The novel “The King’s Dragon” by Una McCormack was published for the first time in 2010.
The Eleventh Doctor takes Amy Pond and Rory Williams in the city-state of Geath, where they find something unexpected. It’s supposed to be a democratic and utopian place but there are a king and a Narrator who sings his deeds. A curious dragon completes the oddities.
The supposed tranquility of Geath is turned upside down by the arrival of a Herald who demands that a treasure is immediately returned. Shortly after, there starships also arrive force the inhabitants to return the treasure. The Doctor must understand who he’s dealing with, also because the treasure is not made of common gold but of a substance forbitten in all the civilized universe that influences the mind of sentient beings.
“The King’s Dragon” is part of a series of novels connected to the new “Doctor Who” series. They’re targeted to a wide audience by being linear enough to be appreciated even by very young readers but sophisticated enough to interest more mature readers.
“The King’s Dragon” begins in a typical way for “Doctor Who” with the Doctor bringing his companions to visit a place where, however, finds something different from what he expected. In this case, it’s an alien planet where there’s the city of Geath, which is supposed to be a utopian pre-industrial democracy but quickly reveals very different.
For several millennia, Geath was a peaceful and hospitable republic but something has happened since the last visit of the Doctor. The city has become a kingdom whose inhabitants are now very taciturn, especially to foreigners. In the throne room there’s a strange golden dragon. Needless to say, after the arrival of the Doctor, Amy and Rory the real trouble begins.
This set-up is almost fantasy and on the other hand “Doctor Who” has never been hard science fiction but in “The King’s Dragon” there are spaceships and above all there are rational explanations for what happens. The Doctor finds out soon enough that the strange situation he found in Geath is caused by the presence of a prohibited substance that affects the people’s mind but that’s just the beginning because the solution is very far away.
To help the people of Geath, especially when they get threatened by alien forces who want the prohibited substance, the Doctor and his companions must also seek the help of Hilthe, an important woman in Geath. Gaining her trust turns out to be difficult and this makes the Doctor’s task more complicated.
The beginning of “The King’s Dragon” is what caused me problems. Fantasy is definitely not my favorite genre so some elements calling it to my mind didn’t raise my enthusiasm. The worst thing, however, is the basic idea of the pre-industrial utopia because it stinks of Luddism, which frankly I loath.
Luckily, the plot developed beyond the initial elements in such a way that eventually you can say that there isn’t a real villain. Instead, there are a number of characters who have their own motivations and end up clashing because they have different goals.
Due to the presence of factions opposing each other, the Doctor’s task is really hard. He must first understand the identity of the parties involved and then act in a way that avoids damage to Geath’s inhabitants. That’s really complex because the decision maker have certain priorities that come far before the city’s safety.
I think the characters are the real strong point of “The King’s Dragon”. The Doctor, Amy and Rory seem reproduced very well so reading their actions I really had the impression I was seeeng the protagonists of the TV show. The other important characters in the novel are well outlined despite the limitations in the novel’s length.
The result is a story well thought out and sophisticated in which the Eleventh Doctor can give his best. Because of the initial bases, I must say that I appreciated it from an intellectual point of view rather than emotionally. In the end, I think “The King’s Dragon” is a must-have novel for the Eleventh / Amy / Rory team’s fans.
