Who Reviews The Slitheen Excursion by DJ Forrest

Written by Simon Guerrier

For BBC Books

Published 2009

Starring 10^th Doctor

‘1500BC – King Actaeus and his subjects live in mortal fear of the awesome gods who have come to visit their kingdom in ancient Greece. Except the Doctor, visiting with university student June, knows they’re not gods at all. They’re aliens.’

The Slitheen Excursion has been one of the better Simon Guerrier novels starring the 10^th Doctor – mostly because The Pirate Loop, in my opinion, was catered towards a much younger audience. It was sweet and enjoyable, but it lent towards a far younger age group than the Slitheen novel.

It took me a while to get my head around the ancient Greek background, given that during school history lessons, we covered barely, nothing of that era, and I had to pull in what I’d seen of slaves versus masters in films, from Ben Hur, Spartacus and Gladiator to get a feel of the actual era and the arena with which the Doctor and June found themselves in, in the novel. Once this was visualised, the story played really well, and I only wish, June had been a regular character travelling with the Doctor. She had none of the clingy love interest, but she did depend upon the Doctor during the novel, if only for the sake of him helping her get back to her own time.

Of all the eras to find yourself in, it was perhaps not facing other Gladiators in a ring, entertaining the lords and masters high above in the balconies. Then I was reminded of The Hunger Games, when Katniss was entertaining in the arena and harpooned the apple from the pig’s mouth, so that was another visual.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I’m not totally a fan of the Slitheen but they do make such interesting enemies. They do enjoy a good hunt.

There were several elements to this story. You had the Doctor, who was doing his usual ‘not getting involved’, but getting involved anyway. There was June, who saw something unusual before she was heading back home after her holiday, and spotting the Doctor, equally another unusual sight. There are the Slitheen. There’s the multitude of alien species, like happy snappy tourists, with tales to tell and see humans displaying behaviour in the arena as if this is typical human behaviour throughout the eras.

Then you have the human element, the ancient Greeks which the Slitheen are manipulating in order to alter human history, forever.

There are different alien characters, some you’re sure you’ve heard of in other worlds and realms, and some you know you’ve read about in other novels. They’re an interesting bunch of creatures, whose feelings move back and forth like a ball in a tennis match. They’re always swayed by the bigger argument – or who shouts the loudest!

This story is an interesting read, and one that kept me hooked while I worked through several lunch times, sat in my car, for ultimate peace and quiet.

The 10^th Doctor stories, of which I only have a few more to read, have been an enjoyable journey so far, and I’m going to miss reading about his adventures.