Fiction Reviews
Doctor Who: Rogue
(2024) Kate Herron and Briony Redman, BBC Books,
£9.99 / Can$19.99 / US$13.99, pbk, 216pp, ISBN 978-1-785-94883-1
Ta-da! It had to happen sometime in Doctor Who-Target-Books-World, as here we have the novelisation of 'Rogue' written by the people who wrote the actual script for the episode. Obviously Russell T. Davies is too busy driving the Whovian universe to adapt his own scripts for the episodes '73 Yards' and Space Babies'. Here, Herron and Redman give us an offering that is slightly longer than the normal Doctor Target novel: 216 pages and 33 chapters, so expect a fast-moving (once we get past chapter one), thrilling ride, with a heavy dose of romance dotted throughout. Romance? Well, we are in Bridgerton pastiche territory here. One of the reasons for the extra length, I think, that there were drafts of the script with scenes that didn’t make it on to the screen, but if anyone is going to take liberties with the episode then it should be Herron and Redman who know it better than anyone else.
Therefore, what we get is some of the usual Target Book fare, namely increased characterisation, and fleshing out some of the cast, and beefing up some of the sub-plots. The Doctor’s companion, Ruby, is more in the limelight than she was in the screened episode, and we get more Rogue. But, who is Rogue? Well, he is an intergalactic bounty hunter, a more earnest Jack Harkness, if you will, and not as upfront or in-your-face as Jack was/is. Almost like a James Bond movie that starts with a mini-adventure featuring Bond before the credits roll, we get a Rogue adventure, with his partner and lover, Art, who is mentioned in the screened version, but not given a name. At 21 pages, this chapter is waaay longer than any of the other chapters in the book, giving the reader the feeling that this is a Rogue Book, rather than a Doctor one, especially since some of the events that happened are referenced elsewhere in the story.
As for the story, the Doctor and Ruby have arrived in Bath in 1813, just as Rogue arrives, hunting a criminal member of the Chuldur race, who happen to be shape-shifters when they are not in their usual, bird-like form. Cue a Regency ball with lavish costumes, botched marriage proposals, gossip, dancing mistaken identities and an overpowering whiff of scandal, well, it is a Bridgerton pastiche.
Oh, and let’s not forget some murders. Part of the scandal comes from the obvious attraction between Rogue and the Doctor given added spice because the Doctor is a sort of shape-shifter in a way due to his ability to regenerate, leading to Rogue’s not surprising conclusion that he is the very Chuldur he is hunting.
The story also comes complete with footnotes, not all of them worthy of inclusion, I thought, as some of them are flippant, and have the effect of knocking the reader out of the story, or they are pretty meaningless – do we really need to know what the Earth national anthem will be in 4055? Also, Dan Liles’ cover seems to jar slightly with the running forms of the Doctor and Rogue looking slightly out of proportion to their surroundings and having a cartoonish vibe. Quibbles aside, Herron and Redman, have given Whovians everywhere a strong addition to their Target library.
Ian Hunter
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