24th August 2011

Book three of the Miracle Day prequels is certainly the weakest of the bunch. It focusses on the character of CIA agent Rex Matheson, and features none of the original Torchwood group except in passing. A CIA team have gone rogue with some alien technology and Rex takes it upon himself to track them down.

This is much more a return to some of the older Torchwood dross novels than the recent set. It is very much a stand alone novel and seems too generic, as if it could have happened to anyone, rather than needing to be set in this established universe. As such, it comes across more as "let's tell a story about Rex" rather than "there's a story about Rex that needs to be told".

Generally, the characters are flat, and pretty identical. Even Rex doesn't come across as having any depth, which leaves him a pretty un-engaging main character. The plot itself is just a rehash of any number of 'soldiers go rogue' storylines, and the route Rex takes to find them seems far too easy. Speaking of Rex, his willingness and apparent ability to go off on his own little mission without any approval was unbelievable.

Overall, I have to say that I was not impressed by this book. Although there was an interesting twist at the end, it seemed a bit of a cop out and I can't help feeling that Rex's past could have been explored in a better way. Only really of interest to real Torchwood fans seeking completeness.

read more

5th October 2009

Not bad for a Torchwood novel. Makes good use of all the main characters, although there is a Mary Sue guest character that seems quite out-of-place and fairly purposeless. The team investigate when a house that used to belong to Jack suddenly finds itself haunted by all its other previous occupants.

While the characters are used, none except for Jack get any decent storyline, mainly being there to hold up the plot and keep the dialogue full of witty one-liners. Jack has some emotion, and has a nice little sub-plot down memory lane, but its a shame the others were just there for decoration. The ghosts themselves are well written, although the explanation for their presence is a little weak and could certainly have done with a little more exploration and hinting throughout the earlier parts of the novel.

What I really love about this book is its in universe references. Adams has cleverly snuck in organic references to a number of previous books in the series which while standing out enough to make the reader smile don't feel uncomfortable or forced. This makes it much more believable than the usual 'put-the-toys-back-in-the-box' sci-fi tv-tie-in novel.

Overall I did enjoy reading this one, even if it only lasted a couple of days - it would have fitted in nicely as an episode of the tv series. The descriptions of the ghosts were spot on and the creepy old house really well portrayed.

read more