Timewyrm: Exodus
Just War
|
Timewyrm: Exodus |
Virgin Books Just War |
|
| Author | Lance Parkin |  |
| ISBN# | 0 426 20463 8 | |
| Published | 1996 | |
| Cover | Nik Spender |
| Synopsis: March 1941 and the Nazi's have occupied British soil. While the Doctor investigates a possible problem in the timeline, Bernice finds herself facing a situation she hoped she'd never have to face... |
A Review by Sean Gaffney 18/8/99
Well, that was fun. In a twisted, depraved sort of way. A number of things struck me about Just War while I was reading it. I'll try to delve into them as I review.
Plot: Very good. An example of the Doctor invariably having to go round half the time fixing stuff he broke himself. All the Nazis are evil while remaining three-dimensional, and all the British are grey as well. The plot could have happened (history isn't my strong suit...that would be my wool suit). And it's not 500 pages long.
Chris: Still the weakest companion, but getting better. Very well done considering his handicaps, that he's got to remain naive and puppydogish. He seems to have very definite moral codes. That could get him in trouble later.
Roz: Fabulous, one of the best to feature her. A believable romance, which is actually left open. (I wonder if Ben will write her out with George?) Also, the scene with her sitting on the bench, thinking "Thank God that I'm racially pure" was incredibly disturbing. She is still a bit of an Alienist/racist character.
Benny: Hoo boy. Remember what Benny went through in Falls The Shadow? Even worse. Torture, sleep dep, bones broken, she breaks and tells everything, and on top of everything else, leaves her diary behind. The scene at the end with the Doctor was much needed, to remind him how vulnerable they actually are. Bernice is the only one of his companions who's similar to him - in other words, unable to fight her way out. Plus, she gets a very disturbing scene with a German nurse, which shows a nasty side to her. Hope she finds time to recover.
The Doctor: Wow! A major part of the book! We see him fooled - a lot! He's still playing games, but half the time they don't come off. This is hopefully the way that the NA Doctor will be done in future - well, Warchild will be different, but what do you expect?
Other: For the four pages she figures into, Mel is written well.
Comparisons: I couldn't help but think that this was Toy Soldiers written properly. TS, in its effort to show us how faceless and unkind war can be, made itself a faceless and unkind book. Just War knows that individuals don't think a war is faceless, and so tells a very human story, one which gets its message across, on both sides, without being callous.
Overall: Hope Lance writes more, this is excellent. Well done on all counts, and so it gets my rare - well, not rare at all, really - 10/10. More!
A Review by Dominick Cericola 1/12/00
Before I began my foray into the whole TARDIS/Compassion Arc, I decided to read another of the 7th Doctor adventures, so I can get ever closer to finishing reading my definitive collection. Which Adventure did I choose for my Break? Lance Parkin's Just War, in which the 7th Doctor is once again confronted with horrors of the Nazis - tho' this time they have invaded and occupied British lands, have extraordinary technology at hand, and it is NOT an alternate reality...!!!
First off, I'd like to deal with the story itself... I've had Just War for some time now, sitting on my shelf waiting for me to pick it up. It was overlooked for the longest time, because quite frankly I couldn't see another confrontation with the Nazis in WWII. Terrence Dicks did it quite well (in regards to his writing style afterwards, I have no clue what happened!) in Timewyrm: Exodus (which I am due to review later in the year, hopefully, as I just recently got my hands on a near-mint copy of Timewyrm: Genesys, so I plan to re-read the whole set, in order, then review 'em. Keep checking back, gang..), so why retread the issue?
Needless to say, Parkin pulled it off, offering a darker perspective on the War than did Dicks. Whereas Exodus seemed primarily to focus on the Timewyrm-possessed Hitler, offering a somewhat more.. human (?) pespective on the man who became a Monster.. Yet, despite all the gloom and angst in the story, I don't think it is a heavy story - it is rough to endure, but then again, so is the film, Schlinder's List, and in both instances, it isn't the story that is difficult to comprehend, it is the content. World War II was a difficult War, one in which to this day, there is still a lot of misunderstanding, as to how the things that happened were allowed to even get that far. But, let me stop there, or else this will be a forum on World War II and The Nazi Influence instead of a review of Just War.
Let's move onto the characters -- I am sure that won't turn into a Political Soapbox (*HEH*).. The Doctor: This was a strange tale for our favorite renegade Time Lord.. We see him ever so briefly in the opening Prologue.. Then he doesn't join the adventure until late in the middle through 'til the end.. He seems unsure of himself, as to how something like this -- the Nazis being in control of technology such as this and he never knew of it! -- could happen.. Yet, this is an answer to be found, and it eventually surfaces at near the end, and the shock he experiences will be shared as it all dawns on you as well.. Parkin does a good job with Sylvester's Doctor, making more of an enigmatic figure than simply a manipulator. A pity he only worked with him one other time -- in the Missing Adventure, Cold Fusion.
Benny: WTF! I have to side with many of the other fan reviews I read -- why did Benny have to be subjected to the literal horror she went as a prisoner of the Nazis? On the one hand, it showed us, the reader, what things were very probably like as a prisoner back then, but on the other hand, it seemed, I dunno, exploitative? Looking back, I can't see any reason why she had to be put through such pain -- I find it difficult to believe there couldn't have been a.. milder (?) .. path for our Professor to tread? ..Still, concerning the characterization -- I thought she was dead-on, Parkin did a great job with her, as she was trying to juggle the roles of Companion, Archaelogist, and "undercover agent". The writing for her very nearly makes up for all the abuse she suffered in this adventure!
Chris and Roz: Chris and Roz are cast as Agents for the SID (Scientific Intelligence Divison), helping the British mility combat the Nazi threat while at the same time trying to find out as much information about the War for The Doctor, in an effort to find out what exactly is going on.. Both characters are handled well, esp. Roz. She was really given a lot of room to grow in both this book and Ben Aaaronovitch's The Also People (a review is forthcoming, promise.. It's just one of those books I really have to sit down and spend all day trying to sum it up. But, I will), portrayed as more than just a hard-assed, cold cop from the Future. She has quite a big heart when she lets her inner shields down, and it has cost her much. I think now I can see what she does what she does in her "swan song" adventure, So Vile A Sin. She did so much in her lifetime, and like the line goes, "It's better to burn out than fade-away.." -- AND, as far as I am concerned, she will never fade away, ever..
And, of course, The Nazis: Yes, they were protrayed as determined Warriors, proud of their Heritage and their Homeland.. Yet, on the same hand, they were shown as allowing nothing to stand in their way! Scary, more terrifying than any monsters on the Big Screen..!
Alright, enough already..! Hopefully, I have added a different review than everyone else's, or if not, at least I contributed something further to the already extensive list of Reviews out there for Just War. Keep your eyes peeled, as more Reivews are coming your way very soon. Cheers..!
A strong character novel by Tim Roll-Pickering 25/1/03
Lance Parkin's debut novel is a strong beginning, offering a strong story that never once resorts to cliches but instead shows Britain in 1941 and how the Doctor and his companions react to the events around them. One famous myth is easily debunked though - it is often claimed that the Doctor never removes his nun's habit disguise and so should be thought of as still wearing it for both the last part of this book and its immediate successor Warchild, yet the impression given in the novel is that the Doctor has indeed changed back to his normal clothes.
Nun's habits aside, there is a lot to commend Just War for. All four of the regulars are given strong roles in the story, with Roz challenging existing preconceptions around her whilst Benny finds her own preconceptions cruelly blown. Parkin has clearly done his research and brings to life Roz's Xhosa ancestry and her pride in her racial purity, at times showing her attitudes to be as dreadful as those of the Nazis. Her romance with George Reed is carefully built up, though broken off a little too easily at the end of the novel, whilst her vicious side comes to the fore on occasions such as when she literally gouges out a man's eye. Her sense of wonder as she walks through 1940s London and her sense of frustration about the primitive technology and limited imagination of the Scientific Intelligence Division both come to the forefront, truly making her stand out. Benny is given a much rougher ride than Roz, as she is first forced to shoot a young German soldier in cold blood merely for recognising her and is then captured and viciously tortured to the point where she loses faith in the Doctor and her sense of identity as she is forced to question just what is the truth. This also highlights the great uncertainty and confusion that has developed in the New Adventures about Benny's background, a sign of Parkin's ability to handle continuity well without making it obtrusive.
Chris' role in the story is much simpler, being sent to France to carry out a mission and so consequently is less developed than either of the other two companions, but the Doctor is given some good material through his capture by the Nazis and discussions with Steinmann. The Doctor's deviousness in dealing with the Nazis is clear throughout, as he seeks to put an end to an anachronism. In a series of flashback sequences we learn that it was the Doctor and Mel on an earlier adventure who caused the anachronism in the first place and the Doctor's sense of guilt at first causing this and then not admitting it to his companions really comes to the forefront.
The whole ethos of the Nazis is outlined and exposed in brutal terms though whether or not individual soldiers and nurses can be considered guilty is challenged. In one passage there is a memorable moment as Benny's mind tries to accommodate the ranging memories and realises that the Nazis are identical to the (unnamed) Daleks. Although such a comparison has been made many times, on this occasion the passage is well written and so stands out freshly.
The story is firmly a historical and Parkin has clearly done his research. Few of the supporting characters really stand out apart from Reed and Steinmann, with the rest mainly providing the backdrop within which the others work. Fundamentally this is a character novel, challenging many preconceptions all round, and it works. The result is a promising beginning for a debut novelist. 8/10
A Review by Andrew McCaffrey 14/10/03
Doctor Who had, of course, already produced stories set during WWII, but Just War would prove to be something different. While Nazis had appeared in Timewyrm: Exodus, they were cartoonish, and one could easily imagine each and every one of them being played by Bernie Kopell (ah, split screening technology). But Just War takes its central premise seriously, and the payoff is incredible. Doctor Who has dealt with similar themes before (usually in allegory), but rarely so effectively, and never in such stark terms.
World War II is raging through Europe. The Nazis are making enormous technical advances. Germany occupies British soil. But the back cover informs us that this is not a parallel universe story, nor is there any indication of alien interference. (In fact, Just War would appear to be a rare example of a purely historical story in the New Adventures.) The Doctor and company must deal with the menace on its own terms. As is typical in the books of this era, each of the regulars has his/her own part in the Doctor's grand scheme to play. The mission here is comparatively easy: find out what is going on.
Although the plot is very cleverly constructed, whenever I think back upon the story, I think of it as more of a collection of excellent set pieces held together by an adequate storyline (more on this later). Many of those set pieces involve characters giving lengthy speeches about Nazism, racial purity, or warfare. These speeches, while stagy in execution, are genuinely chilling.
I mentioned the plot as being adequate, and I should elaborate on that. The storyline does feels a little awkward at times. But I hasten to add that overall it contains a lot of surprises and some genuinely effective material. Any minor problems certain don't harm the book, but it does give it the feel of a book more reliant on themes and characters than on plot and events. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Just War is notable by both what it says, and by what it leaves unsaid. Despite the long passages dealing with such topics, the words "Dalek" and "Hitler" never appear, and the book is stronger for its subtleties. I wish I could say the same for the passages dealing with the racism faced by Roz in 1940s Britain. Yes, such attitudes are realistic for that time and place, but they feel slightly overdone. A very similar thing was executed better in Paul Leonard's Toy Soldiers, and Just War just feels like it's rehashing the same ground without bringing anything new to the table. Fortunately, for every example of that, there is something shockingly effective to counter it. The scene of Roz contemplating her own cultural heritage is that kind of sequence that propels the book towards its lofty reputation.
Just War was Lance Parkin's first New Adventure, but you wouldn't know that from the maturity of his writing and the confident way he handles the regular characters. I would happily hold up Just War as example of what Doctor Who does best. It deals with serious themes, while putting a human face on horrific suffering. It also never comes across as being unbearably grim despite the topics that Parkin is dealing with.
A Review by Finn Clark 11/11/04
I have a slight problem with Lance Parkin's books. They're lightweight. Even when he's trying to be serious (The Infinity Doctors, Father Time), he's at risk of dribbling away into bland nonsense that might have been exciting when we were ten. At his worst (Trading Futures, The Dying Days), his light touch produces such a gossamer-thin excuse for a book that it tumbles away on the breeze without impinging on the world in any way whatsoever. Okay, I'm in a minority on this. Lance is a popular author and people seem to love his books, or at least generally like them more than I do.
These lightweight tendencies are only emphasised by comparisons with Lance's debut NA, which in contrast takes its story matter very seriously indeed. Just War looks realistically at World War Two, in deliberate contrast with Terrance Dicks's jollier Timewyrm: Exodus, and anyone's work might tend to look heavyweight compared with that.
However rereading Just War, I was disconcerted to find those lightweight tendencies creeping in. This is a strong book, don't get me wrong, but its tone is inconsistent. After a powerful chapter with Benny or Roz, suddenly we find the Doctor clowning around or telling the eyepatch joke. Lance emphasises his alienness by making him do impossible things, which to me felt wrong. Such moments can be fun... when they're there for a reason. However here they undermine the real-world setting of Nazi occupation and turn the Doctor into a cartoon character who's obviously too powerful for the story around him. This book would have worked far better as a Hartnell historical, since that Doctor wouldn't have pissed around with vanishing shadows and the like. Hartnell's presence enhanced stories instead of detracting from them.
Then there's a third tone the book takes, which is didactic. This book
is full of speeches, dirty great whacking ones. In a stage play, these
would be two-minute hiatuses where the action stops dead and the actor
delivers his material straight out to the house. Normally this would be
buttock-clenchingly painful... but here it works. The issues being
addressed are so huge that the speeches fly past. I really enjoyed them,
actually. One nifty habit o' Lance's is to give his mega-speeches to the
Nazis, letting them explain their warped worldview and creating real
debate. It's genuinely thought-provoking and one of my favourite aspects
of the book, though such speechifying wouldn't have worked in an ordinary
novel.
I've been critical of this book's Doctor, but I'm full of praise for
its Benny and Roz. Their plot strands are thoughtful, rich and
convincing, really giving a taste of wartime life in Britain and the
Channel Islands. I was particularly impressed that Roz's story didn't end
in the expected convenient revelation, but was instead allowed to play out
properly. When the women are onstage, this is a thoroughly impressive
book and everything people say it is. Benny's reactions are particularly
important to ground the story, since Chris and Roz are from so far in the
future that they might as well be aliens, while the Doctor is basically
off with the fairies. Had Benny's chapters been weak, the book would have
belly-flopped... but they're always strong. That makes a huge
difference.
There are little touches for you to notice, the literary equivalent of
easter eggs on a DVD. Look at the references to Troxos 4 on p40 and p126,
for instance. It looks as if something happened on Troxos 4 similar to
what happened here to cause all the trouble in the first place, and the
Doctor was sorting that out too. That tickled me, though I'm not wild
about the implications. (I'm tying myself in knots trying to avoid
spoilers, but I'll simply say that I like Season 24 and leave it at that.)
This book has a stellar reputation, regularly coming near the top of
polls and Head-to-Head competitions. I've criticised it here, but its
flaws are subtle and its virtues are impressive. Even with everything
I've said, it's one of the stronger Who novels out there - even
before you take into account the fact that it's a debut novel.
Recommended.
Treasure... by Joe Ford
1/7/05
When people talk about the maturity of the Virgin book range I quite
often draw a blank at to what they are getting at and then I pick up a
book like Just War and GET IT. This is a raw and gripping novel,
one that caught my attention early on and never let go. Considering it is
the first novel written by Lance Parkin it is an even greater
accomplishment.
Writing for a science-fiction series opens up many possibilities that
would not perhaps be available in a "straight" series. Despite the ability
of Doctor Who to tell stories in any place or time, there are still
a number of locations/years that are focussed upon and returned to. World
War Two is one such period, mother of tales such as The
War Games, Curse of Fenric, Timewyrm: Exodus, The Turing Test
and Shadow in the Glass. You might think that the
period has been over exploited but reading a book like Just War
reveals the merits of looking at the many different facets to a terrifying
war. The story splits itself into four, one plotline for each of the
regulars and examines the conflict from different angles. The Doctor is a
prisoner of war and afforded the luxury of being valued by the Nazis.
Benny is trapped in Occupied Guernsey and tortured by the Nazis. Roz is
working for the British, helping out in their scientific intelligence
department. And Chris is the soldier at war, out on a mission to retrieve
a Nazi scientist. By showing us each of these characters (all of them
anachronisms) and how they are treated, Parkin approaches the war with
much more depth than previous attempts to understand the subject.
The book itself was less densely written than Parkin's later books and
as a result it is one of his most readable. And I mean readable in every
sense of the word, I have had an eye infection this past week and Simon,
who is appalling at reading from the printed page, managed to read half of
this book out to me with very little difficulty. The language flows
beautifully and eloquently without ever being too complicated. The trouble
with books like The Infinity Doctors and Father Time is that Parkin has crafted every single line
to strike the reader and as such I find myself concentrating on the
delicious prose style as well as the plot. Just War focuses on plot
and character first and prose second, I could not imagine a twelve year
old having difficulty with this book, despite the horrific subject matter.
Bernice has been travelling with the Doctor for many, many books now
and it is quite shocking to think there are still things to learn about
this fascinating character. You can see each successive writer building
her character further, to a point where it is obvious she has the
personality to hold up her own series. It says something, then, to point
out that Just War is still one of the best examinations of Ms
Summerfield yet, even though her adventures have continued for another ten
years since.
It is through Benny that we get to experience the true horror of the
Nazis. Whilst her torture scenes are brutal the painful stripping of her
character begins far before that. Benny experiences life under Occupation,
being watched, picked on, threatened, abused, toyed with and stripped of
liberty and personality in fear of a bullet in the brain. The tension in
these early scenes is palpable, Benny practically bursting to be free of
her cover story and the limitations it places on her. The scene where her
cover is blown and she realises she has to shoot a German man she has been
close to or threaten the security of her family is the first of several
heartbreaking decisions she has to make.
Her interrogation scenes are possibly as frightening and as realistic
as Doctor Who fiction has ever dared to go. She is stripped,
beaten, starved, deprived of sleep, forced to listen to Nazi rhetoric and
poisoned. Parkin captures her vulnerability perfectly and Benny's whimpers
and screams as she has her personality torn away, day by day, is almost
impossible to bear. Even when she gets the chance to fight back we are
always aware that the Nazis have stolen her spirit. And whilst I am not so
keen on this "it was all the Doctor's fault" business, the scene where his
guilt is exposed and Benny reveals her bruises to him is startlingly
emotional.
There is one sequence in Just War which springs out as more
powerful than all the others. Lance Parkin compares the evil of the Nazis
to the Daleks far better than any other writer has attempted. He even
manages to slip in the title for every Dalek story just in case nobody got
the message. This is using continuity well and makes for a terrifying
hallucinogenic sequence.
Roz's plot is the next most interesting and not because she is treated
to a "coloured woman in the past" plot. It is touched upon, briefly and
subtly and then dropped in favour of a far more engaging romance for the
Adjudicator and Lieutenant George Reed. Whilst this might seem a little
too close to her similar love interest in The Also
People, this is an entirely different sort of love interest, George
convincingly managing to woo her by letting her be herself. Watching the
tough-as-nails Roz soften in his company is far less slushy than it sounds
and leads to some astonishingly racy and intimate passages. I really like
Roz anyway, she's got a fascinating history and thanks to her ballsy
attitude is given a harder time than most companions from her writers and
it is a relief to see Parkin treat her with sensitivity and intelligence.
Her parting from George at the climax is very touching and she is given a
very tempting offer to stay.
I have heard complaints about the Doctor's portrayal in this book; in
particular Finn Clark makes a good point when the novel
hops from Benny being tortured to the Doctor doing something inexplicably
magical. And yet Just War is far more restrained than many other
books from this era of Doctor Who and the reader is afforded the
chance to see why the Doctor doesn't interfere with these big conflicts.
His dialogue is very strong in places, especially as he discusses the
atrocities without judging either side with Steinmann and forces Chris to
see how naive he is when talking about averting the war and exterminating
the Nazis. The latter passages of the book might take the uncomfortable
stance of blaming the Doctor for everything (which is par for the course
in the NAs) but at least this time it was an accident. And it does show
how easy it is to change the course of history with just one harmless
comment. Scary stuff. The book asks tough questions about being a
traveller in time and the responsibilities that come with it without it
sounding like old hat.
Unfortunately the book isn't perfect (although it comes pretty close at
times) because Parkin is also lumbered with Chris Cwej who is by far the
weakest book companion of them all. Sam Jones might be arrogant and stupid
but she was never as brainless and naive as this plonker. He really does
come out with some daft ideas here and his only genuine characteristic is
that he loves big machines. Just compare his scenes with Roz, hers are
full of character background, feelings on the current situation and
character growth and his are about big motors and you can see the
difference in their effectiveness. When he does try and break free of his
cuddly-giant mould he comes as across as stupid and adolescent (which I
suppose was the idea but its still annoying!). Still at least he isn't
chasing skirt in this book so that is a bonus. I kept wondering when the
book would return to Benny and the real drama rather than concentrating on
this wally.
Just War shows how the NAs can deal with adult themes without
tipping over into obscenity. So much of the horror here is psychological
and it is far more frightening than any amount of rancid violence. The
dialogue alone is enough to send chills down the spine, as you listen to
Nazis justifying and glorifying their creed. Parkin wants you to
understand the horror of what these people represent but he doesn't do it
by filling graves full of innocent victims or showing tanks grinding their
teeth over the battlefield, he merely explains what these people were
about. The scene where Steinmann tells Benny she cannot be from the future
because if she was she would be a Nazi is one of several chilling
examples.
A thoughtful book to savour. I wouldn't want every Doctor Who
book to be this uncomfortable to read because it would suck all the fun
out of the universe but as a historical diversion and a gripping chapter
in Benny's life it is an experiment that pays of handsomely.
A top five NA, without a doubt.
If You Were Really From the Future Miss Summerfield, You Would Be a Nazi by Jacob Licklider
21/4/23
Lance Parkin's debut novel, Just War, is now tied in first place with Andy Lane's All-Consuming Fire for my favorite Doctor Who novel. It is a story that takes a nearly pure historical look at World War II and does the great thing of pushing its characters to their limits in a situation where they are out of their natural element. The plot sees the Doctor, Benny, Chris and Roz sent to Guernsey, which was one of the British Isles under Nazi occupation in World War II, where they are trying to stop the Nazis from winning the actual war, which with an alien weapon is a high possibility. As a story it is again simple, but extremely character driven not only by our main characters, but also by the supporting cast.
Parkin paints a vivid picture of Guernsey under Nazi occupation through the citizens that we explore there and some of the Nazis who are stationed there. First is Ma Doras, the woman in charge of a boarding house that has to house the Nazis as well as the Doctor and friends. She knows that she is in a bad situation as she commits passive resistance to the Nazis while still trying to live her life. She is the example of a British woman with a stiff upper lip and the hope that the war is going to be won eventually, but the realism that things will be getting darker before they get lighter. She serves her purpose and Parkin knows that she needs to leave the story as the focus becomes on the other characters. One of the Nazis staying on Guernsey with Ma Doras is Gerhard Flur who is a young man who enlisted with that classic sense of patriotism and nationalism. He believes what the Nazis are doing are right and just, as is the war, but Parkin writes him as a real person. He falls in love with Benny early on in the novel of course before he realizes that she isn't going to be compliant to the Nazis and he gets himself killed. It is an event that shatters Benny, which I will get to later when I discuss her, but his dead body still has another bit of purpose in the novel later on. The villains of the story are Oskar Steinmann and Joachim Wolff, who are two ruthless Nazis who have to be the evil ones for the main characters.
Speaking of the main characters, they are split up into three groups, with Chris and Roz being undercover agents in London, Benny being on Guernsey before being taken to a Nazi prison to be tortured and the Doctor actually becoming a Nazi. So there is a lot of ground to cover with these characters, and to be honest Chris is probably the weakest of the group this novel. He is sent on a suicide mission and eventually meets up with the Doctor and is partially responsible for how the novel actually concludes. His character, however, is much clearer here than in some of the other novels, as here he feels like a little kid in a candy shop surrounded by history. He researched movies from the time period and history textbooks yet still has a lot of things to go through before he realizes how screwed up the world of 1941 actually is. He really is there to make things quite a bit lighter and also to ask the moral dilemma as why can't they just kill all the Nazis?
Roz is the one of the pair used much better, as she has to go through the sexism and the racism of the era while she ends up getting engaged. She has to be the one to try and find a solution to the problems of the war while Kendrick, her boss in this story, doesn't really take her seriously. It becomes an interesting dynamic as Roz is forced to take things when really she is a no-nonsense type of person in all respects. She also delves in to the sexual repression of the period as she falls in love with Reed, a lieutenant who is obsessed with African culture. It's really something that is interesting as she has to let down her defenses and create a lasting relationship with someone. It was very possible that she could have been left behind as she agrees to marry Reed, and Parkin doesn't make the misstep of killing off Reed. Roz really feels like a well-thought-out character here as it is nice to let her have the spotlight again.
The Doctor actually shows just why I have the Seventh Doctor as my favorite Doctor. He can stay in the background and still do detestable things and actually be in the right here. He has to become a Nazi to get information and signs himself over to the Third Reich, and I can't help but love it. He is doing all this for two reasons. First, he is guilty that he let Ma Doras's own daughter die of an illness in 1913 and second just before the events of Dragonfire he and Mel met the German who was using the technology to let the Nazis win and they became friends. Mel made him promise that if that German went anywhere he would be there to stop it. He and Mel both have a stake in events and are portrayed great. The Doctor's plotline also is responsible for the villain of Oskar Steinmann who is a power-hungry Nazi who wants to surpass even Hitler and spread information about the "glorious" cause. He is the one to convince the Doctor to become a Nazi by treating him like a friend and leading him to secrets. The Doctor knows too much not to become a Nazi.
Finally, we have Benny who is the real star of the show here. She kills a man and gets captured and tortured by Joachim Wolff and his sympathetic nurse. These scenes of torture are brutal, as we get to see Benny broken down and almost become a normal twentieth-century girl. It is a very good writing for Benny and is an easy plotline to convert into a Benny standalone, helped by the fact that the plotlines are kept very separate from each other, which is honestly a good thing. Benny also has to be Celia Doras in Guernsey, as she takes an identity that really doesn't have a lot of light moments. She acts very much like a conman here, which is something that also shines through. I don't want to ruin anything else from this novel, as it is brilliant.
To summarize, Just War is a novel there to ask the hard questions about political ideas, the spread of power, racism, sexism and just plain character drama. It is a story that everyone should have the chance to read quickly and immediately. 100/100