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The Third Doctor is persuaded by the infuriating Time Lady
Solenti to investigate the disappearance of her associate,
Lord Roche. Meanwhile, in Bognor Regis, 1999, a young woman
with unnaturally large eyes and unusually short hair would
also like to locate Roche, but can't remember why. All she
knows is that there aren't enough suns in the sky, and the
sea doesn't smell quite right...
I
would have thought that the Doctor Who universe was
already over-populated with meddling and/or renegade Time
Lords. However, Lady Solenti, a blind Gallifreyan who shares
a telepathic rapport with her guide dog, Jess, is a memorable
enough addition to the mythology. The unscrupulous and decidedly
callous Lord Roche makes less of an impression, although the
presence of both of these characters gives rise to some neat
TARDIS-related ideas.
Due
to Solenti's intervention, the Doctor's ship spectacularly
crash-lands, carving a path of destruction in its semi-materialised
state, because it is not correctly synchronised with the Earth's
rotation. Meanwhile, Solenti's and Roche's own vessels boast
an intriguing new gimmick: an atrium circuit, which can extend
a TARDIS's disguise well beyond its basic shell in order to
blend in more effectively with its surroundings.
There's
also a petrified stone TARDIS, which lies at one end of a
complex time fracture, although this is territory that has
been covered before, in both The Ancestor Cell and
the Missing Adventure, Cold Fusion. The fracture itself
is an unnecessary complication that the book could have done
without. The anomaly is set up as being a major plot element,
but in the end comes to very little, and is rather unconvincingly
rationalised away.
Never
mind, though, because the main appeal of Saint's novel lies
in its instantly accessible characters and its tangible sense
of place. I empathised particularly with the characters of
Troy Game, a displaced alien, and Simon Haldane, the science-fiction
fan who looks after her. I don't usually find myself caring
about the supporting characters as much I do about the series
regulars, but this book is an exception to the rule. In this
respect, Suns is a shining example.
Richard
McGinlay
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