The novel “Dark Horizons” by Jenny T. Colgan was published for the first time in 2012.
A Viking ship is carrying Freydis, the Duke of Trondheim’s daughter, promised in marriage to the King of Iceland. It’s an arranged marriage and Freydis is held prisoner on the ship to prevent her from trying to escape what she believes to be a terrible fate. When a sort of tentacle of fire comes out of the sea and hits the ship, panic breaks out on board.
On a nearby Scottish island, the inhabitants see the fire from the shore, and in the village, everyone goes to see the strange show. No one can do anything but the Eleventh Doctor has arrived on the island and has gone to see the source of the commotion. He intervenes and saves the ship’s crew but the strange fire is a threat to everyone on the island too and the Tardis starts acting up.
Generally, the novels connected to the TV show “Doctor Who” are published in book series that have specific graphics, size, and very similar lengths. In some cases, however, the BBC chose to publish novels that have different characteristics including an increased length that allows to offer better-developed stories.
For once, the Eleventh Doctor is traveling alone and finds himself in a situation that is difficult even by the standards of his adventures. He comes across a fire that is decidedly out of the ordinary that hit a Viking ship and is threatening both the surviving crew and the inhabitants of the island on which they are shipwrecked. Even the Tardis seems to sense the threat and starts behaving in an unreliable manner, much more so than usual.
Jenny T. Colgan seems to have put a lot of effort into creating a situation where the problems are impossible for even the Doctor to solve quickly. It takes a while just to identify the source of the strange fire and the Doctor repeatedly expresses his frustration at his inability to think of a plan in less than an hour. In the meantime, some unfortunate person dies.
The problem with this sort of siege on the island with the Doctor slowly putting together the pieces of the story is that between the various deaths there can be moments that might become boring. There are some fillers concerning various characters and if a reader doesn’t find their personal stories interesting, the risk of boredom is serious.
Honestly, sometimes, I had the impression that “Dark Horizons” was written with the standard length of the books in this series in mind and then some parts were added to make it longer. These special novels are supposed to offer more developed stories but in this case, the impression is of a missed opportunity.
Especially in the central part, the tension due to the threat gives way to some filler. The pace slows down to offer what is supposed to be introspective parts but the results have ups and downs. The part of the plot about Freydis had a really interesting potential to develop important themes but her characterization seemed superficial to me, wasting its potential.
The choice of a story with Vikings among the protagonists could have given strength to the novel. In the end, the impression is that Jenny T. Colgan made use of stereotypes while she could have used the length of the novel for some insights. I think it’s better not to examine too carefully the details about the Vikings’ clothes and customs.
In the end, the best parts seem to me the ones about the Doctor’s difficulties in resolving a situation in which even he seems helpless. Freydis is a sort of temporary companion for the Doctor and she gets convinced that he’s Loki. This offers the opportunity to reflect on the Doctor’s possibilities and limits.
Overall, “Dark Horizons” gave me mixed feelings. My impression is that the development of the characters created for this novel could have been better while I liked the parts focused on the Doctor. If the stories of the other characters don’t bore you, you might fully appreciate this novel. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
