Terry Nation (1930–1997)

Rebecca's World by Terry Nation

Terry Nation is probably best known as the scriptwriter for various TV series during the 1970s, most notably Blake's 7 and Doctor Who. Prior to that, he had been involved in comedy shows both as a performer and as a writer of material for other comedians.

Rebecca's World was published in 1975, and it is clear that the content has been greatly influenced by the author's background in writing humor and shows with fantastical science fiction settings. Many of the Doctor Who and Blake's 7 episodes required the characters to overcome challenges and dangers or figure out the answers to riddles and conundrums, which is what Rebecca and her friends must do in order to complete their quest.

I think that the ultimate strength of this book is its charmingly surreal and quintessentially British sense of humor. The protagonist is clearly based on Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and her three companions are somewhat reminiscent of those who accompanied Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

There is an unmistakably Edwardian quality to Rebecca, who lives in a large country house, lacks companions of her own age, and is feeling bored during the school holidays. She therefore gives in to the temptation to meddle with the astral telescope which her father has expressly told her never to touch. As a result, she immediately finds herself whisked away to another planet where completely unfamiliar natural and societal rules apply, and where she meets three good-natured but hapless companions with whom she must strive against the odds to save the inhabitants of Rebecca's World from oppression and slavery.

This tale comes across as a sequence of largely unrelated incidents which never quite connect into a single journey. There is also a lack of character development and logical consequence. Despite the fact that this story is aimed at a very young audience, I think more could have been achieved with a little more forethought. Apart from being good fun, Rebecca's world is ultimately not a very satisfying read for adults, who will likely only enjoy the occasional mild chuckle due to the humor. This is not a book with any hidden depths, and it can only be read on one level. Young children, however, may well appreciate it and find it memorable, and adults may derive pleasure from reading it to them.

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Maybe the least good value of the three annuals, here we have only 39 pages of fiction out of 62, and the rest is entirely filled with astronomy and space facts, some of which were already out of date by 1980. The illustrations are good, though most seem reminiscent of publicity pictures.… (más)