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Doctor Who: 2 New Adventures #2
Doctor Who: The Good, the Bad and the Alien / System Wipe
Aliens have crash-landed in the Wild West and they're ready for a showdown in The Good, the Bad and the Alien Can the Doctor, Rory, and Amy work out which are the good guys and which are the bad? The Doctor finds himself trapped in a virtual world in System Wipe. As he tries to save the characters of the virtual world from being destroyed by a deadly virus, Amy and Rory must fight to keep the Doctor's body in the real world safe from the mysterious entity known as Legacy.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 3, 2022
Read one story from the book
May 12, 2013
The Good, the Bad, and the Alien: Best Who Story I read so far. The Doctor was hilarious, Amy and Rory brilliant and the story like it could been on screen. 5 Stars!
System Whipe: I had my difficulties to dive into the storyline and the end was a bit fast. I missed the doctors humour... But it was a good (not one of the best) story at the end.
System Whipe: I had my difficulties to dive into the storyline and the end was a bit fast. I missed the doctors humour... But it was a good (not one of the best) story at the end.
November 18, 2011
The Good, The Bad and The Alien
Not the best Doctor Who novel ever written, but at under 200 pages and as part of a 2in1 book I didn't really expect a literary classic. But it was still an enjoyable quick read that didn't require any indepth thought from the reader so a nice simple easy going book. Yes the plot and throwaway characters were pretty basic but it is a book aimed at a younger audience so I didn't really expect too many character layers. The Doctor, Rory and Amy characters were pretty consistent with their onscreen counterparts, which isn't always the case in a Doctor Who novel. But as is usually the case the plot didn't delve much into the canon of the TV series. The book was obviously written before the scripts of series 6 of the TV series were submitted as the Doctor wears a Stetson in this book in order to blend in with the Wild West and the Doctor wearing a Stetson is also a theme during series 6 but not one that relates to this book. This book did have some similar elements to the other Doctor Who novel Dead Of Winter which is a book I was really not fond of and there were also similarties to The Glamour Chase and Way Through The Woods which are other recent Who novels so I think the authors of the Doctor Who books need to start thinking of some new plot lines. But like I said a nice quick if not massively insightful read.
System Wipe
Of the two books this was the poorer. The story really didn't seem to have any foundation whatsoever. The Amy, Doctor and Rory characters were quite true to their TV counterparts, but that's about the only positive with this book. It wasn't a bad book but it most definatly wasn't good either. It was just not really that intersesting. Of the two books in this omnibus I thought I would prefer this one which is why I decided to read this one last. But I found that I actually prefered "The Good, The Bad & The Alien". The ending of this book was very flat but at just under 200 pages I suppose it wasn't going to be a massively insightful climax. But no part of this book gripped me at all. For such a short story it took me an age to read which just goes to show how it was unable to hold my interest. This book obviously took alot of influence from films, The Matrix and WALL.E being the obvious candidates and one of the very few things I did like about this book was a robot with the name Daryl a hint at the 80's film I loved about a robot with the same name. But asides from that not too many positives in this book.
Not the best Doctor Who novel ever written, but at under 200 pages and as part of a 2in1 book I didn't really expect a literary classic. But it was still an enjoyable quick read that didn't require any indepth thought from the reader so a nice simple easy going book. Yes the plot and throwaway characters were pretty basic but it is a book aimed at a younger audience so I didn't really expect too many character layers. The Doctor, Rory and Amy characters were pretty consistent with their onscreen counterparts, which isn't always the case in a Doctor Who novel. But as is usually the case the plot didn't delve much into the canon of the TV series. The book was obviously written before the scripts of series 6 of the TV series were submitted as the Doctor wears a Stetson in this book in order to blend in with the Wild West and the Doctor wearing a Stetson is also a theme during series 6 but not one that relates to this book. This book did have some similar elements to the other Doctor Who novel Dead Of Winter which is a book I was really not fond of and there were also similarties to The Glamour Chase and Way Through The Woods which are other recent Who novels so I think the authors of the Doctor Who books need to start thinking of some new plot lines. But like I said a nice quick if not massively insightful read.
System Wipe
Of the two books this was the poorer. The story really didn't seem to have any foundation whatsoever. The Amy, Doctor and Rory characters were quite true to their TV counterparts, but that's about the only positive with this book. It wasn't a bad book but it most definatly wasn't good either. It was just not really that intersesting. Of the two books in this omnibus I thought I would prefer this one which is why I decided to read this one last. But I found that I actually prefered "The Good, The Bad & The Alien". The ending of this book was very flat but at just under 200 pages I suppose it wasn't going to be a massively insightful climax. But no part of this book gripped me at all. For such a short story it took me an age to read which just goes to show how it was unable to hold my interest. This book obviously took alot of influence from films, The Matrix and WALL.E being the obvious candidates and one of the very few things I did like about this book was a robot with the name Daryl a hint at the 80's film I loved about a robot with the same name. But asides from that not too many positives in this book.
January 9, 2012
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1833444...
Two short (200-page, large print) Doctor Who novels packaged together as a double. Colin Brake's The Good, the Bad and the Alien is written rather more for the younger end of the market, and is the same aliens in the Wild West type story that has been done several times over in recent years (including in the Eleventh Doctor audio The Runaway Train). I wondered if Amy would have been old enough to catch Deputy Dawg on TV - was it still being shown in the 1990s? And the "comparing the meerkats" joke passed me by (though I caught the quote from Blade Runner). But decent enough for what it is.
I have not been hugely impressed by Oli Smith's previous work for Who (which includes The Runaway Train, mentioned above, and Blackout, an audio set in 1960s New York). But System Wipe worked rather better for me; also set in America, with the Doctor trying to save the population of the virtual world Parallife before its entire system is wiped and Amy and Rory solving another part of the mystery in meatspace. Some similarities with the recent Seventh Doctor Big Finish audios The Doomsday Quatrain and House of Blue Fire.
Recommended for younger fans, and completists like me.
Two short (200-page, large print) Doctor Who novels packaged together as a double. Colin Brake's The Good, the Bad and the Alien is written rather more for the younger end of the market, and is the same aliens in the Wild West type story that has been done several times over in recent years (including in the Eleventh Doctor audio The Runaway Train). I wondered if Amy would have been old enough to catch Deputy Dawg on TV - was it still being shown in the 1990s? And the "comparing the meerkats" joke passed me by (though I caught the quote from Blade Runner). But decent enough for what it is.
I have not been hugely impressed by Oli Smith's previous work for Who (which includes The Runaway Train, mentioned above, and Blackout, an audio set in 1960s New York). But System Wipe worked rather better for me; also set in America, with the Doctor trying to save the population of the virtual world Parallife before its entire system is wiped and Amy and Rory solving another part of the mystery in meatspace. Some similarities with the recent Seventh Doctor Big Finish audios The Doomsday Quatrain and House of Blue Fire.
Recommended for younger fans, and completists like me.
May 5, 2016
The 4 star review is apportioned as 5 stars to System Wipe, and 3 stars to The Good, The Bad and The Alien.
System Wipe is a tale I found extremely atmospheric and eerie, set in a remote farmhouse and later in a research centre, with a real sense of menace and being under siege. The creatures, made of moon rock, and the threat they carry, came across as very original and threatening. Definite 5 star material.
The Good, The Bad and The Alien was much less original, however. A Doctor Who Western sounds like a great idea, until you realise that it's now been done so much, on TV, in Big Finish audios, and even in a previous BBC book, 'The Peacemaker' - which ALSO featured an alien weapon causing problems in a Western town!
Having said that, it's well written and the story moves along nicely, it's just not a story that pushed my buttons. I would also say that the Doctor's defeat of the weapon at the end is almost insultingly quick and easy, as if the author was running out of space to finish the story. A solid 3 stars, it's well written and not a chore to read, but nothing superlative.
System Wipe is a tale I found extremely atmospheric and eerie, set in a remote farmhouse and later in a research centre, with a real sense of menace and being under siege. The creatures, made of moon rock, and the threat they carry, came across as very original and threatening. Definite 5 star material.
The Good, The Bad and The Alien was much less original, however. A Doctor Who Western sounds like a great idea, until you realise that it's now been done so much, on TV, in Big Finish audios, and even in a previous BBC book, 'The Peacemaker' - which ALSO featured an alien weapon causing problems in a Western town!
Having said that, it's well written and the story moves along nicely, it's just not a story that pushed my buttons. I would also say that the Doctor's defeat of the weapon at the end is almost insultingly quick and easy, as if the author was running out of space to finish the story. A solid 3 stars, it's well written and not a chore to read, but nothing superlative.
February 11, 2013
I got a copy of system wipe free with the kids Doctor Who magazine. When you get a book free with a kids magazine you don't expect that much but I found that I did quite enjoy this one. I read it through in one go in the middle of the night when I had insomnia. The story was kinda a virtual world version of the nothing. I think I liked it so much cause it was a bit post-apocalyptic. The world had ended and humans had all disappeared (which was never explained which I kinda liked) and there were robots destroying everything and going to rebuild it for the humans they thought were returning. The Doctor got stuck in a virtual world he was trying to save from destruction (the nothing). While Amy and Rory were outside working with the robots. I think part of why I enjoyed it so much was it was nice to see Amy, Rory and the Doctor again. Their characterisation was good enough that it felt like they were the same people as on the tv show.
July 10, 2012
"System Wipe" was really good while the other story, "The Good, the Bad, and the Alien" was horrible. It was extremely uncomfortable to read because of Rory and Amy's dynamic in the book. Rory kept describing/referring to Amy as his "beautiful wife" or any other variation of that, which is frankly, totally unnecessary and objectifies Amy. On the other hand, Amy kept referring to Rory as her "husband" and she sounds like she worships him every time she talks about him. I didn't want to finish it and the only thing that kept me going is the fact that I was genuinely interested to see what the treasure was. Big mistake, the 'treasure' was a disappointment and totally not worth the read. I would have rated this book with a single star if not for "System Wipe" making up for it.
December 30, 2012
These two novellas about the eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory lean on sci-fi intrigue and fascinating concepts. “The Good, the Bad and the Alien” is the less accomplished of the two; Colin Brake offers a rather standard if well written and skillfully paced story about aliens in the old wild west.
Oli Smith’s “System Wipe” is the more innovative of the novellas, raising the collection clearly above average. The destruction of civilization, virtual reality and questions of identity and existence come together into a mix more fresh than its familiar ingredients. Smith’s writing is excellent, moving the plot forward fluently while offering emotionally resonant moments along the way.
Oli Smith’s “System Wipe” is the more innovative of the novellas, raising the collection clearly above average. The destruction of civilization, virtual reality and questions of identity and existence come together into a mix more fresh than its familiar ingredients. Smith’s writing is excellent, moving the plot forward fluently while offering emotionally resonant moments along the way.
July 1, 2012
Very poorly written (obviously, since they're for kids), but still some pretty good stories. The Good, the Bad, and the Alien takes Western cliches to a whole new level, but it was still an amusing read. The tidbit about the Doctor being able to recover quickly from being knocked out was cool.
System Wipe was decent if you are a gamer, but I've never liked video games. However, as an Oklahoman, I laughed out loud when they found a hole in reality in Oklahoma. So true.
If you love the Doctor and are under 15 (or just not that bright), read it.
System Wipe was decent if you are a gamer, but I've never liked video games. However, as an Oklahoman, I laughed out loud when they found a hole in reality in Oklahoma. So true.
If you love the Doctor and are under 15 (or just not that bright), read it.
May 19, 2016
Two fairly fun if not particularly amazing two ... well, novella-length stories, I suppose, since I doubt either of them was long enough to be a novel.
I'm not sure really I can say much more. Characterisation seemed largely okay, the pace fine, both stories had plots and just a pinch of danger; The Good, The Bad and the Alien in particular felt like the sort of story that would have worked just fine on screen, too (although as westerns with the Eleven, Amy and Rory TARDIS team go, A Town Called Mercy is probably the stronger one).
I'm not sure really I can say much more. Characterisation seemed largely okay, the pace fine, both stories had plots and just a pinch of danger; The Good, The Bad and the Alien in particular felt like the sort of story that would have worked just fine on screen, too (although as westerns with the Eleven, Amy and Rory TARDIS team go, A Town Called Mercy is probably the stronger one).
November 17, 2012
Good stories, interesting characters. Definitely aimed at younger readers, but certainly had me giggling once or twice.. I admit it, I'm a big kid at heart. The darker side of both these tales was definitely underplayed, though.
March 22, 2013
Freebie in Dr Who Adventures magazine. Reading it for the kids at bedtimes...
Not the best but a quick one to read for the little'uns
Not the best but a quick one to read for the little'uns
August 26, 2013
Enjoyed both stories for what they are...kids stories.
June 15, 2013
System Wipe was a good story but I just got really bored in The Good, the Bad and the Alien
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews