The novel “The Many Hands” by Dale Smith was published for the first time in 2008.
The Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones are in Edinburgh in the 18th century when the passage of a stagecoach carrying Benjamin Franklin becomes turbulent due to a strange man who tries to attack the driver, who loses control of the horses. The Doctor tries to stop the stagecoach with the complication of some British soldiers who shoot in his direction.
Eventually, Martha Jones manages to get in front of the stagecoach by taking a shortcut and tries to use the sonic screwdriver to stop it. The strange attacker is hit by the gunfire and the soldiers arrest the Doctor and Martha, who realizes that the attacker is a corpse who has been dead for some time.
“The Many Hands” 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 Many Hands” belongs to the pseudo-historical type of novel, with a story set in Earth’s history and at the same time, with science fiction elements. In this case, the story is set in Edinburgh in the 18th century, where the Doctor and Martha come across what seems to be a zombie, and that’s just the beginning of the strange things. In the area, people are afraid of what comes out of Nor’ Loch, and for once, it’s not just superstition.
The historical part also includes some real people. Benjamin Franklin is certainly the most famous of all and in those years, he was in London, from where he occasionally traveled to other places. A very well-known family in Edinburgh was the Monro family, famous for the studies of generations of men at the local Medical School. Dale Smith uses these elements without necessarily respecting historical rigor and indeed in the case of the Monro family the science fiction element is crucial.
The first part of “The Many Hands” is in my opinion weak and can discourage readers. After a short and enigmatic prologue, the novel begins with the story of the Doctor’s attempt to stop a runaway stagecoach and the subsequent arrest of the Doctor and Martha. In my opinion, this part is far too long due to the inclusion of the two travelers’ attempts to escape from the British soldiers.
My impression is that at the end of the writing, the story was too short and Dale Smith lengthened the first part without paying much attention to the logic of the moments of the Doctor and Martha’s escape. It’s certainly not the first adventure of the Doctor in which the protagonists run from someone thanks to curious and particularly fortunate coincidences, but this case reminded me of the most boring examples of padding seen in the serials of the classic series.
The limited length of the novels in this series is a great advantage in the sense that the patient reader can still get with a certain speed towards the middle of the novel, where the real substance finally begins. The two travelers are separated during part of the novel and one of its best things is the use of Martha Jones’ medical expertise, as she discovers on her own some of the secrets behind the apparitions connected to the Nor’ Loch.
I enjoyed the second part of the novel muchmore because it’s marked by continuous revelations with the various pieces of the story that are put together. It’s the type of story where the Doctor fully understands the situation only in the final part.
If it weren’t for the initial part, “The Many Hands” would have made a completely positive impression on me but chases bore me so much that the length of the initial part is terrible for me. Otherwise, the elements of local folklore and strange experiments help to create a mystery that in my opinion, is well developed. In the end, it gave me mixed feelings but it may be great for readers with slightly different tastes. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
