The Book Report #96

Episode #95

Doctor Who: Sick Buildings By Paul Magrs

The Book

This book was first published in 2007 by BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing, and Ebury Publishing is a division of Random House Group LTD.

My copy is a 2nd print hardback with 257 pages. This also includes acknowledgements and advertisements for other books in the series.

I also used an ebook copy when not at home.

What Did I Think?

A man who built his wealth from building mechanical robots that are designed for any job around the house. Leaves Earth to live on a planet by himself and his family. Only to find a giant space-faring tapeworm is about to consume his planet and home.

Enter the Doctor and Martha, who have been following the path of the Voracious Craw. The same worm creature that is heading to the Tiermann’s World.

As a favour, the Doctor thought they would pop down to the planet to warn and help whoever needed it to get off the planet in time.

Entitled

But not everything goes the way the Doctor expected, as Earnest Termann is essentially a giant child, a genius, but still a child. Who likes things done in a certain way, and if anyone spoils that, you are the enemy. But it was partly the doctor’s fault, as he does what he always does: rushes in and tries to take over, doing whatever he wants, which is what gets him placed on the 39th level of the Dreamhome.

The Dreamhome is a creation of Earnest, where his wife and son live together. An enclosed environment, shielded off from the rest of the planet.

This is a simple idea of a story that almost works, but I felt it didn’t quite meet its full potential. I can’t fault the author on the characters and the plot; everything worked well. The author brought Martha’s character to life, but it fell a bit short with the Doctor. I don’t know when the Doctor became Cockney.

On top of that, we have a supercomputer that doesn’t like the idea of being abandoned and will not take no for an answer.

But there was still a feeling of something missing… No, not missing, not working together. Maybe both. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Other Life

Mr Magrs did a great job thinking about who else could be suffering from the planet being eaten. At the beginning and at the end of the story, we follow a sabretooth tiger and her family; they don’t understand what is coming. She understands the danger and the stress; however, at the same time, she has to provide for her family and somehow still survive.

Would I Recommend?

To anybody interested in a bit of sci-fi and liking a bit of Doctor Who, this may be the book for you. It’s a nice, easy read for all ages. Nothing taxing. And the author did a good job. But it just falls short. But I would still recommend this story.

Please give this book a go.

Would you like to purchase your very own copy?

You could try these online stores: Amazon UK/USA.  Waterstones. AbeBooks UK/USA, Barnes & Noble, or eBay UK/USA.

Alternatively, you could try your local bookshop or even your local library.