The Space Age

[Original blog post on Tumblr: August 19th, 2016]

Some highlights of the last EDA I’ve read (The Space Age).

I took these screens while reading, along with my reactions. As usual, this is full of spoilers.

Well, that was pointless. I didn’t care about anyone or anything in that book. That hadn’t happened since War of the Daleks, I think. At least Placebo Effect was terribly written, so I could make fun of that. At least Autumn Mist made me angry, so I felt, you know, things.

The ideas had some potential, clearly, but something went wrong and we’re only left with vaguely pleasant raygun-gothic imagery, a Doctor in full Tigger mode, an absent Compassion and a Fitz caught in an endless loop of capture/escape situations.

All I can say about that book is that it’s just there. It exists. 2/10

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Compassion seems to be completely stuck. How much do you want to bet that the author just didn’t want to deal with the character too much and decided to create a good excuse to do so?

Eight looking at little things in the middle of something important: a life story

“studiously not thinking about breathing”

Best quote in the book, everybody can go home.

This guy instantly assumes Fitz comes from space and technically he isn’t wrong.

Hahaha oh damn.

Meanwhile Eight is making improvised tea for the people who live in the wastelands outside the city. Of course he is.

Eight is in full Tigger mode in this book. Caricaturally so, I’d say.

Interesting.

Fitz has been stabbed and I just realised I don’t care. Not a good sign.

I can smell a capture/escape plot from a mile away and this reeks of it.

Of course.

Okay so I should mention I had a dream where the sky was white and the stars were black a couple of years ago, except I was floating on some sort of small boat in the middle of a black (or very dark purple) sea.

So Fitz’s bullshit story makes me unexpectedly uncomfortable.

Eight no

Meanwhile Fitz is telling even more bullshit stories to the Mods.

Uh. So this isn’t really a futuristic Earth then.

Must admit I snorted.

Understatement of the week.

I kinda feel sad for her. Mind you, “kinda sad” is the strongest emotion this book has managed to achieve so far.

I know they’re all from 1965 England but Rick is a very American person

Meanwhile, Compassion is very slowly trying to get back into the plot.

I’m having The Cannibalists flashbacks, which isn’t in favor of The Space Age at all, especially considering the similarities between their worlds.

Wait a second are all the humans here sorta like pets in a cage?

Okay so Compassion was talking to the creators of the city this entire time. Still not a good excuse to remove her from the plot for 120 pages.

The Web of Time feels a bit like weird knitting sometimes.

So basically the futuristic city was a gift the Maker made for some humans after they found it on the beach in 1965 and it just got a little out of hand since then. That idea really had potential. Too bad the book is so bland.

That exchange is cute, though.

That’s it that’s the show

I’m coincidentally listening to VNV Nation’s Transnational album and I must admit Teleconnect part 1 fits that whole thing pretty well.

So there will be no consequences whatsoever, then. Great.

Was there ever a point

Well that story was a big load of nothing. Steve Lyon’s audio work is definitely a lot better than that - not stellar, mind you, but Time Works and Son of the Dragon are pretty good, for example.

So yeah. No.