Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious - The Knight, The Fool, and The Dead

While I normally do not get any Doctor Who books that don't feature a companion I like - such as Donna Noble, Rory Williams, Bill Potts - but with this new "Time Lord Victorious" multi-media cross-over story, I had to pick up the two novels that are part of the cross-over.  I've read the comic issues, and we have a couple of the Doctor Who Magazine issues that have short comic tales connected to the overall story.  And now that I have read the first of the two novels, a lot of what happened in those comic stories makes much more sense.

The Knight, The Fool, and the Dead is the first of the two novels.  Written by Steve Cole, the story follows the Tenth Doctor no long after his "Waters of Mars" adventure (the third special following the third series of the new Doctor Who show).  Cole does not shy away from the Tenth Doctor's dilemma following what happened in that TV special.  He saved a group of scientists who were meant to die on Mars - only to have the captain from that group kill herself at the end to prevent time from changing.  He had already faced the reality of Davros' observation of how he was so adverse to weapons of any kind, yet he managed to fashion himself an army of companions who would be his weapons for him.  Plus, how many warnings did he get that his time was coming to an end?  He survived the Time War, he defeated the Daleks' plan to wipe out reality, and he had to wipe the memories of one of his beloved companions.  This book is a prime example of why Donna made the Doctor promise her he would find someone (after "The Runaway Bride" Christmas special), because he should never travel alone.  Cole shares the story of what happens when the Doctor travels alone...

The Kotturuh are creatures that are spreading judgment throughout the universe.  When they arrive on a planet, it is to pass sentence on the life form there and to provide a limitation on the lifespan of those living on the planet.  For some, it is hundreds of year.  For others, it is only a few years, a few months, or in some cases, a few days.  No one has opposed them, although there is one who seeks to make a profit from these death sentences.  And there is one ... the last of his kind ... who has traveled back in time to the Dark Ages to explore ... but who realizes that by putting a stop to the Kotturuh in this far past, he could potentially save millions upon millions of lives in the future.  The question isn't whether he can do it or not - he's the Doctor, so of course he CAN do it.  The real question is - should he do it?

It starts out innocently enough.  The Doctor is witness to the fate the Kotturuh have passed upon the people of Andalia.  He witnesses an Ood attack a young girl, Estinee, who is wearing an armor of sorts that could protect people from the effects of the Kotturuh.  And he does what the Doctor always does - he sets out to protect the innocent.  Or so he thinks.  For not everything is what it seems with Estinee, nor is everything what it seems with the Ood (whose name, oddly enough, is "Brian").  As the Doctor and Brian soar through space to find and rescue Estinee, the Doctor discovers he has the opportunity to put a stop to the Kotturuh - to turn their own curse upon them.  But even Estinee questions the idea of extinguishing a race, no matter how awful they may be.  But who can stop the Doctor when he has his mind set on something?  Well, only the Doctor can, of course!

Cole's tale is a dark one, no doubt, but it is spattered with interludes featuring the First Doctor with Ian and Barbara, the Ninth Doctor with Rose, and the Eighth Doctor.  As hinted at by the previous comic stories by Titan and the Doctor Who Magazine, the "Time Lord Victorious" is a story that spans all of the Doctors' lifetimes, and this book solidifies that.  And if your were expecting a nice, tidy resolution at the end of this book, well think again - Cole leaves us with a huge cliffhanger that rivals any cliffhanger the television show has ever had.  As I said above, this story shows us what happens when the Doctor does not have a companion to keep him in check - to remind him of what it means to be human - to remind him of what it's like for those who can't regenerate, for those who only have one life to live.  I think we all know that the Doctor could very easily be victorious in anything he chooses to do, but now we see what could potentially happen when a Time Lord is victorious!

The Doctors are converging and the story is building to a climax .... can't wait to see what happens next in All Flesh is Grass.

RATING:  10 original bulky Lifesuits out of 10 for taking the Doctor down a whole new path and giving fans a chance to see a totally different side to the Time Lord!