Daniel O'Mahony

I'm going to be unduly harsh on this one, although I think it's slightly unreasonable to bring 2022 attitudes to 1994, when these books really bloody meant something. O'Mahony has some good character stuff for the Doctor and, to an extent, Ace, which seems to prefigure the upcoming shifts in the books' formula. And his ideas are certainly individual and varied (if unrelentingly grim). But for me there's a young, first-time writer's lack of control about the proceedings. More to the point, too many of the books lately have fallen into the trap of taking place in a simulated, parallel, semi-real, or otherwise non-traditional-physics-conforming world. It may just be poor planning on behalf of the Virgin editors. Or it may reflect the fact that these young authors - many of whom had only vague memories of the pre-Davison Doctors - were not just influenced by Doctor Who but by the more contemporary pieces such as Star Trek: TNG and The X-Files. Either way, it's becoming frustrating for multiple reasons. These virtual worlds allow for a good hothouse effect, especially when it's applied to our main cast and their endless, seething personal difficulties, but otherwise it leaves little room for variety or growth. Fingers crossed something different is coming down the pipeline.… (mere)

The sole Faction Paradox book from Random Static continues very much in the precedent set by Mad Norwegian – a thoughtful novel of bold ideas. It’d be spoiling things to give away the big concept at the heart of the book, suffice to say it’s a big, bold and clever take on one of the ideas that’s been at the heart of the Faction books from the start.

Probably the best thing about the book is Aphra Behn, whose abilities may seem unlikely on initial inspection but which the historical records confirm as genuine. She’s presented almost as a 17th century female James Bond, a modern emancipated woman in a chauvinistic age. O’Mahony makes her a fully realised character in her own right, the human heart of a story dealing with big SF concepts and wars between beings of godlike abilities. It’s even better for her human frailties undermining her view of her own achievements, she’s highly self-critical of all that she does. She’s also refreshingly sexually proactive, men being more means to her own satisfaction than the other way round. It’s a satisfying and enjoyable role inversion. O’Mahony’s got a definite gift for nuanced characterisation – though Nate Silver comes across as a bit of a cipher, virtually every character comes across as well-rounded and memorable.

As ever with O’Mahony’s work this could’ve done with a little more humour to lighten the heavy atmosphere a little – much of the humour present is of the black variety, when contrast might have served the novel better. The levels of sex and occasional emphasis on other bodily functions seem almost adolescent at times too. It’s a shame as it often undermines what’s generally a well-crafted, beautifully written novel. Nevertheless it continues the range’s general high standard.… (mere)