DW Review: Another Life

This is a review of the first Torchwood novel: Another Life. You can tell it's adult as it uses 'vomit' nine times over five pages! (Chapter Two)


The theme of the novel is about people who live lives in other realities. There's a take on Second Life... I mean, Second Reality, and the killers perspective is presented in second person. This means that there isn't a mystery behind the story and we wait for the characters to work it out.

And Peter is in no hurry for that to happen. Pages fly by where he describes Owen's Second Reality adventures and his hitting on an old girlfriend. Because, apperantly, we care. I guess. We must do. Otherwise, why would Peter waste so much time detailing every single point?!

But Peter does spend time with the characters (although Toshiko doesn't get a lot of page count) and recreates them well. No answers are given about Jack (just like the series then), and despite the amount of attention Owen isn't any more likeable, but they are all well handled.

The plot doesn't really kick in until the second half, as the first is spent on set-up and very slow buildup. But even the final section is fairly sedate. (It says a lot that I can't even use 'climax' or even 'action'!)

Aside from the sea/water effect, this could easily have been an actual episode. I shall refrain from comment as to whether or not that is a good thing.


This takes place between Day One and Cyberwoman. I would place it before Ghost Machine, but there's no real evidence (aside from a lack of evidence of references to GM) to decide.