Book Review: Doctor Who - The Zygon Invasion (Target Novelization)

Series 9 of Doctor Who is one of the most underrated seasons of the sci-fi show in my own personal opinion. I loved how Steven Moffat and his production team were willing to experiment with the format of this season with nearly every story being a two-parter. This to me, allowed each story to have a lot more depth and room to breath for the most part. One of my favorite stories from Series 9 is The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion two-parter written by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat. That's why I was so happy to hear this great story was getting a Target novelization treatment and Peter Harness was coming back to write it!

The narrative behind The Zygon Invasion follows the 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald as they find themselves embroiled in an Zygon revolution on Earth. After the events of Day of the Doctor, humanity and the Zygons came to an uneasy peace agreement which meant millions of the Zygon race would be settled onto Earth on the basis they take and remain in the form of human beings. The core representation of this peace was the two Osgoods, who were tasked by the Doctor to monitor and maintain the peace. Unfortunately for the Doctor though, the peace doesn't last and a splinter cell of radicalized Zygons begin to infiltrate and take down Earths infrastructure. After the last remaining Osgood is kidnapped, UNIT enlists the Doctor and Clara to make a counter-plan to neutralize the revolution before it goes too far. With Zygon's networked deep and far however, the Doctor and his allies find themselves questioning who to trust as time runs out and they have to answer the necessary question; Truth or Consequences?

I love everything about the storyline of this book. The concepts at play here, despite being based on the foundation of a clearly fictional sci-fi show; feel remarkably real. Harness uses political undertones to make a great commentary on concepts like Immigration and War in such a smart way. The conflict is given some real weight by having the stakes feel way more personal this time round with integral characters actually dying. The fact that Harness is not only able to deliver a high-stake drama all the while using it to commentate and reflect on some integral themes is a testament to his ability as a writer. While being a clear-cut translation of the original episodes, I also adore Harness' attempt to give more perspective onto the Zygon side of the story by adding some chapters which reflect their own tribulations. It helps reinforce the grey nature of this story and how one side has no moral high ground over the other.

Harness helps the story by keeping the tone consistent all throughout. This is one of the grittier stories of New-Who, mainly because it understands the subject matter is serious and has to be delivered in a respectable format. As noted prior, that gritty tone makes the threat and overarching emotions be reciprocated appropriately. I like how the Doctor is a main conduit for the levity and hope of the story. Harness uses him perfectly to be the mediator in the conflict and make the reader empathize with both sides of the conflict. The only gripe you can pry out of me is pacing, as it's a Target book, the page count is limited so Harness couldn't stick on some sequences for too long. I would love to see a full-fledged book adapted from this story one day, I'd buy it day one just to see how Harness would transcribe the story with a lot more room to play with.

Like the TV episodes it's based on, The Zygon Invasion book captures everything that makes this story recognizably great. It balances modern-day political commentary in line with a credible plotline from the Doctor Who world. There's a reason this story sticks out to me from the entirety of Capaldi's era, it successfully delivers a narrative rich in quality while also being a conduit for something far more important for us to take away and learn from. It's well worth a read from any self-respecting Doctor Who fan.