Simon Catlow
I rather enjoyed this book. Yes, it does reference The Time Monster, Millennial Rites and The Crystal Bucephalus, but I don't think it hampered the story in any way.
When I read this, I hadn't seen The Time Monster, but I didn't have any trouble following the plot or the references. Sequels to previous stories need to reference the material in some quantity because without such a reference, the story would either have very little connection with the original and it would be dubious to call it a sequel.
I thought the references to the backstory of the Master were important, as the ending sets the character up for his next appearance in the television series and explains why exactly he is on the Cheetah Planet in Survival.
I thought it was very engrossing and read the whole thing in two sessions. I especially liked the way that it evoked the spirit of Millennial Rites and the characterisations were spot on. The Doctor and Mel were in good form and the Master actually seemed like a credible villian, which is something he failed to do on television in most of his later stories. As a sixth Doctor adventure, it's probably the best one the BBC have done.
Terry Francis
Erm, just finished The Quantum Archangel. What a pile of pap! Even as a fan I found all those continuity references very galling - how on Earth is a non-fan expected to know what is going on? Do a sequel to stories by all means, but don't bog 'em down with too many references, they alienate the casual reader.
The basic plot itself is easy enough to follow - and the references to The Time Monster were necessary, but references to the Cheetah Planet, Logopolis, Xeraphin, Business Unusual, Millennial Rites, The Crystal Buchephalus, Eternals, ancient Time Lord history, the Guardians, Nimon, Cybermen, Daleks, Xoanon and a whole load more, were just very, very annoying. Continuity references are fine if they advance the plot, but name dropping just confuses the issue.
I also got bored with Doctor spending over half the novel stuck in the TARDIS console room and I lost count how many times the Doctor apologised to the console!
Dawn Livingston
I'm not thrilled by the beginning of the book, but the disagreement between Mel and the Doc got my attention. I definitely count the return of Stuart from The Time Monster as a plus because his character was one of the best things about the story, he could have become a companion!
Lawrence Imeson
Craig Hinton has a black-belt in science fiction, his ideas are original and his storylines are well paced with a hint of the bizarre thrown in.
If you're fortunate to have a scientific background, this is plain sailing. I must admit, this has to be his best book yet.
John Nicholas
This book got a drubbing in Doctor Who Magazine, but I'd just like to say that I really enjoyed it.
Bits of the book do scream out 'skip me!' particularly the large chunks of universal mythology, but I found the science simple enough for this layman. It added a very interesting sheen to the story.
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