Colin Harvey – author

If you click on this link, you’ll see some thoughts on Saturday night’s Doctor Who (Vincent and the Doctor) which contain spoilers. This added comment will avoid them.

What prompted the post was my own reaction to the episode, and a number of negative comments that I’ve seen lamenting the direction that the series is taking.  And in making the story small, even intimate (no threat to the world this week, just one Provencal village in danger), in making the drooling, near-psychopathic alien somehow almost poignant, and –heresy of heresies– in showing how resiliant the time-line is to change, Curtis certainly seemed to be deliberately flouting a number of conventions. But isn’t it about time some of the series’ conventions were flouted?

We’ve had five years of ever more grandiose set pieces. It’s about time Doctor Who lost some of the pomposity it accreted under RTD’s stewardship.

Today’s review is John Travis’ quirky debut novel The Terror and the Tortoiseshell.

Over at Suite101, probably my longest review for them, but it’s worth it; it’s a fascinating collection.

I was supposed to be working on a synopsis this morning, but I hit a bit of a road block. So when I saw a recent  Guardian article that tied in with a couple of recent conversations, I thought it worth taking a few minutes out to post something at Suite101.  

But now I’ve done that, I’d better get back to work.

The only downside to weather like this is that I’d rather be out dozing in a sunny garden than stuck indoors. Nonetheless, such is my dedication to The Cause that while you lot have been out sunning yourselves, I’ve been working — yes, working! At least on the plus side, I’ve been able to read one story at a time outside, then nipped in and written it up.

Right, now for a doze…

As part of my fearless crusade for the truth, I’ve managed to lay hold of a draft copy of an internal BBC Memo on last night’s final episode of Ashes to Ashes.* Be warned, there are spoilers there, as well as here.

Joking apart, it wasn’t the event we’d all been promised — but then again, nothing could match the hype. I had hoped for something a little more, rigorous, I suppose, and a bit less woolly headed. Probably the big revelation was a little too early in the episode, although learning the fate of Ray, Chris and Shaz was effective; Shaz especially carried the honours.

But it was all a bit too much like the shower sequence out of Dallas. If everything is in the mind of a dead man, even if it is a collective gestalt, then where are the consequences — so gunning down the villains was no more impactful than a video game.  Or maybe that was the point of it? Bolly’s final parting was no more powerful than a ‘ta-ra then!’ as if she were going to the shops. When nothing is real, then nothing matters.

Although I did like the very last scene. Nicely wrapped up, Ashley. But next time, stick to cop shows and leave the metaphysics alone…

* For the humorously challenged, yes this was intended as a joke; no, there is no such Department — at least, I don’t think so…

I’ve just posted what may be either a one-off experiment, or the first of an occasional series at Suite101, in which I make my debut as an interviewer.

Black Static reviewer Peter Tennant is my first victim, and he did a series of fairly mundane questions proud, with some interesting and at times controversial answers (I may agree with Pete that Wembley should have been burned down, but not for his reasons!).

In the interest of full disclosure, most of the questions were adapted –or just pinched outright– from Angry Robot’s Lee Harris & Marc Gascoigne.

If you have a book or story coming out or if you have something to say in general about the genre, and you’re interested in being interviewed drop me a line, and we’ll see if this idea has legs.

Together with (probably) the rest of the blogosphere I’ve posted the 2009 Nebula Award award winners over at Suite101, along with a few stats and thoughts.

I hadn’t realized that it had been quite so long (23 days) between posts, but with all but one of my assignments now delivered, normal service should be resumed shortly.

The news is that Peter Watts has been fined, not imprisoned; hardly good news, but far, far better than things looked 36 hours ago, and at least he can now (hopefully) get on with his life.

Meanwhile, I’ve reviewed Gareth L Powell’s debut novel over at Suite101.

And the second part of the memory thread that formed such a serendipitous moment, given Damage Time’s imminent publication, is here. This is specifically about deleting memories, the parallel to the novel’s ripping them.

If this all seems a little breathless, it is; this Tuesday seems especially frantic as the Uni timetable is all over the place and I have to be out of the door in about five minutes…

I’ll start with the latest worrying news about Pete Watts, for those of you who haven’t heard it already — he has heard that the prosecutor is pressing for a custodial sentence. We await news, but the silence is worrying…let’s just hope that it’s good news and that the silence means he’s celebrating.

Meanwhile, the review machine rolls on at Suite101 — this morning’s target is Rhys Hughes’ new novel Twisthorn Bellow.

And over at the Vector blog (that’s the review journal of the BSFA) they’ve started a discussion on Winter Song. If you want to join in, feel free to join in — I don’t think that it’s limited to BSFA members.