• Home
  • Writers, After Dark
  • The Babylon Podcast
  • Slice of SciFi TV
  • Charlie Jade Verse
  • SciFi Shop Talk
  • Contact Us
    • About Us

Slice of SciFi

This is How We Geek Out: Interviews, Reviews & More

  • Podcast
  • Interviews
  • Movie Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • DVD Reviews
  • Columns
  • News
    • TV News
    • Film News
    • DVD News
    • Online Entertainment News
    • Space News
    • Music News
    • On Stage
    • Geeky, Funny & Weird
Reviewing “Doctor Who: Engines of War” A Slice of SciFi Book Review

Reviewing “Doctor Who: Engines of War” A Slice of SciFi Book Review

October 20, 2014 By Tim Callender Leave a Comment

Doctor Who: Engines of WarThe trickiest part of writing a tie-in novel with a movie or TV franchise is making the characters speak with the voices we have come to know on screen. In this sense, Doctor Who: Engines of War is a success. Author George Mann brings the War Doctor to life in this adventure that takes place during the Time War. Throughout the course of the story, I could hear John Hurt’s voice in the dialogue. Additionally, Mann captures the tone of the Doctor Who universe.

The tale begins with a flotilla of battle TARDISes engaging a Dalek fleet near the Eye of Tanatalus, a space-time anomaly controlled by the Daleks. During the battle, the Time Lord contingent is destroyed and the War Doctor narrowly escapes a crash landing on the decimated planet of Moldox. Here, the Doctor meets a young resistance fighter named Cinder. Together, the Doctor and his new companion infiltrate a Dalek stronghold and discover the Daleks have been spawning new and horrible offshoots of their race. Worse still, the Daleks have developed a weapon that not only dematerializes its target but removes all trace of it in the timeline. The Doctor and Cinder hightail it to Gallifrey to warn the Time Lords of this new development, only to discover that Rassilon has created his own monstrosity to combat the Daleks.

Mann has crafted a fast-moving adventure. He paints a compelling picture of two warring sides – the Daleks and Time Lords – willing to torch all of Reality in order to emerge victorious, no matter the cost. It is clear that the Time Lords have become much like the Daleks in the sense that they are more concerned about preserving their own existence at the expense of “lesser” races. And the Doctor’s anger with his own people feels real.

One does not have to be a deeply knowledgable fan of Doctor Who to enjoy this novel; however, a major plot point draws from the classic serial “The Five Doctors”. Viewing this will add depth and understanding to that element of the novel.

Overall, “Engines of War” is a well-crafted Doctor Who adventure. The book gives great insight to the concept of how the Time Lords and Daleks are two sides of the same coin. I hope a sequel is in the works which will illuminate how the Doctor was driven to the decision to use The Moment to wipe out both races as shown in “The Day of the Doctor”.

Doctor Who: Engines of War by George Mann
Series: Doctor Who
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Broadway Books (September 9, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0553447661
ISBN-13: 978-0553447668

"Doctor Who: The Engines of War" by George Mann
3.5

Summary

“Engines of War” is a well-crafted Doctor Who adventure. The book gives great insight to the concept of how the Time Lords and Daleks are two sides of the same coin.

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on Email

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Doctor Who

About Tim Callender

Related Posts

Matt Smith — A HitFix Interview
DVD Review: “Doctor Who: Terror of the Autons”
Watch “Doctor Who” On Facebook

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Active Contests
Audio Productions
Awards News
Book News
Book Reviews
Columns
Comics News
DVD News
DVD Reviews
Entertainment Business News
Events
Fan Films
Fan Productions
Film News
Film Reviews
Gaming News
Geeky, Funny & Weird
Human Interest
Interviews
Music News
On Stage
Online Entertainment News
Science News
Slice of SciFi
Slice Video News
Space News
Specials
Technology News
TV News
TV Reviews

Slice

Follow Slice of SciFi

  • twitter
  • youtube
  • facebook

Listen to Slice of SciFi

  • iheartradio
  • playerfm

Subscribe to Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsiHeartRadioStitcherPodchaserTuneInRSS
  • Movie & TV Reviews

Father's Day - Deals on 4K UHD Collections

Recent Comments

  • Greg R. on “Hotel Artemis” offers splendid lodgings: “Hotel Artemis – I just had the chance to watch Hotel Artemis again on SHO and looking for an answer…”
  • Raymond Stevens on Reviewing “Return to Sender”: “Killing her dad’s dog was unnecessary and cruel. I then felt instant dislike for this woman. Giving the rapist POS…”
  • Eric Wiggins on “The Equalizer 2” explores retribution and consequences: “Very very well written. Im drinking ?and ?. But im watching equalizer 2 an was looking up random stuff. Awesome…”
  • janet p on “The Equalizer 2” explores retribution and consequences: “hope for equalizer 3”
  • Bb on Reviewing “Return to Sender”: “I HATED she killed Bennie the dog. Bennie recognized that Miranda is off kilter. Both Miranda and Finn are serious…”
Tweets by Slice of SciFi
death to humans 160x600
Save 20 on all pre-order statues at TFAW.com!

Slice of SciFi
415 Pisgah Church Rd #302
Greensboro NC 27455
602-635-6976

Artwork:
Slice of SciFi spiral logo designed by Tim Callender

Theme Music:
Slice of SciFi music and themes
courtesy of Sci-Fried

Sister Sites:
Writers, After Dark
The Babylon Podcast
Charlie Jade Verse
Slice of SciFi TV

Slice

Copyright Slice of SciFi © 2005–2023 · WordPress · Log in