How could I possibly talk about (1) an exiled ex-revolutionary poet from the Caribbean, and (2) an old man who travels through time and space, and gets stuck in a story set in 1972 and 2006…all in the same blog?
Well, that’s why book reviews exist…
Written by Russell Smith
Another book that has disappointed me. Not in the straightforward sense — I did enjoy this tale that satirizes the politically-correct-obsessed world of the arts and lit community of Toronto. Into this blunders a man from a different world, stuck in the past in various ways…and he causes immense yet happy chaos during his sojourn to Toronto for a writer’s residency exchange.
But, just as Ian McEwan’s Saturday doesn’t live up to his previous masterpiece, Atonement, Russell Smith’s book doesn’t have the same flavour…the same zesty fun…of his previous work, How Insensitive. I blame the characters — only one of them truly grabbed my imagination. The rest varied from irritating for irritation’s sake, to bland, seen-it-before caricatures of young people dropping out of school — or staying in school forever — unable to figure out what they’re going to do with their lives.
In short, it felt like Russell Smith was trying his best to do a Douglas Coupland. Next time, he should stick to being Russell Smith. I love his columns in The Globe and Mail, and How Insensitive was a fabulous novel. More of THAT would be appreciated in the future…
DOCTOR WHO - THE TIME TRAVELLERS
Written by Simon Gurrier
This was a gripping, astonishing read. First of all, we get a plot where the dangers, exhilarations, and awe-inspiring power of time travel are front and centre. The reader shares all of the thrills surrounding the experiments in this novel…as well as the fear and anger expressed by the Doctor, who is in full time-protector mode.
Speaking of the Doctor, the first incarnation — so inimitably portrayed by William Hartnell — is one of the most difficult to successfully re-create in print. Many authors simply fall back on the cliches: the fluffed speech, the irritability, and the bouts of old-bodied weakness. But The Time Travellers sees the best EVER re-creation of the original Doctor in print: powerfully intelligent, raging at the stupidity and incompetence around him, full of secrets and mysteries, and given to moments of terrible, genuine humanity. There are television episodes that aren’t nearly as effective a showcase for the first Doctor as this novel!
By far, the greatest aspect of this novel is the relationship between his two schoolteacher companions, Ian and Barbara. Their on-screen, unrequited love has always been acknowledged by fandom, but this novel cements their relationship firmly as something joyous and beautiful: the epilogue, set immediately after their last adventure with the Doctor, will leave you breathless and teary-eyed.
The Time Travellers is Doctor Who at its finest: an emotional, thrilling, beautiful novel. It?s one to cherish.
Good lord, this is the most reading I’ve done in the last 5 months. I wonder if my book mojo is returning to me…?
I hope so. 
