*Torchwood: Something in the Water by Trevor Baxendale (Spoiler)*
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I like the book but contrary to the other Torchwood novels I have read
before, it lacks depth. On a superficial level the book is entertaining
but it is nothing special. The characterizations are accurate but the
author didn`t do anything with them that adds something, that challenges
them or even shows some interesting interactions. You can feel the bond
between these people and find some nice touches of humour but there was
nothing I found really engaging.
The story itself felt like a “connect the dots” exercise because
everything was so predictable. This was a blood, gore and snot story in
which these graphic descriptions seemed to be more im****tant sometimes
than actually dealing with the characters as people. We have a female
monster in a beautiful looking package who is distributing its seed
among the male population but in the disguise of what looks like a
particularly unpleasant and painful flu epidemic. At the end all you had
to do is killing the head-monster and *poof!* as by magic, all the other
monsters disappear and die as well as all infected people are getting
well again. I hate this cliché and although I expected it, I was
nevertheless very disappointed.
Although the book could definitely been better, for a quick, light read
it is not a bad choice.
Torchwood: Trace Memory by David Llewellyn (Spoiler)
This book is a bit different than the other Torchwood novels I know
because the actual main character is a time traveller called Michael.
Michael is a very intriguing character who became a continuous time
traveller by an accident that is linked to Torchwood. From the beginning
I was wondering what will become of him and I was kept wondering until
the end of the book. I like it that the answer is somewhat open to
interpretation. Maybe Jack managed to break the cycle Michael is stuck
in but maybe not. But even if he did, I don`t think Jack was able to
finally free Michael. I very much cared for that tragic character and
although I would have wished a happy end for him I think the author made
the right choice.
What I like is that this book uses the op****tunity when exploring the
accident and its consequences to reveal more about Torchwood`s past and
the history of the main characters. If the author wanted to, he could
easily write a sequel. I would welcome it if the does but maybe it is
better to leave the reader wondering and wanting more.
*Torchwood: The Twilight Streets by Gary Russell (Spoiler)
*
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This was a very interesting read but it is a book that would benefit
from reading it twice in order to be able to follow the twists and turns
better. I had the problem that the book starts slow and I got a bit
impatient because I was thinking, all right, this is intriguing but what
does it mean?
But after a while the story managed to captivate me and it was very
interesting to follow how all the pieces of the puzzle finally fit
together and revealed the answer to the mystery about the area in
Cardiff Jack can`t enter.
I welcomed the return of the mysterious old man, Bilis Manger, from the
first season. He is the centre of the mystery and what was also
interesting to me is that the difference between good and evil became
blurred. I found it fascinating to see a possible future for Torchwood.
The author used a lot of what has been shown in the second season and
especially now, after I have watched the season finale, that part –
especially the Owen/Tosh relation****p – left some impact on me.
Contrary to “Something in the Water”, this book does not only offer
accurate characterizations, it uses them very well and offers quite a
few surprises. It is an excellent book I can recommend very much.
Baerbel Haddrell
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