Lucien Barnes
Isn't Gary Russell lovely? Only he could provide a book that makes Bonnie Langford a great companion, and also give birth to Evelyn in novel form.
In the audio adventures Evelyn is a wonderful, light-hearted creation. Here, Russell manages to keep in all of Evelyn's fab Margaret Rutherford qualities, but adds suprising levels of pathos onto them.
On paper, the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn rattle along, an unbeatable combination. Poor old Mel is stuck in the background, still well-realised, but definitely nowhere near as fascinating as the squabbling couple.
The story itself is good, but little more than an intriguing puzzle for the Doc and Evelyn to wade through. Doctor Who at its best was about two smug people smirking through the universe, and this echoes the best Doctor/Romana, Doctor/Sarah moments. Only it's a whole, cool, book.
The surrounding elements spin between James Bond and Famous Five, but in many ways it doesn't matter. It's so comfortably done, even while being unsettling.
One criticism - this doesn't quite feature enough of Gary's sinister Irish twins. They're fascinating creations, and they get a lot of page space - but not enough.
Still, managing to fit in the Doctor, Mel, Evelyn, Irish Twins, a corking bit of continuity revenge against Barry Letts, and a multi-layered plot is a great achievement.
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