Eye of Heaven

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1014841.html#cutid7

Eye of Heaven, by Jim Mortimore, is a tale of Victorian adventure set in the South Pacific, specifically on and around Rapa Nui/Easter Island. The entire book is told in the first person, but by different narrators, Leela getting I guess about half of the chapters and most of the rest going to the English members of their expedition, though two are told from the Doctor's point of view - not hugely successfully, but I've seen worse. Leela's on-screen encounters with the England of bygone days were a delight, and the clash of cultures is equally fun here. The book's narrative structure, interweaving chapters from different sequences of the narrative, is a successful experiment. There are a couple of wobbly plot concepts - the Doctor's decision to sponsor the expedition, Leela's actual arrival on the island, the bit with the, er, aliens - but the ride is great value. It's a bit surprising that this was the very first Fourth Doctor / Leela novel to be published - the Virgin Missing Adventures never went to this time period - and a bit sad that none of the subsequent five is as good. ( )