Step Back in Time: The Water Thief

"One heart records the good deeds, one records the bad."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Novel

Released: February 2012

Series: 2 in 1 6b

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis

An ancient artefact awakes, trapping one of the Doctor's companions on an archaeological dig in Egypt. The only way to save his friend is to travel hundreds of years back in time to defeat the Water Thief.

Verdict

The Water Thief was a great story to conclude my reading of the Step Back in Time 2 in 1 collection! I find these releases a little odd and the page numbering certainly felt quirky in starting the story on a page 200+ as my only other experience in this range was no umbrella title and the book flipped to have each adventure starting afresh. Either format works for me though and I was delighted to see that Jacqueline Rayner had written this story because she is one of my favourite prose authors for Doctor Who. I thought she absolutely nailed the characterisation of all three main characters and the dynamics between the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory were all there. There were strong vibes of this being set between Series 5 and 6 which I liked and I thought the continuity with The Pandorica Opens and Amy's liking of history was excellent. This was a very different era from the Romans though and she had to dig back to her knowledge of Key Stage 2 to conjure up her knowledge on the Pharaohs. I thought that was a fun part of history to explore and whilst the Doctor has been there before, it's not somewhere or when that has been extensively explored. The shift between modern day and 2,000 years in the past was a fun twist, especially with Rory being left behind! That was an intriguing mix but it worked well and it was actually quite nice to get some Doctor and Amy time together with her being his original companion. That's not to say I don't want Rory around, far from it, but it's just nice and his comic value when being alone and waiting for the Doctor to show up was marvellous. I thought the reference towards River being Cleopatra was fun and more continuity from the aforementioned episode, but it was the Doctor's reaction to hearing the name Sutekh referenced as a god that was a real highlight. Talk about a blast from the past! I thought the papyrus was an interesting element of the story and there not really being any enemy or villain as the water thief was unexpected, but I quite liked it! The focus was more on the history which was good and being in a desert, water was like gold dust so the threat of it being taken away was brilliant. Rory reanimating some by spilling his tea was typically clumsy as you would expect of him. I thought the inner exploration of the Doctor was fascinating stuff and the whole ordeal about weighing the heart was fantastic, especially with the Doctor having two! The insinuation that his heart that records the bad deeds weighing considerably more than that which held the good was superb. I'm sure the Doctor carries that with him all of the time. I thought the Doctor realising that Senbeb had been murdered by cyanide was good stuff, although I'm not wholly convinced by The Unicorn and the Wasp continuity of him being able to tackle that kind of poison now he's in a new body! It was a fun reference though. I thought Amy realising Hatshepsu was the culprit right from the off because of his creepiness was amusing, especially much later when the Doctor announced he'd worked it all out. Khenti was a strong character and the chapter cliffhanger of him pushing Amy underwater was brilliant when it turned out he was just protecting her from the oncoming reeds. The Doctor's plan of preventing the water thief was slightly far fetched in how the TARDIS was used to conjure up masses of water to basically bring a flood and overpower the water consumption, but Amy seeing the crocodile to provide that idea was terrific. The Doctor also leaving himself the coordinates in a bootstrap paradox was nice too as I'm a sucker for that. Just where does the original idea come from! Overall though, a really good visit into the past as a way to save the present. Lots of unique ideas for sure! 

Rating: 8/10