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Timewyrm: Genesis 


An alien on the run lands on earth, can she use her powers to control the minds of the primitive race?


I saw a copy of the novel of Paradise Towers, and having remembered watching it a couple of year before I bought it, and it rekindled my interest in Doctor Who. When the New Adventures were announced, I was excited: It was new Doctor Who. I bought the first ten or eleven, but never got farther than the first couple of chapters of the Timewyrm: Genesis. Stuck for something to read, I thought I’d see how I find it now.


The story of Gilgamesh is not something I’m that familiar with, and being a historical stetting, which isn’t my favourite, means that it has a couple of things against. Which may have contributed to me not getting very far with it. Also with this series being for a more adult audience, and at the time I was 15, so again possibly another factor in why I struggled. 


You don’t need to know anything about Gilgamesh to follow this, it could have been a completely original piece and not made anything difference (at least as far as I can tell).


It starts with Qatatar (who later assumes the identity of Ishtar) escaping from her pursuers. It doesn’t bode well, when in attacking her enemies she screams ‘Taste this”. At the time it probably seemed ok, these days it sounds like a rather cheesy line lifted from an 80’s action film.


It is a little slow to get going, after the prologue, it takes till chapter 2, when the occupants of the Tardis show up, and then its only Ace whose lost her memory.  With this being aimed at a more older set, you may expect it to be a bit more gritty, not such happy endings, but sex and nudity? Well Ok, but some of it here just seems to be written by a teenage boy. As Ace gets out of bed the text says ‘Of course: she was stark naked” it just feels unnecessary. Later on the Doctor meets a priestess in her early teens who goes bare chested and the Doctor remarks that ‘it must be a bit chilly,’ again it feels wrong. These are just two examples, while some do seems to fit with the story and era, I do think that it was ill considered.


It does eventually get going, and as some of it felt familiar I did wonder whether I’d read more than I thought or perhaps had actually read it properly at some point and I’d forgotten. There are a few continuity references, stuff that will please long term fans, and as something directed at the fans then that’s fine.


With Qatatar taking the identity of Ishtar - a goddess and being able to control minds, she’s quite the foe. With some of the characters lives in danger you do feel for what might become of them.


Its not the worst, and it has its down sides, but I generally enjoyed it, though I was never in a position where I I was desperate to get back to it, but I am hoping to carry with the Timewym series. 

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