Transit [PROSE/1992.12.3]

★★★★☆

  Doctor Who does cyberpunk? There was no way I could resist. Transit is a glorious indulgence into the then-burgeoning literary genre, fleshing out the world of 2109 with so much attention to detail. So many believable, lively characters are introduced with their own goals and traits; it's perhaps why the first thirty pages or so present a bit of a struggle to fully digest at first, but it's all down to my personal tastes in literature that I vastly prefer overwhelming first impressions to meek ones. Even with the element of the Doctor, the TARDIS and Benny stripped away, Transit would work fine as a cyberpunk novel and an exploration of this run-down, decaying new world with its own lingo (lo and behold, there's a glossary on the back detailing the definitions of future slang) and set of codes. Mass travel systems owned by corporations are the means to travel to another planet, and cultures are interwoven and mingled into one stirring pot of decadence. As I said, this is a proper cyberpunk novel (or at the very least, a worthy homage), and as filling as it was, it left me hungry for more ventures into cyberpunk from Doctor Who. Imagine the possibilities in other mediums, if done well and with passion!

  The Seventh Doctor is as enigmatic as ever, and he's still a noticeable major player at this stage of the Virgin New Adventures. He's wise, infinitely witty and devious to no end; he casually assumes authority over unsuspecting penpushers, defeats gods from alternate dimensions with a trick within a trick, cooks pasta for two young lovers and gets horribly drunk (and sleeps the alcohol off in the subway -- never before has the Doctor been so relatable). Ben Aaronovitch seems to get how to write for Seven, and I could hear Sylvester McCoy's voice with each line of dialogue -- something some Seven books struggle to do, since McCoy is very much a physical performer. 

  Bernice, fresh off her debut novel Love and War, is heavily sidelined for this adventure by wandering about the city (and even then, affording readers a more detailed look into how the underclass here live) and being controlled by the aforementioned cosmic entity. It's a shame, but at least it can be chalked up to Aaronovitch having had to rewrite the entire book to fit her once she was chosen as the new companion. The one-off companion we get here is Kadiatu, a fantastic character that works very well with the Doctor. A descendant of the Brigadier, she wastes no time in being charming and no-nonsense at the same time, leading the adventure in some pages to let the Doctor do what he does best (particularly in this incarnation): meticulously planning in the background. 

  All these elements come together satisfactorily to create a wonderfully written novel, if haphazard in nature due to its jumping between various perspectives. It's jam-packed with love and detail, engaging characters, and a fascinating depiction of the future. Transit is perhaps the quintessential Doctor Who cyberpunk story, wearing its Philip K. Dick and William Gibson influences on its sleeve, but it rises above simple imitation by having a meaty story and showing the Doctor be conniving and caring, and powerful.