The Art of Destruction

"Don't let others suffer for my sins."

Writer: Stephen Cole

Format: Novel

Released: September 2006

Series: NSA 11

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands in 22nd century Africa in the shadow of a dormant volcano. Agri-teams are growing new foodstuffs in the baking soil to help feed the world's starving millions – but the Doctor and Rose have detected an alien signal somewhere close by.

When a nightmare force starts surging along the dark volcanic tunnels, the Doctor realises an ancient trap has been sprung. But who was it meant for? And what is the secret of the eerie statues that stand at the heart of the volcano?

Dragged into a centuries-old conflict, Rose and the Doctor are soon elevating survival to an art form – as ancient, alien hands practice arts of destruction all around them...

Verdict

The Art of Destruction was a great New Series Adventures novel! It's quite incredible really but I remember buying the first twelve novels of the NSAs all in one big boxset from a charity shop some twelve or thirteen years ago, and I've been hanging onto this one ever since! It was about time to get it read and it was certainly worth the wait. This was a solid tale from start to finish and definitely something I could see fitting into the era of Series 2. I really enjoyed how unique of a setting it was with heading to Africa in 2118. We don't often visit that continent and it was intriguing to read the take on the region a century into the future. The Doctor talking of a new golden age to come for Africa after how things ended here was nice and I liked that some of the locals were featured prominently. The selfish interests of the West were still portrayed here and I don't ever see that failing to exist to be honest, and with any chance of something to harness or take then they were there. In this case, growing food had become a problem so the efforts of Fynn and company to use the volcano and its unique capabilities to grow substance was incredible. What I wasn't expecting was an effort to use the dead as a source of that growth. That was audacious and just disgusting, but times were desperate which was highlighted well. Adiel was a strong character and her reaction to finding out that this had happened to her parents was understandably powerful. It must be so difficult to hear! I enjoyed the confidence of the Doctor and Rose when they arrived and the use of the TARDIS translation circuits to talk Arabic was good fun. The moment where Rose understood the conversation in a niche dialect between Basel and Adiel was hilarious. It really didn't help her! The relationship Rose had with Basel was intriguing and there definitely seemed like some sort of romantic potential there. The flirting was nice to see despite the predicament. Solomon was a good character as well and I really enjoyed his internal dilemma of being loyal to his village and supply food when times were tough, whilst also moving on with his own life. The threat and the history behind the Valnaxi was decent but I must admit it did seem a little obvious that they would turn out to feature beneath the volcano. I didn't expect them to take human form though in an effort to rebuild themselves! That was a fun twist and I loved how far they were willing to go to survive. They would even take on their arch enemies of the Wurms if it meant they could survive. Their connection with their home planet and the artistic nature was good and probably something that could have been explored more, but it was a fun concept. The golems were a strong threat and I enjoyed the open with Kanjuchi being turned into a statue of gold. That set the tone very nicely. Faltato was a bit of a strange character in parts and his position between the Valnaxi and Wurms was good, and his loyalties shifted. His search for the last remaining artwork of the Valnaxi was interesting but I really loved the Wurms having a desire to destroy every remnant of the Valnaxi. That was brutal and really made them a strong villain even if their name was ridiculous. King Ottak was a bit rubbish to be honest but he didn't impact the story too much in bringing it down. There were probably a few too many senior figures, but on the whole it was exciting. The action towards the end was good and the Valnaxi staying behind with Male and Female, in the form of Solomon and Rose, was intriguing. Although I would have liked the war to actually end as it did feel a little incomplete. But at least the Wurms went on believing them dead. Overall, a great little read! 

Rating: 8/10