Doctor Who: The Myth Makers: 08/27/06

My husband spent a year living in England when his father was on sabbatical. During that time he became a Doctor Who fan and picked up a bunch of books inspired by the long-running series. The Myth Makers is one of these books.

It takes place during the Trojan war with the first doctor and his two companions. I guess it falls under the "historical and educational" bit of Doctor Who and not the "bug eyed monster" bit. The book is fortunately very short. It started out fun but it quickly started to drag with a narrator who was supposedly Homer but didn't sound anything like Homer the poet. He might have been Homer Simpson, if Homer were British.

Here is my BookCrossing review:

The first doctor and his companions Vicki and Steven end up in the middle of the Trojan war. As often is the case the doctor finds himself separated from his companions and needs to rescue them. The doctor this time has the help of Homer and Odysseus.

The story is told from Homer's point of view as another of his epics, the Whoiad, I guess, but it's unfortunately nowhere near as well written as either the Iliad or the Odyssey. There are so many "modern" Britishisms in Homer's story that it's impossible to believe that he would be the one telling the story or that his Greek audience would understand a tenth of what he was saying. I wish that Cotton had chosen to use an unnamed narrator if he was so set on using such a chit-chatty tone.

Ultimately the story is one long (142 pages) shaggy dog story with a few pages to get the TARDIS on its way again after the punchline. The joke did make me crack a smile but I was most grateful for the fact that I was nearly done with the book.

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