The Ancestor Cell (Doctor Who)

Given everything I had heard about the book, I had really low expectations going in. Given those expectations, I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. It's nowhere near classic Who, and there are a lot of problems with it, but I did end up finding it worth my time.

The thing that did it for me was the characterization of Fitz. I've had the benefit of reading a lot of Post-Earth-Arc books with Fitz in them, so perhaps that coloured my view a little. Anyway, Fitz is extremely well done in this one. For awhile, I really found the constant "womanizing" of Fitz extremely annoying. Every time he looked at Tarra, Romana or any of the other women characters, he was constantly thinking of how they looked, how he would follow those legs anywhere, etc. It got on my nerves.

However, as the book wore on, I started to realize something. This was Fitz's coping mechanism because he's scared spitless throughout the book. The events are too much for one human to handle, and he's taking refuge in what he's always done: going after the ladies. It also sets him up for a horrific revelation later on in the book involving one of those women, which might not have been as powerful if it hadn't been set up by Fitz ogling her earlier in the book.

The other really good character is somebody who's "related" to Fitz. I really ended up caring what happened to him, and his sense of betrayal. I thought he was going to be a stock character, but he turned out not to be. Unfortunately, I can't go into any more detail without spoilers. You'll know who I'm talking about when you read it, though.

The Doctor is also well-characterized, but he's not really anything special. He does Doctorly things, he has to make a momentous decision that can have drastic consequences. He's able to make that decision because of the direction the Eighth Doctor books was going to be changing, so at least it's not a reset-button issue.

The Faction Paradox come across as run of the mill villains in this book, which is a shame after the set-up Lawrence Miles gave them. In this book, they're more of a "Nothing can stop me now!!!!" sort of villain. I swear I could almost see one of them twirling a moustache at times. It really let the book down, I think.

It's too bad Miles couldn't finish the story that he started. I'm not a big fan of his, and it may have been just as bland, but it would have been nice to see what Miles would have done with his creations. Instead, we get a stock story that really doesn't go anywhere and the only reason it goes as far as it does is due to editorial fiat.

Too bad, but it's still an enjoyable read. Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece.


The Interference arc comes to a sticky end   June 11, 2001
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

The Ancestor Cell gives us a wrap up of the events that began in the 2-part Interference (actually, the events really began in Alien Bodies). It's another really strange story, in the tradition of the books by Marc Platt and Paul Cornell. A lot of really interesting things happen, and the story centers on Gallifrey, which has changed a bit since we've last seen it, in preparation for the coming war with the Enemy. A newly regenerated Romana is the President, and a huge structure made of bone, known as The Edifice, is hovering in its sky, and it's growing. The events on Gallifrey include the truly nasty practices of some young and naive Faction Paradox initiates. The whole involvement of Faction Paradox in this story makes it very unpleasant to read at times, but anyone who has had some interest in the Interference arc will want to read this book to see how it all comes out. The end result is ultimately unsatisfying, but at least we have closure, and a fairly interesting read along the way.


Not brilliant, but not bad.   June 9, 2001
Bret M. Herholz (Worcester, MA United States)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful

I did not like "Interference" and I did not think it was brilliant. Everybody praises Lawrence Miles for being a ground breaking and innovative writer. For someone who is so innovative, he spends a lot of time mucking about in the past. And to the man who makes a past time of slagging off his fellow Doctor Who writers, he got his just desserts with this books and must face the facts that he is not and never will be as brilliant as either Robert Holmes or Douglas Adams!!

Almost everything is set right in this book. I thought the writers found a great way of tying up all the loose ends rather nicely in this book while causing a few more problems. Although I am very fond of Gallifrey and I happen to be a fan of most of the stories set on the Doctor's home planet, I'm not bothered by it's destruction.


Much better than I was expecting   May 18, 2001
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I've read nasty review after nasty review of this book on seeral online forums. I purchased it partly because I'm a sad completist, but mostly because I didn't belive that anything with Peter Anghelides' hand in it could turn out all bad.

It seems I was correct.

In many ways, this book is a lot of fun. Seeing the Doctor slowly turn into an enemy agent against his will is fascinating. Also, the insidious nature of the plot Faction Paradox is running against the Time Lords is breath-taking. There are some truly marvellous scenes where bits of Time Lord history are whittled away piece by piece with no one but Fitz noticing. It's creepy stuff. On top of that, the controversial aspects of the novel don't bother me at all. Change is part of an ongoing serial. Fans who can't accept that would be better off going over their favorite serials/novels rather than railing against the new direction in the books. (Besides, anyone who thinks that some of these changes aren't going to be undone in the future are extremely naive.)

The Doctor is wonderful in this book. Compassion seems like an afterthought, which is odd considering how badly most of the other characters try to capture her. I also have to admit that I guessed the nature of the artifact about ten pages into the book, so that was somewhat predictable. Fitz veers from nightmarishly gauche to fantastic, so no change there.

If you're biased against taking things in a new direction (or biased towards Lawrence Miles), parts of this book will probably bother you. Regardless, it's a good read, better in fact than the post "Caught On Earth" books I've read (_Earthworld_, _Vanishing Point_).


It is a great disappointment   May 12, 2001
2 out of 6 found this review helpful

I don't like what happened in the story at all. Like everyone else, I don't appreciate Lawrence Miles' interference in the Doctor's life. I read the review for this book and I agree with it 100%. This book is not for fans, especially me. I was heartbroken to hear that Gallifrey was destroyed at the end and with it the Doctor's complete history. I mean when will the Doctor's memory return? What if he accidentally runs into one of his old friends and the Doctor doesn't recognize or remember him/her. They're feelings would be hurt, deeply I might add. I mean it, this isn't right at all. With his memory taken away, it might as well end the entire Doctor Who series. I don't feel I'll be alright until the Doctor gets his memory back.