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Stuart Douglas
@stuartdouglas.com

I have three novels to write, all different styles, and I'm worried they bleed into each other, as would whatever I'm reading - but none of them are SF, so I'm going to read the EDAs from the start, as a palette cleanser as I go along. First up - the 8 Docs, which I remember as being shite.

Stuart Douglas
@stuartdouglas.com

But which is actually better than I remembered. It's not complicated or clever - and the drug stuff is very much an old man writing about things beyond his ken - but as an introduction to Doctor Who, it works pretty well.

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Stuart Douglas
@stuartdouglas.com

And after one better than I remember and one just as brilliant as I remember, here comes one I didn't remember at all. And no wonder. THE BODYSNATCHERS is barely a story at all (Zygons try to take over a bit of London. Fail) and is just a ticklist of Who continuity (Litefoot, Zygons, Victoriana).

Stuart Douglas
@stuartdouglas.com

Next, GENOCIDE by Paul Leonard (the most under-rated of all Who authors). Everything BODYSNATCHERS wasn't. Thoughtful, clever and subtle, with believable characters, fascinating world building and some excellent writing. As far from Morris' ragbag of tatty continuity as you can get.

Aaron George
@asmoranomardic.bsky.social

No one ever talks about Paul Leonard, but Toy Soldiers, Genocide, Revolution Man and Turing Test are all very, very strong books. Dreamstone Moon’s the only one of his I’ve read that was a little weak; otherwise, his stuff stands up well again Orman, Miles, and the rest.

Stuart Douglas
@stuartdouglas.com

And when Leonard uses someone from Who's long past, it's because that person is a perfect fit on several different levels, one who adds something concrete and worthwhile to the story, and not just a tick-box exercise for unimaginative fanboys.

Stuart Douglas
@stuartdouglas.com

Competently enough written, but lacking any imagination at any level, it doesn't work as sf or horror (it's obv meant to be the latter, but falls into that common modern horror hole of just being gross not scary - baby's heads on sticks and glass shoved in eyeballs.) Pointless and dull.