Trace Memory

If you had asked me a couple of months or even weeks ago if I would ever read a Torchwood book I would have said ‘as if’ I certainly didn’t think I would have enjoyed it. However as part of work, as part of being a fan of the show and of being a fan of the author I decided that I would give a TV Book a go.

David Llewellyn has already written a novel, the great ‘Eleven’ which is a tale of the reactions to 9/11 from some office workers points of view via email. He is something of a new talent I firmly believe and has a new novel ‘Everything is Sinister’ out later this year. So onto ‘Trace Memory’ I have not read any of the other books so cannot compare it to them and am writing as if you don’t know the show.

Captain Jack Harkness is the head of Torchwood Cardiff and his team who deal with all things ‘unusual’ from fairies to aliens, from the living dead to… you get the drift. The book starts in 1950 when a cargo ship arrives in Cardiff bay its contents for the Torchwood Institute; it explodes killing all but one Michael Bellini. Cut to the present day and Michael Bellini appears in the Torchwood Vaults only that’s not all, every member of the Torchwood team has a memory involving Michael Bellini in their pasts from many different periods in time and he always looks almost the same.

If you are going to dip into science fiction then I would say this is a perfect way to start and if you are a fan of Doctor Who or Torchwood then you won’t go wrong with this novel, in fact I am sure you will lap it all up. The same applies to those of you who know nothing about Torchwood as Llewellyn gives some really good insight and backgrounds on every member of the Torchwood team. A must read for fans, a good read for anyone else.