DW: The King's Dragon

Una McCormack's The King's Dragon clearly wants to be something (other than good), but I'm not sure what and I don't have the interest in finding out.

The basic story is that town with low tech comes across a resource that they immediately start using, only to have two forces show up and claim it as something they must each control. Yeah. There's something familiar about that, but I can't quite put my finger on it...

All the new series adventures almost seem to happen in real time. Considering no-one goes to the toilet or even eats, let alone sleep, it gets more than a little unrealistic. This adventure sees the Doctor and co turn up at the start of the night, run around, run around some more, get caught, and then talk a lot... and no-one seems to have any trouble staying up. (I also have this problem with 24.) While I wouldn't otherwise mention this, there isn't a lot going on here so I did notice it more.

Plot aside, the characters are well done. Hilthe is particularly well fleshed out, with skills and flaws. The Teller and Beol have a believable background and aren't one-dimensional. The Doctor, Amy and Rory don't come off quite as well, only some of which can be explained by the plot device used. There are some good moments which play on the Amy/Rory relationship and the Amy/Doctor relationship, but mostly they are there to unfold the next bit of the plot.

Again, not a highly recommended book.

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