'The Doctor was smiling. He was running up and down the gentle slope between barn and gate like an excitable puppy, greeting people. He seemed to blend in, despite his incongruous costume, or perhaps because of it. If ever there was a natural member of the hippie generation, it was him.'
This novel is spread out over three years in the late '60s. The Doctor's foe is this novel is the 'Revolution man', an international graffiti artist (whose most threatening act is to leave his mark in public places). He is enabled to do this by abusing Om-Tsor, a drug with the capability of really distorting reality. Paul Leonard does some nice philosophising about the TARDIS' telepathic circuit, but then everyone in this book seems to be a philosopher. While this may be true of the age, it actually makes for a truly dull book. Paul Leonard should have called it 'Doctor Who in an exciting adventure with the Dialectics!', since he uses the latter word a little bit too often. Now, I'm all for using high theory in contemporary fiction, as long as it's done in an entertaining way. Paul Leonard could learn a lot from Lawrence Miles here.
The characterisation is also flat and colourless. New companion Fitz goes through the Himalayas and back, but it's hard to feel anything for him. Uncle Sam is shown to be absurdly trigger happy. The resolution is quite silly, never mind the new excuse for a guilt trip. All in all, 'Revolution Man' is competently written, but lacks both excitement and stimulation.
Kevin Mahoney
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