The Hollow Men

by Martin Day and Keith Topping

The village was cursed centuries ago, but only now is the alien evil beginning to revive ...The children of Hexen Bridge are gifted and clever, but insanity and murder follow in their wake. The Doctor... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0563405821
• ISBN13: 9780563405825
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: BBC Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.3" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

At least here the walking scarecrows are actually scary

With the Seventh Doctor now relegated to the status of Past Doctor, his adventures ran the risk of lacking the depth of the New Adventures, which is what caused folks to have a new appreciation for the character in the first place. This novel helps to serve as a nice bridge, being set during the last season of the original series, which set the stage for the Doctor's persona that was deepened and explored further in the later novels. Featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace, the two of them become embroiled in the events of sleepy English village Hexen's Bridge, which has a lot of strange events that have been going on and apparently a significant evil slumbering just underneath that is about to become a lot more active. What makes the book succeed is its sense of history, treating the Doctor as a character who has been around for centuries and making the village a place that he's been keeping on eye on through most of his incarnations, as opposed to most adventures where he and the team just sort of stumble into things (one of the most telling lines and probably the one that best sums up this era of the series is the Doctor's "I always have unfinished business"). It references the past and continuity without being a slave to it, making the pivotal plot point revolve around a Fifth Doctor adventure that doesn't require you to have watched the episode to know what's going on. This Doctor is active, but not a fighter, choosing to talk his way out of everything and always in step with a plan, even when you can't tell if he's had this planned for decades or is just making it up as he goes along. In the midst of all this the authors create a slew of villagers who aren't all purely good or evil and proceed to bounce them off each other. I find the plot actually more interesting before the more overt SF elements decide to slide in, while it remains engaging it starts to become more "standard" Doctor Who, the mystery of the village and the interactions between everyone involved felt a step removed from the familiar. Throughout the plot constantly shifts locations and keeps moving and the characterizations of the regulars feel right. Ace is never better as the snarky teenager that we were originally introduced to, experienced enough now to not freak out all the time but still capable of being frightened. Meanwhile the Doctor shifts between whimsical and anguished pointing the way toward the later portrayal of him being detached and feeling everything too acutely. Even the horror elements are nicely parcelled out. Perhaps the best compliment one can pay it is that the novel works great as a novel but the bones of it would have made a great episode back in the day, and it helps prove that people could still write interesting Seventh Doctor stories after the New Adventures ended.

Generation curse

With Ace in tow, the Seventh Doctor returns to Hexen Bridge to confront an ancient evil that he should have/thought he had dealt with before. Hexen Bridge and its populace are literally isolated; not a soul within 20 miles in any direction. The only non-natives are a Chinese family who own and run "A Taste of the Orient". Several folks return to the village for a school reunion. While waiting for its arrival, Ace and the Doctor lodge at The Green Man, run by Bob and Joanna Matson. During the night, Ace thinks she spots what appears to be a sacrifice to the Green Man. The Doctor has by this time, of course, been kidnapped. We meet Chief Constable Denman, known to the Fifth Doctor; Minister Matthew Hatch, seeking a cure for what bedevils Hexen Bridge; teacher Rebecca Baber; Thomas Baber, the vicar and Rebecca's father. And some unusual children. The Doctor has been keeping an eye on Hexen Bridge for centuries, since his second regeneration. As did the Seventh Doctor TV episodes, there are hints of past involvements. Denman brought to mind the Brigadier. An enjoyable story. "The Doctor came to a sudden halt. There were droplets of rain on his face, but Ace guessed that it must have been splashes of rain falling down from the trees that edged the field. 'I always have unfinished business, Ace,' he said."

Doctor Who at it's creepiest

This is a well written novel from the duo that brought us "The Devil Goblins from Neptune". I haven't read that novel so I cant really compare the two. However I can say that this book was very enjoyable with some genuinely creepy moments. The characters are all well defined as are The Doctor and Ace. The plot was good and the action was well paced. The ending was perhaps the only real thing which let the book down. In the last few chapters there was a huge build up to... something. And then when it all came down to it, it was over so quickly. But this aside the rest of the novel was highly enjoyable and I would recommend it to any DW fan.

The best Doctor Who novel i have ever read

A stunning novel from these two excellent writers (and nothing like their previous 3rd Doctor novel which was amusing and well characterised but lacking in plot); The Hollow Men, on the other hand, is John Wyndham-style story of a village under seige with a terrible secret. A classic evocation of the traditional Doctor Who story of spooky going's-on in an English country setting. The depicions of McCoy and Aldred are terrifically accurate, and the villagers are so well drawn one can almost picture this novel as a TV adventure (my favourite is the arms dealer Trevor Winstone - a *real* black-white-and-gray character). Simply beautiful and very funny in places too. Six out of five!

A very enjoyable read

This is the first BBC book i've read, and I must say that it was very good. The action was well plotted and kept interested to the end. I even enjoyed the brief references to Teletubbies and Worzel. A very well written book