"Downtime" is a rare thing -- an experimental Missing Adventure. Where most MAs have been content to settle into the era they're placed in and churn out a regular, unassuming Doctor Who adventure, "Downtime" is one of the few which instead tries to do something a little different. The clearest instance of this is the fact that the Doctor is (largely) absent from the novel -- instead, the spotlight falls upon a number of his former companions, including Victoria, the Brigadier, Sarah Jane and even K-9.

And this turns out to be one of the book's major problems. In trying to juggle these characters, on top of a few of his own creation (particularly the Brigadier's daughter Kate), Platt creates a situation in which everyone ends up in need of more exposure. Sarah Jane is particularly a victim of this (no doubt compounded by the fact that she was a late replacement for Sgt Benton, as John Levene was originally to appear in the video version), having really very little of importance to the overall plot, and instead mainly providing some comedic touches in her conversations with K-9. After a great opening chapter, Victoria, too, falls by the wayside. Especially disappointing is the fact that we aren't priuvy to what happens in the intervening decade between the first chapter and the rest of the book. Consequently, I found it difficult to equate Victoria the Vice Chancellor of NWU with Victoria the Doctor's companion. The way she's duped by the Great Intelligence also seems a little contrived, and makes her appear, ultimately, rather dumb and foolish.

It is the Brigadier who comes off best out of the returning lot. As we examine the effect his military career has had on his life -- professional and private -- we continue to gain further insight into Lethbridge-Stewart as a person, a far cry from the stereotyped soldier he became in the latter Pertwee era. His reaction to discovering he has a grandson, for instance, is a truly beautiful moment, and it's easy to sympathize as he faces a number of conflicts, from regular old age to meeting a dughter he hasn't seen for six years to facing the prospect of retiring yet again, this time from Brendan. Echoes of "Mr Holland's Opus" on that last, even.

"Downtime" also suffers from a slight identity crisis. It seems to me that Platt wanted to make this novel a complex one like "Time's Crucible", and there are touches of this in the book, particularly relating to the characters' experiences hallucinating on the "astral plane". But in the end, "Downtime" is mostly a straightforward story with few real, honest twists. The plot could easily have settled into the UNIT era, bar the fact that the technology is two decades on. This dichotomy creates a rather uneasy feeling -- in trying to appreciate the book on two levels, the reader is instead left stuck somewhere in between.

But "Downtime" is, nevertheless, a fun read. Despite the problems of balancing the main characters, Platt nonetheless demonstrates an aptitude for handling a number of key characters, including the reappearance of a couple of footnotes in Doctor Who history. There are also some nice in-jokes thrown in for fans which the more casual reader can easily ignore.

So, once again I'm left mystified by "Downtime"'s poor ratings. Although it certainly has its faults, it's still miles above bog-standard MAs, in at least trying to be more than just another Doctor Who story. The difference between "Downtime" and "Time's Crucible", I guess, is that "Downtime" is rather less successful.

7/10.

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