The novel “Snowglobe 7” by Mike Tucker was published for the first time in 2008.
The Tenth Doctor takes Martha Jones to what is supposed to be a beach but the freezing wind that hits the travelers as they exit the Tardis indicates that the place isn’t what they were hoping for. This is Snowglobe 7, one of the domes built to maintain the remains of the polar ice caps, which don’t exist anymore in 2099.
The situation in Snowglobe 7 turns out immediately difficult because an unknown disease is spreading among the staff and there seems to be something very strange in the ice. Martha Jones tries to find some answers by examining the sick people while the Doctor tries to recover the memories of a damaged robot.
“Snowglobe 7” 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.
“Snowglobe 7” includes various elements that are typical of “Doctor Who” stories, and for some readers, there might be too many of them, ending up making the story predictable. Honestly, the plot can’t be described as being particularly original and in fact, the story relies even too much on some characters.
The 2099 setting is used by Mike Tucker to include some issues that are projections of today’s issues. At the end of the 21st century, climate change led to the melting of the polar ice caps. The limited length of these books offers little space to develop the various themes connected to the increase in global temperatures but not many words were needed to describe the effects of certain economic interests combined with the ignorance and disinterest of many people in the face of the alarms raised by scientists.
Some remnants of polar ice were transported into giant domes for preservation but their maintenance is very expensive. For this reason, almost all the domes were transformed into ski resorts where tourists can see ice and snow, which no longer exist elsewhere. In short, even in such a situation, environmental conservation is a matter of money.
Much of the story is based on the Doctor and Martha Jones because of the significant characters created for this novel, several are criminals or quasi-criminals. Some characters are Flisk, a species that in 2099 is on rather close terms with humanity even if not all humans look favorably on them due to their telepathic abilities. One of them, Ku’ra Debrekseny, is a Flisk/human hybrid who is among the few who have some importance and at the same time has a rather positive role.
In my opinion, “Snowglobe 7” can be engaging thanks to the threat that is discovered, which manifests itself through direct aggression towards the characters and with what seems like an unknown disease. The Doctor and Martha are separated for much of the story, as they try to deal with both both manifestations of the threat at the same time. The effects of the different types of attacks create dangers for all the characters and this generates tension that can compensate for the lack of originality of the plot elements.
Overall, “Snowglobe 7” seems to be, to say the least, a typical example of a novel connected to the “Doctor Who” saga that was developed on elements absolutely familiar to fans of the show. For this reason, it may appeal to readers looking for exactly that type of story. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
