moment that shone for me was when it represented itself as someone the looker loved, but we never even got a hint as to who the Doctor was seeing! That was a big shame as even an ambiguous tease would have meant so much. My instinct says it would be Susan. The Cradle having an effect on physiology as well as creating illusions in the mind was good but something not used enough. I thought the callousness of the Cradle not giving the children a choice was decent, but the way it was convinced to change otherwise was a little quick. Considering the title of the book and the build up, the Cradle didn't stick around for much more than a chapter which was a shame as it had a lot of potential if explored deeper. Overall, a decent tale in parts and some important history, but it was missing something. 

Rating: 6/10