Another book in the vain of [b:The First Men in the Moon|536478|The First Men in the Moon|H.G. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1311647668s/536478.jpg|2401415], which of course was famously sued for plagiarism by the author of a [b:A Plunge Into Space|14800554|A Plunge Into Space|Robert Cromie|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338860175s/14800554.jpg|4466193] but nobody cares about that because the latter is terrible.. and is itself derivative of [b:Across the Zodiac|17930935|Across the Zodiac|Percy Greg|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1368920657s/17930935.jpg|13122006] anyway.

This one has all the dryness of a victorian novel but without the scientific interest and all the pulp of later sci-fi without any of the excitement. Its slock, nonsense, drivvel. It also takes elements of [b:From the Earth to the Moon|32827|From the Earth to the Moon (Extraordinary Voyages, #4)|Jules Verne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389545038s/32827.jpg|14165539], 20,000 Leagues, [b:The Master of the World|32838|The Master of the World (Extraordinary Voyages, #53)|Jules Verne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348933261s/32838.jpg|2208934] and [b:Gulliver's Travels|7733|Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1427829692s/7733.jpg|2394716].

Its not all bad, the aliens are more like 1950s martians than you might expect, it also might be losing a little in translation but i doubt it.
Any attempts to equate Dr.Omega with Dr.Who are spurious, although i wouldn't be surprised if both characters received some influence from Moriarty of the Holmes stories.
Some small elements of scifi interest but barely worth the reading effort. ( )

'Doctor Omega' is a bit of a novelty, especially for Doctor Who fans. A lost French scifi novel from 1906, it has some vague similarities to the later television show. Mostly due to some editions' illustrations that look a lot like the (First) Doctor (William Hartnell.)

The story is a fun, light, quick read. Typical turn-of-the-last-century style with a first-person narrative of Mars exploration - various weird flora and fauna along the way, and a few perils and escapes.

This novel was "adapted and retold" which means the translators (who are also Doctor Who fans) took liberties to add additional ties to 'Doctor Who' - making it seem that perhaps Doctor Omega is an alternate or perhaps the Doctor himself in some form of exile. While that is enjoyable, I would still like to read a straight translation (I can't read French) so I could see the original similarities for myself.

I did enjoy it, and look forward to 'Doctor Omega and the Shadowmen' - a modern anthology of Doctor Omega tales from the same publisher (Black Coat Press.) ( )