We're All Stories In The End 10 - Camera Obscura

Sometimes novels pose more questions than they answer. But sometimes that's a good thing...

Camera Obscura by Lloyd Rose

Eighth Doctor Adventures number: 59

Originally published: August 2002

Companions: Fitz and Anji

The Doctor sat alone and listened to the beat of his remaining heart. He had never got used to it. He never would. The single sound where a double should be. What was this new code hammering through his body? What did it mean? Mortal. No, he'd always known he could die. Not mortal. Damaged. Crippled. Through his shirt, his fingers sought the thick ridge of his scar. Human...

The Doctor's second heart was taken from his body — for his own good, he was told. Removed by his sometime ally, sometime rival, the mysterious time-traveller Sabbath. Now, as a new danger menaces reality, the Doctor finds himself working with Sabbath again. 

From a seance in Victorian London to a wild pursuit on Dartmoor, the Doctor and his companions work frantically to unravel the mystery of this latest threat to Time... Before Time itself unravels..

This month we are back in the world of the Eighth Doctor - and you may recall that when I read "Anachrophobia", there were a couple of things I found slightly confusing: Why did the Doctor only have one heart ? Who was Mistletoe ? (okay yes I've figured it out now) - and entering this book, it’s the same conundrum - what happened in Spain? Why are the Time Lords gone ?

But this time, I'm not frustrated by gaps in my knowledge of the back-story - because when a book is *this* good, you just jump into the hansom cab and hang on !

Sure, it's a Victorian era setting - we've been here before in "Talons of Weng Chiang" and "All Consuming Fire" to name just two. The thing is, despite their veneer of moralistic values and gleaming Crystal Palaces, the old Victorians liked a bit of the grotesque - and we get that here with an under-society of madhouses, seances, freaks, dodgy magicians and carnival sideshows.

It’s a London that oozes atmosphere - full of drugs, dirt, disease, dismemberment and death. All this plus a man split into eight parts and a misshapen time-twisted monster with a mouth in his eye, a rose bush for a leg and a toaster on his back. Something to give even Morbius a run for his money. Lovely !

Given the period, Lloyd Rose obviously can't resist some Conan Doyle homage's, but I don't blame her. The Doctor's desperate escape across Dartmoor is exhilarating stuff even if there is a strong whiff of a certain hound on the breeze - and when you have an antagonist as interesting as Sabbath there are bound to be comparisons to a certain foe of the master detective.

But actually, forget Moriarty (or the Master for that matter), Sabbath is probably closest to Mycroft Holmes - the Doctor's intellectual equal (at the very least), but someone who  looks at things from a different more... singular viewpoint.

Clearly, both see themselves as THE protector of Time - and the other as a dangerous meddling fool. Forced to work together, they disapprove of each other's choices -  and some of the most enjoyable exchanges are where they argue points of intellectual morality (usually in front of a roaring fire). That and a great joke with a whoopee cushion!

I may not know much about Sabbath's history at this point - but I definitely know that I want to read more. In fact the race to recover a defective time machine with the power to destroy the entire fabric of time and space is almost secondary to the relationships between the various rich characters - and for once I'm glad. 

The Doctor's interactions with the exhibition freaks, the weird Chiltern family and even the untrustworthy Scale are all brilliantly realised. Equally the Doctor's emotional journey is there for all to experience. We've rarely seen him this vulnerable, this cranky - or this desperate.

In between the clever dialogue (and some damn good cliff-hangers) there are lovely little touches - paragraphs that brought a big grin to my face:

The TARDIS entranceway being cloaked in an illusion of darkness  - that prevents the console room from being seen from outside - is a loving nod to the constraints of the classic series. The way the Doctor describes time as a musical score with infinite possible ornamentations is just glorious - as is Sabbath listing all the ways that the Doctor is "plucked out of trouble at the last minute". It's true, in his presence the odds DO collapse. Oh, and lets not forget the fun with the tennis ball at the very end!

But as much as this is a novel about the Doctor - it's not about the Doctor being in control. He's swept along from one crisis to the next - often suffering immense gruesome harm in the process. I totally get the conceit that while Sabbath has his other heart, the Doctor is effectively immortal, but did he really have to go through quite so much to prove it ? At various times he has his chest crushed, his remaining heart stabbed, his face sliced open and is bashed up and down on the floor like a rag doll! Okay so he's allowed time to recover, but its still a bit much.

All that and he travels to the land of the dead (or maybe it's" hell") to strike a bargain with the avatar of Death herself. This is a sidestep into unexpected territory for sure, but it's so beautifully written that it's forgiven. The section where, in order to continue his descent, the Doctor gradually strips himself of his clothes, his body, his strength and finally his heart - is just marvellous.

Can you tell I loved this book ? I hope so. It's one of those novels you want to show to people and shout "Here ! Read this bit! It's brilliant isn't it ?".

So more from Lloyd Rose please. More Sabbath. And more Eighth Doctor novels that are this enjoyable.