Review: Okay, I’ll admit I was a bit reluctant to read this book. The reason was because I was afraid it wouldn’t be as good as the previous book, The Burning. It wasn’t as good as the previous book, but it was still good. Casualties of War was an excellent novel and an excellent debut for new DW author, Steve Emmerson. The plot was gripping, the characterization was good and the setting was perfect-the small village of Hawkswick. This was another mystery novel. The year is 1918; the First World War is coming to a close, although no one knows it yet.

The story starts out well enough; a village is in a crisis, the cattle is being slaughtered, pets are going missing. Sounds like the actions of some sick villain, right? Wrong! The villain, or enemy was one of the most original idea’s I’ve ever read about, I won’t spoil it for you. Emmerson did an excellent job making the characters likable and giving us a picture in our minds of what they look like. We even get a taste of romance in this book; the village midwife, Mary Minett, has a huge crush on the Doctor. But the Doctor showed no signs of feeling the same way about her.

There were a few problems though. First, the Doctor doesn’t seem like he’s without his memory. He’s acting the almost in the same manner as he did before The Ancestor Cell. Second, the reader has no clue what the Doctor has been up to in 20-30 year gap in between The Burning and this novel. Are we really supposed to believe he’s been wandering around Britain? Third, it is not revealed why the villain’s were doing what they were doing. What did they hope to achieve by killing animals?

Despite a few flaws, Emmerson’s first Doctor Who novel is still a good one. A good setting, brilliant characterization and another good mystery creates a memorable novel. Not quite as good as the first book of the "Earth Arc", but still a good novel.