Very good. Tom Baker is always fantastic, and Romana II is undoubtedly his equal. Smart, funny and as sexy as Tom himself.

Read this, if only for the surprise ending.

Loved it... loved it... loved it!

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http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2341178.html

A good 4th Doctor and Romana I romp, set during the Key to Time, involving a fairly Cthulhu-like creature and some neat plot structure. Didn't blow me away but very enjoyable. ( )

Doctor Who’s great strength is the way it allows genres to crash together to form entertaining mutant hybrids. Messingham combines Doctor Who’s wonky brand of SF with Lovecraftian horror to provide a pleasingly bizarre tale of some very human monsters and madness. The concept of Valdemar itself is cleverer than you’d initially think, neatly avoiding the obvious explanation and instead providing one based on the mania of individuals and crowds. The framing story is a smart idea too, tying into the main tale in a way that doesn’t become clear until close to the end. Not flawless by any means, the main tale is perhaps a touch too straightforward and the grotesques aren’t quite grotesque enough to make this truly memorable. As an attempt to introduce some varieties to standard Doctor Who stories though, worth a read. ( )