As a very amateur Ripperologist, (okay, I've read up on a few theories and 'know a bit about it'), I'm disappointed by the idea that such a mysterious character of legend could (yawn) turn out to be the effing Valeyard! I mean, isn't enough that he has already infiltrated and buggered up the ideological state of another character of legend, (ie the Doctor), without Jack the Ripper being him as well!

What have other books been saying about him?

Actually, Pete, I think the book said that the Doctor was the Ripper. He was under the influence of the Valyard, but he still did the deeds.

After getting past a very lumpy beginning section, I really found myself enjoying the book. I still think the authors took turns writing this book; the action and points of view change too quickly to be explained any other way.

So just how many Doctor Who stories are set during or around the Ripper murders? Isn't it starting to get crowded there?

The interim stories about the Wandering Jew are interesting, but ultimately pointless.

In the alternate 1963, Barbara calls the Doctor "Doctor" without being told his name.

Oh. I thought it was the Valeyard who 'did the deeds'. He was the one going round saying that he thought 'Valeyard' wasn't a very good name (true) and that 'Ripper' sounded better (not true). And didn't the Doctor and Ace land AFTER all the (historical) Ripper killings - it was Ace's death at the Doctor's hands that WOULD have made him the Ripper and created the alternative universe. I know that Doctor confessed to Ace at the end that he'd dunnit, but he was probably trying to cheer her up about ripping people's throats out - hey, look, I do it too! - and as the Doctor IS the Valeyard (*groan, sigh, grit teeth, roll eyes heavenward*) then of course he'll take responsibility for his (the V's) actions.

God...this really is one of those books that should never have been written, isn't it. I mean, I'm all in favour of a dark, angsty Seventh Doc, but when you've got the books claiming that the Doctor (albeit a future incarnation - at least, you'd BETTER be wrong about it being Sylvester) is Jack the bloody Ripper then they really are betraying the spirit of Who. I heard that it had been rejected several times as an MA, which is odd as usually I find the PDAs to be of a better standard than the MAs. Still worthless, generally, but quite a lot less boring.

Coal Hill School is turning into a really interesting place. One of the pupils is from the planet Gallifrey, two of the teachers are hopping round space and time, the headmaster and one of the pupils are Dalek agents, there are Daleks in the basement, not to mention in the playground, and now the millennia-old Wandering Jew starts teaching there! And that's before the biodata-restructured Sam turns up...what IS it with Shoreditch?

This would not be the first time science fiction has taken a swing at the Ripper legend and said that Jolly Jack was not human.

In its second season, Classic Trek made an episode, Wold In The Fold, which was written by Robert Bloch (the same guy who wrote Psycho). In this episode, Jack the Ripper was revealed to be a non-corporeal entity which fed on the emotion of fear. The more people that were afraid, the stronger it got. This creature had roamed the galaxy for centuries, before coming to Earth in the 19th Century. The reason Jack was never identified was because the entity could possess various humans at will. Of course in the end, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock managed to dispose of said entity, once and for all. This episode ranks as one of my favourites.

The Wandering Jew? Could someone please clarify?

Um, there's some sort of legend about a Jew who was HORRID to Jesus on his way to the Crucificion, and was therefore doomed to wander the Earth until the Second Coming. Obviously being forced to teach at Coal Hill School was part of this cruel and unusual punishment.

Thanks, Emily.

Do you think the real Peter Ackroyd could sue?

As a very amateur Ripperologist, (okay, I've read up on a few theories and 'know a bit about it')

Well. Aren't you glad A Good Man Goes To War has now solved this question once and for all?

(Oh, hang on a sec - DID it say who the Ripper was? Or just what happened to him?)

I'm disappointed by the idea that such a mysterious character of legend could (yawn) turn out to be the effing Valeyard! I mean, isn't enough that he has already infiltrated and buggered up the ideological state of another character of legend, (ie the Doctor), without Jack the Ripper being him as well!

Hear, hear.

Coal Hill School is turning into a really interesting place. One of the pupils is from the planet Gallifrey, two of the teachers are hopping round space and time, the headmaster and one of the pupils are Dalek agents, there are Daleks in the basement, not to mention in the playground, and now the millennia-old Wandering Jew starts teaching there! And that's before the biodata-restructured Sam turns up...what IS it with Shoreditch?

Oh, and let's not forget the snow-monsters from Time and Relative. (Much as we may wish to.)

Do you think the real Peter Ackroyd could sue?

Dunno - what does this say about him?

DWM interview with Perry n'Tucker:

'We tried to get Matrix past [Virgin editor Rebecca Levene] and she said "no f***ing way!"' 'She actually said it was unpublishable!' 'She even said that when I danced around the Emmerdale offices waving the published copy in her face. "You said it was unpublishable!" "It is unpublishable!"'

'There are no answers, merely questions. The fundamental question [Matrix] is about is, why doesn't the Doctor shag...?' - THAT'S what it's about?! Anyway, he DOES. These days, anyway. Which, of course, forces one to reconsider what he's been up to the PREVIOUS millennium or so.

Well, you warned me in the Infinite Requiem thread when I said I'd be reading this novel next. And now I've finished it (I admit I'm sometimes a very slow reader).

First off, it wasn't all bad. Ace all alone in Victorian London actually made for some great reading. That being said, I wasn't convinced by the reasons for her altering to the Cheetah form. It just seemed a tad far fetched. But just about everything else in this part of the book was great. In particular, the "freak show" was very interesting.

Unfortunately, there is little else good I can say. The rest of the story was a mess. And when it is finally revealed that the Valeyard is behind it all, I felt like throwing the book across the room (I refrained though, since I was on my break at work at the time, and my co-workers already think I'm strange because I read on my breaks instead of play games on a cell phone as "normal" people do)

There was a comment above about the "real" Peter Ackroyd. I noticed the similar names too, but it's not so difficult to believe that there have been many people by that name in history. Also involved with the circus was a character named Tiny Ron who is a dwarf. As it happens there was an actor who went by that name--only in his case the name was ironic because he was over seven feet tall. He is probably best known for playing Grand Negas Zek's personal servant in several episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Sadly, he passed away last November.

Off to the EDA series next--and the next one in sequence is "Beltempest" by Jim Mortimore. Should I brace myself for another bad one?

Ace all alone in Victorian London actually made for some great reading

Yeah - like Sam being stranded on Ha'olam, that sort of thing really gets to me more than half the universe getting wiped out...probably because I know I'd just go under in such circumstances.

my co-workers already think I'm strange because I read on my breaks instead of play games on a cell phone as "normal" people do

*Sigh* D'you remember just a few decades ago, when we were weird for reading Doctor Who books, not weird for just reading books...

the next one in sequence is "Beltempest" by Jim Mortimore. Should I brace myself for another bad one?

No, it's certainly not bad, it's just very...Jim Mortimore. But I like it, if only because immortality freaks me out the way being abandoned on an alien planet/in history does.

Coal Hill School is turning into a really interesting place. One of the pupils is from the planet Gallifrey, two of the teachers are hopping round space and time, the headmaster and one of the pupils are Dalek agents, there are Daleks in the basement, not to mention in the playground, and now the millennia-old Wandering Jew starts teaching there! And that's before the biodata-restructured Sam turns up...what IS it with Shoreditch?

Oh, and let's not forget the snow-monsters from Time and Relative. (Much as we may wish to.)

And that was BEFORE Class...