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When a naval cruiser sinks in mysterious circumstances, all
aboard are lost. Rose is saddened to learn that the brother
of her friend, Keisha, was among the dead - but then he appears
before them as a ghostly apparition. As the dead crew haunts
loved ones all over London, the Doctor, Rose, Mickey and Keisha
are drawn into a chilling mystery. What sinister force sank
the ship, and why...?
Rather
strangely, this book, like its predecessor, Jacqueline Rayner's
The Stone Rose, is
an Earth-based story featuring the recurring characters of
Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler. These characters don't usually
appear in consecutive stories, so there is a risk that the
series might be perceived as lacking variety. In both books,
the Doctor and Rose have already arrived as the story begins.
However, whereas the TARDIS crew spent relatively little time
in present-day London during The Stone Rose, here it
is the primary setting. It is possible, therefore, that the
Doctor and Rose immediately returned to the present day following
their trip to ancient Rome, perhaps to check up on Rose's
statue and to ensure that history had not been affected by
their adventure.
Jackie
and - in particular - Mickey play larger roles in this novel
than they did in the previous one. In fact, Mickey seems well
on his way to becoming a full-blown companion, as he will
do later on in the current TV series.
Another
major character is Rose's friend, Keisha, who is introduced
here as part of the once close-knit gang of Rose, Keisha and
Shareen. Rose's best mate Shareen has been mentioned several
times on the TV show, but presumably Cole has chosen to invent
a new friend (or the BBC insisted) rather than make use of
Shareen, in case the character were to appear in a subsequent
television episode that might contradict this book.
While clearly set after the episode New Earth (in which
both Rose and the Doctor make frequent mention of the Time
Lord's new appearance and character), the Tenth Doctor is
evidently still getting used to his new body, as he refers
again to the weirdness of having new teeth.
Though
the page count is the same as normal for these young-adult
hardbacks, the type is considerably smaller. This means that,
by my estimation, the story lasts 25 per cent longer than
usual. It is also a little more adult in tone. For example,
one character gives another a two-fingered salute, there is
talk of Mickey and Keisha having a one-night stand following
Rose's initial disappearance, and Cole's descriptions of the
reanimated victims of drowning (with their pearly eyes and
water dribbling from every facial orifice) are fairly gruesome.
The
Feast of the Drowned makes substantial fodder for Doctor
Who readers of all ages. It is, dare I say it, something
of a feast.
Richard
McGinlay
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