The Nightmare of Black Island News Posted by John Hoare on 17th October 2006, 01:00 Yeah, we should have reported on this last week, but I only just found out about it through this month’s Doctor Who Magazine – Mike Tucker has a new Who book out! Released on the 21st September and entitled The Nightmare of Black Island, it’s the first new series novel that Mike has written – indeed, it’s the first Who novel he’s written that doesn’t involve the Ace and the Seventh Doctor. I’ll do a quick cut’n’paste of the synopsis to fill an easy paragraph, then: On a lonely stretch of Welsh coastline a fisherman is killed by a hideous creature from beneath the waves. When the Doctor and Rose arrive, they discover a village where the children are plagued by nightmares, and the nights are ruled by monsters. The villagers suspect that ancient industrialist Nathanial Morton is to blame, but the Doctor has suspicions of his own. Who are the ancient figures that sleep in the old priory? What are the monsters that prowl the woods after sunset? What is the light that glows in the disused lighthouse on Black Island? As the childrens nightmares get worse, the Doctor and Rose discover an alien plot to resurrect an ancient evil… This work features the Doctor and Rose as played by David Tennant and Billie Piper in the hit series from BBC Television. Ahhh, “from BBC Television”. I feel like I’m back in the 60s. The (abridged) audiobook is coming out on the 6th November, and is read by Anthony Head (excellent!). It also includes “a fascinating ‘behind the scenes’ discussion between author and reader”, which sounds intriguing. I love extras on audio releases. Meanwhile, The Model Unit is currently working on their first feature film – Atonement, starring Keira Knightley. Now, the question is – which part of the film will make me shoot the furthest?
I’ve never read a Who novel in my life, actually. Come on Seb – which would you recommend to start me off?
> Come on Seb – which would you recommend to start me off? I know I’m not called Seb, but Illegal Alien by Mike Tucker and Robert Perry is a must. It’s the first Who book I ever read, and was also my first encounter with a particular well known enemy (I wont spoil it for you) and it’s ACE. In fact, before it was a book there was a possibility that it was going to be picked up for the non-existent Season 27. The Dying Days is free on the BBC site, but I found it to be pretty average. This could well be my subconscious just reacting badly to all the hype it’s had, though.
Did you know that Colin Baker’s favourite football club is Blackburn? He also likes Spurs, but hates Sunderland.
Come on Seb – which would you recommend to start me off? Well, The Dying Days is a good place to start, since you can read it for free and all. It’s a rollockingly-good alien invasion adventure story, with the Eighth Doctor at his most Eighth Doctorish, and Ice Warriors, and everything. It’s basically everything that the Christmas Invasion coulda woulda shoulda been. I’m not as well-versed in the novels as you might expect, but I can certainly back up Cappsy’s recommendation of Illegal Alien (incidentally, is this new book the first one that Tucker’s done without Robert Perry?), along with the absolutely fantastic Infinity Doctors by Lance Parkin (who also wrote Dying Days and the similarly-excellent, BBC 8DA-era-ending Gallifrey Chronicles). It was written for the 35th anniversary, and features a Doctor of uncertain identity – he could be a young First, he could be a Thirteenth, he could be something else entirely, but he’s still unmistakeably the Doctor – with a best friend called the Magistrate who’s blatantly the Master by any other name. It’s almost entirely set on Gallifrey, and it’s marvellous.
Mike Tucker also wrote Prime Time by himself, but I think that’s the only other one. Anyway, I’ll have a look at what you and Cappy suggested. Ta!
The new series novels are a bit light for me, but some of them would have made great 2-part episodes. Sometimes I just wish they would do a series like Who but out of the whole kid-friendly 7pm Saturday slot, and not on BBC1 because that’s way too mainstream, BBC3? I can’t see it happening though, Doctor Who with strong language and violence with a bisexual main character? Yeah, and pigs might escape the bacon slicer… Surely the BBC would rather fill the slot with a repeat of Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps or Ideal or something? Fuckery-a-duckery.
Pfft, where would we be if the Pigs were allowed to escape the bacon slicer eh? Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet of Smokey Bacon Crisps, that’s where….
