Timewyrm: Exodus [PROSE/1991.8.15]

★★★★☆

  If every Terrance Dicks novel is as easy to read and entertaining as Timewyrm: Exodus is, I'm in for a fine time indeed. After the dreary introduction to the Virgin New Adventures, this second entry is vastly more confident and exciting. The pages almost fly off the fingers — a true testament to Dicks's grasp on how to write a really good book.

  Let's address the elephant in the room: Adolf Hitler and the extraterrestrial involvement. I agree with many of the critics in that history as sensitive and relevant as the crimes of the Nazi regime is best left in its natural course in fiction. Set stories based on the time period, include the vilest war criminals in your stories, go to town... but it's probably for the best if you don't insinuate that Hitler and the Nazi party were only able to rise to power because of an alien influence. It detracts from actual history, actual lives lost and actual displays of hatred that, for humanity's shame, still exist today. Dicks portrays Hitler as a determined, dangerous and cowardly man filled with hatred, and it's the one saving grace of what could have been a massive disaster. Next time, Terry, best leave the War Lords out of modern bloodshed.

  Oh, haven't you heard? This is a sequel to The War Games, and Dicks writes these iconic villains with such confidence and detail. Occult ceremonies, cloak-and-dagger business and mind-control spectacles... they feel so homely in something like Doctor Who, don't they? The novel never loses its pace (which is frankly remarkable, considering its wide scope), and the Doctor and Ace are far better characterized here than they were in Genesys. Seven is much more active, cunning and commanding. Ace is collected, resourceful and bursting with energy. Oh yes, it's a wonder how much of a difference it makes when our leads are written to be actually interesting. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  Considering the subject matter, this could have been a tasteless failure — and the fact that it didn't turn out that way is a small miracle. With a breathless pace and a detailed look at a nightmarish alternate history, Timewyrm: Exodus presents a far more competent outing for the book series. People with a morbid curiosity for a 'what if the Nazis had won?' scenario would lap this up wholesale. I know I did.