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Dreamstone Moon (Doctor Who Series) |
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Author:
Paul Leonard
By BBC Books
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: $5.95
Our Price: $10.00
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Product Description
Dreamstone allows people to record and play back their dreams; it can only be found on a certain moon. The Doctor and Sam travel there to prevent its destruction whilst Anton La Serre wants to know why his pleasant dreams have turned into nightmares.
Amazon.com Review
In Dreamstone Moon, Sam and the Doctor, via different routes because they are still apart, find themselves on a satellite called the Dreamstone Moon. It has come by this name because it is where dreamstone, a substance that allows the dreams of sleepers to be recorded and then played back (or something), is mined. But an artist named Anton finds that the dreamstones only give him nightmares and so determines to go to the moon to find out why. Readers are unlikely to be impressed with any of the characters here. It is easy to mistakenly believe that the soldier Cleomides is an android since it is the only way to explain her wooden, stilted dialogue and strange actions. The only well-developed character besides Sam is an alien Krakenite named Aloisse (a totally inhuman, cephalopodic sort of creature). An excellent subplot is the idea that some of the humans cannot see aliens as rational and dependable beings in their own right. This leads to Aloisse being systematically tortured, blinded, and seriously wounded, since the humans simply can't think of her as a sentient being. This, of course, echoes man's inhumanity to man--especially where race and color are concerned--and is nicely understated here. The Doctor is probably the only hope they have, but because he is an alien, those in charge cannot see how he can help them. Sam spends her time moving from one disaster area to another and encountering a series of hostile environments: it's amazing that she survives at all. It's also slightly annoying that she and the Doctor never actually get to meet in the novel--they spend the whole time just missing each other and only actually see each other twice. (I think it was twice--I wasn't counting!) The biggest problem with Dreamstone Moon, however, is that the action (and there is lots of it) is simply not very well handled. Whereas John Peel can write action so that you feel you are watching it on screen, Leonard's events seem diluted and distant, as if it's someone telling you about something that happened to a friend some years before. Dreamstone Moon is a little bland in parts. Or it could be that Leonard's writing simply doesn't appeal to this reviewer and that others will understand and enjoy the work more. --David J. Howe, Amazon.co.uk
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All he's got to do is dream, 2008-04-24
Something the BBC was clearly trying to do in its New Doctor adventures was developing some kind of continuing narrative so that readers got the feeling that the character was changing and that some kind of progression was taking place, as opposed to each book just being random adventures of the Doctor (which I think all outside the hardcore would have been okay with, but I have no idea what audience the BBC was trying to sell to). This isn't too radical an idea, as many of the original 1960s stories were treated as serials, with each story bleeding right into the next. Virgin tried the same thing and managed it a bit better than the BBC did, as they were able to hint at arcs while still managing to tell a complete story in every novel. At this point, the BBC still hadn't gotten it quite right. Thus far we've seen the Doctor and Sam get separated and while Sam got to sit out the last book, here the focus is more on her, with the Doctor running around in the background trying to put things back together. Sam finds herself tagging along with a mining crew who are dredging up dreamstones from the planet, pretty rocks that help people dream. But strange things are starting to happen and people are getting killed. Meanwhile, dream artist Anton finds that they give him nightmares and travels to find out why.
Putting Sam front and center is not as hideous as one might expect, judging from past experience. The author writes her as slightly less annoying, although his favorite word in describing how characters talk appears to be "bawled", unless it's just more popular among the Brits. But she spends most of the time stumbling from set piece to set piece while other people explain the plot to her. In some instances she makes things worse but then that's believable considering she's only seventeen or so. I messed up a lot of stuff at that age, too. Fortunately she's paired with an alien that seems more human than some of the actual human beings and gives a slightly more mature counterpoint to the setting.
The Doctor, of course, is the Doctor and while the Eight Doctor hasn't quite made his mark like his predecessors yet, he certainly has all the hallmarks. Keeping him off to the side hurts the book a little bit, as he apparently figures out the problem about halfway through but then we never see him until near the end so he can explain it. The book makes for a light read, it's certainly chockful of action but in the end it's all so much noise and running around, with a few moments of humanity or brutality to help distinguish it. The explanation behind the dreamstones probably won't surprise anyone who's read "Solaris", although it's not clear what the artist has to do with any of it, and for the most part it's shooting and shouting until people are convinced to stop shooting and shouting. And the "Missing Sam" arc isn't resolved here anyway, so it's like when the page count runs out, everyone just packs up and goes home. There's no "to be continued" at the end, but there might as well be.
It was a readable story, with some nice moments, considering what the writer was given to work with but in the end it's nothing more than a way to kill a few hours.
LOW ORBIT, 2001-06-07
DREAMSTONE MOON started very strong and presented some interesting asides that are lacking from a majority of the early DOCTOR WHO novels. Sam has been seperated from the TARDIS and she nows travels the Universe one day at a time, while the Doctor has been doing his level best to find her, wondering all the while if he should perhaps let Sam go and live her own life on her own terms. But, this being a Doctor Who novel, the Doctor needs someone to talk to (which is nicely pointed out early on in the book). The most original idea in the novel is found in the viewpoint of Sam as she actually watches and hears about how the Doctor operates. Being seperated and being lost, she's allowed to develop her own perspective and viewpoint and she finds the Doctor's actions a rather interesting mix, not one she is often pleased about. But while the book has some good writing and a few solid ideas, you can't help but notice that it is all rather rushed, and as this is the second part in a three book arc, you are left with, not so much a cliffhanger (which would have been nice), but simply a stop. The story itself is not fresh (in fact it reminds me of an early NEXT GENERATION story), but Leonard manages to punch up a few original lines and action, all of which get's lost towards the end as he has to wrap up the plot, the fates of all the players and spring the big surprise (which is no real surprise, but an interesting idea that I wish had been present from the get go than waiting for the last ten pages). What really dropped the book a few stars in my view is the overuse of torture and violence. Once again we are treated to the kind of brutality that reads more like a United Nations Human Rights Report than an actual adventure novel... unpleasent. But Leonard does his best, offers up a few choice ideas, and can't be faulted for being stuck in the middle of a three book story. Worth picking up to complete the series, and worth one read through.
The curse of Paul Leonard's non-endings strikes again!, 2001-05-31
Putting this book inside the Sam Is Missing arc was probably a very bad idea. While most of this story is rather enjoyable, the ending really suffers because of the lack of a resolution. Not only do the Doctor and Sam fail to meet up again, but the story itself just sputters out without a satisfactory conclusion. Both of these elements seem to highlight the other, making the ending of the book a huge disappointment. Obviously I realize that since this is the middle part of a multi-book series, there isn't going to be a ultimate conclusion to all of the threads, but to leave so many of them hanging (including pieces from the story itself) really leaves the reader feeling unsatisfied.On the other hand, the parts leading up to the (lack of) ending are quite interesting. The story moves quickly enough so that we never grow bored with any of it and the revelations come quickly enough so that one doesn't have to time to think about them too much. The characters painted are quite interesting as we get to know them, though there are some annoying passages in which Sam gets teamed up with a substitute Doctor and the Doctor gets paired up with a replacement companion. Though the surrogates are interesting characters in their own rights, they share too many of the qualities of the missing half and it ends up feeling a bit contrived. The plot centers on a substance called dreamstone, which is used by humans to record and play back dreams. This subject has been done a few times before in science fiction, yet Leonard manages to keep things fresh here. He never goes into a great amount of detail concerning the specifics of what dreamstone is, and this allows the plot to stay on track without getting bogged down with boring technobabble. All in all this is an entertaining, if light, read. This book is quite a bit shorter than the BBC book average, so it won't take the reader very long to get through. While this may help the beginning and middle sections, it probably ends up accenting the unsatisfactory nature of the ending.
The Doctor losses Sam, 2001-05-28
This is the first time that the Dr. showes his real feelings when he losses his one of his time travelers (Sam). I feel that the change from the 7th Dr to the 8th Dr. has ment a change in the way he views the events in his life. The books takes you to a planet called Dreamstone moon where people use special rocks to inhance their lives. He spots Sam several times while he is on the planet. But is never able to rejoin her. This book is a real easy read and I have read it more then once. When you have read this one you need to read Seeing I. This is the story where the Dr. and Sam finally find each other and are reunited. I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did and I suggest that you add this one to your Dr. Who collection.
Outstanding book. shows a different side of the Dr., 1998-12-24
This book is a easy read. You get to know about Sam. To me the book is nonstop fom the moment that Sam finds herself on an alein ship to the time that you start to realize that the planet is an living entity. This is one of the first times that one of the companions (Sam) thinks that she is alone when she thinks that the Doctor has been killed. It is a very good book and one that I think every Dr. Who fan should read. It was the first time that I have seen these types of novels have a sequence. After Reading this you will want to read Seeing I. I hope that everyone enjoys reading this as much as I did. I love the New Doctors personality and style and Sam links it together. .
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780563405856
ISBN: 0563405856
Label: BBC Books
Manufacturer: BBC Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 250
Publication Date: 1998-06
Publisher: BBC Books
Studio: BBC Books |
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