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Doctor Who: Missing Adventures #11
Doctor Who: System Shock
‘We’re dicing with death on the information superhighway to hell.’
A rebellion on another planet. A kidnapping in central London. The head of MI5 assassinated. A hostage siege suddenly and violently ended by the SAS. A computer CD slipped into the Doctor’s pocket by a dead man...
It’s 1998, and the global information superhighway is about to come on line. OffNet controls everything digital from cars to sliding doors, from interactive television to military command and control systems.
The Doctor and Sarah must join forces with an old friend in a race against time: to prevent the breakdown of technological society and foil an unconventional alien takeover bid.
A rebellion on another planet. A kidnapping in central London. The head of MI5 assassinated. A hostage siege suddenly and violently ended by the SAS. A computer CD slipped into the Doctor’s pocket by a dead man...
It’s 1998, and the global information superhighway is about to come on line. OffNet controls everything digital from cars to sliding doors, from interactive television to military command and control systems.
The Doctor and Sarah must join forces with an old friend in a race against time: to prevent the breakdown of technological society and foil an unconventional alien takeover bid.
309 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 1995
3 people are currently reading
234 people want to read
About the author
Justin Richards
331 books241 followersJustin Richards is a British writer. He has written many spin off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and he is Creative Director for the BBC Books range. He has also written for television, contributing to Five's soap opera Family Affairs. He is also the author of a series of crime novels for children about the Invisible Detective, and novels for older children. His Doctor Who novel The Burning was placed sixth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelisation or TV tie-in novel" category of 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 20, 2025
One doesn’t need the image of Sarah Jane Smith toting a particular model of submachine gun on the cover of this to imagine the elevator pitch for this novel being “The Doctor does a Die Hard to stop Skynet.” The elements borrowed from that movie is studded throughout the text, from the immaculately-suited bad guys to our heroes dodging armed parties searching for them in a building studded with offices and computer banks. Even the weapons are identified as Heckler and Koch MP5s like those from the movie, not just once or twice, but several times throughout the text. And Die Hard is not the only movie from which Justin Richards borrows elements for his plot, and as an homage to 1980s and 1990s cinema his book isn’t terrible.
But what it also isn’t is much of a Doctor Who novel. Yes, the Doctor is in it, as is Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan. But all three spend a good chunk of the novel relegated to the background as Richards prefers to focus on unfolding his antagonists’ plans – the Doctor is even chucked into a closet for several pages at one point just to keep him out of the way of the plot. But for a nice twist Richards introduces late in the story the scheme itself might have been better attributed to Cybermen, which at least would have improved the novel’s bona fides as Doctor Who material. Worst of all, though, is the fact that the Doctor doesn’t really come across throughout much of it as the character we’ve come to know, as Richards’s success in capturing his voice in the novel are intermittent at best. This is unfortunate, as the author makes a number of points in the story that have become even more relevant with time. It’s just unfortunate that he was unable to do so within the context of something truer to the franchise.
But what it also isn’t is much of a Doctor Who novel. Yes, the Doctor is in it, as is Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan. But all three spend a good chunk of the novel relegated to the background as Richards prefers to focus on unfolding his antagonists’ plans – the Doctor is even chucked into a closet for several pages at one point just to keep him out of the way of the plot. But for a nice twist Richards introduces late in the story the scheme itself might have been better attributed to Cybermen, which at least would have improved the novel’s bona fides as Doctor Who material. Worst of all, though, is the fact that the Doctor doesn’t really come across throughout much of it as the character we’ve come to know, as Richards’s success in capturing his voice in the novel are intermittent at best. This is unfortunate, as the author makes a number of points in the story that have become even more relevant with time. It’s just unfortunate that he was unable to do so within the context of something truer to the franchise.
September 24, 2020
"Oh dear, that won't do!"
All of these missing, new adventures have been sitting on the shelves for over twenty years. May be, just may be they should have been left for another twenty.
HEY HO!
All of these missing, new adventures have been sitting on the shelves for over twenty years. May be, just may be they should have been left for another twenty.
HEY HO!
July 12, 2023
In hindsight, the 1990s were a Wild West years of Doctor Who. At a time when the series was off-air and living primarily on the printed page (and the Big Finish audios not starting until the end of the decade), writers and editors experimented with the show and its format in the Virgin New Adventures. The Missing Adventures arrived to fill in that yearning for new stories with the first six Doctors, filling in holes in the show's continuity or offering traditional tales while allowing authors to put familiar characters into new situations. An example of a novel doing all three to varying degrees came with 1995's System Shock by Justin Richards.
Let's begin with "filling in holes in the show's continuity." Richards and System Shock are less guilty of this than, say, The Scales of Injustice (or most other things by Gary Russell, frankly). Indeed, it most does this to reunite the Season 12 TARDIS crew outside of that season by reuniting the Fourth Doctor and Sarah with an older Harry. It's a development that feels quite welcome, given how Harry got written out of the series in both Terror of the Zygons and The Android Invasion, and this coming out nearly a decade after Ian Marter's untimely passing. It helps that Richards knew how to write for Harry, giving a logical twenty-plus years later extension of the character, now a middle-aged sorta-man of action with a touch of wry humor. It would have been easy to play the characters for laughs as an imbecile, and it's to the author's credit that he didn't.
Moving on to "traditional tales," it's safe to say that System Shock is a thriller in the Robert Banks Stewart or even Terrance Dicks Robot mode. Like them, this is an Earthbound tale in familiar settings, including a climax set around a single location. In being so, it also captures their spirit with sizable action sequences and set pieces, including ones featuring Britain's SAS in action. It's almost no surprise that two decades after this novel, Roberts would co-author a series with former SAS members Andy McNab. The chemistry between the returning TV characters adds to that, as well, with Richards wonderfully capturing Tom Baker's mannerisms, even if the use of illogic logic comes across as owing more to the Douglas Adams era of Baker's tenure than Robert Holmes.
Last but not least, there are "familiar characters into new situations." In this case, while Richards wrote something in the vein of Stewart or Dicks (near) contemporary for their time's thrillers, he brought those sensibilities into a near-contemporary setting of his own. Though, reading the novel in the summer of 2023, nearly thirty years after it was published, the depictions of what was then three years in the future felt closer to 2023 than 1998. Richards imagined technological developments like smart homes and our further reliance on the internet through a mid-1990s pair of digital spectacles (oh, how long it's been since I've come across the phrase "Information Superhighway!"). It's something that, inspite some of those nineties imaginings and the odd dated reference to the technology of the time, made this feel surprisingly contemporary. There aren't many novels you can say that about after nearly three decades. Nor, even with Big Finish doing it in audio dramas in more recent times, has the appeal of bringing Classic Who characters into a latter-day setting lost any of its delightful appeal. There's something nice about reading Sarah, soon after leaving the 1970s (or is it 1980?) behind trying to make sense of pseudo-1990s computers that feels believable without being patronizing to either character or reader alike.
The "Doctor Who thriller" has become a sub-genre that Richards has often revisited in the decades since (including in a BBC Books sequel to this very novel). It isn't hard to understand why, having read System Shock and given how well he made it work even so early in his career. It might be on the traditional side of literary Doctor Who, but that doesn't make System Shock any less fun as a thriller.
Let's begin with "filling in holes in the show's continuity." Richards and System Shock are less guilty of this than, say, The Scales of Injustice (or most other things by Gary Russell, frankly). Indeed, it most does this to reunite the Season 12 TARDIS crew outside of that season by reuniting the Fourth Doctor and Sarah with an older Harry. It's a development that feels quite welcome, given how Harry got written out of the series in both Terror of the Zygons and The Android Invasion, and this coming out nearly a decade after Ian Marter's untimely passing. It helps that Richards knew how to write for Harry, giving a logical twenty-plus years later extension of the character, now a middle-aged sorta-man of action with a touch of wry humor. It would have been easy to play the characters for laughs as an imbecile, and it's to the author's credit that he didn't.
Moving on to "traditional tales," it's safe to say that System Shock is a thriller in the Robert Banks Stewart or even Terrance Dicks Robot mode. Like them, this is an Earthbound tale in familiar settings, including a climax set around a single location. In being so, it also captures their spirit with sizable action sequences and set pieces, including ones featuring Britain's SAS in action. It's almost no surprise that two decades after this novel, Roberts would co-author a series with former SAS members Andy McNab. The chemistry between the returning TV characters adds to that, as well, with Richards wonderfully capturing Tom Baker's mannerisms, even if the use of illogic logic comes across as owing more to the Douglas Adams era of Baker's tenure than Robert Holmes.
Last but not least, there are "familiar characters into new situations." In this case, while Richards wrote something in the vein of Stewart or Dicks (near) contemporary for their time's thrillers, he brought those sensibilities into a near-contemporary setting of his own. Though, reading the novel in the summer of 2023, nearly thirty years after it was published, the depictions of what was then three years in the future felt closer to 2023 than 1998. Richards imagined technological developments like smart homes and our further reliance on the internet through a mid-1990s pair of digital spectacles (oh, how long it's been since I've come across the phrase "Information Superhighway!"). It's something that, inspite some of those nineties imaginings and the odd dated reference to the technology of the time, made this feel surprisingly contemporary. There aren't many novels you can say that about after nearly three decades. Nor, even with Big Finish doing it in audio dramas in more recent times, has the appeal of bringing Classic Who characters into a latter-day setting lost any of its delightful appeal. There's something nice about reading Sarah, soon after leaving the 1970s (or is it 1980?) behind trying to make sense of pseudo-1990s computers that feels believable without being patronizing to either character or reader alike.
The "Doctor Who thriller" has become a sub-genre that Richards has often revisited in the decades since (including in a BBC Books sequel to this very novel). It isn't hard to understand why, having read System Shock and given how well he made it work even so early in his career. It might be on the traditional side of literary Doctor Who, but that doesn't make System Shock any less fun as a thriller.
February 9, 2019
The Doctor felt like he had been running all his life. - pg. 201
That quote seems familiar. As if Justin Richards was predicting a common concept in the new series of Doctor Who with the Tenth Doctor. As with the book System Shock , it tried to predict technology a couple of years in the future. This technology prediction, and some other plot points, made it a decent book. Yet due to the time period it was written in, the book does cry out I was written in the 90s.
We start off with the Doctor and Sarah arriving in 1998, which is 3 years after this book was written. They get involved with a mysterious CD and aliens with a plan to take over the world. Added to the story is an older Harry Sullivan.
The concept of meeting an older Sullivan was well done. Justin Richards did a good job of showing how Harry and Sarah view each other due to the difference since seeing each other. For the alien race, he makes them an average race until near the end. Their backstory added something new that had not been scene before and changes what you expected their motive to be. This was a nice twist.
One downside to the story is the way he writes the Doctor. At time it felt like the Fourth Doctor. Then I would come across a passage that made him seem to be a different version, either by manner or language.
Because this story was involved with technology, it had mixed results. With any story trying to predict the future, it can work, or it might not. This book starts off with some good concepts on how the world would be. The first was showing how important CDs would be used for data. It seems quaint today, but is accurate for the time. The next thing it somewhat predicated was how interconnected everything would. Granted in reality it was not quite there by 1998.
This is where the age kicks in. There are multiple reference to the information superhighway and various software ending in NET. Both terminologies common for the 90s, but not used much anymore. Because of how much they are used, it causes the aging. The next part where it falls apart is how the viruses has the potential to destroy everything on Earth via the Internet. Even today there would be enough safeguards to prevent this. I understand part of this was due to how the countries allowed themselves to be fully integrated. However, as seen in real life, how possible is that? Could all the countries agrees to that? Again with this concept it does feel dated as it was a concern back in the 90s.
There was one thing mentioned by the Doctor that I thought was good involving technology. He indicated that the TARDIS was so advanced it would be hard for him to do the work with old technology stored on a CD. With how CDs are less common, this was a good way to show how technology changes over time.
As has been seen with other Missing Adventure stories, the story does not really pick up until about halfway through. I did enjoy this book, but it was not as strong as other books. If you decide to read this, it will be enjoyable, Just don't expect too much.
That quote seems familiar. As if Justin Richards was predicting a common concept in the new series of Doctor Who with the Tenth Doctor. As with the book System Shock , it tried to predict technology a couple of years in the future. This technology prediction, and some other plot points, made it a decent book. Yet due to the time period it was written in, the book does cry out I was written in the 90s.
We start off with the Doctor and Sarah arriving in 1998, which is 3 years after this book was written. They get involved with a mysterious CD and aliens with a plan to take over the world. Added to the story is an older Harry Sullivan.
The concept of meeting an older Sullivan was well done. Justin Richards did a good job of showing how Harry and Sarah view each other due to the difference since seeing each other. For the alien race, he makes them an average race until near the end. Their backstory added something new that had not been scene before and changes what you expected their motive to be. This was a nice twist.
One downside to the story is the way he writes the Doctor. At time it felt like the Fourth Doctor. Then I would come across a passage that made him seem to be a different version, either by manner or language.
Because this story was involved with technology, it had mixed results. With any story trying to predict the future, it can work, or it might not. This book starts off with some good concepts on how the world would be. The first was showing how important CDs would be used for data. It seems quaint today, but is accurate for the time. The next thing it somewhat predicated was how interconnected everything would. Granted in reality it was not quite there by 1998.
This is where the age kicks in. There are multiple reference to the information superhighway and various software ending in NET. Both terminologies common for the 90s, but not used much anymore. Because of how much they are used, it causes the aging. The next part where it falls apart is how the viruses has the potential to destroy everything on Earth via the Internet. Even today there would be enough safeguards to prevent this. I understand part of this was due to how the countries allowed themselves to be fully integrated. However, as seen in real life, how possible is that? Could all the countries agrees to that? Again with this concept it does feel dated as it was a concern back in the 90s.
There was one thing mentioned by the Doctor that I thought was good involving technology. He indicated that the TARDIS was so advanced it would be hard for him to do the work with old technology stored on a CD. With how CDs are less common, this was a good way to show how technology changes over time.
As has been seen with other Missing Adventure stories, the story does not really pick up until about halfway through. I did enjoy this book, but it was not as strong as other books. If you decide to read this, it will be enjoyable, Just don't expect too much.
October 18, 2014
System Shock is an original novel in Virgin Publishing Doctor Who Missing Adventures series and it's an enjoyable and fast read. The novel features the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith. However, they meet and work with a much older Dr. Harry Sullivan, who is Assistant Chief of Staff at MI5. Sarah and Harry are both somewhat perplexed by the meeting, but since both have time travel experience, they deal with it OK.
The plot, which takes time to reveal, includes alien invasion as one may expect - but it's a different concept in alien invasion entirely. Rather than the typical monsters or aliens - this invasion is being organized by a computer-controlled alien corporation. Yes, that's right - alien invaders who track their progress with Gantt charts. The method of invasion is also unique, a completely intelligent artificial life-form called, Voractyll, that literally lives on a CD. The aliens plan on using Voractyll like a computer virus to take over the Earth using the new Hubway InterNet interconnected computer network (the book was published in 1995).
This Doctor Who novel is brilliantly fun. Richards' use of corporate language and behavior is perfect, and amusing. I also found the plot, well, awesome. For a 20-year old Cyberpunk story - it still works, pretty much. Yes, some of the technology seems dreadfully out of date (I took my last two CRT monitors to the Electronic Graveyard recycling site at the beginning of the summer - in this novel, a CRT is the height of monitor technology) the plot still works, and it doesn't seem out of date. I also liked all the characters. I've always liked Harry with Sarah - and in this book he's older, wiser, more mature, and yet, still the same old Harry.
I recommend this novel, if you can find it, for not only Doctor Who fans, but for fans of the Cyberpunk sub-genre of SF.
The plot, which takes time to reveal, includes alien invasion as one may expect - but it's a different concept in alien invasion entirely. Rather than the typical monsters or aliens - this invasion is being organized by a computer-controlled alien corporation. Yes, that's right - alien invaders who track their progress with Gantt charts. The method of invasion is also unique, a completely intelligent artificial life-form called, Voractyll, that literally lives on a CD. The aliens plan on using Voractyll like a computer virus to take over the Earth using the new Hubway InterNet interconnected computer network (the book was published in 1995).
This Doctor Who novel is brilliantly fun. Richards' use of corporate language and behavior is perfect, and amusing. I also found the plot, well, awesome. For a 20-year old Cyberpunk story - it still works, pretty much. Yes, some of the technology seems dreadfully out of date (I took my last two CRT monitors to the Electronic Graveyard recycling site at the beginning of the summer - in this novel, a CRT is the height of monitor technology) the plot still works, and it doesn't seem out of date. I also liked all the characters. I've always liked Harry with Sarah - and in this book he's older, wiser, more mature, and yet, still the same old Harry.
I recommend this novel, if you can find it, for not only Doctor Who fans, but for fans of the Cyberpunk sub-genre of SF.
October 31, 2019
The thing with near-future science fiction is that you need to be very sure of today's tech in order to extrapolate tomorrow's. This author wasn't. By 1995, when this book was released, PCs were already commonplace, there were already CD-ROM encyclopedias at the local library and CD games were all the rage because they had better graphics. So following, it makes no sense that the author had no idea that to read a file list from a CD you just had to pop it into the drive. I mention this because there is a significant part of the plot that involves people carrying a CD around without knowing what is inside it. It's actually plot and it's just nonsense.
Other kinds of nonsense: the catering plan, the fact that programming = discussing philosophy with a piece of software, the fact that no one thought to pull the plug on the servers or cut energy to the house, the fact that the author was blissfully unaware of what a server is and what it does and so also were his characters, the Hollywood hacking descriptions complete with 3D images of insects, the extremely precise IP locating within a building, the fact that the author had no idea what to do with Sarah Jane, so he just made her do nothing.
So, yeah, this one did not age well.
Other kinds of nonsense: the catering plan, the fact that programming = discussing philosophy with a piece of software, the fact that no one thought to pull the plug on the servers or cut energy to the house, the fact that the author was blissfully unaware of what a server is and what it does and so also were his characters, the Hollywood hacking descriptions complete with 3D images of insects, the extremely precise IP locating within a building, the fact that the author had no idea what to do with Sarah Jane, so he just made her do nothing.
So, yeah, this one did not age well.
September 28, 2020
After the mediocre 'Menagerie', 'System Shock' is a real return to form for the MAs. Whilst this is slightly longer than the majority in the Virgin range, it is quick paced and Justin Richards prose is a real joy to read. Chapter 2 sets the tone of the book beautifully, Sutcliffe's theft of the CD and the subsequent chase and his murder, are written fantastically creating a real sense of danger and suspense. The voracians are interesting villains, who have a great twist. The mystery of the inside man keeps you guessing right up until the reveal, with a few red herrings thrown in to keep you off the scent. Considering this is nearly 25 years old, the book still feels relevant, it could just as easily be based around the roll out of 5G. Justin may not of got his predictions of where the internet would be by 1998 anywhere near the reality, but I don't think this distracts from the story. The combination of the Doctor, Sarah and an older Harry, for me, worked extremely well, although considering the placement of this story, the Doctor here is bit more like the later 4th Doctor than the serious portrayal we seen in the Seeds of Doom. I'm really surprised to see such harsh reviews of System Shock, this is a great book.
March 2, 2020
I was expecting too much from this one, Doctor Who doing a 90s technothriller and having an old Harry meet up with a young Doctor and Sarah seems like a recipe for a terrible and forgettable adventure.
Yet it works really well for a few reasons. First off the characters are good and enjoyable. The 4th Doctor is slightly more like the Big Finish version where he is a bit more toned down than the moody Doctor we have during Season 13.
Secondly, with some distance this works well as a historical novel about the 90s Dot-Com bubble, the villains being ultra-logical business men talking in nonsensical jargon is a great touch.
Finally, Richards is one of the best writers had at this point and he is able to show his skill at balancing action, character work, meaning and fun.
Yet it works really well for a few reasons. First off the characters are good and enjoyable. The 4th Doctor is slightly more like the Big Finish version where he is a bit more toned down than the moody Doctor we have during Season 13.
Secondly, with some distance this works well as a historical novel about the 90s Dot-Com bubble, the villains being ultra-logical business men talking in nonsensical jargon is a great touch.
Finally, Richards is one of the best writers had at this point and he is able to show his skill at balancing action, character work, meaning and fun.
May 9, 2021
THRILL!
As the Doctor spends chapter after chapter typing computer code into laptops.
CHILL!
As Sarah Jane tries to photocopy something before she’s discovered.
KRILL!
As aliens try to conquer Earth with conference meetings and powerpoint demonstrations and business speak and I’m so very very tired
As the Doctor spends chapter after chapter typing computer code into laptops.
CHILL!
As Sarah Jane tries to photocopy something before she’s discovered.
KRILL!
As aliens try to conquer Earth with conference meetings and powerpoint demonstrations and business speak and I’m so very very tired
April 17, 2021
The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith arrive in 1998 England, where they confront an alien plan to take over Earth by hijacking and taking control of the internet. Helping them is an old friend now working for MI5, who was much younger when he knew the Doctor and Sarah Jane ...
Justin Richards has become one of my favorite authors of the Doctor Who series, he is able to capture the personality of each Doctor he sends on an adventure. This one does quite a bit of jumping around between the aliens and the Doctor and Sarah, but it makes for a fascinating read. I also liked the large role Sarah plays and the rendering of her on the cover with an assault rifle portends the action heroine she becomes.
Justin Richards has become one of my favorite authors of the Doctor Who series, he is able to capture the personality of each Doctor he sends on an adventure. This one does quite a bit of jumping around between the aliens and the Doctor and Sarah, but it makes for a fascinating read. I also liked the large role Sarah plays and the rendering of her on the cover with an assault rifle portends the action heroine she becomes.
March 29, 2025
Don't get me wrong, I like me some mid-1990s so-bad-it's-good cyberpunk nonsense as much as anyone. But if you're going to do it this jankily, it really needs to be in movie format so we can drink in some absolutely terrible CGI. In the novel format, this sort of material just drags. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
September 12, 2022
A pretty good spy-esque thriller novel. Doctor Who can do pretty good spy novels (as this novel and Trading Futures by Lance Parkin show). The Voracians are also very unique villains (probably based on the higher-ups/coworkers at Justin Richards' job). The technology references (though outdated) don't make me want to scream. Overall, pretty solid.
August 10, 2024
The writing is not very good (lots of comma splices) but I enjoyed the adventure. The business jargon made me laugh.
January 28, 2025
It was fun spending time with the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry, but the book was sort of boring. And there wasn't enough time with the Doctor, especially in the first half.
August 5, 2022
Justin Richards tries to take on the emerging Internet culture as a subject of this near future, for the time, novel. The Doctor and Sarah arrive in London 1998 when the total world wide web is set for complete linkup. Harry Sullivan now middle aged and working for MI5 is investigating a shady tech company called I Squared. The Doctor and Sarah get involved when they are sitting in a pub minding their own business and an agent investigating I Squared is now on the run from one of its homicidal execs and drops a CD-ROM into the Doctor's pocket. So, the setup for the story is rather contrived. The bad guys in this are a bunch of androids that have added organic components from their snake-like creators. Now, they have come to Earth to enslave the entire population to a hybrid robot-corporate ideology virtually embodied in a computer super-virus that will take over the entire human computer network. After some spy-novel bits in the first third of the novel, the rest is a hostage story very similar to "Die Hard," with The Doctor in the Bruce Willis role working as a lone agent to try to thwart the villains. There is quite a bit of running through the building dodging bullets until The Doctor finally gets out of the building, when, fresh out of ideas, Richards has to substitute Sarah running through the building dodging bullets. The novel has several bits of clumsy writing. Though some of the ideas are interesting, I am confused by the high ratings this novel gets. It really is just run-of-the-mill.
October 11, 2023
This was probably highly innovative when it was originally released, but reading it in 2023, this book feels remarkably dated. All discussion of computers and the internet slows the novel terribly and means that where there are some good ideas here, they’re padded out by some long-winded prose. The idea of encountering an older Harry Sullivan is great, but the Fourth Doctor doesn’t quite work for me.
September 21, 2022
'System Shock' is a satisfactory, if overly long, Doctor Who novel. It considers themes still relevant today regarding the uses to which technology is applied, and the perennial debate of logic versus reason. It also functions as an interesting satire on office jargon and other appalling uses of the clichés of the workplace.
The Fourth Doctor is generally well-written throughout, and Justin Richards effortlessly captures Tom Baker's mannerisms and speech patterns in character. The main issue of the Doctor's involvement in the plot is that he spends an inordinate amount of time sitting at various computers, which does not make for very riveting reading.
Sarah and Harry both come across less successfully, especially Sarah, who is uncharacteristically surly and trigger happy.
A key criticism of 'System Shock' is that there are far too many characters, resulting in sketchy and often uninteresting characterisation. I'm also not entirely convinced by the way much of the book reads like an uncomfortable Doctor Who/James Bond crossover.
Nonetheless, not a bad Who novel, but far from being a classic.
The Fourth Doctor is generally well-written throughout, and Justin Richards effortlessly captures Tom Baker's mannerisms and speech patterns in character. The main issue of the Doctor's involvement in the plot is that he spends an inordinate amount of time sitting at various computers, which does not make for very riveting reading.
Sarah and Harry both come across less successfully, especially Sarah, who is uncharacteristically surly and trigger happy.
A key criticism of 'System Shock' is that there are far too many characters, resulting in sketchy and often uninteresting characterisation. I'm also not entirely convinced by the way much of the book reads like an uncomfortable Doctor Who/James Bond crossover.
Nonetheless, not a bad Who novel, but far from being a classic.
June 17, 2025
March 2021
3.5/5
I don't think it's Richards' best, but it's still a fairly solid book. I don't think it helped that I was struggling to find time to read it, so it was a very stretched out experience for me.
June 2025
Man has my enjoyment of this plummeted in the last four years. It's not without its good points, but I don't think it ever does anything I find particularly interesting with the temporal dissonance between an older Harry/younger Sarah and the Doctor, and it definitely doesn't do anything interesting with Sarah on her own, who despite her journalistic chops being vaguely nodded at when they need someone to infiltrate the evil corporation, spends the parts of this book that she's not hanging out being a prisoner incredibly out of her depth, and not even in a fun or interesting way.
3.5/5
I don't think it's Richards' best, but it's still a fairly solid book. I don't think it helped that I was struggling to find time to read it, so it was a very stretched out experience for me.
June 2025
Man has my enjoyment of this plummeted in the last four years. It's not without its good points, but I don't think it ever does anything I find particularly interesting with the temporal dissonance between an older Harry/younger Sarah and the Doctor, and it definitely doesn't do anything interesting with Sarah on her own, who despite her journalistic chops being vaguely nodded at when they need someone to infiltrate the evil corporation, spends the parts of this book that she's not hanging out being a prisoner incredibly out of her depth, and not even in a fun or interesting way.
December 18, 2010
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1573876.html
System Shock doesn't quite make it to being better than average, unfortunately. The Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive in London in 1998 to find aliens invading and Harry Sullivan now senior in MI5. The aliens are amusingly addicted to management-speak, and there are some nice riffs on the digital culture of the era. But inserting the quintessentially 70s characters of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith into a late 1990s setting is a bold stroke that somehow doesn't come off, and the presentation of Harry as 20 years older and considerably wiser doesn't quite live up to its promise.
System Shock doesn't quite make it to being better than average, unfortunately. The Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive in London in 1998 to find aliens invading and Harry Sullivan now senior in MI5. The aliens are amusingly addicted to management-speak, and there are some nice riffs on the digital culture of the era. But inserting the quintessentially 70s characters of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith into a late 1990s setting is a bold stroke that somehow doesn't come off, and the presentation of Harry as 20 years older and considerably wiser doesn't quite live up to its promise.
February 14, 2013
Such a disappointment. Justin Richards isn't my favourite "Doctor Who" author, but he is capable of some great writing, especially with novels such as "The Burning", "Theatre of War", and "Martha in the Mirror". But other times, he can read very blandly...and this is the worst of the lot. A lot of "tell, don't show" scenes, too many characters I never warm up to (or give a damn about), and it doesn't feel like a story from the 4th Doctor/Sarah Jane era. A few moments aside, this story is as cold and emotionless as the technology at the heart of the novel.
May 19, 2008
An interesting monster and some nice characterization can't save a rather plodding story. Feels like the author is trying to write it as a TV episode but the book format doesn't quite support it.
Though, to cut it some slack, System Shock does lead to Millenium Shock, which was a much better book.
Though, to cut it some slack, System Shock does lead to Millenium Shock, which was a much better book.
March 12, 2023
A bit more shoot 'em up than some of Justin Richard's fiction, as he shows off his technical knowledge as an integral part of the story. It was nice to see Harry again, twenty years on from his original adventures and to see him meeting the older Sarah at the end.
February 24, 2010
Love it, classic Fourth Doctor action, any new material with Harry Sullivan is worth its weight.
October 29, 2014
It captured the Fourth Doctor's persona pretty well but dragged on and on in too many places. The editor should have told the author "You need to cut AT LEAST fifty pages."
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