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Doctor Who: The Darksmith Legacy #9
The Art of War
The Darksmiths have the Eternity Crystal and are eager to finally fulfil their contract with their mysterious client. The Darksmiths have also reprogrammed Gisella, the robotic 'daughter' of Varlos, who now seems to be working for them. The Doctor learns that the Darksmiths are due to hand over the Crystal to their client as a secret rendezvous on present day Earth. Will the Doctor be able to intercept the transaction in time? Or will the Crystal begin a war that will continue for all eternity?
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 27, 2009
About the author
Mike Tucker
115 books46 followersMike Tucker is a special effects expert who worked for many years at the BBC Television Visual Effects Department, and now works as an Effects Supervisor for his own company, The Model Unit. He is also the author of a number of original tv tie-in Doctor Who novels (some co-written with Robert Perry), and three books based on episodes of the television series Merlin. He co-wrote the factual books Ace! The Inside Story of the End of an Era with Sophie Aldred in 1996, and BBC VFX - The Story of the BBC Visual Effects Department with Mat Irvine in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 1, 2026
Book 9.
The penultimate book of the series sees the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and his companion Gisella travelling back to medieval England to confront the Krashoks, the brutal warlike aliens who are behind the work of the Darksmiths.
The secret villains behind everything in this series, the Krashoks, are a massive disappointment. They're pretty much just generic warlike bullies and are, in fact, far less interesting or intimidating than the Darksmith villains who are very quickly written-out of the story early on in this book.
The time jump back to medieval times doesn't really improve the very generic feeling of this book, as we get all the usual predictable tropes, such as the proud Lord who's made a deal with the devil in the hopes of reviving his lost wife, and the angry villagers who accuse the Doctor and Gisella of being witches.
The only redeeming features here for me were the two scenes where the English knights who find themselves reluctantly in thrall to the Krashoks rediscover their honour and confront the obvious evil that is in front of them. It felt nicely cathartic and also underscored that these were good men at heart and were duped into serving the villains.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
The penultimate book of the series sees the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and his companion Gisella travelling back to medieval England to confront the Krashoks, the brutal warlike aliens who are behind the work of the Darksmiths.
The secret villains behind everything in this series, the Krashoks, are a massive disappointment. They're pretty much just generic warlike bullies and are, in fact, far less interesting or intimidating than the Darksmith villains who are very quickly written-out of the story early on in this book.
The time jump back to medieval times doesn't really improve the very generic feeling of this book, as we get all the usual predictable tropes, such as the proud Lord who's made a deal with the devil in the hopes of reviving his lost wife, and the angry villagers who accuse the Doctor and Gisella of being witches.
The only redeeming features here for me were the two scenes where the English knights who find themselves reluctantly in thrall to the Krashoks rediscover their honour and confront the obvious evil that is in front of them. It felt nicely cathartic and also underscored that these were good men at heart and were duped into serving the villains.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
June 27, 2016
Por fin se conoce quiénes son los misteriosos compradores que quieren el cristal. El nombre de esta especie de alienígenas se reveló en el tomo anterior, pero nunca había oído hablar de ellos. Mirando un poco por la web, he visto que los Krashoks no aparecían en la serie antigua y sé que no aparecen en la nueva, así que los lectores descubrimos junto con Gisella y Oswald, un bardo al que conocen en este libro, quiénes son exactamente estos Krashoks.
El argumento no está mal, pero tampoco es como para tirar cohetes. Los Krashoks son igual de malos que los Daleks, pero más listos, pues saben cómo conseguir que la gente haga lo que ellos quieren. Y si no lo hacen por las buenas, les obligan a hacerlo por las malas. Además, tampoco hay demasiada intriga en este libro porque está narrado desde varios puntos de vista. Por eso, lo único que se desconoce hasta el final es cómo salvará el día el Doctor. Después de lo mucho que me gustó el anterior, leer éste fue hasta un poco decepcionante.
El argumento no está mal, pero tampoco es como para tirar cohetes. Los Krashoks son igual de malos que los Daleks, pero más listos, pues saben cómo conseguir que la gente haga lo que ellos quieren. Y si no lo hacen por las buenas, les obligan a hacerlo por las malas. Además, tampoco hay demasiada intriga en este libro porque está narrado desde varios puntos de vista. Por eso, lo único que se desconoce hasta el final es cómo salvará el día el Doctor. Después de lo mucho que me gustó el anterior, leer éste fue hasta un poco decepcionante.
December 9, 2020
I have really enjoyed this series so far and this book is no exception. As I am unable to watch television due to photosensitive epilepsy, this series has been my introduction to Doctor Who and I definitely want to read more.
December 23, 2020
エターナルクリスタルの注文者がクラーショックというエイリアンで、死んだ兵士を生き返らせて永遠に戦争を続けようという企みをもっていることを知ったドクター。
計画を阻止するために彼らの行方を追うと、中世時代のイギリスに。
クラーショックは領主ブラックハートに死んだ最愛の妻を蘇らせるという約束ろ引き換えに、領民を労働力として差し出させる。
ジセラが洗脳されてなくてよかった！彼女はドクターのコンパニオンとしてとても合っているのでこのままドクターの側にいてあげて欲しいんだけどな。
計画を阻止するために彼らの行方を追うと、中世時代のイギリスに。
クラーショックは領主ブラックハートに死んだ最愛の妻を蘇らせるという約束ろ引き換えに、領民を労働力として差し出させる。
ジセラが洗脳されてなくてよかった！彼女はドクターのコンパニオンとしてとても合っているのでこのままドクターの側にいてあげて欲しいんだけどな。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2018
Good Doctor vs bad, evil aliens. Fun read
July 14, 2018
Quite good - loads of plot stolen from Time Warrior .
June 16, 2014
Mike Tucker always pens a cracking good Doctor Who yarn, and he always creates a cracking good Doctor Who monster too, so this book was every bit as good as expected. If it's not quite up there with his very best work, it's simply because of the truncated length of a novella.
With the villains behind the Darksmiths series now revealed, the Doctor traces them to medieval England. The setting is close enough to 'The Time Warrior' to be familiar (alien hiding out in castle after making an alliance with its lord and using slave labour to repair a damaged spaceship), but different enough to not be a simple copy. Given the shorter length of these books, the familiarity helps with the world building.
It's a good instalment to what has consistently been an excellent series. Here's hoping the climactic volume is a triumph too.
With the villains behind the Darksmiths series now revealed, the Doctor traces them to medieval England. The setting is close enough to 'The Time Warrior' to be familiar (alien hiding out in castle after making an alliance with its lord and using slave labour to repair a damaged spaceship), but different enough to not be a simple copy. Given the shorter length of these books, the familiarity helps with the world building.
It's a good instalment to what has consistently been an excellent series. Here's hoping the climactic volume is a triumph too.
April 14, 2015
Review written: sometime before April 21, 2015
The Art of War by Mike Tucker
Why I read it: Still Doctor Who.
Rating: 3/5
What I thought: Solid historical action fare, but - somewhat obviously - nothing as good as the TV show provides. That being said, the new characters were decent enough.
The Art of War by Mike Tucker
Why I read it: Still Doctor Who.
Rating: 3/5
What I thought: Solid historical action fare, but - somewhat obviously - nothing as good as the TV show provides. That being said, the new characters were decent enough.
November 25, 2012
The penultimate tale in the Darksmith saga presents a new antagonist and gets ready for a finale. It does what it's supposed to but little extra; the story is solid but could have used a bit more character in order to become excellent.
November 23, 2016
The main plot developed quite nicely but for the majority of this chapter the plot was slow moving and I found it boring as nothing really developed but there were some nice moments and some well written characters.
December 9, 2020
I have really enjoyed this series so far and this book is no exception. As I am unable to watch television due to photosensitive epilepsy, this series has been my introduction to Doctor Who and I definitely want to read more.
May 30, 2011
3.5 stars
For my review, please visit my blog: http://shadowsireview.blogspot.com/20...
For my review, please visit my blog: http://shadowsireview.blogspot.com/20...
October 4, 2011
Suitable for 8 - 11 year olds.
Quite fun with the Doctor going back to the middle ages, does have a feel of the Time Warrior. Some nice moments in it, and the bard character is good.
Quite fun with the Doctor going back to the middle ages, does have a feel of the Time Warrior. Some nice moments in it, and the bard character is good.
April 18, 2015
Good short story.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews