Review: Reading group tackles Steve Lyons’ novel.
For our final review of a new Ninth Doctor novel, the children of Somers
Park Primary School were let loose on Stealers of Dreams. Beth and Callum (Year 6), Jade (Year 5) are all avid fans of the
new series (particularly Beth who thought Captain Jack was wonderful!)
Was it exciting?
Despite the fact that the book was set on a world where imagination was
banned, the book had us gripped from the first page. Why did Kimmi keep seeing monsters in her room? Why could no one
else see the monster? And why were people sent to the mysterious ‘Big White
House’.
The book had some brilliant action sequences in it. We really liked the
Doctor’s ride on the back of Inspector Waller’s bicycle as he raced to defuse
the fiction geek’s bomb. Rose also had some great actions scenes, such as
when she was surrounded by zombies. The book builds to an exciting ending and
the TARDIS crew attempts to defend the rebel base
at the end reminded us of The Parting Of The Ways.
Was it scary?
The description of Kimmi’s monster was scary
because the author only gave you little bits of writing about it at a time.
The zombies were also scary because Rose kept seeing them out of the corner
of her eye before she realized what they were.
Was it funny?
We thought the relationship between the TARDIS
crew was funny at times and reminded us a little bit of Boom Town. We really
liked Rose’s reaction to eating the blue chips! We also thought it was funny
when the Doctor tried to calm Dominic before examining him by telling him not
to get his knickers in a twist!
Did they feel involved with the plot and the characters?
Although it took a little while for us to get involved in the plot we were
gradually drawn into it by little clues: what was the static? Why is Hal Gryden the most dangerous man in the world? The TARDIS crew were very well written, especially the ‘fantastic’
Doctor and the ‘sweet’ Captain Jack! (We really liked it when Jack offered to
look after the tramp – ahh!)
We didn’t like Inspector Waller at first but grew to like her as we had
more information about her. There were lots of other interesting characters,
although some of their names were a bit complicated (that’s what comes from
living in outer space we suppose!)
Did it feel like ‘proper’ Doctor Who?
The book felt a little more in depth than an episode of Doctor Who because
we got to find out what the characters were feeling. The Ninth Doctor
certainly felt right and reading the book made us realize just how much we
are going to miss him :( We also thought it was great to see the relationship
between Rose and the Doctor develop.
Was it a suitable book for their age?
Once the story got into its stride and the action started (people falling
out of windows and the rebels starting to fight back) we found the reading
easier. Some of the characters’ names were a little tricky (because they were
aliens) but it was worth sticking at it and we’d recommend it to anyone.
- www.bbc.co.uk
