Doctor Who: Citadel of Dreams

Telos Doctor Who Novellas #2

by Dave Stone

1st hardcover edition 2001 new unread. In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel

120 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Stone has written many spin off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and Judge Dredd.

Stone also contributed a number of comic series to 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine, focusing on the Dreddverse (Judge Dredd universe). In collaboration with David Bishop and artist Shaky Kane he produced the much disliked Soul Sisters, which he has described as "a joke-trip, which through various degrees of miscommunication ended up as a joke-strip without any jokes." Working independently, he created the better received Armitage, a Dreddworld take on Inspector Morse set in a future London, and also contributed to the ongoing Judge Hershey series.

Stone’s most lasting contribution to the world of Judge Dredd might well have been his vision of Brit-Cit, which until Stone’s various novels had been a remarkably underexplored area.

Reviews

[Numa Parrott · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I read in the Afterword that this guy also wrote Doctor Who: Slow Empire, my utter confusion suddenly made sense. I didn't really enjoy that book and I couldn't understand much of this one either. Lots of trippy psychic stuff and then the Doctor comes swooping in to save the day. It was difficult to care about the characters or the freaky city.

If you love the Seventh Doctor and Ace, it might be worth a read.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2609363.html

One of the Telos novellas whose quality was sometimes a bit variable, this one with the Seventh Doctor and Ace separately in a city with a timewarp and a deep hidden secret. It's had some positive reviews but pretty much bounced off me; I've liked other work by Dave Stone, but won't be recommending this other than to completists.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a twisty, atmospheric piece that nods to both Jack Vance and Samuel R. Delany. The Doctor (Seven) is barely in it -- Ace shows up more often -- but that's a positive note, really. One of the story elements is a bit obvious from early on, but that's not really an issue. One of the best of the short-lived Telos novella series.

[Danny Welch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dave Stone's work isn't for everyone; not only do his stories have a bizarre sense of humor that might seem out of place for some Doctor Who fans. However, some readers find his stories excessively crazy and outlandish, and his slower writing style makes the issue worse. His style isn't for everyone, but I can't help but admire it a great deal.

Hokesh is a city unlike any other. On the surface, it seems everyone is happy, but underneath it all, it's actually quite dull and disturbing. If it wasn't for unseeable time zones where time itself is in flux, it'd be boring and unworthy to talk about. But something is happening in the city and it's breaking down. The Doctor has a plan in place to help save it, but how does Joey Quine come into it and what's this sudden power he's gained? It seems this city is far more complicated than meets the eye.

Dave Stone has written an imaginative novella with some terrific ideas, an interesting setting and atmosphere. But despite its concept and fascinating structure, it's a story that unfortunately struggles to explain its ideas in a way that makes a clear enough kind of sense. The writing, while understandable with effort, leaves some details not clear enough. It's a story that needed at least 20 more pages for a proper and thorough explanation.

I'll also admit that, while the characterization of the Doctor and Ace is excellent, they only appear extensively in the last 40 pages, which is disappointing. I appreciate the author's clarification that this story is set during or shortly after Season 26, especially since it's one of my favorite seasons.

Overall: I enjoyed this story and appreciated what it was going for, but it needed a couple of re-writes I feel to make it a truly satisfying read. 7/10

[David Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Telos novellas were pitched as a way to take Doctor Who into areas that were not allowable in the ordinary publishing media. David Stone's contribution, the second in the series, really takes this idea and runs with it. Those expecting a standard Doctor Who adventure will be alarmed by what is in this book. In essence, Stone has written a story almost entirely using internal monologue, nearly stream of consciousness, from the perspective of one character, mostly. There are some bits in which we get Ace's thoughts. Thus, because they are not the central point of view, The Doctor and Ace only occasionally appear, and do not become important until late in the story. They also appear as otherworldly beings, distant and aloof. The story itself involves the decay of a city that seems to be a mishmash of different versions of itself in time. The story jumps back and forth across two "zones," with occasional dips into other ones. Thus, it is all quite a bit confusing at first, before gradually coalescing. It is a valiant, though flawed, effort in writing Doctor Who differently.

[Leela42 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Telos novella with the seventh Doctor, Ace. If you've read a lot of Dave Stone books, this one won't stand out.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas, but also slow reading ... and a lot of these ideas have been done before.