The cover tells us what to expect: a gun sight and a pair of naked silhouetted women. Yep - it's Doctor Who done James Bond-style.
The novel opens (well, excepting for a brief prologue) with its equivalent of the Bond films' pre-credit sequence, which sees the Doctor using a rubber ball and a glass, sorry, plastic, of water to outwit his opponent. Far more resourceful, inventive and entertaining than David Tennant simply waving his magic wand, sorry, sonic screwdriver, about.
Like Bond films, Trading Futures has its villain. In this case, it's Baskerville, a man from the future who has a time machine to sell. And to prove it, he knows what time Athens will be hit by a tidal wave and when a nuclear device will go off in Toronto.
Other Bond elements present and correct in Trading Futures include globe-trotting (as shown by the Acropolis and CN Tower on the cover), gadgets, stunts and an exotic bikini clad babe (all right, Anji - this might have worked better had it been a companion we've actually seen on television, but that would make it a PDA instead).
Despite spending a lot of the time in a bikini, this is actually a good novel for Anji, as she gets to do stuff for a change rather than just getting into trouble. Even Fitz, who I was beginning to tire of a bit gets some good stuff as he is mistaken for the Doctor by the rhinocerous-like Onihrs, who appear to have been named by Pip and Jane Barker.
In fact, the characters are one of the best things about Trading Futures - not just the three regulars, but it's original characters are well. The likes of Baskerville, Malady Chang, Josiah Cosgrove and even the President of the United States, all come across as three-dimensional characters with their own objectives and motives. The future history, with the EuroZone and the United States as two rival power blocs is also intriguing and comes across well.
There are a few downsides. The Doctor seems to have a surprising knowledge of the future for somehow who lost his memory, and the Onihrs could have been better used at the climax. Overall, however, this is very enjoyable. It might not be the up there with Lance Parkin's very best, but it's still better than most authors have managed. back to the top
