For January: A Device of Death

Episode 12, in which we review Atom Bomb Blues by Andrew Cartmel is now available here.  As the new year breezes in, we go back in time to savor something a little more vintage from the Virgin Missing Adventures line.

Assuming you haven't notice the image planted to the left of this text, our next review will be A Device of Death by Christopher Bulis.  From the back cover:

'As a member of an inferior race, you either work to serve the cause of Averon, or die.'

Sarah is marooned on a slave world where the only escape is death.  Harry is caught in the middle of an interplanetary invasion, and has to combine medicine with a desperate mission.  And the Doctor lands on a world so secret it does not even have a name.

Why have the TARDIS crew been scattered across the stars?  What terrible accident could have wiped the Doctor's memory?  And what could interest the Time Lords in this war-torn sector of space?

At the heart of a star-spanning conspiracy lies an ancient quest: people have been making weapons since the dawn of time -- but perhaps someone has finally discovered the ultimate device of death.

A Device of Death is slotted nicely in between the television stories "Genesis of the Daleks" and "Revenge of the Cybermen," so presumably something goes haywire with the time ring provided to the Doctor and his friends.  (Fun fact: this is Erik's favorite period of the show, so he is particularly looking forward to this one.)

This episode will be the first in which we have a "repeat author"; we previously read Christopher Bulis' The Sorcerer's Apprentice for our first episode back in January of 2011, so in a way we've come full circle (yes, we've been doing this for a year, and we can hardly believe it ourselves).  Although The Sorcerer's Apprentice is perhaps Bulis' best-known work, he also penned four other Virgin Missing Adventures, one for BBC's Eighth Doctor range, and five for BBC's past Doctors range.

Thank you to those of you that have dedicated a year to listening to us, and we are looking forward to providing you with many more reviews in the year(s) to come.  In the meantime, grab a cup of tea, sit back in your easy chair, and immerse yourself in A Device of Death.

Fun links:

Christopher Bulis' TARDIS Wiki Page

"A Device of Death" from the Doctor Who Reference Guide -- WARNING!  SPOILERS!

"A Device of Death" on Amazon  (Yes, it's expensive!)

Please "like" us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, Erik via @sjcaustenite, and Sean via @tardistavern.  Happy reading and Happy New Year!

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