An Intro & Our First Assignment

Hello! We're Erik and Sean, and we've decided to start yet another Doctor Who podcast. Given that there are already more DW podcasts than there are companions, you may well wonder what the hell we're thinking.

Well, we're doing something a little different. We're not going to discuss the new episodes, or review classic stories, or do funny commentaries, or discuss Big Finish audios, and we're not even going to try to pretend to keep you informed on the news. Simply put, we want to look at the (non-canonical?) Doctor Who universe that's been created in books over the past 20 or so years by a vast array of talented writers and try to bring these books to a wider audience. A journey through space and time with no budgets to constrain and no unions to call a strike--sounds pretty awesome, doesn't it?

Never read a DW novel before? Neither has Erik. Long-time and devoted reader of the various series? So is Sean. Either way, you should read along with us for our first assignment and whenever you can thereafter. Speaking of which...

For our first selection, we've chosen The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Christopher Bulis (ISBN: 0426204476), a 1st Doctor story that was released in June 1995 as part of the Virgin Missing Adventures line, which featured stories about former Doctors that took place in the gaps between the continuity of the classic series. This story features the very first TARDIS crew (Ian, Barbara and Susan) and is set between the sadly lost "Marco Polo" and the very much still with us "Keys of Marinus."

Cover blurb:
‘There’s no such thing as magic,’ the Doctor said.
 
But the land of Elbyon might just prove him to be wrong. It is a place, populated by creatures of fantasy, where myth and legend rule. Elves and dwarves live in harmony with mankind, wizards wield arcane powers and armoured knights battle monstrous dragons. 

Yet is seems that Elbyon has secrets to hide. The TARDIS crew find a relic from the thirtieth century hidden in the woods. Whose sinister manipulations are threatening the stability of a once peaceful lane? And what part does the planet play in a conflict that may save an Empire, yet doom a galaxy?
To solve these puzzles, and save his companions, the Doctor must learn to use the sorcery whose very existence he doubts. 

Sounds fun, doesn't it? So, find a copy and read along.

For more information:
The Doctor Who Reference Guide The Cloister Library
Doctor Who Ratings Guide