Summer Falls

"She was alone in a world that was a dream."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Short Story

Released: April 2013

Printed in: Summer Falls and Other Stories 01

Featuring: Amy

Synopsis

"When summer falls, the Lord of Winter will arise..."

In the seaside village of Watchcombe, young Kate is determined to make the most of her last week of summer holiday. But when she discovers a mysterious painting entitled The Lord of Winter in a charity shop, it leads her on an adventure she never could have planned. Kate soon realises the old seascape, painted long ago by an eccentric local artist, is actually a puzzle. And with the help of some bizarre new acquaintances – including a museum curator's magical cat, a miserable neighbour, and a lonely boy – she plans on solving it. 

And then, one morning Kate wakes up to a world changed forever. For the Lord of Winter is coming – and Kate has a very important decision to make.

Verdict

Summer Falls was not the most enjoyable of stories unfortunately. There was enough about it to appreciate what was tried but at the end of the day I thought this was just pretty jumbled and clunky. I'm not entirely sure the story was actually long enough for what was trying to be presented, and it seems the author started rushing towards the last third of the adventure. Of course, in universe this book is glimpsed in The Bells of Saint John as a favourite of Clara's to read. However I am a little sad to say I don't know why it would be! Especially with her being a teacher of English literature. I don't think it was the most well written story and it was just all over the place. I thought it was a good setting and the wintery feel was nicely presented which I would have expected given the name of the story and the synopsis promising the coming of the Lord of Winter. It all sounded very Game of Thrones style which was good, but the quality was so far removed from that incredible series and universe. One thing that really put me off was how the comment from Clara in the aforementioned television episode about chapter eleven being sad never really felt like it had credence. Was it really that sad? I'm not so sure. It wasn't all that long either. I think the story needed to have more chapters because the second one in particular was excessively long. Clara's comment in the episode didn't feel like the eleventh chapter was the penultimate one and her comment would seem to be more indicative of a mid-story twist. I didn't get that feeling come across here which is a shame. Kate Webster wasn't the most enticing of characters but she was just fine in doing the job. I think a bit more personality would have been welcomed but I did like the relationship she built with Armand as she was the new girl in a new town. And the prospect of a new school season was in order and she wasn't all that excited. She wanted to enjoy the last week of holidays. The quest format within the world of the Lord of Winter was strange and I just don't think we had enough clarity on where we were or what was happening. The puzzle within the painting sounded good on paper but it just wasn't clear enough. It seemed rather rushed at the end then when the Lord of Winter actually arrived with not enough time for him to make a big impact after all of the buildup. That was a bit of a shame as the concept behind him was actually pretty good. The way he would return was a little clunky and odd with the puzzle in the artwork, but the shift in seasons was very exciting. That was such a big change in dynamic and showed some immense power! I thought the character of the Curator was undoubtedly the highlight of the story and it's intriguing to think that this was released prior to the broadcast of The Day of the Doctor where this mysterious version of the Doctor was revealed. It's clear from the description of the 'shed' vanishing representing what was said in The Doctor's Wife and just the general clumsy nature of the man called Barnabus that Amy as author would have based him on the Doctor. It is good to think that the Doctor will feature in some regard despite him not always finding it easy to gain access to help Kate in her mysterious wintry domain. The twist regarding Milo felt a little off with him actually being Mr Stevens and shifting from a child, and the moments with the cat just didn't do anything for me. I'm not sure if they were meant to be funny but they just seemed to get in the way which was a shame. Overall, not the best read for me and I think it's because it was halfway between actually being a Doctor Who adventure and not. I love the idea of presenting this from the in universe perspective, but it falls a little short for me. 

Rating: 5/10