Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Humanity, it seems, is fascinated to learn of an ancient curse that is placed upon an object or even upon a person, it adds mystery, mystique, it allows vast swathes of the populace to insist upon regulations, and for others it acknowledges that there is something beyond our recognition that needs to be explored, to be investigated; and in that search for answers, for the logical explanation behind the supposed spell, we reveal a truth about the nature of our species.
Whether or not there is such thing as a curse, history is replete with them, and humanity’s relationship with them can be seen at times as having the same effect upon an individual in less than enlightened times as a member of a religious group telling you that you are doomed to Hell for not believing in a God.
To translate such fears is the right of the author or the artist, and where best to start for the wife of the Doctor, River Song, than by being embroiled in a murder mystery to suit her own alter ego Melody Malone, especially when it involves one of history’s most pivotal leaders, Cleopatra, and her own curse of having fallen for the might behind the Roman army, Julius Ceasar, and then by Mark Antony.
Alex Kingston’s The Ruby’s Curse is a good old fashioned murder mystery where the nature of ‘hard boiled’ is only surpassed by the evocative character that Ms. Kingston has portrayed with style and illumination whilst on the long running B.B.C. serial, after all it could be argued that nobody understands the reality of River Song than the woman who brought her to life on screen. Yet as with all things encompassing the legend of the Doctor, it is the elements in between that make the story stand out, and The Ruby’s Curse holds on to the value behind it.
Set in New York in 1939, the far distant future, and in the time of the great queen herself, Cleopatra, the novel utilises the very elements of time travel, in River’s own distinguished way, that make for an entertaining read, whilst displaying the fabric of truth that the system must adhere to, a truth of history that damns the thoughts of those who argue that details don’t matter.
The truth of our relationship with curses is that in the end they need to be demystified, like a long-standing record held in sport, it doesn’t do us any good to consider that there is a mythos behind it which makes it unspeakable, and curses are always fun to disprove, even more intriguing when they turn out to have an element of legitimacy surrounding them.
For River Song, sometimes the truth is held in reserve, and as she investigates the mystery of Cleopatra’s own life, as she hunts down the killer in the 20th Century, the curse becomes truly the stuff of legend.
A damned fine read, it may be typical Doctor Who stable fair, but Alex Kingston frames the setting, the characters involved with precision, and in the end The Ruby’s Curse stands up and is found to be a novel of veracity and entertaining pleasure.
Ian D. Hall