The Left-Handed
Hummingbird is part of a line of
Doctor Who books that
were released from 1991 to 1997. The Virgin New Adventures (named
after the company that published them) were an unofficial
continuation of the show, which had been cancelled in 1989. They're
famous for being darker, more violent and more brooding than the
classic series, and this installment is a prime example of that.
The
plot follows the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield (a
companion invented for the books) as they try to stop the malevolent
Aztec god, Huitzilin (Weet-zill-in). In reality, Huitzilin is an
early Aztec warrior who was corrupted by malfunctioning alien
technology, making him more powerful and more sadistic, feeding off
violence and anger. The Doctor and his friends follow Huitzilin from
the Aztec Empire, to London in the 60s, and to the Titanic,
to stop him before he takes over the Doctor's body.
I
bought this book as Kate Orman is praised very highly in fan circles,
and I wanted to see her work for myself. This book is often hailed as
revolutionary in its portrayal of the Doctor and his companions, and
I suppose it is. The NAs were known for being more introspective than
the classic show, and often questioned the Doctor and his actions in
a way that hadn't really been done before. However, this
introspectiveness is so prominent in Doctor Who nowadays that
it's easy to take for granted. The Doctor is always questioning his
role in the universe, while his companions question his role in their
lives, and whether travelling with the Doctor is healthy for them.
The story arc of Series 8 is entirely built around this.
As
someone who started with the new series before reading thse books,
this book didn't shock or amaze me as I was expecting it to. That's
not through any failing of the author, it's just that I've seen
Doctor Who do this so many times before. At the very least,
it's interesting to read and see how the DNA of the new series was
seeded through these books a whole decade before it was released.
The
plot and characterisation is very solid here. I love time-hopping
stories like this because they provide a much bigger sense of scale
and history. By showing how old a being Huitzilin is, and how he can
appear in any environment, it parallels the theme of violence which
recurs again and again in history. The various worlds were
well-realised; Orman gives enough detail to bring them to life, but
not too much that it bogs down the story.
Huitzilin
himself isn't a complex villain (he's just another power-hungry
sociopath) but this does free up the protagonists, who are given more
depth. The Doctor spends a lot of time doubting himself, but again,
Orman doesn't go overboard, so it doesn't feel preachy. Given the
Seventh Doctor's godlike status in some of these stories, it's good
to bring him down to Earth, so to speak, and show his more vulnerable
side. There's a nice moment between him and Ace where he stops her
from shooting a man who's attacking them. We see both sides of this
argument, and the reader is left to make up their own minds about
this. Ace is also well-realised here, and even though she's much
angrier and more violent than her TV counterpart, her disillusionment
with the world harkens back to the classic show's final seasons, and
so it feels like a natural progression of the character. I've heard
from sites like The Doctor Who Ratings Guide that Ace becomes more
unlikeable as the books progress, but here, I thought she was
portrayed very well.
Professor
Summerfield is the brains to Ace's brawn. There's a slight feeling of
dread as the tension between them mounts, as part of the ongoing arc
between them. Between Ace's and the Doctor's angst, Bernice is the
most grounded of the trio, providing a level head, especially towards
the book's end where Ace is briefly possessed by Huitzilin, and the
Doctor gets stabbed. Bernice's tempering effect is vital to the
story, as it stops it from being dragged down by its own
naval-gazing.
The
incidental characters are fine, but nothing too memorable. Cristián
Alvarez is the designated bystander who's dragged along for the ride
as the time travellers keep appearing randomly throughout his life.
There's also a Lieutenant Macbeth of UNIT, who doesn't know much of
this mysterious Doctor but will go to any means to find out. I was
disappointed that Macbeth didn't have a bigger role here, as I loved
the way Orman tied back to the Barry Letts era, while expanding on
it. Like Ace, the portrayal is markedly different from the show (UNIT
is more sinister here, instead of the cozy ensemble it was in 70s),
but still feels like a continuation and not a betrayal of what's come
before.
One
last connection with the new series is the story arc. As we've come
to expect from the new series, a shady villain is working in the
shadows to tamper with the Doctor's timestream, which is what causes
the series of events in the story. Thankfully, it's not intrusive and
the book can still be enjoyed as a standalone adventure. The framing
device is so underused here, that it seems as if Orman originally
wrote this to be its own story, and the editors made her add a few
nods and winks just to tie it together with the other books.
If
you're looking for an introduction to the New Adventure line, The
Left-Handed Hummingbird is a good book to start with. Whether
you're a longtime fan or a newbie, it's very much Doctor Who.
No comments:
Post a Comment