And so onto the latest Doctor Who novelisation. After two Fourth Doctor stories (The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara), we’re next taking a big leap forward in time up to the Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant. With his companion Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate), the Doctor travels to Pompeii in 79 AD, just as that famous eruption from Mount Vesuvius is about to take place.
However, the Doctor and Donna find that as well as the perhaps-to-be-expected soothsayers portending doom, Pompeii has things that weren’t expecting – stone circuits made out of marble, and monsters made of lava, for example. The Doctor finds that as the volcano is about to erupt, he may have other things to sort…
Unlike the previous two books, which were Audiobooks first, James Moran’s novelisation is new to us in prose format.
This is also my first read of a story from the more contemporary version of the Doctor after the series rested from 1989 – 1996, returning in 2005. This story was originally broadcast on the 12th April 2008.
So – what’s different? Most noticeable in the prose is the presence of Donna Noble, who is a much more-in-your-face Companion than Ramona ever was. This is Donna’s first story away from her home turf of present-day London, and Moran does well to convey her confusion – over time travel, the TARDIS – and even the Doctor himself!
The Doctor is also less sure of himself. As we have found in these later versions of the Doctor, there is a more complex background to the Time Lords than we have previously discovered. In The Fires of Pompeii we see through both the Doctor and Donna how difficult it can be as a Time Lord, dealing with the fact that many of those you know and meet are about to die. I am pleased that the Doctor again feels like the version created by David Tennant. His speech and mannerisms are as you might expect – enthusiastic yet moderated, knowledgeable, enigmatic, contradictory and even at times alien.
The story read smoothly. Moran (or Davies) know their Doctor Who backstory, and I liked the little touches of other Doctor Who stories that are peppered throughout. One of my personal favourites was a quiet little nod to Douglas Adams, creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and for a while a Doctor Who scriptwriter. You don’t have to get them to follow the plot, but fans do and they add an extra little touch to the context of the story.
On the downside, some of the minor characters meant for comic effect initially read like something out of Only Fools and Horses or Up Pompeii. Subtle and nuanced they are not, and they jar with the subtler developments of the Doctor and Donna (whose comedic moments are, it must be said, much better.) The unusual baddies are pretty lightweight too, and in my opinion lack the necessary evil required for a good villain. They would be no match against a well-placed Dalek.
Most noticeably, the changes between Tom Baker and David Tennant are striking, and this story reflects more modern attitudes and contemporary writing. The prose seems effortless to read and the main characters have more development, whilst the story seems slighter – perhaps this is due to the story being based on one 50-minute episode typical of the Russell T Davies period rather than the four 25-minute episodes typical of the Tom Baker serials.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this read. As a draw to those who only know the Doctor in his latest incarnations, this may not be a bad place to start.
The Fires of Pompeii by James Moran
Published by BBC Books, July 2022
ISBN: 978 1 78594 779 7
174 pages
Review by Mark Yon
