Chapter 12 is called 'The Last Battle'. That's quite the sales pitch. On the one hand, that could suggest the book has been a series of battles between the Doctor and the Rutan and that this is the culmination of those conflicts. However, that doesn't really work as I'm not even sure the two even meet before the final stages - the story is much more about the Doctor working out what the Rutan is than about him trying out different ways to defeat it.
The alternative reading is that this is in some way the final battle ever for one or the other. Clearly it isn't for the Doctor so presumably the title is referring to the Rutan, which, after all, has led a life of battles. That would be quite underwhelming though, as we don't really have any investment in the Rutan nor do we know much about it's former conflicts.
A bigger question, mind, is why Dicks preserves Leela's change of eye colour. I don't yet know if their blueness is going to become a fixture of her description in future stories but I do know it's not going to ever be a plot point. Was this considered a memorable moment in the TV series? Something readers would find jarring if left out? Was it considered a key aspect of the story that not even Leela could follow the Doctor's instructions fully? That only he escapes the encounter with the Rutan completely unaffected? Is it a suggestion that some flaw in him stops him being able to properly protect anyone, even those closest to him? Personally, I think it's just the DVDness of the Target range and a sense of completionism breaking through, but I'd love to construct a reading that tied it in to the themes of the story.
Anyway, for more uncertain and inconsequential responses to Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock, have a look here.
Bình luận