The Man in the Velvet Mask

by Daniel O'Mahony

"The triumph of virtue. The misfortune of vice. Who said the play had to be like the book?"

24 Messidor, XXII: the TARDIS has landed in post-revolutionary France, or so it appears. But the futuristic structure of the New Bastille towers over a twisted version of Paris. And First Deputy Minski, adopted son of the infamous Marquis de Sade, presides over a reign of terror that has yet to end.

Revolutionary soldiers arrest an ailing Doctor as a curfew breaker. Dodo is recruited by a band of wandering players whose intentions are less than pure. Deep in the dungeons of the Bastille, Prisoner 6 desperately tries to remember who he is. And outside time and space, a gathering of aliens watch in horror as their greatest experiment goes catastrophically wrong.

This adventure takes place between the television stories "The Savages" and "The War Machines."

Analysis:

I could prattle on and on about the use of masks in this novel as a literary device, exploring how each character is hiding themselves from reality, pretending to be something else. But let's face it, we're all really here for Dodo, right?

So. If you've been romantically inclined towards Dodo, you may want to skip this book when you learn that you won't be Dodo's first, so to speak. Not only that, but she even manages to pick up a little something extra. There are also scenes of Dodo wandering around naked (no doubt the next in the "let's have nude companions" cycle that also included Deceit, Shadowmind, Sky Pirates!, and State of Change).

Man in the Velvet Mask is a good book, but if the idea of Dodo losing her cherry and picking up something that will make her always feeling a bit crusty... you better pass on this one.