Episode 7, A Sequel to "The Dalek Invasion of Earth," and August's Offering

Episode 7 (available here), our shortest yet, features a review of Legacy of the Daleks, a somewhat-sequel to "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" featuring Susan and the Eighth Doctor.  We would like to send a very special thanks to Jeff of The Goodies Podcast who provided us with this month's reading; as each episode progresses, it seems like each one of these readings is a tougher act to follow, and Jeff is no exception.

For August we will be reading The Infinity Doctors (ISBN: 0563-40591-0) by Lance Parkin.  The back cover reads:

"Sing about the past again, and sing that same old song.  Tell me what you know, so I can tell you that you're wrong."

Gallifrey.  The Doctor's home planet.  For twenty thousand centuries the Gallifreyans have been the most powerful race in the cosmos.  They have circumnavigated infinity and eternity, harnessed science and conquered death.  They are the Lords of Time, and have used their powers carefully.

But now a new force has been unleashed, one that is literally capable of anything.  It is enough to give even the Time Lords nightmares.  More than that: it is enough to destroy them.

It is one of their own.  Waiting for them at the end of the universe.

Featuring the Doctor, this adventure celebrates the thirty-fifth anniversary of Doctor Who. 

If this description seems a little broad, it is noteworthy that this book defies all continuity of the series, as it's impossible to tell when it is set (at least that held true in 1998).  It's also worth mentioning that this is a rather meatier selection from our last entry, with 280 single-spaced pages in a small font.  We'll have to start reading this one early!

Author Lance Parkin has penned a number of Doctor Who novels, perhaps the most notable being The Dying Days (the last Virgin New Adventure featuring the Doctor), The Gallifrey Chronicles (the last of the BBC Eighth Doctor adventures), and Cold Fusion (a Virgin Missing Adventure with both the Fifth and Seventh Doctors).

Don't forget to follow the podcast on Twitter via @dwpcpodcast, or follow Erik via @sjcaustenite or Sean via @tardistavern.  Feel free to contact us at dwpcpodcast@gmail.com.

Other sites of interest:
Lance Parkin's Official Website
The Doctor Who Reference Guide on The Infinity Doctors WARNING: SPOILERS!

The Doctor Who Reprint Society
 

Episode 6, Back to the Land of Fiction!

Sean here, posting for the first time ever, so watch out for those grammatical errors!  Episode 6, in which we discuss Conundrum by Steve Lyons is now available here.  This is the second Virgin New Adventures novel we've read (after Damaged Goods) and we're learning that this series is pretty deep.  But listen as we discuss this mind-bending sequel (of sorts) to "The Mind Robber" and as Erik waxes eloquent on tropes and what not.  And I think I say some stuff, too.  (He is so going to hate me for saying that.)  Also, a special thank you to Lillibet of Professor Dave's Ark in Space for lending us her dulcet tones by reading a passage from the book for us.

What steamy summer read do we have set for July?  We're due for an BBC Eighth Doctor novel, and it's going to be Legacy of the Daleks by John Peel (ISBN: 0-563-40574-0), entry #10 in the Eighth Doctor series.  It features the return of Susan, the Daleks (duh!), and a certain other character from the television series who I shan't mention (spoilers!).  From the back cover:

England in the late 22nd century is slowly recovering from the devastation that followed the Daleks' invasion.  The Doctor's very first traveling companion -- his granddaughter, Susan -- is where he left her, helping to rebuild Earth for the survivors.  But danger still remains all around...

While searching for his lost companion, Sam, the Doctor finds himself in Domain London.  But it seems that Susan is now missing too, and his efforts to find her lead to confrontation with the ambitious Lord Haldoran, who is poised to take control of southern England through all-out war.  With the help of a sinister adviser, Haldoran's plans are already well advanced.  Power cables have been fed down a mineshaft, reactivating a mysterious old device of hideous power.  But has the Dalek presence on Earth really been wiped out?  Or are there still traps set for the unwary?

The Doctor learns to his cost once again that when dealing with the evil of the Daleks, nothing can be taken at face value...

Have you ever noticed that there are very few Dalek novels in the entire range of Doctor Who novels, from the Missing Adventures on?  As they are trademarks of the BBC, authors writing about them were legally obligated to pay a large portion of the book's proceeds to the BBC, so practically no one chose to write them.  John Peel, as a close friend to Terry Nation, elected to pick up the gauntlet and wrote both Legacy of the Daleks and War of the Daleks.  He also penned a number of Target novelizations of Dalek stories.  I also can't help but feel tickled that he wrote novels for the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? series.  (Now good luck getting the theme song from the TV show out of your head.)

Thank you for all of your lovely comments on Twitter and iTunes, and feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com.  You can also follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast.  Also, follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.

Other fun stuff:
The Doctor Who Reprint Society
Wikipedia  BEWARE: SPOILERS!
The Doctor Who Reference Guide   BEWARE: EVEN MORE SPOILERS!
The TARDIS Library

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.

Episode 4, and Not a Moment Too Soon...Plus our May Selection

Finally, after several unfortunate delays, we are proud to bring you our April episode! We discuss David Bishop's 5th Doctor Adventure Past Doctor Adventure Empire of Death. We had a lively, if a bit lengthy, discussion on this tale, and I (Erik) sincerely apologize for my heavy breathing and thick voice--I was suffering from serious allergies. On the plus side, That Chip Guy, known to millions around the universe as The Two-Minute Time Lord, was kind enough to provide us a snippet of the book in his sonorous tones. Of course, spoilers lurk within this podcast, so be forewarned.

And now, the moment you've been waiting for: our May selection is... The Scales of Injustice (ISBN: 0-426-20477-8). Yes, indeedy! This is a Virgin Missing Adventure set between "Inferno" and "Terror of the Autons"* featuring the Third Doctor and Liz Shaw's second encounter with the Silurians...or homo reptilia, if you will. Plus, it's written by Gary Russell, so I think we're in for a bit of a treat.

'And what exactly, Doctor Shaw, do you think C19 does with the dead bodies of plastic dummies, reptile men, primordial throwbacks and all their human victims?'

A little boy goes missing; a policewoman begins drawing cave paintings; and the employees at the mysterious Glasshouse are desperate to keep everyone away — the Doctor suspects it's all down to a group of homo reptilia. His assistant, Liz Shaw, has ideas of her own and has teamed up with a journalist to search for people who don't exist.

While the Brigadier has to cope with UNIT funding, the breakdown of his marriage and Geneva's threats to replace him, the Doctor must find the reptiles alone.

And behind it all lies a conspiracy to exploit UNIT's achievements — a conspiracy reaching deep into the heart of the British Government.

I am a big fan of Liz Shaw and the Silurians, so I'm looking forward to diving into this tale. Join us, won't you? We'll release sometime in May.

*It's also set immediately after the VMA The Eye of the Giant, though I have no idea how important it is to know that.

That 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 4

For more info:
Our Friends over at Reprint the Doctor
Wikipedia
The Doctor Who Reference Guide

Our Third Episode...and the Grand Reveal of our April Selection!

Roll up, roll up, roll up! Our third episode is now available for your listening delectation and delight! Listen to the boys discuss Terrance Dicks' novel The Eight Doctors, the first in the range of the BBC's Eighth Doctor Adventures. Hear Sean say things that Erik disagrees with! Listen as Chris Sigma from The Oodcast makes the novel come alive! As always, we spoil this thing something fierce, so be forewarned. Plus, once you've listed to our take on this selection, you should check out Matthew Kresal's over at the House of Lungbarrow at the Doctor Who Reprint Society.

For our April selection, our exacting scientific model has chosen Empire of Death by David Bishop! This novel is part of the BBC Past Doctor Adventure range and features the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and a very special appearance by the ghost of Adric! Empire of Death (ISBN: 0-563-48615-5) was published in 2004 and is set between the televised stories "Timeflight" and "Arc of Infinity." From the cover:

In 1856, a boy discovers he can speak with the voices of the dead. He grows up to become one of England's most celebrated spiritualists.

In 1863 the British Empire is effectively without a leader. Queen Victoria is inconsolable with grief following the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert. The monarch's last hope is a secret seance.

The Doctor and Nyssa are also coming to terms with loss following the death of Adric and Tegan's sudden departure. Trying to visit the Great Exhibition of 1851, the time travelers are shocked when a ghost appears in the TARDIS, beckoning them to the other side.

What is hidden in a drowned valley guarded by the British Army? Is there life after death and can it be reached by those still alive? And why is the Doctor so terrified of facing his own ghosts?

Well, if that doesn't make you want to read along with us, I don't know what can. So, find a copy, and get started! We'll release episode four in April.

That 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).

For more info:
Our good friends at Reprint the Doctor
Wikipedia
The Doctor Who Reference Guide
The TARDIS Library

Episode Two & Details of Our Third Selection

Huzzah! We're back with our second episode in as many months--thanks to everyone who downloaded and listened to our first outing. Now you can download our second episode wherein we discuss Russell T Davies' sole Doctor Who novel, Damaged Goods. Be warned, spoilers lie ahead, as well as some pretty graphic details--not necessarily for the faint of heart.

Our third selection marks our first venture into the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures and it is....*cue fanfare* The Eight Doctors!!! Aren't you just thrilled?

The Eight Doctors (ISBN 0-563-40563-5) was written by one of Doctor Who's most important figures, Terrence Dicks, and was published in June 1997. The first original Eighth Doctor novel, it tells of the Eighth Doctor's first adventure after the events seen in the TV Movie. From the cover:

'Trust the TARDIS...'  

Recuperating after the trauma of his recent regeneration, the Doctor falls foul of a final booby-trap set by his arch-enemy, the Master.

When he recovers, the disorientated Doctor looks in a mirror and sees the face of a stranger. He knows only that he is called "the Doctor" — nothing more. But something deep inside tells him to trust the TARDIS, and his hands move over the controls of their own accord.

The TARDIS takes him to a strangely familiar junkyard in late-nineties London, where he is flung into a confrontation between local drug-dealers and Samantha Jones, a rebellious teenager from Coal Hill School.

But the Doctor soon finds the TARDIS transporting him to various other places in order in order to recover all his memories — and that involves seeing seven strangely-familiar faces...

After the heaviness of our previous selection, it seemed like a good idea to pick something lighter, and what could be lighter than the (we believe) last official multi-Doctor story to feature appearances by *all* of the Doctors?! So, find a copy and get reading. Episode three will be released sometime in mid-March.

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).

P.S.--Both Sean and Erik will be attending Gallifrey One in Los Angeles from February 18-20, and we'd love to meet any "book club members" in attendance!

For more info:
Wikipedia
The Doctor Who Reference Guide
The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
Our friends at Reprint the Doctor