A Review of Parallel Lives: A trilogy of Novels (A Bernice Summerfield book)

 

As the editor of the Doctor Who New Adventures (knows by fans as the NAs) during its “golden age” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_New_Adventures) Rebecca Levene is held in high regard within fandom. These were the days when the books were seen as the keeper of the Doctor Who flame, years before the New Series exploded on our screens. Bex Levene made sure that the NAs were more than just TV-tie-in hackery, forging and moulding such exciting and talented writers like Kate Orman, Lance Parkin, Lawrence Miles and Daniel O’Mahony (just to name a few). 

 

When the BBC decided to relinquish the Doctor Who line from Virgin, Bex Levene became involved in establishing a spin-off series of books based on the adventures of one of the Doctor’s most popular companions. I wonder if you can guess who that popular companion might’ve been. And no, Sara Kingdom is not the right answer (though think how kick-arse a series that would have been). 

 

Taking the above into account, I was expecting quite a lot from Bex Levene. High quality writing, some deft characterization and a deep insight into what makes Benny tick.

 

But after reading the first five pages of the novella I thought Bex was going to let me down. It all starts a bit clunky with Brax sending Benny off to the far reaches of the galaxy to search for Ms Jones. It appears that Ms Jones had decided to find refuge, of all places, on a planet where women are repressed and subjugated to a point where they might as well not exist. Benny’s not that keen on going, especially when she’s forced to don prosthetics, giving her the look and build of a man. 

 

At this point my cliché klaxon was flashing red. I realised the story could go either one of two ways. It could become a feminist diatribe, dripping vitriol towards men from every page or a pulpy, silly bit of fun where Benny run rings around the thick headed men of Atwalla (that’s the name of the planet, by the by).

 

What we get sits somewhere in between. What starts as Planet of the Men, becomes Planet of the Strange Fantasy Monsters with dragons and Forbidden Forests and a quest to boot. And just as you’re getting that sorted out in your head, octopus like aliens who change colour quicker than I change underpants, appear from no-where to thicken the plot even further.

 

Serpent’s Tooth is a bloody great romp. It’s funny, it’s overflowing with plot (possibly more than the novella can handle) and the revelations are genuinely surprising. Bex Levene also expertly ties the story elements together with her theme about the male/female divide. It was only later that I realized that very little of the Serpent’s Tooth had anything to do with the over-arching plot regarding Ms Jones.

 

A very strong start to the trilogy

 

 

Stewart Sheargold emerged on the scene with the critically acclaimed (well fandom seemed to like it) Mirror Effect – a Bernice Summerfield audio adventure. Since then, Sheargold has written two more Benny audios, a Doctor Who radio-play called Red and a couple of audio adventures for the Gallifrey spin-off series.

 

I’ll be honest; I’m not a big fan of Sheargold’s work. I liked Mirror Effect, and I thought his Doctor Who audio had some striking moments, but I’ve always felt a little bit cold by his output in general.

 

And, unfortunately, this story is no different.

 

Hiding Places involves Bev and Adrian’s chasing after Ms Jones (who by this point has kidnapped Peter as well). Their search leads them to a very weird hotel by the sea-shore populated by three residents – Henry, Henrietta and a spooky kid named Jacob. As the mystery of the hotel unfolds, Bev and Adrian find themselves re-living some horrible moments in their past. 

 

On a technical level, Sheargold is a good writer. He knows how to evoke an image, knows how to capture a scene. I especially like the moments when Bev is playing a violin and when Adrian re-lives a time in his past when, as a soldier, he murdered a little boy. One scene is beautiful, one scene is shocking and both are very well written.

 

The problem with Sheargold, for me anyway, is that he doesn’t have an off switch. Every moment is written in intricate, absorbing detail. By the time I was 10 pages into the piece my eyes were beginning to glaze over. There was the odd moment of interest, the odd scene that caught my attention, but by and large I found the story a struggle to read.

 

Things aren’t helped by a dull and one dimensional supporting cast and a story that’s not particularly original (if you’ve read any sci-fi or fantasy you’ll have figured it all out pretty early on). And once again, the story had very little to do with the search for Clarrisa Jones, something I really noticed this time around. 

 

 

Dave stone, like Bex Levene, is a well known name in Doctor Who and Benny circles. He’s written a bunch of Who novels, has contributed to the Benny Summerfield series with novels, short-stories and audio plays and is the creator of Benny’s ex-husband (now boyfriend) Jason Kane.

 

He’s also a love him or hate him type of writer.

 

After his first Doctor Who novel, Sky Pirates, I was in the hate him camp. But after the publication of Death and Diplomacy (the one where Jason Kane is first introduced) I found myself coming to terms with Dave Stone’s self aware, knowing wink, zany writing style. From that point on it has been a hit and miss relationship. There are times when he nails the story – like two of his Virgin Benny novels, the Mary Sue Extrusion and Return to the Fractured – and there are times when I just want to strangle him, most recently with his Benny novella Zardox Break (in Life in Pieces) and this ridiculously overblown story.

 

In short, it’s about Jason’s adventures with a bunch of incompetent Pirates. But really it’s just a very badly told shaggy tale.

 

The thing with Dave Stone is that at times he can be very funny. But like the best and worst comedians, Stone has started falling back on tried and true routines. Some people will say it was debatable whether the jokes were funny the first time around. I’m of the opinion that even if they were funny, by now they smell like Bok choy that’s been deliquescing in your freezer for the last month. 

 

The story, told by Jason in the style of a pirate, gets on your tits (of which mine are an ample size) very quickly. It’s full of self aware nods to the audience, ridiculous names, jokes that were used in his last novella Zardox Break and weren’t funny then either and an ending that has you screaming very loudly to the point that your fiancée considers calling the cops.

 

Dave Stone can be a good writer, but not on this occasion.

 

 

For the small amount on offer, Guerrier’s linking material is short, sharp and does the job. The ending is suitably shocking and ends with a mini-cliffhanger that leads directly into the short story collection Something Changed

 

The shame about this collection is that it’s one very big missed opportunity. In terms of the over-arching story, anything that even remotely interesting or relevant that happens, occurs in the linking material. This means we get very little detail behind the rhyme and reason for why Ms Jones did the runner. For me, it would have made more sense if the second novella, by Sheargold, had of dealt with Ms Jones experiences at the hotel and not Bev and Adrian’s. Clarissa is the one I wanted to know more about, the one who seemed the most interesting.

 

The only piece to shine out like a beacon of good writing and story-telling is Serpent’s Tooth by Rebecca Levene. But unfortunately it’s not enough of a reason to buy the book.