THE LONGEST DAY is just that, it is very long. Drawn out, dull and scatter shot all around, this, the ninth adventure featuring the Eighth Doctor and Sam is the start of a three part story arc with a intermission (LEGACY OF THE DALEKS) thrown into the middle. So, for those expecting a quick and happy ending (or even a cohernt one), be warned, we are left in cliffhanger territory pretty much from the get go. The book did start of pretty strong - but by page six the first sign of trouble appeared - that being found in the second reference to Sam being in a wet T-shirt (OPTION LOCK has the bragging rights as to being the first). The book tries to recover from there, setting us up in world right from the Third Doctor tone and feel of the Earth Empire Age, complete with space stations and Monitors (think the Third Doctor adventure THE MUTANTS). It's a great launching point that falls apart very quick. The author seems rushed throughout this book - almost like he knows he has to hit a lot of points fast before the book comes to a abrupt end - the seperation of the Doctor and Sam from each other... which I found almost refreshing. I've never been a big fan of Sam, and would like to see her removed from the series, but alas, she will be back (plus, this plot line feels like a direct rip from the VIRGIN days of Doctor Who, where Ace leaves the TARDIS to fight in the Dalek Wars, only to join up again later). There is a lot of head scratchers here, but none more than the Doctor's purple VW BEETLE - which is a hoot, and is actually very useful in this book, but merely a throw away... like all the rest of the plot and action in the book. A wasted effort all around, and worth only picking up to complete the set - but not to read. Next... THE LEGACY OF THE DALEKS.

The hardest thing about reviewing LONGEST DAY is that by the time I got to the end of the book, I'd already forgotten the events of the first half. There's nothing there to hold the reader's interest through to the end. The plot is about average with one or two bright spots here and there, but any ground made up is swamped by the poor execution.

Pacing, or the lack thereof, is probably the book's worst sin. No tension or excitement is built, things just sort of happen without any rhyme or reason until the end when they just sort of stop happening. The characterization is fairly decent, but the alien names are so confusing and interchangeable, that I reached a point where I stop bothering about trying to keep the characters in mind and just started winging it. This didn't seem to make much of a difference.

The bottom line is that it took me almost three times as long to plow through LONGEST DAY than it has for any other BBC Doctor Who book. It's a long, drawn-out story punctuated by occasional violence (which I didn't find as intrusive or as sickening as other people apparently did). There are some nice touches (such as the Doctor zooming through the corridors of an alien dome in his purple VW Beetle), but the book makes the reader work so hard to get to them that it really isn't worth the effort.

This was one of the most enjoyable of the BBC Doctor Who books. At times it is somewhat dark and grim, and it's probably not the classic television-style Who (people seem to get hurt quite graphically). It's far more serious in tone than most of the previous BBC books. This book introduces a new species and begins a continuing plotline in the BBC range (continued in Dreamstone Moon, then Seeing I). An interesting problem, and a fascinating story. It starts out a little slow, but picks up fairly early on. The title of this review is taken from the dialogue of a character in the story, whom I found terribly amusing. I highly recommend this book, and encourage readers to undertake the three-part saga it begins.

This book is quite thorough in many areas, such as preventative dental care and appropriate dog toys (with many pictures of the actual toys so you don't get confused).
I guess I'm picky but, even though the back cover includes the topic as a high point, there is no mention of grooming in the entire book. So, if you want a border collie with the best dog toys and clean teeth but no fur, this is the book for you.

I found this book dissapointing, because it puts to great an emphasis on Clara Pettacci his mistress. Furthermore the emphsis is on mainly on the romantic while a biography of such an important political figure should have at least stressed the damage which the Petacci family caused the regime. They took full advantage of the relations with Mussolini to become one of the main elements in the corruption that was one of the features of the Fascist regime in its last years.

Quirky books always get my attention, and this one had lots of promise. However, the victorian language was so stilted and verbose it was hard to appreciate the story. I kept plowing through it, hoping to get to the quirky, fun part of the story, and it never came! The story begins with a charming premise: The pet chimp is jealous of the simpering fiancee. The chimp's machinations to foil the fiancee are amusing at first. Then, it is as if the author got tired of being clever and merely wrote to get the story finished. The story goes beyond quirky and into the truly bizarre. I was disappointed.

My Brother Sam is Dead I think is half good and half bad. The bad part of the story is the beginning because it just tells you about the family and nothing much happens. After a while the book starts to get a little better. The kidnapping of Tim's dad was intense and scary. The book also brought feelings of sadness because Tim's life was so effected and changed by the war. Wondering if Sam is going to really be executed kept me reading this book. This book is worth a read.

"A Reluctant Reader"

This book is not only poorly written, it is also poorly edited. I am not a textile engineer or textile technologist, and I found obvious errors in the first chapters that would actually affect the quality of work anyone using this book would perform. I think that the authors of this book should be ashamed of themselves. I suspect they are professors that needed to be published, and now they are. Their peers should review this book before giving them any credibility.