Ship of Fools

Book review by Paul Scoones

Most authors generally improve with each novel they write, but Dave Stone has never quite managed to recapture the sparkling originality, imagination and humour of his debut Doctor Who book, Sky Pirates! That said, Ship of Fools is closer to a return to form than his two previous efforts.

Stone adopts the age-old plot of a murder mystery with suspects a-plenty in a confined environment - in this case on a space cruise-liner - and populates his story with a plethora of interesting and bizarre characters.

Followers of the internet discussion group rec.arts.drwho will recognise many of the names Stone uses, but whilst some many find this clever or amusing, I just found it too distracting.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of this book is that it comes closest of any post-licence Virgin New Adventure to mentioning the Doctor. [2/5]