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Death and Diplomacy

By Dave Stone

Book review by Nicholas Withers

I was a big fan of Sky Pirates!, having found the completely over-the-top humour a refreshing break from the darkness that generally prevails through the New Adventures, and as such I was looking forward to Death and Diplomacy. From the outset Death and Diplomacy promised to be more traditional, with neither the back cover blurb or the main cover suggesting the manic-ness of Stone's first New Adventure.

However make no mistake: this is definitely a book by Dave Stone, the trademark revisionist humour saturates the book, but at the same time does not diminish the strength of the story. In fact some of the scenes between Bernice and Jason are the most emotive I have read in the New Adventures.

Dave Stone characterises Bernice and the Doctor well, with the former attempting to overcome her cynicism towards others (in this case Jason), and the later wondering at points whether he may have out-manipulated himself. Roz and Chris take more of a back seat.

The bad guys are especially classic, but I guess you'll just have to read the book to find out why. If you enjoyed Sky Pirates! then this is a must-read. If you did not, then Death and Diplomacy is still worth reading, as this time the humour is not the major part of the story.

This item appeared in TSV 47 (April 1996).

Index nodes: Death and Diplomacy