The Doctor Who Book Club Podcast
- Description:
- Join us as we explore the written worlds of Doctor Who...
Homepage: http://dwbcp.libsyn.com
RSS Feed: http://dwbcp.libsyn.com/rss
- Episodes:
- 113
- Average Episode Duration:
- 0:1:11:19
- Longest Episode Duration:
- 0:1:47:47
- Total Duration of all Episodes:
- 5 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 0 seconds
- Earliest Episode:
- 12 March 2020 (5:22pm GMT)
- Latest Episode:
- 9 February 2017 (7:36pm GMT)
- Average Time Between Episodes:
- 19 days, 15 hours, 39 minutes and 33 seconds
The Doctor Who Book Club Podcast Episodes
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Episode 61: The End
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 49 secondsAnd thanks for all the fish!
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Episode 60: Invasion of the Cat-People
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 43 minutes and 55 secondsWith Erik back, we turn once again to a book penned by Gary Russell, author of the Virgin Missing Adventure The Scales of Injustice and the BBC Past Doctor Adventure Business Unusual. This month, it's the Virgin Missing Adventure Invasion of the Cat-People, featuring the Second Doctor, Ben, and Polly. From the back cover:
'Explode the buoys? But that will destroy the earth!' 'Oh dear, so it will. Pass on my apologies to the humans, won't you?'
Earth has been invade. Twice. Thousands of years ago by a race searching for a new power source. More recently by the galactic marauders known as the Cat-People, who intend to continue the work done by the earlier visitors, with devastating results.
The recently regenerated Doctor, along with companions Ben and Polly, teams up with a group of amateur ghost-hunters and a mysterious white witch on a journey that takes them from twentieth-century Cumbria to the Arabian deserts of folklore and Australia 40,000 years in the past. Can the Doctor stop the invaders and disarm the bombs left buried beneath the planet's surface - or have the ancient Aborigines of Australia sung the seeds of their own destruction?
Is this book the cat's meow? Or does this story belong in the litter box? Listen in and find out as we retrace and review Invasion of the Cat-People!
Email us questions or comments at DWBCPodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @DWBCPodcast. You can also follow Erik on Twitter via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 60: Invasion of the Cat-People
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 43 minutes and 55 secondsWith Erik back, we turn once again to a book penned by Gary Russell, author of the Virgin Missing Adventure The Scales of Injustice and the BBC Past Doctor Adventure Business Unusual. This month, it's the Virgin Missing Adventure Invasion of the Cat-People, featuring the Second Doctor, Ben, and Polly. From the back cover:
'Explode the buoys? But that will destroy the earth!' 'Oh dear, so it will. Pass on my apologies to the humans, won't you?'
Earth has been invade. Twice. Thousands of years ago by a race searching for a new power source. More recently by the galactic marauders known as the Cat-People, who intend to continue the work done by the earlier visitors, with devastating results.
The recently regenerated Doctor, along with companions Ben and Polly, teams up with a group of amateur ghost-hunters and a mysterious white witch on a journey that takes them from twentieth-century Cumbria to the Arabian deserts of folklore and Australia 40,000 years in the past. Can the Doctor stop the invaders and disarm the bombs left buried beneath the planet's surface - or have the ancient Aborigines of Australia sung the seeds of their own destruction?
Is this book the cat's meow? Or does this story belong in the litter box? Listen in and find out as we retrace and review Invasion of the Cat-People!
Email us questions or comments at DWBCPodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @DWBCPodcast. You can also follow Erik on Twitter via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 59: The Wages of Sin
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 40 minutes and 36 secondsAs Erik will be rejoining us next month, this month we are again joined by our friend Felicity Brown as we discuss the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventure The Wages of Sin by David A. McIntee, featuring the Third Doctor, Liz, and Jo. From the back cover:
The Doctor has always been wary of meddling with established history. But what happens when the history books lie?
With the secrets of time travel restored to him after his long exile on Earth, the Doctor has made a test flight into the past. Accompanying him are his assistant, Jo, and an old friend, scientist Liz Shaw. The travellers realise they are visiting one of the most significant times in Earth's history - and one of the most dangerous...
It is Russia, 1916, and Europe is in the grip of the Great War. With the TARDIS missing, its crew find themselves trapped in a country on the brink of revolution.
The Doctor and Liz are soon caught up in the deadly machinations of Tsar Nicholas's court, while Jo appears to fall under the sinister spell of the infamous Mad Monk, Rasputin...
David A. McIntee also wrote The Lords of the Storm, The Shadow of Weng-Chiang, White Darkness, and The Dark Path, all of which we've discussed previously. The Wages of Sin stands out as one of the few (if not the only) historical novels in the Third Doctor's range of stories.
Feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, and look for our page on Facebook. You can also follow Sean via @tardistavern, Felicity via @feliopolis, and Erik via @sjcaustenite.
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Episode 59: The Wages of Sin
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 40 minutes and 36 secondsAs Erik will be rejoining us next month, this month we are again joined by our friend Felicity Brown as we discuss the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventure The Wages of Sin by David A. McIntee, featuring the Third Doctor, Liz, and Jo. From the back cover:
The Doctor has always been wary of meddling with established history. But what happens when the history books lie?
With the secrets of time travel restored to him after his long exile on Earth, the Doctor has made a test flight into the past. Accompanying him are his assistant, Jo, and an old friend, scientist Liz Shaw. The travellers realise they are visiting one of the most significant times in Earth's history - and one of the most dangerous...
It is Russia, 1916, and Europe is in the grip of the Great War. With the TARDIS missing, its crew find themselves trapped in a country on the brink of revolution.
The Doctor and Liz are soon caught up in the deadly machinations of Tsar Nicholas's court, while Jo appears to fall under the sinister spell of the infamous Mad Monk, Rasputin...
David A. McIntee also wrote The Lords of the Storm, The Shadow of Weng-Chiang, White Darkness, and The Dark Path, all of which we've discussed previously. The Wages of Sin stands out as one of the few (if not the only) historical novels in the Third Doctor's range of stories.
Feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, and look for our page on Facebook. You can also follow Sean via @tardistavern, Felicity via @feliopolis, and Erik via @sjcaustenite.
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Episode 58: The Last Resort
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 6 minutes and 19 secondsWE'RE BACK! After a short hiatus, during which we read a book and ditched all efforts at trying to record our discussion of it, we decided a change is as good as a rest and tackled a new selection, The Last Resort by Paul Leonard. As is our annual tradition, we recorded "live" from Gallifrey One in Los Angeles, but due to circumstances beyond our control, Erik (for the first time ever in The Doctor Who Book Club history) was unable to join us. Instead, Sean is joined by our friends Felicity Brown and Jeff Elston as we discuss the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventure The Last Resort. From the back cover:
'I think time and space just fell apart.'
Anji isn't sure, but then it's hard to be sure of anything now. Good Times Inc. promised a new tourist experience, with hotels in every major period of human history - but that kind of arrogance comes with a price, and it's a price the Doctor doesn't want to pay.
As aliens conquer an alternative Earth, Anji and Fitz race to find out how to stop Good Times without stopping time itself. But they find that events are out of control - they can't even save each other. And when the Doctor tries to help, it gets far worse. At the Last Resort, only Sabbath can save the day. And then the price gets higher...
You may remember Paul Leonard from the Virgin Missing Adventure Dancing the Code, which we reviewed back in Episode 44. He also brought us Speed of Flight, Toy Soldiers, and Genocide.
Have a question or comment for the hosts? Email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, and "like" us on Facebook. You can also follow Erik on Twitter via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 58: The Last Resort
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 6 minutes and 19 secondsWE'RE BACK! After a short hiatus, during which we read a book and ditched all efforts at trying to record our discussion of it, we decided a change is as good as a rest and tackled a new selection, The Last Resort by Paul Leonard. As is our annual tradition, we recorded "live" from Gallifrey One in Los Angeles, but due to circumstances beyond our control, Erik (for the first time ever in The Doctor Who Book Club history) was unable to join us. Instead, Sean is joined by our friends Felicity Brown and Jeff Elston as we discuss the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventure The Last Resort. From the back cover:
'I think time and space just fell apart.'
Anji isn't sure, but then it's hard to be sure of anything now. Good Times Inc. promised a new tourist experience, with hotels in every major period of human history - but that kind of arrogance comes with a price, and it's a price the Doctor doesn't want to pay.
As aliens conquer an alternative Earth, Anji and Fitz race to find out how to stop Good Times without stopping time itself. But they find that events are out of control - they can't even save each other. And when the Doctor tries to help, it gets far worse. At the Last Resort, only Sabbath can save the day. And then the price gets higher...
You may remember Paul Leonard from the Virgin Missing Adventure Dancing the Code, which we reviewed back in Episode 44. He also brought us Speed of Flight, Toy Soldiers, and Genocide.
Have a question or comment for the hosts? Email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, and "like" us on Facebook. You can also follow Erik on Twitter via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 57: Millennial Rites
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 57 minutes and 19 secondsBetter late than never, we bring you our discussion of Millennial Rites by Craig Hinton, a Virgin Missing Adventure featuring the Sixth Doctor and Mel. From the back cover:
'The millennium, Mel: the last New Year's Eve of the Twentieth Century. But it's definitely not party time.'
England, 1999: the Doctor and Mel have come to London to celebrate the new year with old friends - and to heal old wounds. But others are making more sinister preparation to usher in the new millennium. A software house is about to run a program that will change the fabric of reality. And an entity older than the universe is soon to be reborn.
When Anne Travers' fear of the Great Intelligence and millionaire philanthropist Ashley Chapel's secret researches combine, London is transformed into a dark and twisted mirror image populated by demons and sorcerers. Only the Doctor can put things right, but his friends have also been shockingly changed and he cannot trust anybody - least of all himself.
Hinton has written a small handful of books for three different ranges of Doctor Who novels, and this is the first time we've read any of his work. Fun Fact: he was the person to originally coin the term "fanwank", which he proudly used to describe his own work.
Pour yourself some very old scotch from a very old decanter and sit back and relax as we review Craig Hinton's Millennial Rites.
You can send us questions or comments to dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow Erik on Twitter @sjcaustenite and Sean @tardistavern.
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Episode 57: Millennial Rites
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 57 minutes and 19 secondsBetter late than never, we bring you our discussion of Millennial Rites by Craig Hinton, a Virgin Missing Adventure featuring the Sixth Doctor and Mel. From the back cover:
'The millennium, Mel: the last New Year's Eve of the Twentieth Century. But it's definitely not party time.'
England, 1999: the Doctor and Mel have come to London to celebrate the new year with old friends - and to heal old wounds. But others are making more sinister preparation to usher in the new millennium. A software house is about to run a program that will change the fabric of reality. And an entity older than the universe is soon to be reborn.
When Anne Travers' fear of the Great Intelligence and millionaire philanthropist Ashley Chapel's secret researches combine, London is transformed into a dark and twisted mirror image populated by demons and sorcerers. Only the Doctor can put things right, but his friends have also been shockingly changed and he cannot trust anybody - least of all himself.
Hinton has written a small handful of books for three different ranges of Doctor Who novels, and this is the first time we've read any of his work. Fun Fact: he was the person to originally coin the term "fanwank", which he proudly used to describe his own work.
Pour yourself some very old scotch from a very old decanter and sit back and relax as we review Craig Hinton's Millennial Rites.
You can send us questions or comments to dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow Erik on Twitter @sjcaustenite and Sean @tardistavern.
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Episode 56: Relative Dementias
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 57 minutes and 48 secondsIn this month's episode, we examine a BBC Past Adventure featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace, Relative Dementias, by Mark Michalowski. From the back cover:
'Do Time Lords get Alzheimer's disease?' asked Ace. 'Oh, we get far worse things than that, Ace. The dementias that plague us are much, much older.'
Collecting his mail in the London of 2012, the Doctor and Ace are called through time to south-east Scotland to help out an old friend - an old friend who's vanished. They find themselves at Graystairs, an Alzheimer's clinic and a place of healing, where the patients seem to be gaining a new lease of life. But whose life is it?
Why is the Doctor so reluctant to reveal what happened in the TARDIS before their arrival? Why are cats and dogs - not to mention people - disappearing? Who is the shadowy figure stalking the Doctor and Ace? And what is the secret of the mysterious Miss Chambers, whom no-one remembers meeting?
Soon the Doctor and Ace find out the hard way that actions have consequences - and that there's more than one kind of dementia.
Relative Dementias is set squarely between "Battlefield" and "Ghost Light". Mark Michalowski, aside from a number of short stories for the Short Trips series and scripts for Big Finish in the Iris Wildthyme series, also wrote the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventure Halflife.
Grab a pint, sit back, and relax as we discuss Relative Dementias.
Have a question or comment for Erik or Sean? You can email them at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow them on Twitter @sjcaustenite and @tardistavern, as well as @dwbcpodcast.
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Episode 56: Relative Dementias
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 57 minutes and 48 secondsIn this month's episode, we examine a BBC Past Adventure featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace, Relative Dementias, by Mark Michalowski. From the back cover:
'Do Time Lords get Alzheimer's disease?' asked Ace. 'Oh, we get far worse things than that, Ace. The dementias that plague us are much, much older.'
Collecting his mail in the London of 2012, the Doctor and Ace are called through time to south-east Scotland to help out an old friend - an old friend who's vanished. They find themselves at Graystairs, an Alzheimer's clinic and a place of healing, where the patients seem to be gaining a new lease of life. But whose life is it?
Why is the Doctor so reluctant to reveal what happened in the TARDIS before their arrival? Why are cats and dogs - not to mention people - disappearing? Who is the shadowy figure stalking the Doctor and Ace? And what is the secret of the mysterious Miss Chambers, whom no-one remembers meeting?
Soon the Doctor and Ace find out the hard way that actions have consequences - and that there's more than one kind of dementia.
Relative Dementias is set squarely between "Battlefield" and "Ghost Light". Mark Michalowski, aside from a number of short stories for the Short Trips series and scripts for Big Finish in the Iris Wildthyme series, also wrote the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventure Halflife.
Grab a pint, sit back, and relax as we discuss Relative Dementias.
Have a question or comment for Erik or Sean? You can email them at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow them on Twitter @sjcaustenite and @tardistavern, as well as @dwbcpodcast.
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Episode 55: Vampire Science
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 53 minutes and 0 secondsAfter a month-long hiatus, we have returned with a discussion of Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman's Vampire Science, the second in the BBC series featuring the Eighth Doctor and Sam. From the back cover:
In the days when the Time Lords were young, their war with the Vampires cost trillions of lives on countless worlds. Now the Vampires have been sighted again, in San Francisco.
Some want to coexist with humans, using genetic engineering in a macabre experiment to find a new source of blood. But some would rather go out in a blaze of glory - and UNIT's attempts to contain them could provoke another devestating war.
The Doctor strikes a dangerous bargain, but even he might not be able to keep the city from getting caught in the crossfire. While he finds himself caught in a web of old feuds and high-tech scheme, his new companion Sam finds out just how deadly traveling with the Doctor can be.
Kate Orman wrote the Virgin New Adventure The Room with No Doors (for which her co-author and future husband Jonathan Blum was a contributor), and that's a tough act to follow based on our review.
Without further ado, sit back, relax, pour yourself a glass of synthetic blood, and listen in as we talk about Vampire Science.
You can "like" us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik @sjcaustenite and Sean @tardistavern.
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Episode 55: Vampire Science
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 53 minutes and 0 secondsAfter a month-long hiatus, we have returned with a discussion of Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman's Vampire Science, the second in the BBC series featuring the Eighth Doctor and Sam. From the back cover:
In the days when the Time Lords were young, their war with the Vampires cost trillions of lives on countless worlds. Now the Vampires have been sighted again, in San Francisco.
Some want to coexist with humans, using genetic engineering in a macabre experiment to find a new source of blood. But some would rather go out in a blaze of glory - and UNIT's attempts to contain them could provoke another devestating war.
The Doctor strikes a dangerous bargain, but even he might not be able to keep the city from getting caught in the crossfire. While he finds himself caught in a web of old feuds and high-tech scheme, his new companion Sam finds out just how deadly traveling with the Doctor can be.
Kate Orman wrote the Virgin New Adventure The Room with No Doors (for which her co-author and future husband Jonathan Blum was a contributor), and that's a tough act to follow based on our review.
Without further ado, sit back, relax, pour yourself a glass of synthetic blood, and listen in as we talk about Vampire Science.
You can "like" us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik @sjcaustenite and Sean @tardistavern.
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Episode 54: Shakedown
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 53 minutes and 11 secondsFollowing up our discussion of Lords of the Storm, we read its sequel Shakedown by Terrance Dicks. Shakedown was originally conceived as a short fan film featuring the Sontarans, a solar sailing crew, and one very evil Rutan. Dicks eventually adapted it into this Virgin New Adventure, but faced the challenge of working with a Doctor Who-inspired script which actually doesn't feature the Doctor at all. The result is a three-part novel with the original story sandwiched between two parts featuring the Doctor and his companions. From the back cover:
'The Sontarans can never defeat us. It is we who will win.'
For thousands of years the Sontaran clone-warriors and the Rustan gestalt have fought each other across the galaxy. Now the Sontarans have a plan to strike at the heart of the Rutan Empire, and utterly defeat the Rutan race.
The Doctor has his suspicions, but only one Rutan spy knows the Sontarans' secret. He is being pursued from planet to planet by Cwej and Forrester and by a Sontaran hit squad. After a confrontation about the racing space-yacht Tiger Moth, the chase culimates on the library planet Sentarion - where Professor Bernice Summerfield's researches into the history of the Sontaran/Rutan war turn into explosive reality.
Although Terrance Dicks is known primarily as the show's script editor and author of the Target novelizations, he has written a handful of novels for the different ranges, including The Eight Doctors and World Game, both of which we have discussed on earlier episodes.
So sit back and relax with a glass of rekkar (with a beer chaser) and listen in as we talk about Shakedown.
Email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 54: Shakedown
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 53 minutes and 11 secondsFollowing up our discussion of Lords of the Storm, we read its sequel Shakedown by Terrance Dicks. Shakedown was originally conceived as a short fan film featuring the Sontarans, a solar sailing crew, and one very evil Rutan. Dicks eventually adapted it into this Virgin New Adventure, but faced the challenge of working with a Doctor Who-inspired script which actually doesn't feature the Doctor at all. The result is a three-part novel with the original story sandwiched between two parts featuring the Doctor and his companions. From the back cover:
'The Sontarans can never defeat us. It is we who will win.'
For thousands of years the Sontaran clone-warriors and the Rustan gestalt have fought each other across the galaxy. Now the Sontarans have a plan to strike at the heart of the Rutan Empire, and utterly defeat the Rutan race.
The Doctor has his suspicions, but only one Rutan spy knows the Sontarans' secret. He is being pursued from planet to planet by Cwej and Forrester and by a Sontaran hit squad. After a confrontation about the racing space-yacht Tiger Moth, the chase culimates on the library planet Sentarion - where Professor Bernice Summerfield's researches into the history of the Sontaran/Rutan war turn into explosive reality.
Although Terrance Dicks is known primarily as the show's script editor and author of the Target novelizations, he has written a handful of novels for the different ranges, including The Eight Doctors and World Game, both of which we have discussed on earlier episodes.
So sit back and relax with a glass of rekkar (with a beer chaser) and listen in as we talk about Shakedown.
Email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 53: Lords of the Storm
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 54 minutes and 3 seconds2015 should be labeled "Two McIntees for the Price of One"; after our discussion of The Shadow of Weng-Chiang a few months ago, we set our sights on another Virgin Missing Adventure written by McIntee, Lords of the Storm, featuring the Fifth Doctor, Turlough, and the Sontarans. From the back cover:
'They've been fighting this war for longer than man has been walking upright, and they don't take prisoners.'
The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans has been raging for millennia. Billions have died and whole star systems have been obliterated in the conflict. Now, finally, one side may have victory within its grasp.
The human colony world of Raghi is crucial to that victory. When the Doctor and Turlough arrive there, they find a seemingly stable society ruled by a strict caste system. But all is not as it seems. Members of the lower caste are being struck down by a mysterious illness. People are vanishing in their hundreds. And strange objects have been observed oribiting the sun.
Why is Raghi so important to the feuding alien empires? And how high a price will the galaxy pay if the conflict comes to an end?
Lords of the Storm is remarkable in that not only is it one of the few books to feature the Sontarans or Turlough, but is a prequel to the Virgin New Adventure Shakedown. As part of a shart arc, we will discussing Shakedown in Episode 54 next month.
Please email us feedback at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 53: Lords of the Storm
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 54 minutes and 3 seconds2015 should be labeled "Two McIntees for the Price of One"; after our discussion of The Shadow of Weng-Chiang a few months ago, we set our sights on another Virgin Missing Adventure written by McIntee, Lords of the Storm, featuring the Fifth Doctor, Turlough, and the Sontarans. From the back cover:
'They've been fighting this war for longer than man has been walking upright, and they don't take prisoners.'
The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans has been raging for millennia. Billions have died and whole star systems have been obliterated in the conflict. Now, finally, one side may have victory within its grasp.
The human colony world of Raghi is crucial to that victory. When the Doctor and Turlough arrive there, they find a seemingly stable society ruled by a strict caste system. But all is not as it seems. Members of the lower caste are being struck down by a mysterious illness. People are vanishing in their hundreds. And strange objects have been observed oribiting the sun.
Why is Raghi so important to the feuding alien empires? And how high a price will the galaxy pay if the conflict comes to an end?
Lords of the Storm is remarkable in that not only is it one of the few books to feature the Sontarans or Turlough, but is a prequel to the Virgin New Adventure Shakedown. As part of a short arc, we will discussing Shakedown in Episode 54 next month.
Please email us feedback at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 52: The Witch Hunters
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 46 minutes and 11 secondsThis month we take another look at the work of Steve Lyons; specifically, The Witch Hunters, a BBC Past Doctor Adventure featuring the First Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara. From the back cover:
The Reverend Samuel Parris, Minister of Salem, follows three strangers in the forest beyond the village - a forest which is traditionally believed to be the source of much evil. He hears movement through the trees, steps forward and makes a terrible discovery. It is one which will change life in Salem forever.
The TARDIS arrives in Salem Village, Massachusetts, 1692. The Doctor wishes to effect repairs to his ship in peace and privacy, and so his companions - Ian, Barbara and Susan - decide to 'live history' for a week or so. But the friendships they make are abruptly broken when the Doctor ushers them away, wary of being overtaken by the tragic events he knows will occur.
Upon learning the terrible truth of the Salem witch trials, Susan is desperate to return - at any price. Her actions lead the TARDIS crew into terrinle jeopardy, and her latent telepathy threatens to help the tragedy escalate way out of control...
The Witch Hunters is one of only two purely historical adventures that we know of in any of the ranges (The Roundheads by Mark Gatiss being the other). Although it was not his first published Doctor Who book, it was the first that Lyons wrote, and he kept it "on ice" until its publication in 1998.
Sit back with a nice pail of filthy prison drinking water and relax as we talk about The Witch Hunters!
Email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, look for us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 52: The Witch Hunters
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 46 minutes and 11 secondsThis month we take another look at the work of Steve Lyons; specifically, The Witch Hunters, a BBC Past Doctor Adventure featuring the First Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara. From the back cover:
The Reverend Samuel Parris, Minister of Salem, follows three strangers in the forest beyond the village - a forest which is traditionally believed to be the source of much evil. He hears movement through the trees, steps forward and makes a terrible discovery. It is one which will change life in Salem forever.
The TARDIS arrives in Salem Village, Massachusetts, 1692. The Doctor wishes to effect repairs to his ship in peace and privacy, and so his companions - Ian, Barbara and Susan - decide to 'live history' for a week or so. But the friendships they make are abruptly broken when the Doctor ushers them away, wary of being overtaken by the tragic events he knows will occur.
Upon learning the terrible truth of the Salem witch trials, Susan is desperate to return - at any price. Her actions lead the TARDIS crew into terrinle jeopardy, and her latent telepathy threatens to help the tragedy escalate way out of control...
The Witch Hunters is one of only two purely historical adventures that we know of in any of the ranges (The Roundheads by Mark Gatiss being the other). Although it was not his first published Doctor Who book, it was the first that Lyons wrote, and he kept it "on ice" until its publication in 1998.
Sit back with a nice pail of filthy prison drinking water and relax as we talk about The Witch Hunters!
Email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, look for us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 51: Longest Day
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 51 minutes and 48 secondsThis month it's back to the BBC's Eighth Doctor Adventures range with Longest Day, written by Michael Collier. From the back cover:
Its surface is ravaged by colliding time-fields, the planet Hirath is a patchwork of habitable areas separated by impenetrable zones of wild temporal fluctuation.
The planet's unique biosphere is being exploited by an uncaring company happy to rent out temporally isolated chunks of the planet to the highest bidder - no questions asked. But the controlling computer seems to be malfunctioning, and the viability of the whole planet hangs in the balance - along with countless thousands of lives.
Arriving at Hirath's control base, the Doctor and Sam are soon separated and trapped on the dying planet. While Sam becomes the focus of attention in a barren penal settlement, the Doctor discovers the secret of Hirath's unique condition - just as a race of hideous bloodthirsty alien creatures arrive in force to reclaim it.
Caught up in a desperate struggle for survival, it seems time has run out for every living creature on Hirath - not least Sam and the Doctor...
We've never read a novel by Collier before, more than likely because he's only penned one other book, the Eighth Doctor Adventure The Taint, which introduces Fitz. To our knowledge, these are the only two novels that he has written.
So pour yourself a glass of narcomilk and sit back and relax as we review Michael Collier's Longest Day.
You can email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, and look for our page on Facebook. You can also follow Erik on Twitter via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 51: Longest Day
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 51 minutes and 48 secondsThis month it's back to the BBC's Eighth Doctor Adventures range with Longest Day, written by Michael Collier. From the back cover:
Its surface is ravaged by colliding time-fields, the planet Hirath is a patchwork of habitable areas separated by impenetrable zones of wild temporal fluctuation.
The planet's unique biosphere is being exploited by an uncaring company happy to rent out temporally isolated chunks of the planet to the highest bidder - no questions asked. But the controlling computer seems to be malfunctioning, and the viability of the whole planet hangs in the balance - along with countless thousands of lives.
Arriving at Hirath's control base, the Doctor and Sam are soon separated and trapped on the dying planet. While Sam becomes the focus of attention in a barren penal settlement, the Doctor discovers the secret of Hirath's unique condition - just as a race of hideous bloodthirsty alien creatures arrive in force to reclaim it.
Caught up in a desperate struggle for survival, it seems time has run out for every living creature on Hirath - not least Sam and the Doctor...
We've never read a novel by Collier before, more than likely because he's only penned one other book, the Eighth Doctor Adventure The Taint, which introduces Fitz. To our knowledge, these are the only two novels that he has written.
So pour yourself a glass of narcomilk and sit back and relax as we review Michael Collier's Longest Day.
You can email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, and look for our page on Facebook. You can also follow Erik on Twitter via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 50: Just War
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 8 minutes and 36 secondsFor us it's hard to believe that we've made it to the big 50: that's 50 books we've read over the course of of about four years. Coincidentally, our 50th episode occurred just at the perfect moment for an annual "live recording" at Gallifrey One and, per tradition, we asked a friend along to cohost. This year we're happy to be joined by Felicity Kusinitz, who selected Lance Parkin's Just War, a Virgin New Adventure featuring the Seventh Doctor, Benny, Roz, and Chris. From the back cover:
'Tomorrow belongs to us, not you. If you were really from the future, Miss Summerfield, you would be a Nazi.'
March 1941: Britain's darkest hour. The Nazis occupy British soil and British citizens are being deported to European concentration camps. Six thousand people a month are dying in air raids on London. The United States show no sign of entering the war.
According to the Doctor, this isn't a parallel universe, it isn't an alternate timeline, and everything is running according to schedule. But now something, somewhere, has gone wrong. The Nazis are building a secret weapon, one that will have a decisive effect on the outcome of the war. Chris thinks it's a UFO, while Roz believes that the Luftwaffe have developed the largest bomber ever built. Only Benny may have seen the mysterious craft - but she's disappeared off the face of the Earth.
Just War is Parkin's first novel, and he wrote it while studying for his MA in Post-War English Fiction. This is his fourth novel that we've read by Parkin, the others being The Infinity Doctors, Cold Fusion, and The Dying Days.
Kick back, pour yourself a tall glass of German beer, and listen in as we discuss Lance Parkin's Just War.
You can follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and also look for us on Facebook. Also feel free to follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 50: Just War
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 8 minutes and 36 secondsFor us it's hard to believe that we've made it to the big 50: that's 50 books we've read over the course of of about four years. Coincidentally, our 50th episode occurred just at the perfect moment for an annual "live recording" at Gallifrey One and, per tradition, we asked a friend along to cohost. This year we're happy to be joined by Felicity Kusinitz, who selected Lance Parkin's Just War, a Virgin New Adventure featuring the Seventh Doctor, Benny, Roz, and Chris. From the back cover:
'Tomorrow belongs to us, not you. If you were really from the future, Miss Summerfield, you would be a Nazi.'
March 1941: Britain's darkest hour. The Nazis occupy British soil and British citizens are being deported to European concentration camps. Six thousand people a month are dying in air raids on London. The United States show no sign of entering the war.
According to the Doctor, this isn't a parallel universe, it isn't an alternate timeline, and everything is running according to schedule. But now something, somewhere, has gone wrong. The Nazis are building a secret weapon, one that will have a decisive effect on the outcome of the war. Chris thinks it's a UFO, while Roz believes that the Luftwaffe have developed the largest bomber ever built. Only Benny may have seen the mysterious craft - but she's disappeared off the face of the Earth.
Just War is Parkin's first novel, and he wrote it while studying for his MA in Post-War English Fiction. This is his fourth novel that we've read by Parkin, the others being The Infinity Doctors, Cold Fusion, and The Dying Days.
Kick back, pour yourself a tall glass of German beer, and listen in as we discuss Lance Parkin's Just War.
You can follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and also look for us on Facebook. Also feel free to follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 49: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 53 minutes and 11 secondsWe've dipped our toes into the works of David A. McIntee previously with White Darkness and The Dark Path, and we've returned to the pool with The Shadow of Weng-Chiang which, as one would guess, is a sequel to the televized story "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". From the back cover:
'They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step. If I'm right, then a journey of a thousand miles will take but a single step.'
The search for the fourth segment of the Key to Time brings the TARDIS to 1930s Shanghai: a dark and shadowy world, riven by conflict and threatened by the expansion of the Japanese Empire. Meanwhile, the savage Tongs pursue their own mysterious agenda in the city's illegal clubs and opium dens.
Manipulated by an elusive foe, the Doctor is obliged to follow the Dragon Path - the side-effect of a disastrous experiment in the far future.
But would two segments of the Key be on the same planet? Is the Black Guardian behind the dark schemes of the beautiful Hsien-Ko? And who is the small child who always accompanies her?
As the bck cover suggests, this story is sandwiched between "The Stones of Blood" and "The Androids of Tara" and, to our knowledge, is the only book in the four series that we cover featuring Romana I. The facts that it's a sequel to a popular story and that it takes place during the Key to Time quest make this an intriguing entry in our little library. So sit back, pour yourself some tea, and listen in as we discuss The Shadow of Weng-Chiang.
Look for us on Facebook, send us email at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik on Twitter via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 49: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 53 minutes and 11 secondsWe've dipped our toes into the works of David A. McIntee previously with White Darkness and The Dark Path, and we've returned to the pool with The Shadow of Weng-Chiang which, as one would guess, is a sequel to the televized story "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". From the back cover:
'They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step. If I'm right, then a journey of a thousand miles will take but a single step.'
The search for the fourth segment of the Key to Time brings the TARDIS to 1930s Shanghai: a dark and shadowy world, riven by conflict and threatened by the expansion of the Japanese Empire. Meanwhile, the savage Tongs pursue their own mysterious agenda in the city's illegal clubs and opium dens.
Manipulated by an elusive foe, the Doctor is obliged to follow the Dragon Path - the side-effect of a disastrous experiment in the far future.
But would two segments of the Key be on the same planet? Is the Black Guardian behind the dark schemes of the beautiful Hsien-Ko? And who is the small child who always accompanies her?
As the bck cover suggests, this story is sandwiched between "The Stones of Blood" and "The Androids of Tara" and, to our knowledge, is the only book in the four series that we cover featuring Romana I. The facts that it's a sequel to a popular story and that it takes place during the Key to Time quest make this an intriguing entry in our little library. So sit back, pour yourself some tea, and listen in as we discuss The Shadow of Weng-Chiang.
Look for us on Facebook, send us email at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik on Twitter via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 48: The Murder Game
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 56 minutes and 15 secondsWe generally take on a Steve Lyons book every once in a while and, perhaps to clear the air after the controversy that was stirred with Time of Your Life, we've taken another look at a Lyons novel, and this time it's The Murder Game, a BBC Past Doctor adventure featuring the Second Doctor, Ben, and Polly. From the back cover:
The faded glamour of a hotel in space, spinning in an all-but-forgotten orbit round the Earth, is host to some unusual visitors this weekend - including a party that claim to travel in a battered blue police box...
It is the year 2146. Answering a distress call from the dilapitated Hotel Galaxian, the TARDIS crew discover a games enthusiast is using the hotel to host a murder-mystery weekend. But it seems someone from his motley group of guests is taking things a little too seriously.
While the Doctor, Ben, and Polly find themselves joining in the shadowplay, it becomes clear that a real-life murderer is stalking the dark, disused corridors of the Galaxian. But worse than this: there's a sinister force waiting silently in space for events to unfold. A terrible secret is hidden on board the Galaxian, and if it is discovered nothing - least of all murder - will ever be the same again. If this is a game, the stakes just got higher.
Set between "The Power of the Daleks" and "The Highlanders", The Murder Game was the second in the BBC Past Doctors series. It's also the unofficial first appearance of the sonic screwdriver (or rather its prototype).
Sit back, pour yourself some bitter beer, and listen in as we discuss Steve Lyons' The Murder Game.
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Episode 48: The Murder Game
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 56 minutes and 15 secondsWe generally take on a Steve Lyons book every once in a while and, perhaps to clear the air after the controversy that was stirred with Time of Your Life, we've taken another look at a Lyons novel, and this time it's The Murder Game, a BBC Past Doctor adventure featuring the Second Doctor, Ben, and Polly. From the back cover:
The faded glamour of a hotel in space, spinning in an all-but-forgotten orbit round the Earth, is host to some unusual visitors this weekend - including a party that claim to travel in a battered blue police box...
It is the year 2146. Answering a distress call from the dilapitated Hotel Galaxian, the TARDIS crew discover a games enthusiast is using the hotel to host a murder-mystery weekend. But it seems someone from his motley group of guests is taking things a little too seriously.
While the Doctor, Ben, and Polly find themselves joining in the shadowplay, it becomes clear that a real-life murderer is stalking the dark, disused corridors of the Galaxian. But worse than this: there's a sinister force waiting silently in space for events to unfold. A terrible secret is hidden on board the Galaxian, and if it is discovered nothing - least of all murder - will ever be the same again. If this is a game, the stakes just got higher.
Set between "The Power of the Daleks" and "The Highlanders", The Murder Game was the second in the BBC Past Doctors series. It's also the unofficial first appearance of the sonic screwdriver (or rather its prototype).
Sit back, pour yourself some bitter beer, and listen in as we discuss Steve Lyons' The Murder Game.
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Episode 47: Interference, Book 2
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 8 minutes and 46 secondsWe apologize for the lateness of November's episode, it being December and all, but real life and the holidays have just seemed to get the better of us last month. Nevertheless, we're here to present our discussion on Lawrence Miles' Interference, Book Two. From the back cover:
They call it the Dead Frontier. It's as far from home as the human race ever went, the planet where mankind dumped the waste of its thousand year empire and left its culture out in the sun to rot.
But while one Doctor faces both his past and his future on the Frontier, another finds himself on Earth in 1996, where the seeds of the empire are only just being sown. The past is meeting the present, cause is meeting effect, and the TARDIS crew is about to be caught in the crossfire.
The Third Doctor. The Eighth Doctor. Sam. Fitz. Sarah Jane Smith. Soon, one of them will be dead; one of them will belong to the enemy; and one of them will be something less than human...
Clean up the dust, load your shotgun, and sit back and relax as we discuss Interference, Book Two
Be sure to look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcuaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 47: Interference: Book Two
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 8 minutes and 46 secondsWe apologize for the lateness of November's episode, it being December and all, but real life and the holidays have just seemed to get the better of us last month. Nevertheless, we're here to present our discussion on Lawrence Miles' Interference, Book Two. From the back cover:
They call it the Dead Frontier. It's as far from home as the human race ever went, the planet where mankind dumped the waste of its thousand year empire and left its culture out in the sun to rot.
But while one Doctor faces both his past and his future on the Frontier, another finds himself on Earth in 1996, where the seeds of the empire are only just being sown. The past is meeting the present, cause is meeting effect, and the TARDIS crew is about to be caught in the crossfire.
The Third Doctor. The Eighth Doctor. Sam. Fitz. Sarah Jane Smith. Soon, one of them will be dead; one of them will belong to the enemy; and one of them will be something less than human...
Clean up the dust, load your shotgun, and sit back and relax as we discuss Interference, Book Two
Be sure to look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcuaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 46: Interference: Book One
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 2 minutes and 59 secondsWe first read Lawrence Miles’ some time ago with Alien Bodies, then paid him a brief return visit with The Adventuress of Henrietta Street, and now we’re going to crack open the two-book story that became a turning point for many readers of the Eighth Doctor series: Interference, Books One and Two.
To keep things simple, we’re dedicating a single episode of the podcast to each book, so naturally this one will be about Interference: Book One. From the back cover:
Five years ago, Sam Jones was just a schoolgirl from Shoreditch. Of course, that was before she met up with the Doctor and discovered that her entire life had been stage-managed by a time-travelling voodoo cult. Funny how things turn out, isn’t it?
Now Sam’s back in her own time, fighting the good fight in a world of political treachery, international subterfuge and good old-fashioned depravity. But she’s about to learn the first great truth of the universe: that however corrupt and amoral your own race may be, there’s always someone in the galaxy who can make you look like a beginner.
Ms Jones has just become a minor player in a million-year-old power struggle…and, as it happens, so has the Doctor.
Both of him, actually.
The story features the Eighth Doctor, Sam, and Fitz, of course, but also brings back Sarah Jane Smith, 20 years old from when the Doctor dropped her off at the end of “The Hand of Fear”. And, as the cover of the book promises, the Third Doctor will be making an appearance with his (younger) Sarah Jane Smith.
If all of this sounds a bit confusing, then buckle your seatbelts because, love it or hate it, Interference is one of the most polarizing stories in all of Doctor Who history. So sit back, open the hotel room wet bar, and listen in as we discuss Interference: Book One by Lawrence Miles!
Feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 46: Interference: Book One
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 2 minutes and 59 secondsWe first read Lawrence Miles' some time ago with Alien Bodies, then paid him a brief return visit with The Adventuress of Henrietta Street, and now we're going to crack open the two-book story that became a turning point for many readers of the Eighth Doctor series: Interference, Books One and Two.
To keep things simple, we're dedicating a single episode of the podcast to each book, so naturally this one will be about Interference: Book One. From the back cover:
Five years ago, Sam Jones was just a schoolgirl from Shoreditch. Of course, that was before she met up with the Doctor and discovered that her entire life had been stage-managed by a time-travelling voodoo cult. Funny how things turn out, isn't it?
Now Sam's back in her own time, fighting the good fight in a world of political treachery, international subterfuge and good old-fashioned depravity. But she's about to learn the first great truth of the universe: that however corrupt and amoral your own race may be, there's always someone in the galaxy who can make you look like a beginner.
Ms Jones has just become a minor player in a million-year-old power struggle...and, as it happens, so has the Doctor.
Both of him, actually.
The story features the Eighth Doctor, Sam, and Fitz, of course, but also brings back Sarah Jane Smith, 20 years old from when the Doctor dropped her off at the end of "The Hand of Fear". And, as the cover of the book promises, the Third Doctor will be making an appearance with his (younger) Sarah Jane Smith.
If all of this sounds a bit confusing, then buckle your seatbelts because, love it or hate it, Interference is one of the most polarizing stories in all of Doctor Who history. So sit back, open the hotel room wet bar, and listen in as we discuss Interference: Book One by Lawrence Miles!
Feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 45: The Highest Science
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 49 minutes and 19 secondsThis month we dip our toes back into the proverbial Gareth Roberts pool with the New Adventure The Highest Science, featuring the Seventh Doctor and Professor Bernice Summerfield. From the back cover:
Sakkrat.
Many legends speak of this world, home of an ancient empire destroyed by its own greatest achievement. The Highest Science, the pinnacle of technological discovery.
When the TARDIS alerts the Doctor and Bernice to the presence of an enormous temporal fluctuation on a large, green, unremarkable planet, they are not to know of any connection with the legend.
But the connection is there, and it will lead them into conflict with the monstrous Chelonians, with their contempt for human parasites; into adventure with a group of youngsters whose musical taste has suddenly become dangerously significant; and will force them to face Sheldukher, the most wanted criminal in the galaxy.
You may remember Gareth Roberts from our review of the Missing Adventure The Well-Mannered War (also featuring the Chelonians, who made their first appearance here) and television episodes such as “The Lodger”, “Closing Time”, and the very recent “The Caretaker”.
So…without further ado, sit back, relax, grab a can of bubbleshake, and listen in as we discuss Gareth Roberts’ The Highest Science.
Look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 45: The Highest Science
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 49 minutes and 19 secondsThis month we dip our toes back into the proverbial Gareth Roberts pool with the New Adventure The Highest Science, featuring the Seventh Doctor and Professor Bernice Summerfield. From the back cover:
Sakkrat.
Many legends speak of this world, home of an ancient empire destroyed by its own greatest achievement. The Highest Science, the pinnacle of technological discovery.
When the TARDIS alerts the Doctor and Bernice to the presence of an enormous temporal fluctuation on a large, green, unremarkable planet, they are not to know of any connection with the legend.
But the connection is there, and it will lead them into conflict with the monstrous Chelonians, with their contempt for human parasites; into adventure with a group of youngsters whose musical taste has suddenly become dangerously significant; and will force them to face Sheldukher, the most wanted criminal in the galaxy.
You may remember Gareth Roberts from our review of the Missing Adventure The Well-Mannered War (also featuring the Chelonians, who made their first appearance here) and television episodes such as "The Lodger", "Closing Time", and the very recent "The Caretaker".
So...without further ado, sit back, relax, grab a can of bubbleshake, and listen in as we discuss Gareth Roberts' The Highest Science.
Look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 44: Dancing the Code
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 16 minutes and 42 secondsThis month we discuss a book by prolific Doctor Who author Paul Leonard, Dancing the Code. From the back cover:
‘The Brigadier’s going to shoot you, Jo,’ the Doctor said grimly, ‘and then he’s going to shoot me. Both of us are going to die.’
The Doctor builds a machine designed to predict the future. It shows the Brigadier murdering him and Jo in cold blood. Unable to tell where or when this event is destined to occur, the Doctor and Jo decide that they must stay apart.
Jo is sent on a top-secret mission to the war-torn Arab nation of Kebiria. But upon arrival, she is immediately arrested and consigned to a brutal political prison. The Kebirians have something to hide: deep in the North African desert, an alien infestation is rapidly growing. And the Doctor and UNIT soon discover that unless stopped, the alien presence will spread to overrun the entire world.
You may know Paul Leonard from such books as Venusian Lullaby, Speed of Flight, and the Bernice Summerfield Virgin novel Dry Pilgrimage (co-authored with The Fall of Yquatine author Nick Walters). After 44 episodes, it was inevitable that we covered a book written by Leonard, since he has penned so many.
So, pull up a cup of honey wine, and relax, as we discuss Paul Leonard’s Dancing the Code.
Look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 44: Dancing the Code
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 16 minutes and 42 secondsThis month we discuss a book by prolific Doctor Who author Paul Leonard, Dancing the Code. From the back cover:
'The Brigadier's going to shoot you, Jo,' the Doctor said grimly, 'and then he's going to shoot me. Both of us are going to die.'
The Doctor builds a machine designed to predict the future. It shows the Brigadier murdering him and Jo in cold blood. Unable to tell where or when this event is destined to occur, the Doctor and Jo decide that they must stay apart.
Jo is sent on a top-secret mission to the war-torn Arab nation of Kebiria. But upon arrival, she is immediately arrested and consigned to a brutal political prison. The Kebirians have something to hide: deep in the North African desert, an alien infestation is rapidly growing. And the Doctor and UNIT soon discover that unless stopped, the alien presence will spread to overrun the entire world.
You may know Paul Leonard from such books as Venusian Lullaby, Speed of Flight, and the Bernice Summerfield Virgin novel Dry Pilgrimage (co-authored with The Fall of Yquatine author Nick Walters). After 44 episodes, it was inevitable that we covered a book written by Leonard, since he has penned so many.
So, pull up a cup of honey wine, and relax, as we discuss Paul Leonard's Dancing the Code.
Look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 43: The Roundheads
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 1 minutes and 26 secondsFirst off, we apologize for the lateness of “July’s” episode, but as it happens sometimes, real life got in our way. This episode we’re happy to bring you one of two Who books penned by Mark Gatiss, The Roundheads. From the back cover:
'I tell you — we will cut off this King's head. Aye, with the crown on it!'
It is December 1648. Although victorious over the Cavaliers in the Civil Wars, the Roundheads are struggling to retain power. Plans are afoot to spirit King Charles from his prison, and the Doctor and his companions become embroiled in the intrigue...
Ben finds himself press-ganged and on board a mysterious ship to Amsterdam. Polly is an unwitting accomplice in the plot to rescue the King, and the Doctor and Jamie find themselves arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London under suspicion of conspiracy.
Can the Doctor and Jamie escape, managed to find Ben and Polly and still ensure that history remains on its proper course?
Of course, Mark Gatiss is well known for writing such televised episodes as “The Unquiet Dead”, “Cold War”, “The Crimson Horror”, and (gulp!) “Victory of the Daleks”. After Russell T. Davies, he’s probably the author with the highest profile whose work we have read. Before The Roundheads, Gatiss wrote the Virgin New Adventure Nightshade. The Roundheads remains one of the very few (two, by our count) pure historical adventures published in the four main ranges of books.
Pull up a mug of ale and sit back and relax as we discuss The Roundheads!
Please feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 43: The Roundheads
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 1 minutes and 26 secondsFirst off, we apologize for the lateness of "July's" episode, but as it happens sometimes, real life got in our way. This episode we're happy to bring you one of two Who books penned by Mark Gatiss, The Roundheads. From the back cover:
'I tell you -- we will cut off this King's head. Aye, with the crown on it!'
It is December 1648. Although victorious over the Cavaliers in the Civil Wars, the Roundheads are struggling to retain power. Plans are afoot to spirit King Charles from his prison, and the Doctor and his companions become embroiled in the intrigue...
Ben finds himself press-ganged and on board a mysterious ship to Amsterdam. Polly is an unwitting accomplice in the plot to rescue the King, and the Doctor and Jamie find themselves arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London under suspicion of conspiracy.
Can the Doctor and Jamie escape, managed to find Ben and Polly and still ensure that history remains on its proper course?
Of course, Mark Gatiss is well known for writing such televised episodes as "The Unquiet Dead", "Cold War", "The Crimson Horror", and (gulp!) "Victory of the Daleks". After Russell T. Davies, he's probably the author with the highest profile whose work we have read. Before The Roundheads, Gatiss wrote the Virgin New Adventure Nightshade. The Roundheads remains one of the very few (two, by our count) pure historical adventures published in the four main ranges of books.
Pull up a mug of ale and sit back and relax as we discuss The Roundheads!
Please feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 42: The Face-Eater
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 3 minutes and 4 secondsThis month we present our first discussion of a novel by veteran Doctor Who author Simon Messingham, it’s The Face-Eater, a BBC Eighth Doctor Adventure featuring Sam and…well, the Eighth Doctor. From the back cover:
The Doctor and Sam arrive on Proxima II, one of the earliest planets colonised in humanity’s first big push into space. But instead of a brave new world, they find a settlement rife with superstition and unrest.
The native Proximans are inexplicably dying out. Humans too are being killed in horrific ways, with each face being stripped bare.
Posing as investigators from Earth, the Doctor and Sam must track down the force moving through the dark catacombs beneath Proxima City. It seems that the superstitious whisperings of the colonists may be well founded – that the sinister Face-Eater from Proximan mythology has awakened from its long sleep, to drive out all those who would defile its world…
(Note: Despite the title of the book and what it says on the back, no faces were eaten in this story. Yeah, we were kind of disappointed, too.)
You may know Simon Messingham from his New Series Adventure The Doctor Trap, as well as Zeta Major, Tomb of Valdemar, The Indestructible Man, and The Infinity Race. So…sit back, heat up a cube of non-alcoholic bourbon, and listen in as we discuss The Face-Eater.
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Episode 42: The Face-Eater
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 3 minutes and 4 secondsThis month we present our first discussion of a novel by veteran Doctor Who author Simon Messingham, it's The Face-Eater, a BBC Eighth Doctor Adventure featuring Sam and...well, the Eighth Doctor. From the back cover:
The Doctor and Sam arrive on Proxima II, one of the earliest planets colonised in humanity's first big push into space. But instead of a brave new world, they find a settlement rife with superstition and unrest.
The native Proximans are inexplicably dying out. Humans too are being killed in horrific ways, with each face being stripped bare.
Posing as investigators from Earth, the Doctor and Sam must track down the force moving through the dark catacombs beneath Proxima City. It seems that the superstitious whisperings of the colonists may be well founded - that the sinister Face-Eater from Proximan mythology has awakened from its long sleep, to drive out all those who would defile its world...
(Note: Despite the title of the book and what it says on the back, no faces were eaten in this story. Yeah, we were kind of disappointed, too.)
You may know Simon Messingham from his New Series Adventure The Doctor Trap, as well as Zeta Major, Tomb of Valdemar, The Indestructible Man, and The Infinity Race. So...sit back, heat up a cube of non-alcoholic bourbon, and listen in as we discuss The Face-Eater.
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Episode 41: The Room with No Doors
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 5 minutes and 12 secondsIt’s seems like so vile a sin that we’ve done 40 episodes without ever reading a book by Kate Orman, so this month we do just that: it’s the Virgin New Adventure The Room with No Doors featuring the Seventh Doctor and Chris. From the back cover:
‘Dear Doctor,’ wrote Chris, ‘I give up.’
Swordplay, samurai, magic, aliens, adventure, excitement…Who needs them?
The Doctor and Chris travel to sixteenth-century Japan, a country gripped by civil war as feudal lords vie for control. Anything could tip the balance of power. So when a god falls out of the sky, everyone wants it.
As villagers are healed and crops grow far too fast, the Doctor and Chris try to find the secret of the miracles – before two rival armies can start a war over who owns the god.
Chris soon finds himself alone – except for an alien slaver, a time-traveling Victorian inventor, a gang of demons, an old friend with suspicious motives, a village full of innocent bystanders, and several thousand samurai.
Without the Doctor, someone has to take up the challenge of adventure and stop the god falling into the wrong hands. Someone has to be a hero – but Chris isn’t sure he wants to be a hero any more.
Orman has written just over a dozen novels for the different ranges, including one for Telos Publishing and another in Virgin’s series of Benny Summerfield novels. It’s notable that she became the first female writer in the series with the debut of The Left-Handed Hummingbird.
Sit back, relax, pour yourself a thimbleful of sake, and listen in as we discuss The Room with No Doors.
Please feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 41: The Room with No Doors
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 5 minutes and 12 secondsIt's seems like so vile a sin that we've done 40 episodes without ever reading a book by Kate Orman, so this month we do just that: it's the Virgin New Adventure The Room with No Doors featuring the Seventh Doctor and Chris. From the back cover:
'Dear Doctor,' wrote Chris, 'I give up.'
Swordplay, samurai, magic, aliens, adventure, excitement...Who needs them?
The Doctor and Chris travel to sixteenth-century Japan, a country gripped by civil war as feudal lords vie for control. Anything could tip the balance of power. So when a god falls out of the sky, everyone wants it.
As villagers are healed and crops grow far too fast, the Doctor and Chris try to find the secret of the miracles - before two rival armies can start a war over who owns the god.
Chris soon finds himself alone - except for an alien slaver, a time-traveling Victorian inventor, a gang of demons, an old friend with suspicious motives, a village full of innocent bystanders, and several thousand samurai.
Without the Doctor, someone has to take up the challenge of adventure and stop the god falling into the wrong hands. Someone has to be a hero - but Chris isn't sure he wants to be a hero any more.
Orman has written just over a dozen novels for the different ranges, including one for Telos Publishing and another in Virgin's series of Benny Summerfield novels. It's notable that she became the first female writer in the series with the debut of The Left-Handed Hummingbird.
Sit back, relax, pour yourself a thimbleful of sake, and listen in as we discuss The Room with No Doors.
Please feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 40: Time of Your Life
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 11 minutes and 49 secondsIn this special "Irwin Allen" edition of The Doctor Who Book Club Podcast, we read and discuss Steve Lyons' 1995 Virgin Missing Adventure Time of Your Life featuring the Sixth Doctor. From the back cover:
'Organic bugs must be purged from the system,' the screen told him. Then, more succinctly, 'You die.'
The Network broadcasts entertainment to the planets of the Meson system: Death-hunt 3000, Prisoner: The Next Generation, Bloodsoak Bunny... Sixteen channels, and not one of them worth watching. But for the citizens of poverty-stricken Torrok, television offers the only escape from a reality too horrible to face.
Angela, a young inhabitant of Torrok, leaps at the chance to travel to the Network with a hermit who calls himself the Doctor. However, all is not well on the giant, chaotic space station. A soap star has murdered his wife's lover; the robotic regulars of Timeriders are performing random kidnappings; and a lethal new game show is about to go on air.
Can the Doctor uncover the cause of the apparently random disturbances - or will his appearance as a competitor on Death-hunt 3000 be the last of his life?
We're firm believers of "In Lyons We Trust" on this podcast, thus our sterling reviews of his books Conundrum and The Crooked World. Will Time of Your Life be any different? Grab a tasty glass of boiling water, sit back, and relax as we discuss it!
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Episode 40: Time of Your Life
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 11 minutes and 49 secondsIn this special “Irwin Allen” edition of The Doctor Who Book Club Podcast, we read and discuss Steve Lyons’ 1995 Virgin Missing Adventure Time of Your Life featuring the Sixth Doctor. From the back cover:
‘Organic bugs must be purged from the system,’ the screen told him. Then, more succinctly, ‘You die.’
The Network broadcasts entertainment to the planets of the Meson system: Death-hunt 3000, Prisoner: The Next Generation, Bloodsoak Bunny… Sixteen channels, and not one of them worth watching. But for the citizens of poverty-stricken Torrok, television offers the only escape from a reality too horrible to face.
Angela, a young inhabitant of Torrok, leaps at the chance to travel to the Network with a hermit who calls himself the Doctor. However, all is not well on the giant, chaotic space station. A soap star has murdered his wife’s lover; the robotic regulars of Timeriders are performing random kidnappings; and a lethal new game show is about to go on air.
Can the Doctor uncover the cause of the apparently random disturbances – or will his appearance as a competitor on Death-hunt 3000 be the last of his life?
We’re firm believers of “In Lyons We Trust” on this podcast, thus our sterling reviews of his books Conundrum and The Crooked World. Will Time of Your Life be any different? Grab a tasty glass of boiling water, sit back, and relax as we discuss it!
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Episode 39: Loving the Alien
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 17 minutes and 56 secondsThis month we turn our sights on BBC's Past Doctors Adventures with Loving the Alien, a novel featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace by Mike Tucker and Robert Perry.
Mike Tucker might best be known for his model work on the current televised series, but he has written a plethora of books, including Ace! with Sophie Aldred, a number of novels with the Seventh Doctor and Ace in the BBC range, and two novels featuring the Tenth Doctor in the New Series Adventures. Tucker also co-write Illegal Alien with Robert Perry, who has written for such television shows as EastEnders and Family Affairs.
From the back cover of Loving the Alien:
Ace is dead. Or at least she will be - soon... In a secret room deep inside the TARDIS the Doctor has been examining the body of Ace's future self. He knows how she was killed, where she was killed and when she was killed. What he doesn't know is why...
To find the truth the Doctor makes a dangerous decision and takes the unsuspecting Ace to the very time and place of her death, hoping to cheat Time and find her killer before he can strike - but Time has other ideas. With Ace missing and the clock ticking the Doctor turns to old friends for help and finds that there is unfinished business for him to deal with.
What is the secret experiment being conducted by the British Rocket Group? Why are giant ants appearing in the suburbs of 1950s London? Who is the mysterious figure that is watching the Doctor's every move?
As events spiral out of control the Doctor realises that someone is manipulating time with careless disregard for the consequences to Ace - or the rest of the universe...
With that, please help yourself to a strawberry soda from the drug store fountain, put your feet up, and relax as we review Loving the Alien.
Look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. Also feel free to follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Episode 39: Loving the Alien
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 17 minutes and 56 secondsThis month we turn our sights on BBC’s Past Doctors Adventures with Loving the Alien, a novel featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace by Mike Tucker and Robert Perry.
Mike Tucker might best be known for his model work on the current televised series, but he has written a plethora of books, including Ace! with Sophie Aldred, a number of novels with the Seventh Doctor and Ace in the BBC range, and two novels featuring the Tenth Doctor in the New Series Adventures. Tucker also co-write Illegal Alien with Robert Perry, who has written for such television shows as EastEnders and Family Affairs.
From the back cover of Loving the Alien:
Ace is dead. Or at least she will be – soon… In a secret room deep inside the TARDIS the Doctor has been examining the body of Ace’s future self. He knows how she was killed, where she was killed and when she was killed. What he doesn’t know is why…
To find the truth the Doctor makes a dangerous decision and takes the unsuspecting Ace to the very time and place of her death, hoping to cheat Time and find her killer before he can strike – but Time has other ideas. With Ace missing and the clock ticking the Doctor turns to old friends for help and finds that there is unfinished business for him to deal with.
What is the secret experiment being conducted by the British Rocket Group? Why are giant ants appearing in the suburbs of 1950s London? Who is the mysterious figure that is watching the Doctor’s every move?
As events spiral out of control the Doctor realises that someone is manipulating time with careless disregard for the consequences to Ace – or the rest of the universe…
With that, please help yourself to a strawberry soda from the drug store fountain, put your feet up, and relax as we review Loving the Alien.
Look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. Also feel free to follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.
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Special Episode: An Interview wth "Who's 50" Authors Graeme Burk and Robert Smith?
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 51 minutes and 36 secondsThis February we seized the chance at Gallifrey One to sit down with Graeme Burk and Robert Smith?, authors of Who’s 50, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who featuring “the 50 Doctor Who stories to watch before you die”.
Sit back, pour yourself a glass of cabernet, and relax as we discuss Who’s 50 with Graeme and Robert.
Once again, look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite, Sean via @tardistavern, and Graeme Burk via @graemeburk.
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Special Episode: An Interview wth "Who's 50" Authors Graeme Burk and Robert Smith?
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 51 minutes and 36 secondsThis February we seized the chance at Gallifrey One to sit down with Graeme Burk and Robert Smith?, authors of Who's 50, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who featuring "the 50 Doctor Who stories to watch before you die".
Sit back, pour yourself a glass of cabernet, and relax as we discuss Who's 50 with Graeme and Robert.
Once again, look for us on Facebook, email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite, Sean via @tardistavern, and Graeme Burk via @graemeburk.
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Episode 38: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 43 minutes and 16 secondsEpisode 38 marks our third annual “live” recording at Gallifrey One, and this time we’re pleased to be joined by Deb Stanish of the Verity! podcast and Chicks Unravel Time. Sensing that perhaps we would join a challenge (whoops, spoilers!), Deb chose Lawrence Miles’ The Adventuress of Henrietta Street, an BBC Eighth Doctor novel featuring (sort of) Fitz and Anji and a whole gaggle of ladies of the evening. From the back cover:
On February 9, 1783, a funeral was held in the tunnels at the dead heart of London. It was the funeral of a warrior and a conjurer, a paladin and an oracle, the last of an ancient breed who’d once stood between the Earth and the bloodiest of its nightmares.
Her name was Scarlette. Part courtesan, part sorceress, this is her history: the part she played in the Siege of Henrietta Street, and the sacrifice she made in the defence of her world.
In the year leading up to that funeral, something raw and primal ate its way through human society, from the streets of pre-Revolutionary Paris to the slave-states of America. Something that only the eighteenth century could have summoned, and against which the only line of defence was a bordello in Covent Garden.
And then there was Scarlette’s accomplice, the ‘elemental champion’ who stood alongside her in the final battle. The one they called the Doctor.
Lawrence Miles is, perhaps, best known as the author of Alien Bodies (be sure to listen to our sterling review of it) as well as a handful of other Eighth Doctor novels. Grab a glass of milk, relax, sit back, and enjoy our discussion of The Adventuress of Henrietta Street.
Be sure to find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, and email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com. Also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite, Sean via @tardistavern, and Deb via @debstanish.
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Episode 38: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 43 minutes and 16 secondsEpisode 38 marks our third annual "live" recording at Gallifrey One, and this time we're pleased to be joined by Deb Stanish of the Verity! podcast and Chicks Unravel Time. Sensing that perhaps we would join a challenge (whoops, spoilers!), Deb chose Lawrence Miles' The Adventuress of Henrietta Street, an BBC Eighth Doctor novel featuring (sort of) Fitz and Anji and a whole gaggle of ladies of the evening. From the back cover:
On February 9, 1783, a funeral was held in the tunnels at the dead heart of London. It was the funeral of a warrior and a conjurer, a paladin and an oracle, the last of an ancient breed who'd once stood between the Earth and the bloodiest of its nightmares.
Her name was Scarlette. Part courtesan, part sorceress, this is her history: the part she played in the Siege of Henrietta Street, and the sacrifice she made in the defence of her world.
In the year leading up to that funeral, something raw and primal ate its way through human society, from the streets of pre-Revolutionary Paris to the slave-states of America. Something that only the eighteenth century could have summoned, and against which the only line of defence was a bordello in Covent Garden.
And then there was Scarlette's accomplice, the 'elemental champion' who stood alongside her in the final battle. The one they called the Doctor.
Lawrence Miles is, perhaps, best known as the author of Alien Bodies (be sure to listen to our sterling review of it) as well as a handful of other Eighth Doctor novels. Grab a glass of milk, relax, sit back, and enjoy our discussion of The Adventuress of Henrietta Street.
Be sure to find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast, and email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com. Also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite, Sean via @tardistavern, and Deb via @debstanish.
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Episode 37: The Also People
Episode Duration: 0 days, 1 hours, 13 minutes and 26 secondsThis month we’re happy to bring you our discussion of The Also People, a Virgin New Adventure by Ben Aaronovitch featuring the Seventh Doctor, Benny, Roz, and Chris. From the back cover:
‘Just how technologically advanced are they?’ The Doctor frowned. ‘Let me put it this way: they have a non-aggression pact with the Time Lords.’
The Doctor has taken his companions to paradise, or at least the closest thing he can find. A sun enclosed by an artificial sphere where there is no want, poverty or violence.
While Chris learns to surf, meets a girl and falls in love with a biplane, Roz suspects an alien plot and Bernice considers that a Dyson Sphere needs an archaeologist like a fish needs a five-speed gear box.
Then the peace is shattered by a murder. As the suspects proliferate, Bernice realises that even an artificial world has its buried secrets and Roz discovers what she’s always suspected – that every paradise has its snake.
You probably know Ben Aaronovitch as the author of the televised stories “Remembrance of the Daleks” and “Battlefield”, as well as the Virgin New Adventures Transit and So Vile a Sin. Grab a bottle of antisocial, sit back, and relax as we review The Also People.
Feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast. You can also follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.