INTERFERENCE is a startlingly vast undertaking. It pushes the limits of what can and cannot be discussed in a Doctor Who story, and the book is all the richer for it. And while it doesn't manage to quite grasp everything it reaches for, what it does achieve is both powerful and thought provoking.

The book definitely has an epic feel to it, although as it's the "first ever full-length two-part Doctor Who novel" it would be a disappointment if this were not the case. The story reaches over several thousand years and intersects the Doctor's personal timeline twice. It's complicated and told from several viewpoints. It has fairly heavy themes and the attitude running through it gives it a very important feel. The atmosphere that becomes built up (particularly effective in the opening sections) makes for a spellbinding and captivating read.

This enormous, two-book, six-hundred page marathon is divided into two sections which are then split roughly in half. The first section deals with the Eighth Doctor's adventures on Earth, and the second is centered around the Third Doctor being taken out of his normal time-stream and placed on the planet Dust. The Eighth Doctor segments are also divided up into smaller pieces, each slice not necessarily taking place at the same time as the others. At times, it can be a very confusing read, although ultimately the experience is very rewarding. During a few points I had to stop reading and make mental notes about how exactly the story was unfolding and which pieces were occurring in what order. While the book definitely made me work harder at reading it than others in the EDA line, this change was quite welcome and the pay-off well worth it.

As I mentioned, this story is dripping with atmosphere. The tone is set right from the very beginning -- this is a very dark story. It's also a very well told story. Lawrence Miles isn't interested in what technological nonsense the Doctor will use to escape from a prison cell; he wants to go deeper than that. He isn't interested in having Sam repeat some cliched Save The Whales slogan; he wants to explore her mind and her mentality. He's using the conventional tools of Doctor Who to tell a story that reaches outside of the normal parameters of what we expect when we see the blue logo on the cover. But he's not kicking down the ladder of Doctor Who after he's climbed up it; Sam's beliefs and experiences form the very heart of the book. Sam's politics aren't just a springboard for Miles to say Bigger and Better things about Politics, they remain under the microscope during the entire book. Miles has merely taken everything that we know about Sam and drawn them out to their logical conclusion. Who would have guessed that the result would make for such fascinating reading?

As in ALIEN BODIES, this story is packed full of great ideas and new pieces of excellent continuity. Here they all fit together much better and work at forming a cohesive work. The little asides and narrative passages that dragged the plot of ALIEN BODIES to a standstill work rather effectively here. Despite its massive length, there's very little (in the Earth sections) that doesn't contribute to the overall tone of the work. Everything just feels right, even the passages where the Doctor comforts a tortured and dying political prisoner with stories about a fantasy world of TARDISes and Time Lords. I think that in the hands of a lesser writer, this section could really have turned out to be rather embarrassing, but fortunately Miles knows what he's doing and treats the subject with the delicacy it deserves. Extra points are given for not tiptoeing around the subject matter.

In my opinion, the biggest flaw is that the themes and atmosphere don't translate properly from one part of the story to the other. The Eighth Doctor segment is about the effect of media and culture upon society, the way perceptions change people, and how close perceptions of people come to reality. With only a few exceptions, these themes are totally absent from the Third Doctor segments. The only thematic link between them seems to be Fitz's ruminations on how he is perceived (and how he will be remembered by others) and a character in the Third Doctor segments who is proud of the fact that no one will ever be able to get close enough to know the real her. The jumps between the Earth and the Dust segments seemed much more jarring because of this. If the themes had been held together more coherently, I think this would have ended up being one of the best (if not the best) Doctor Who stories written. As it stands, it's still extremely good, but somewhere well below perfection. The difference in tone between the two segments is unfortunately distracting.

All in all this is a really excellent book that is unfortunately let down by a few flaws. While the book does fall slightly short of some of it's goals, it must be commended for daring to aim so high. With the publication of INTERFERENCE, the bar has been raised for all other Doctor Who books and stories. Thank you, Lawrence.


Interference is a Brave New World for The Doctor   October 22, 1999
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Hazah and Kudos to Lawrence Miles. Once again he broke through all of the other trappings of the Doctor Who universe. Though the two book story could have been shorted, the main themes of his story are definate and not clouded. Like his last Doctor Who novel, he redefines the Eighth Doctor, and even changes the Third Doctor so you could never view the Third Doctor's last adventure in the same light again! The two reasons that other readers could have a problem with this is that it's not a normal Doctor adventure. It's complex, and makes a reader think about what's going on. It's not an easy read for regular readers. The another thing is that he changes the two Doctors for better or worst, and fans of the show may not like that. I had been disappointed that both Doctors also had less time in the books, but that just made the time with them better. So, in the end, Interference has changed Doctor Who, wheither you like it or not.


Love it or hate it.   January 21, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Well, a fairly mixed bag of opinions it seems. I agree with some of the reviewers below, the whole revisionist, re-write the 3rd Doctors regeneration setup left me a little uncomfortable, but in defence of Lawrence Miles he IS the author, and he can do whatever the heck he wants with the Doctor. The BBC didn't have to publish this project, after all. Dr. Who has never been noted for it's dillegent attention to continuity (in fact, check out The Discontinuity Guide)and frankly re-writing such an important part of the Doc's past is entirely in keeping with the spirit of the on-going Faction Paradox plot. I for one found this 2-part novel to be well structured, engrossing and a worthy addition to the series.


Where's the Doctor?   February 3, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I haven't read too many Eighth Doctor books, and I'm wondering -- most of them seem to have marginalized the character of the Doctor. In this one, the emphasis is on the characters Sam and Sarah Jane. The Doctor is imprisoned -- it's never made clear where -- and his fate is left dangling in the second volume, which I'm loath to pick up. He simply sits in prison with his cell mate, nodding like Solomon and chastising himself. I would like to learn more about the character of the Doctor -- please start including him in his own books!


Miles takes the Doctor away from us?   April 4, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

It seems that no Doctor Who book has caused as much divide as Lawrence Miles' epic two-parter, INTERFERENCE, and I have to say that having finally read it I can see why. Whilst I believe Miles to be a talented writer (ALIEN BODIES remains my favourite novel of the Eighth Doctor series), his much publicised smugness that what he's doing is pushing the limits of what Doctor Who is really about, is all too evident. His interview in Doctor Who Magazine smacked of an egotisitical writer who cares little for what he's doing with the series as long as he's breaking as many rules as possible, seemingly for the sake of it. INTERFERENCE has this in abundance, and whilst the powerful scenes of the Doctor being tortured almost to death are certainly well constructed, is it really what we want to see in Doctor Who?

The Faction Paradox are quite honestly becoming a bore. I mean, an alien race that delight in changing history is going to mean that what's happened say two books ago, might not mean anything once the faction have got involved. As for the inclusion of Pertwee's lovable third doctor, well I really did pity the poor fellow (although at least Miles has the sense to make the violent surroundings a bit of a culture shock to the Third Doctor).

Well written in parts, plainly annoyingly smug in others, INTERFERENCE keeps you reading, but at the end had me rather worried about the way the series might go. Too clever by far Lawrence!