TV series tie-in novels have a rather poor reputation with critics, and for obvious reasons. The primary selling point of
a tie-in novel is the series, film or game it is based upon rather than any great creative skill on the part of the author. It is also difficult to the writers of such novels to really flex their skills when the universe, main characters and even back-story is already cast in stone. But does this mean all such novels are pulp, badly written and not worth the money you'll spend to acquire them? No. No it does not. Exhibit A for the defense:
Torchwood – Twilight Streets.
It would be fair to describe the author, Gary Russell, as having some experience in the area of
Doctor Who tie-ins, having written more than most over the years as well as being the editor of the Doctor Who magazine for three years and contributing to a number of the more recent “making of” style books for the new series. A pedigree like that is only going to go one of two ways, either an ability to truly capture the essence of the original and push its limits, or to be so blinkered by fandom as to retread old ground over and over. I'm rather pleased to to report the former in this case.
Ok, so there are a few prerequisites to reading this novel because not only is it based on a TV series, making the viewing of said television series of definite benefit to enjoying the book, but the return of Bilis Manger, last seen raising Abaddon to devour the streets of Cardiff at the end of Series 1, ties the book even more closely to the series. While this is candy for the likes of regular Torchwood fans, and I include myself in that group, it is easy to see how this would put off newcomers to the series, or more casual fans. Equally there's always that fear, picking up a book like this, that the author might lack appreciation of the original source material and be including recurring characters for the simple reason that doing so will sell books. I'm a big fan of Bilis Manger from the series, and while I'm not sure the Bilis in Gary Russell's novel conforms entirely to my expectations of the character, it is a welcome return.
But forget the characters. Forget Bilis, Jack, Gwen et al. You can see them on the TV any time you want, or in any of the other novels, why on earth should you pick up this book and spend your leisure time reading it? Because the story and style of Gary Russell's novel is what really makes it special. Although Russell takes the story forward from our last encounter with Mr Manger, this is no rehash of the conclusion to series 1. The story is connected but totally different, with a very different emphasis and pattern of events. The book cuts between action in the current time-frame, possible futures and evidence from the Torchwood archives, plummeting the reader in a rich tapestry of information that is enjoyable in its own right but does not truly crystallize until the end. This removes the need for ridiculous exposition dialogue that these types of books often drown in and while it is a challenging read (with so many different threads of action the writer felt it necessary to use different fonts to help the reader keep track) it is also a rewarding one.
Russell doesn't exactly shy away from the big themes either, which include life, death, past, present, future, light, dark, good, evil, consequence and accountability. All this from a book that could have simply rehashed a few Doctor Who staples for a quick buck.
The series of tie-in books for Torchwood has produced some real diamonds over the years and although there are some real lumps of coal in there as well, Twilight Streets is definitely in diamond territory. It is well crafted, intelligent, and leaves you thirsting for more. My only criticism is that the story itself seemed to digress into technobabble a little at the end, but it was not enough to dampen my enjoyment of the whole. If you're a fan of Torchwood, or just want to try something a bit different, there are much worse choices than Twilight Streets.