Synopsis:
Two men are dead, and the Paternoster Gang are on the case. When the Doctor and Clara end up in Victorian England, they find themselves swept up in the mystery; what does a man
found dead in his study have anything to do with
the town fair? What happened to Strax's drinking buddy, who was found dead in an alley? It's up to the Paternoster Gang, The Doctor and Clara to solve the mystery-before it's too late.
Review:
Silhouette, written by Justin Richards (famed Who author, of titles such as 'The Resurrection Casket', and 'Apollo 23') is exactly what it seems in terms of genre; it's your typical murder mystery, with a Who-twist, of course.
The addition of the Paternoster Gang (Strax, Vastra and Jenny) is a nice addition, though probably divisive among fans, as some love the gang while others hate them. In terms of the Paternoster Gang, Richards knocks it out of the park in characterization, because it's almost just like watching an episode. You can hear the characters' voices in your head no problem. Clara is also handled wonderfully, although it seems to be hard for authors to grasp Clara's personality, sometimes. When you get to how the Doctor's characterization it almost...well, it kind of falls flat, really. While it's not a bad rendering of the Doctor-in those terms, it's excellent-it's just not a good grasp of the Twelfth Doctor. While it's not hard to understand this issue (the authors only got to see Deep Breath, if I remember correctly), the Doctor comes off a little too Eleventh Doctor-y at some points, a stark contrast to Twelve. At some points, you can easily imagine any of the Doctors talking or walking around with Clara.
The mystery itself is a good one, though I think it could've helped having a few more red herrings, rather than having the villain be quite so obvious. I love a guessing-game. The villain is well done, and has a particular charm to them, while also being completely devious. The book also has several nods to previous series, and even a few to the new series
; in fact, I quite enjoyed picking out references to past episodes. The book also had some laugh out loud moments, which were quite enjoyable, and some moments were very Doctor-y, and I could very well imagine the scene occurring in an episode (albeit, probably more of a Tenth Doctor or Eleventh Doctor than Twelve).
In all, the book is a great one. While it might not be one of my favorites, it definitely classifies as a great Doctor Who story, one that I'll probably will re-read again, and was a nice glimpse back into the lives of the Doctor and Clara, due to my three week absence from the Whoniverse (*shivers*).
Overview:
4.5/5
P.S.
That cover is just gorgeous in person...
Have you read Silhouette? What did you think of it? If not, are you interested in reading? Comment below!
-Tegan
Sounds kind of interesting, although I personally do not like the Paternoster Gang, so I am sure there are other Doctor Who books that I should read first. Great review though!
ReplyDelete-James
There's dozens of Doctor Who books-classics and new alike-however there are two other books (actually printed books) that feature Twelve, which are called the Blood Cell and The Crawling Terror. They also did a short story in ebook format called 'Lights Out'. Thanks!
Delete-Tegan