This is the fourteenth of the Virgin Doctor Who New Adventures, and what I like about it is that it does exactly what I wanted the previous novel, Devious, to do. Specifically, I’m talking about addressing the tensions between the Doctor and Ace. They were reunited in Devious, which I was very pleased by, since I love Ace, but considering the terms under which they parted ways, it felt far too easy. Lucifer Rising shows that there were definitely still tensions bubbling under the surface and takes their relationship in a direction I never would have foreseen.
It’s a pretty cool story. I don’t know if I was entirely happy with Ace’s characterisation here, as she seems to have lost a lot of the heart that made her so endearing – but not completely. It is, at very least, a fascinating portrayal, it just differs ever so slightly from how I prefer to see Ace written. But that’s okay – I enjoy getting to see characters I love developed and changed in unexpected ways.
Another interesting point is that this novel also explores some of the tensions between Ace and Bernice. The modern era of Doctor Who has done a whole episode dedicated to the struggles between past and present companions, but this predates it by quite a way. It’s interesting as well, because Bernice is now the current companion, and despite my being a huge Ace fan, Bernice was the person who felt the most safe and comfortable, because of how much Ace changed.
However, as much as I love the character drama of this story, the actual adventure that the Doctor, Ace, and Bernice go on is a bit too slow and drawn out. Essentially, it’s a murder mystery. They’re investigating the death of a young woman at a research station on the planet Lucifer, which is home to an ancient and mysterious race of alien “angels”. It’s a cool setting and there’s a great atmosphere throughout the whole novel… but it does drag a lot sometimes. Several chapters feel like the story barely inches along at all during them.
Ultimately though, even when not a lot was happening, I still quite liked this novel. It captures the style of a more adult Doctor Who story perfectly and I love it. Right towards the end, the revelations about what’s really going on are pretty cool too. Though it may not quite be among the top tier off Doctor Who novels, it is still very good.
Rating: 8.2/10
