Reviews > Doctor Who: The Legacy > Ruins of Self II - Chapter Seven
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Chapter Seven Review by Sally Wiget

Coming to the end of "Ruins of Self" also means coming to the end of my turn as reviewer for these stories-it's certainly been a pleasure for me, and a new experience, and I hope others have found my reviews at least mildly entertaining, if not interesting, to read.

In any case, this final chapter in the sprawling "Ruins" saga ties up many plot and character threads, and in so doing seems to tie the 3a universe more closely into the other Doctor Who universes. Perhaps appropriately, a scene from "The Five Doctors" is nodded to ("No, it's you you!" Alf shouts); a scene, by the way, which Lance Parkin also imitated in Cold Fusion. And the burying of the Doctor is certainly reminiscent of Lawrence Miles' Alien Bodies (I found the Eye of Orion as the burial place more poignant). The eulogy the clone Doctor gives his other self also reminds me of a previous story from this season, "The Mirror and the Pomegranate"-can't think why…

The main concern I had with this chapter involved the use of clichés. The first scene involves Nick and Alf rushing toward each other from opposite sides of the room - the only time I liked that sort of melodramatic, sappy scene was when Dave Allen did it. There was also a certain taking for granted of some aspects of the story - when Wellarzlee died, it was automatically assumed he'd become a martyr. Was he that popular? What if Izlyr explained the situation; wouldn't his people support him, the Emporer, over Wellarzlee? More minor than that, the Chosen Ones were "taken by surprise" by the Federation troops in the Pel throne room and therefore, it seemed, easily beaten. This could have worked if mention were made of the Chosen Ones fumbling or acting generally confused, but without those necessary details I didn't quite believe it. King Garet is also a bit of a cliché - the proud king who will not stand down in front of the invaders, even if he is forced to kneel before them - but the authors nonetheless manage to pull his character off. I certainly found him interesting, and felt sympathy for him in that throne room scene, with the royal crown sitting "lop-sidedly" on Commander Sscharp's head. The use of this new incarnation of the Doctor is curious, and I'm very interested to see how he'll come up later.

The majority of this chapter isn't about politics, however, or even this new, mysterious Doctor. It's about closure for our main characters. Alf turns a new leaf, leaving behind the NA-reminiscent soldier (the burning of her weapons and armor is a powerful scene for her); Nick finds himself able to forgive the clone-Doctor being a clone, and the clone-Doctor himself is able to let go of his insecurities. Even the original Doctor is given closure, though it is fifty years coming. That was one of the hardest parts of this story to read; I found myself trying to reject this as the Doctor, my Doctor, because I wouldn't want something so wretched to happen to him. (A similar moment had come up earlier, when the "Doctor" arrived in the Pel throne room with the Federation troops - I just don't like the Doctor showing up with military escort.) In any case, it was a cathartic last chapter to this story, and it nicely tied up many issues that have been surrounding the Doctor, Nick, and Alf since "Kuang-Shi."

And I'd like to ask Andie one thing: where's that explanation you promised me about the male TARDIS??

Chapter Seven Review by Paul Clement

So, we finally reach the final furlong of Ruins of Self after seven extremely different chapters.

Despite the fact that we have been assured that the two separate parts of the story are very closely linked and that we would eventually see this, after reading this final chapter, I am still of the opinion that they are in all senses very different stories that by no means need to be read consecutively to make any sense. Yes, there are certain aspects of the story that link the two parts, the development of the main characters in the second part of the story are in part resultant of the previous half of the story. However, the emotional anguish of Alf is very much something that has been building up since Kuang-Shi, and in her instance the first half of the story adds little to that development.

Still, getting back to the chapter in question. I'm in two minds about this chapter, and as a result of this, the story as a whole. Once again, we are treated to some engaging writing style from both authors, there is an almost poetic feel to some of the description used and they both seem to have a strong grasp of imagery that makes the story come to life as you read it, a perfect example of this is the way in which they seem to breath life into the Earth in it's short passage, pushing home the fact it is a living thing that is growing and changing and as they say, reclaiming itself.

The use of a future version of the Doctor was a stroke of genius and gives a tantalising glimpse of what the future stories may be like. The characterisation they have already given him will make it all the easier for the readers to adapt to the change when it finally does occur. Shame about the explanation of where the current Doctor is during the story though, when the Doctor reappeared, I was half expecting a future adventure to be written with the Doctor on his own during this period of time. The use of the Tardis being a few seconds in the future has been used too often before, and I suppose that with the abilities the authors have already shown, I expected something more.

While the style of writing is as usual a pleasure to read, the final chapter does appear a little rushed. The scene I had been looking forward to, with Alf and Nick reunited, both believing the other dead seemed to fly by, as did the final scenes between Wellarzlee and the other Martians. If this seemed fast, the scenes on Peladon seemed like a full-blown sprint in comparison. Unfortunately this does have a deleterious effect on the story as a whole by spoiling the mood the story has built up so far and giving the impression that what has gone on so far in part two of Ruins has been unimportant.

And now I come to the Coda. Wonderfully written in a style, as I have already mentioned the scene is described beautifully and there is a sense of closure to the feelings between Nick and the Doctor. The description used to for the living corpse that is the Doctor is beyond compare and the horror of it lingers on in the mind. However, despite the need for an end to the current theme of lack of trust between the main characters, the Coda doesn't work for me still. Its point is not lost on me, but I feel it still doesn't work. Why does it take so little time for Nick's attitude to the Doctor to change, I know he is shown a lot, but the effects of what he has seen should take time for it to settle in and for him to come to terms with. A good portion of this final chapter was given over to the Coda, to be honest, I think I would have preferred to have seen the time and effort put into a longer and better drawn out finale to the Martian issues.