Hot Ice

"You will have time to reflect upon the enormity of your crime."

Writer: Christopher Bulis

Format: Short Story

Released: March 1999

Printed in: More Short Trips 14

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

Here on Earth or out in the depths of the cosmos, the Doctor and his companions are never far from adventure.

Discover things on Earth you were never meant to know. Get around the universe. Get short tripping.

Verdict

Hot Ice was was a decent little story to continue my reading of the More Short Trips collection! It’s become something of a weekly routine now to read instalments from this book on my commute into work which has become a regular thing now in this wonderful world of hybrid working, and I don’t look ahead to see the name of the story nor do I research which combination of characters will feature. So I was delighted to get a story with the pairing of the Fifth Doctor and Peri. It’s a bit of a travesty that we only get The Caves of Androzani with just those two together on screen as the Doctor makes the ultimate sacrifice for his companion, so to extend on the gap between that swan song and Peri’s debut in Planet of Fire is most welcomed in my book. They make a fun pairing and that’s evident right away as the Doctor banters about the true life on Mars. No blood-sucking octopuses but there are the humanoid lizards in the form of the Ice Warriors. She’ll of course meet them in this Doctor’s company in Red Dawn which is fun to think about. Unfortunately, there would be no Ice Warriors in this story despite the title which would have worked well, but I did think the Ventrosians had potential. I liked how the Doctor recognised them right away and any species that history with the Time Lords is instantly interesting to me! I liked that they were on the nose and when they referred to Peri as a native servant I could almost see her anger on the page! It was good stuff and it was no wonder the Time Lords refused to share technology with them. What I was a little sceptical about was how easily the TARDIS was infiltrated. That didn’t set too right with me and whilst I liked the use of it and it being detected by the old thief and drawn in, it felt a bit too intrusive for the Eye of Gaar to just be sitting there and plugged into the console! That feels too easy and the TARDIS is usually thought of as being a safe place, but it was far from that here. Even Len could see within and understood the value of the jewel! The Doctor was less interested and wasn’t at all bothered by a relic from Ventros Prime. The monks weren’t having it though despite his claims of being framed. I thought the Ventrosians being susceptible to the atmosphere of Earth was a little odd but it was quite emphatic to see them being literally turned to gas and nothingness. That was a brutal description. I thought it was quite funny that when the thief believed he’d gotten away with everything, it was ordinary Len who smashed him over the head and took the Eye of Gaar for himself. He was only interested in making a profit which I could appreciate, but unfortunately it too would burn him quite literally. This time it was with cold hence the title and the gas resulting from it would kill him also. It was quite a sombre ending really and that was really felt as the Doctor and Peri reflected on the death that had occurred in the adventure. For only sixteen pages or so, there was quite a lot! I enjoyed the description of the baffling attire the Doctor had with celery on his jacket, but just imagine the reaction if it was the next incarnation! And I also liked the Doctor pondering on whether he should build a new sonic screwdriver. He really ought to! Overall, a good little read. 

Rating: 7/10