Episode 5...Guest Starring the Silurians! Plus, What's in Store for June

Welcome back, Book Clubbers! Summer is pretty much upon us here in DC (Erik here), and nothing says summer like listening to Sean and me waffle on about about Gary Russell's Virgin Missing Adventure The Scales of Injustice. Well, you're in luck--episode 5 is here for your listening delectation. The novel features UNIT, the Third Doctor, Liz Shaw and the Silurians, and our episode is graced by another stellar reading from a guest podcaster: this time Leeson Fischer* of the most excellent Radio Rassilon podcast provides the novel with a voice. This podcast is one giant spoiler for the contents of the novel, so be forewarned.

And now, to end your suspense, I can announce that our June selection is Conundrum (ISBN: 0-426-20408-5), entry #22 from January 1994. This is a Virgin New Adventure by Steve Lyons featuring Ace and Bernice "Benny" Summerfield and a second encounter with the Land of Fiction, last seen in "The Mind Robber."* If you go here, you can read a prelude to the novel written by Lyons originally published in Doctor Who Magazine. From the back cover:

‘Doctor, we’re talking about an old man who used to dress up in a skintight white jump suit and fly around New York catching super-villains. Don’t you think there’s something just a bit unusual about that?'
 
A killer is stalking the streets of the village of Arandale. The victims are found one each day, drained of blood. And if that seems strange, it’s nothing compared to the town’s inhabitants.

The Doctor, Ace and Bernice think they’re investigating a murder mystery. But it’s all much more bizarre than that. And much more dangerous. 

Someone has interfered with the Doctor’s past again, and he’s landed in a place he knows he once destroyed. This time there can be no escape. 


I love "The Mind Robber," so I am totally, totally psyched to see what can be done with the concept of the Land of Fiction in the expanded parameters of a full-length novel. So, find a copy and read along, won't you?


*It's also the fourth book in the "Alternate Universe cycle," a continuing series of the New Adventures, but I don't think that will interfere with our enjoyment of it.

Thanks to everyone who's listening, and let us know what you think! You can send all feedback to dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, leave us a comment here, or catch us on Twitter: @dwbcpodcast, @tardistavern (Sean), or @sjcaustenite (Erik).

Direct download: Episode 5

For more info:
Our comrades at Reprint the Doctor
Wikipedia
Doctor Who Reference Guide 

*This post originally credited the wrong member of the Radio Rassilon duo for the reading. DWBC regrets the error.

The Ratings So Far...

Hello, Doctor Who Book Clubbers! Erik here. In order to help guide our followers (Hi, Mom!), and ourselves, I've compiled our ratings for the first four books we covered on the podcast. I'll be updating this post as we go forward so that, if you ever want to do a quick check to see what subjective number we assigned to a particular title, you can do it without sifting through all of our back catalog! Convenient, no?

All scores are out of 10, and for the uninitiated, these are the four ranges of novels we're reading: Virgin Missing Adventures (VMA), Virgin New Adventures (NA), BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (EDA), and the BBC Past Doctor Adventures (PDA).

Episode #1:  Sorcerer's Apprentice by David Bulis (VMA) Erik: 8 Sean: 6.5

Episode #2:  Damaged Goods by Russell T. Davies (NA) Erik: 8 Sean: 7

Episode #3: The Eight Doctors by Terrance Dicks (EDA) Erik: 5.5 Sean: 4

Episode #4: Empire of Death by Davis Bishop (PDA) Erik: 6 Sean: 7

N.B.: We reserve the right to change our scores with the benefit of hindsight. I'll male it clear with the cunning use of asterisks and whatnot when we've done so.