After the monstrosity that was The Slow Empire, I'm glad to say that Dark Progeny marks a return to form for the 8th Doctor novels. Dark Progeny is, as the title suggests, a very dark novel, but it is still very well written with intriguing situations and not too many missteps.

The Doctor, Anji and Fitz make an emergency landing on Ceres Alpha after the TARDIS suffers a telepathic attack that also seems to be affecting Anji for some reason. Ceres Alpha is having problems of its own, though. The developing city-machine is having numerous breakdowns, and a bunch of strange babies with apparent telepathic powers has been born. What is going on? What is the connection between the terraforming, the babies and the malfunctions?

Steve Emmerson presents the reader with a very interesting situation, one that expands on traditional Doctor Who stories. The basics of the story could have been told on the TV series, but Emmerson increases the tension and the violence to an extent that would make this book pretty unfilmable. And isn't that the purpose of the books anyway? To expand on the series?

The Doctor and his companions are put through hell in this book, and they come out all the better for it. I sometimes shivered at the stuff that they were going through, even as I couldn't wait to read further to find out how they got out of the situation. The mystery of Ceres Alpha makes you want to read further to find out what is going on. I do have to say that the ultimate revelation is telegraphed a bit too early (I figured it out about half-way through the book while the Doctor figures it out on page 266). But it is an interesting one, so I'll forgive it.

The characters are well-portrayed for the most part. This is the Doctor and Anji's book and Fitz is sidelined for most of it. However, he is given a lot to do even if none of it really has any affect on the outcome of the story. While he again is very attracted to a female character in the book, at least nothing much is made of it. That would bother me usually, but since it happens so often and something *is* made of it, it was nice to have Fitz's feelings appear to be unreciprocated.

Anji is also very well done, though we don't really learn much about her. She spends the first portion of the book unconscious, and then spends the rest of the book running, being interrogated, running again, etc. She plays a very important part in the mystery of the book, however, so what she does go through is important, unlike Fitz.

The Doctor shines in this book, though. His compassion is marvelously portrayed, and he seems a lot more "Doctor-like" in this one than he has been in the past few books. There are no uncharacteristic violent tendencies that he's had. Not that this is a bad thing in previous books, but the fact that he seems more normal in this one is a sign that he's settling into his role to an extent. He's alternately whimsical, tender, and full of righteous outrage which makes him far more recognizable to the fan of the TV series than he has been before.

The other characters, Bains, Veta, Josef, Peron (applicable name in this case) and most especially Tyran are also well-portrayed. Tyran's motivation is very clear and he's not just a villain in order to be a villain. His background very much colours the way he is now. The ultimate revelation about Tyran is a bit cliched, but the rest of his portrayal makes up for that. Each character has a part to play in the narrative, and none of them are wasted. Veta and Josef start out as very tragic characters, and I wondered what they would end up having to do with the plot. The result was very nicely done.

This is a good book to recommend to Who fans who have thought the books are too much of a departure from the series. It's very intense and very violent, so keep that in mind as well. But its roots are definitely back in the series, with the Doctor fighting bureaucracy and the military for the greater good of a society.


Recommended: Yes