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Doctor Who: The New Adventures!

Exploring the world of Doctor Who in print with The New Adventures of Doctor Who! The New Adventures of Doctor Who is now out of print. Grab these books while you sill can. The remaining copies in the warehouses were destroyed by a legal order in England!

The New Adventures/Bernice Summerfield books can be found here on a new page

Update 12-14-02

I have decided that this is the golden age of Doctor Who. There! Ihave declared it and so mote it be! Free from the limitations of the small screen these books represent an epic journey introducing new characters and continuing the adventures of the 7th Doctor.

If you like them you might also enjoy the Doctor Who audio adventures at Big Finish Productions!.

Doctor Who The New Adventures

In 1991 with the show off the air a new series of books appeared continuing the adventures of the 7th Doctor and his companion Ace. As the sereis progressed a new companion, Bernice, was added and Ace eventualy left. This series of books continues to turn out 8-12 novels every year. More recently a new series of books featuring the other Doctors have appeared under the banner name "The Missing Adventures"

Timewyrm: Genesis

By John Peel (1991)

Preface by Peter Darvill-Evans, series editor

Forward by Sophie Aldred (The character "Ace" on Doctor Who)

The first of the 'New Adventures' series of Doctor Who books and the first of four Timewyrm books. This book, set in ancient Mesopotamia has the Doctor hanging around with the mythical Gilgamesh. This book took quite a bit of flack from the British press for it's sexual content.
Stars: *
Timewyrm: Exodus

By Terrance Dicks (1991)

Probably the best of the Timewyrm series, this novel by long time script editor, Terrance Dicks, was full of wonderful 'whoisms'. The Timewyrm is messing with history again, this time the Nazi's didn't loose World War II and England has not done very well under the Third Reich. The ending of the book is a classic who dilemma. Estraz mean fake in case you didn't know that... : )
Stars: ***
Timewyrm: Apocalypse

By Nigel Robinson

The Doctor and Ace track the Timewyrm to the planet Kirith. The people there live in a paradise. Everyone is physically perfect. Path the Doctor and Ace feel something is definitely wrong.. Sorta like an outdoor version of Paradise Towers meets Happiness Patrol.
Stars: **
Timewyrm: Revelation

By Paul Cornell

This book is probably the most original of the first four novels and gives a revealing look into Ace's past. It also introduces Reverent Trelaw, a very enjoyable character, and the spirit who inhabits his church. The Doctor's final confrontation with the Timewyrm makes for good reading.
Stars: ***
Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible

By Marc Platt (who wrote the script for Ghost Light)

This novel is the most hard to describe of any in the series. It certainly would not have translated well to the small screen as a result of all the interesting... interesting... 'things' that happen in the book. In fact I'm not even going to quote the back of the book. Just go and read it..
The Cat's Cradle series is not much of an umbrella story but it does have something to do with a cat, and that cat does show up on all three covers of this series.
Stars: ****
Cat's Cradle: Warhead

By Andrew Cartmel (script editor from 1987-1989)

Another first for Doctor Who! The first 'cyberpunk' like adventure for the Doctor. Actually if you like that type of story the novel is intensely interesting although the plot does tend to jump around a bit. The descriptive passages are fascinating. The Butler Institute and the high powered CEO types characters make this book interesting, however it is the smaller characters who really steal the show. It alos has one of the best covers of the series.
Stars: ****
Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark

By Andrew Hunt

This is the first 'fantasy' novel in the New Adventures series. If you like light fantasy books filled with unicorns and dwarves then this is the book for you. The humans on the world known as Tir na n-Og have found a gateway to another world, ours. This novel introduces quite a few nice characters, some of whom are killed off for no apparent reason. It also leaves the door open for a sort of sequel in the way most modern horror movies do. Still the book is well worth reading. Oh, since this was the last of this series they finally tell you what the deal with the cat was.
Stars: ****
Nightshade

By Mark Gatiss

Back to Earth in 1968 as the Doctor is going into a bit of a depression (which if I recall lasts off and on for the next several books) and perhaps a visit to his favorite planet will cheer him up. In the village of Crook Marsham lives an old actor who once played Nightshade on the telly. His character was sort of a cross between Prof. Quatermass and Doctor Who. Now he is just an old actor. Many murders, what else is new, have been occurring. There is a radio telescope on the moor which is being bombarded by strange signals. Add for good measure some legends of the local civil ware and an ageless power and you have all the elements for a good Who story. Sort of reminiscent of the Image of the Fendall or The Horror of Fang Rock this books makes for good reading. This was voted by fans as one of the best of the first 12 New Adventures novels.
Stars: *****
Love And War

By Paul Cornell (Timewyrm: Revelation)

I was looking forward to this book. I truly liked Timewyrm: Revelation and though he would take good care of the characters he wrote about so well in his previous book. This book truly made me angry. I really enjoy the characters in Doctor Who and have a hard time believing that A) the Doctor is truly this devious, and B) That Ace really has a foul mouth. With the exception of her performance in Survival and Ghost Light Ace has always had a very positive attitude. Even when she was blowing things up!
This novel introduces the new companion of Archaeologist Bernice Summerfield. It also sees the departure of Ace form the series. At least for a while. The story suffers. Mostly from the fact that the prologue, which appeared in Doctor Who monthly, is actually helpful to the development of the story and prepares the reader for what was to happen in the book. At some point I hope to be able to type in all those prologues and put them here. If you would like to see these prologues e-mail me with your requests. The book introduces the terrifying Hoothi. The Hoothi arrive and turn this paradise planet into a battleground. Ace falls in love with a 'space gypsy or space hippie' and the Doctor tries to warn her not to get involved. The end of the book was deeply disturbing. I'm not saying it is not a good book, bit I am subtracting one star for the foul language.
Stars: **
Transit

By Ben Aaronovitch (Rememberance of the Daleks and Battlefield)

This novel has some strange bits near the end which don't seem quite to work correctly however it is not as bad as the British press would have you believe. This is sort of like the episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea that Harlan Ellison wrote. Yes it had the Seaview and Captain Crane, but they were just there because they had to be. The story had them in it but was not about them. This book is the same way. It had the Doctor and Bernice in it (although her character changes form book to book for the next few novels) but it is not a Doctor Who story. I rather enjoyed the book. The prologue was once again interesting, but in this case not necessary to the enjoyment of the book.
Stars: ****
The Highest Science

By Gareth Roberts

This books introduces the militaristic race of turtles the Chelonians with their contempt for human parasites. The plot of this book is somewhat convoluted and the humans form the passenger train seem to be doomed at the end of the book and are just left to their fate by the Doctor. Bernice develops more in this book, however Ace was sorely missed form this adventure. She would have been a great leader for the train passengers. The basic problem with this novel was how many different plots were taking place at once. This book has no real ending so don't expect one!
Stars: ***
The Pit

By Neil Penswick

The Doctor is REALLY depressed... again! Bernice talks the doctor into investigating the disappearance of the seven planets. A mystery which has always fascinated her. Guess who was responsible for the seven planets disappearance... The squad of killer androids make for some interesting reading as well as does some of the off world alien politics, however the ending was rather strange.
Stars: **
Deceit

By Peter Darvill-Evans

They should have let Paul Cornell (Love And War) write this novel, but then again when you are the series editor I guess you can write what you want to. This is not a bad book, in fact it is fascinating, however as a book about the return of Ace it is not so good. Peter does not seem to have a good grip on Ace's character. Just saying that time has past and she has changes was not enough. Anyhow the book makes for fairly good reading and continues a trend which I hoped would keep going. The first of the new adventure series was 230 pages long. Much longer than any previous who novelization, however Deceit weighs in at a whopping 325 pages (including the series editor's note at the back). The story has a lot of nifty elements including an interesting race inhabiting the planet Arcadia. It has plenty of action since Absalom Dakk the famous Dalek killer of comic fame along for the ride. The 'entity' behind it all is interesting and the ending is well worth it. The cover does not make sense until you read the book. The cover was a good concept, but poorly executed.
Stars: ***
Lucifer Rising

By Andy Lane and Jim Mortimore

Bernice always wondered why the scientific explorations of the planet Lucifer and the object orbiting it had suddenly stopped. The Doctor investigates. Ace turns out to have been working for an entity called Legion who slips between this and other dimensions. The IMC (first seen in Colony in Space when Jon Pertwee was the Doctor) makes an appearance and mucks about with things. Quite a few nice characters are killed during this story. Some of the deaths are necessary to the story development while others are not. This book weighs in at 346 pages! It was also the first of the New Adventures to feature interior black and white illustrations. The very end was great. This is a very interesting book and I highly recommend it!
Stars: *****
White Darkness

By David A. McIntee (a whovian fanzine writer)

The TARDIS pays a visit to Haiti and this well researched pre World War II adventure. If you like voodoo and zombies, and for a while I thought the Master would show up but no such luck, this is the book for you. Not much substance but enough plot twist and turns to keep the story interesting. Some very nicely described locations.
Stars: ***
Shadowmind

By Christopher Bulis (did his own cover illustration)

This is a typical adventure. Once you have read it after a day or so you will have a hard time remembering it. The planet Arden seemed ripe for human colonization but something on the planet is stealing the minds of the inhabitants. Some nice action scenes with ace fill the first part of the book. Later on the interesting little creatures that help our heroes are interesting.
Stars: ***
Birthright

By Nigel Robinson (Timewyrm: Apocalypse)

This story was much better overall than his first book. The basic 'thick atmosphere of London' plot of this book works very well. The creatures, who are committing... whet else... murder in London, are actually quite interesting once you get to know them. There is a bit with the Doctor in the future and, well I'm giving too much away. Just read it.
Stars: ***
Iceberg

By David Banks (Cyber Controller in several episodes)

This is a very interesting book. The supporting characters will stick in your mind for quite a while as well some of the dark imagery. The Doctor makes a return trip to Antarctica where he once before regenerated. The plot has to do with the 'flip back' team who are going to try and stop an inversion of the earth's magnetic filed. The Cybermen are up to their old tricks and are draining off power and eventually hacking people up for spare parts. There is also a nifty character, Ruby Duvall, who would have made an ideal companion. If David Banks writes another of these I hope he will bring her back. I will warn readers that this book has some sexual content. It also has some disturbing scenes where humans are cut into small pieces and frozen in ice.
Stars: ****
Blood Heat

By Jim Mortimore (Lucifer Rising)

This was the first in an unofficial series of 'alternate time lines'. In this book someone has been messing with history. The Third Doctor was killed while investigating The Silurians. The Seventh Doctor investigates. In this world humanity is fighting a loosing battle against the Silurians and the Sea Devils. The Brigadier is still fighting. This book is slow to start but about a third of the way though it gets truly captivating. There are a few interior illustrations. Well worth reading. Looses one star for the slow beginning and the bits with a dazed Jo Grant. A most amazing book. Ending leaves something to be desired. Jim really knows how to describe a location!
Stars: *****
The Dimension Riders

By Daniel Blythe (Whovian fanzine writer)

Not a bad story, but not all that great either. This is the second of the 'alternate time line books'. At the beginning Ace is deeply annoyed at the Doctor for what he did at the end of the last book. The story has to do with... well time travel and an evil entity. It also has some nifty scenes in Oxford, or so it seems. Enjoyable reading but noting spectacular.
Stars: **
The Left-Handed Hummingbird

By Kate Orman (first new adventure book by a woman)

This book centers around 'the blue' a psychic phenomena which seems to surround Christian Alvarez. The book is well written and has a lot of nifty Azetc stuff in it as Ace, The Doctor, and Bernice try to stop the living god Huitzilin. Oh and now we know why the titanic sank. Unfortunatly that section of the book is the most coherent. Some of the characters meet rather sad fates.
Stars: ***
Conundrum

By Steve Lyons (co-author of the Red Dwarf Programme Guide)

This is a nifty book and I'm about to give something away here so if you don't stop reading soon I will spoil the ending. Remember the Second Doctor story The Mind Robber? If no it is available on video. Well the creator of the Land of Fiction (now a teenager form England) is back. However he is being influenced by an outside force. This was a great book from it's cartoon like super heroes and villains to the 'game master' character who is motivated by games. Even the cover is nifty.
Stars: ******
No Future

By Paul Cornell (Love and War, Timewyrm: Revelation)

This time London in 1976 has been altered. Terrorists are in the streets. The Queen barely avoids assassination. Benny is now the lead singer of a punk band. Ace has murderous plans of her own and in one scene stabs the doctor in the heart with a 'wicked' knife. Even something is going on with UNIT! Well worth reading and Ace lets some of that pent up anger out. About time too! I guess the author is making up for not bringing back Ace in the first place. This book concludes the alternate time line saga.
Stars: *****
Tragedy Day

By Gareth Roberts (The Highest Science)

This book was enjoyable. All the main characters have interesting things to do and see. However the assassin spider was a bit strange. It was like some of the odd characters found in the Doctor Who comic strips of the 80's. I imagine his effects would have been done by Gerry Anderson's puppet squad. The villain of the story, a little boy, reminded me of the boy with the glass jar for a head in the shown The Tick. Asides form that the book is OK.
Stars: **
Legacy

By Gary Russell

This book features the doctor returning to the planet of Peladon. Peladon was the feudal planet that the Third Doctor visited on two occasions. The memorable character Alpha Centauri is still there bobbing up and down although the scene where they met was not what I had hoped for. It doesn't take long for the doctor to get accused of something. This time it is... murder! Why am I not surprised. The Ice Warriors are there as well. Well worth reading and it has an interesting author's introduction. It also goes into a lengthy back story all about the history of Peladon which, while interesting to me, read like any page of any Gor novel.
Stars: *****
Theater Of War

By Justin Richards (Co-editor of In-Vision the Doctor Who reference magazine)

The survivor of a doomed archaeological mission to study an ancient theater returns years later to the scene of the disaster. On her new archeological team is Prof. Bernice Summerfield.
Amongst the murders lies the threat of an interstellar war which moves ever closer. When Bernice contacts her friends they find themselves playing out a very real performance of Hamlet.

This is a great book also, even though it took me almost a year to finish the same book (hey it was a busy year) The characters come off well, even though some of them are just cardboard cutout characters to be killed off later. The ending performance it not to be missed. This would have been a fantastic story for the Doctor Who movie as well!
Stars: *****

All-Consuming Fire

By Andy Lane (Lucifer Rising) and John H. Watson MD!

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are investigating the robbery of some rather mystical books. Who should they meet along the trail but Doctor Who! Yes it is a journey into Victorian London with the Doctor and England's greatest consulting detective. Two black and white interior illustration.

This was one of the most interesting books so far in the series. The books is told partly as a Doctor Who story and part as a Sherlock Holmes story. it alos has parts from the point of view of Bernice and some battlefield reports from Ace. Overall a fascinating story whoch would have made a wonderous movie. Buy two copies so you can have one for your Sherlock Holmes collection too!
Stars: ******

Blood Harvest

By Terrance Dicks (Timewyrm: Exodus)

I have not read any farther in the series so the descriptions will be sort of sketchy from this point on.

This book is a tie in with the other series of Doctor Who books the 'Missing Adventures'. You might what to read Goth Opera by Paul Cornell (Love And War) before or after reading this book.
The Doctor and Ace are selling illegal booze to a town full of gangsters and are hoggin' in on Al Capone's business. Meanwhile Bernice has been abandoned on a vampire infested planet where she meets Romana and the connection between the vampires and 1929 Chicago.
Stars: ****

Strange England

By Simon Messingham

The TARDIS lands in a garden of a Victorian country house where they discover a young girl whose body has been possessed by a insect. The rural paradise is rapidly turning into a nightmare world. A world rules by the Quack, whose patent medicines are deadly poisons and whose aim is to destroy the Doctor.

This was one of the strangest covers I had ever seen on a book. Some of the characters are very nasty to one another. Worth reading once. Strange ending, middle and for that matter beginning. Lives up to it's name!
Stars: *

First Frontier

By David A. McIntee (White Darkness)

The Doctor visits the United States in 1957. It's the beginning of the space age and the height of the cold war. Unfortunately the aliens, the Tzun Confederacy, already are among us. Two nuclear warheads have been stolen. Only one person seems to know what is going on: the army's mysterious scientific adviser, the enigmatic Major Kreer.

Honest Americans do not really act that way. Once character is killed off for no apparent reasons by other characters who are only in the book for less than a page.

Stars: *

St Anthony's Fire

By Mark Gatiss (Nightshade)

The Doctor gets mixed up in a genocidal war that is going on amongst the planet's lizard like population. Ace wanted out so she is resting on a nearby world but she may net be able to escape from the coming events.
There are some Doctor Who books which are well thought out. Even though many of the characters meet a gruesome fate the uthor does a fantastic job of describing the culture in the planet without getting putting the reader to sleep. If the invading aliens were as well described this would have been a paerfect Doctor Who book!

Stars: *****

Falls the Shadow This book is hard to find!

By Daniel O'Mahony

This book is one of the hardest to find, and not all that interesting. Despide the carniverous plants on the front they are only in a few brief scenes. The two mysterious figures also shown on the cover are more interesting, but how many omnipotent aliens can you meet? The Gray Man is by far the most interesting character in the book. Some of the sequences near the end are great.

This book is one of the hardest to find in the entire series. It was printed during the time no one was importing Doctor Who books. There were few copies that ever made it into the states. Most of those which did came in that last mad rush (a year or two after the publicaiton date) just before the books were destroyed due to the lisince running out. It is very hard to find! The next few books are also hard to find as a result, but not as hard to find as this one!
Stars: ***

Parasite

By Jim Mortimore (Lucifer Rising, Blood Heat)

The Doctor has arrived in the Elysium system. Home of the 'Artifact' For more than a century scientists have studied the ecosystem flourishing within the Artifact. The system is now collapsing and even the humans trapped inside are changing into something new. Guess what?! One by one the scientist are being murdered.
Fun reading... Too many people getting killed off. Interesting, well described settings.

Stars: ***

Warlock

By Andrew Cartmel (Cat's Cradle:Warhead)

This is a sequel to his disturbing cyberpunk story. There is a new drug on the street called Warlock. Benny is working as an undercover cop trying to track down the source. Ace is trapped in a horrific animal experimentation lab. Only the Doctor has begun to guess the terrible truth about warlock.
Well worth reading! Interesting new characters and a few returning favorites.

Stars: *****

Set Piece

By Kate Orman (The Left-Handed Hummingbird)

Another rip in the fabric of space (is this a reference to old movie making? Spaceships on strings in front of a piece of black cloth?) and the Doctor and Ace allow themselves to be captured. Bernice rescue attempt goes bad and all three are scattered through time. Ace is stranded in ancient Egypt. There she is pursued by mechanical creatures whom she saw kill the Doctor.
Interesting bits in Egypt are the star of this story. Well actually Ace is. This is the last story with Ace in it. I have no idea why. Anyhow the ending in France appears rushed but is still interesting. The strange ant like aliens are interesting in the beginning, Oh, and the frst character we meet gets killed off fairly early. Stars: ***
Infinite Requiem

By Daniel Blythe (The Dimension Riders)

The back of the book describes Sensopaths. Their minds are tuned to the collective unconscious, their powers have been unleashed into the physical world. One by one the TARDIS has located them.
Far better than the Dimension Riders. Some old returning characters. Doctor apears to be a bit more sneaky than usual. Interesting aliens and intergalactic conflict.

Stars: *** 12-99

Sanctuary 4-01 (Hey , it was very hard to read this!)

By David A. McIntee (White Darkness, First Frontier)

The Doctor and Bernice are stranded in medieval France. The Doctor and Bernice are quick to become embroiled in local events. The Doctor starts investigating a murder. A problem with changing history develops. The cover designer gets a credit on the back cover (Slater-Anderson). The author gives a brief introduction.

Another historical adventure by the wonderful author who brought you First Frontier and White Darkness now reaches even farther into the past to deliver a sweeking epic set in the time of the Inquisition. losts of sword and arrow play should make it a fascinating book. I found the first third of the book (which just exists to set up one character) a very hard read. Unlike White Darkness (which I had a hard time putting down) and First Frontier for its sheer fun (and the fact that it was set in the US but the US was never ever like that in the 50's) I just had a very hard time reading this book. It took me almost 6 months to trudge through the first section. The Doctor begins to materialize on page 60. The relationship between Berneice and Guy is well done.. but the ending sucks! Bernice is starting to feel a lot like Ace.

Stars: * for the character development of Bernice!

Human Nature 5-01

By Paul Cornell (Love and War, Timewyrm: Revelation)

Dr. John Smith is the new head master at the school in Farringham. Bernice Summerfield is getting over the terrible events in France when she runs into a future Doctor and things start to get very dangerous. Can Benny fight off a vicious alien attack?
The unusual aliens (which have a novel method of reproducing) are probably one of this books strong points. Some of the minor characters are very notable. The sense of location is fantastic especially the setting of the school and the house of one of the teachers. Well worth reading. However after screwing over Bernice in the previous novel it seemed a bit much to do the same to the Doctor in this novel. Gripping and well plotted this will be an ammusing read. the bits at the beginning with Bernice were very good setting the novel in the pre WWI era in England. No one can write Doctor Who like Paul can. I just wish he would give his characters a little more of a break once in a while.

Stars: ***

Original Sin

By Andy Lane (Lucifer Rising, All-Consuming Fire) Fantastic book. Lousy cover!

A trip to 13th century earth on the dying words of an alien land the Doctor and Bernice in trouble as they are sentenced to death by the Imperial army. Someone is watching them. Someone who knows the Doctor of old...
Of all the new Adventures books I have read so far this one is by far the best! Serving to introduce two new companions Chris and Roz. The slug/snail like Hith aliens come across very well! the crying shame is that this is Andy's last New Adventure book. Come to think of it does the doctor hang around with a slug in some of the comics in Doctor Who monthly? I can not give any hints as to who the guest villian is. it would spoil the surprise. Andy Lane introduces us to characters who seem realistic after only a page or so. His talent for handling multiple characters in a complex storyline is truly amazing. I wish he had written more of the New Adventures. The end of the book is very abruptly as he left the next author the task of settling the new companions into the tardis.
Stars: ****** (out of 5)

This is the most recent Doctor Who Book I have read. 7-01

Sky Pirates 8-1-01

By David Stone (the author of three Judge Dredd novels) he also wrote one of the solo Benny novels and two other NA's.

Avast, ye scurvies! Hoist the mainbrace, splice the anchor and join the Doctor and Benny for the maiden voyage of the good ship Schirron Dream, as it ventures into the fungral dark air spaces occupied by the Sloathes - those villainous slimy evil shape shifting monsters of utter and unmitigated evil that have placed a system under siege!"
There are several interior illustrations and one very unusual map-diagram in the back of the book.
The back of this book was very odd. The standard blurb about the New Adventures was replaced with this...
"Stories deeper, wider, firmer, plumper, perkier, yellower, crisper and with more incredibly bad jokes than you can shake a stick at, the New Adventures take the TARDIS into previously unexplored realms of taste and stupidity."

A lot of people really hated this book. I thought it was the best book so far of the entire series. Some of the gags are fantastic. The humor is good. On the down side, there is quite a bit of sex near the beginning of the novel when Bennie and the Doctor take up working in a brothel. There is a bit of violence too. Perhaps a bit more than needed to be in the story. The pirate aspects are good. The characters are very very likable. I was glad it was one of the longest Doctor Who books to date. I was a bit sad when it was over. I wish it could have gone on longer. The same author also wrote Death and Diplomacy which introduces Bernice's future Ex husband... Go think on that one for a while.

Stars: *****+

Zamper 8-6-01

By Gareth Roberts (The Highest Science, Tragedy Day (MA Romance of Crime))

"Good morning. We're doomed. Would you like a cup of tea?"

This is the last of the Gareth Roberts novels and it is well worth reading. The only downfall is that this is another of the Who novels which follows the pattern of 'all you interesting characters are bound to die' and as such I tend not to like it. However the Chalorians (giant bionic ethnocentric hermaphrodite space turtles) are back in a novel finally worthy of their presence. The plot revolves around a planet in a pocket universe whose sole function is to create and sell superior spacecraft to aliens. Of couse there are some problems and the Doctor and his friends land in the thick of things. Benny comes off well and Chris and Roz shine under the careful prose of this writer. One of the turtles even turns out to be likable! Well done! Please read it! It would have five stars but for the sort of sad ending and the fact that this book does not resolve what happened at the end of The Highest Science!

Stars: ****

Toy Soldiers 9-15-01

By Paul Leonard (MA Venusian Lullaby and Dancing the Code )

the Doctor and Benny are following a trail of kidnapped children across Europe, which is recovering from World War I. The only clue is a toy bear each missing child was given.

This book has a great cover showing a huge mechanical contraption marching across a battlefield littered with various alien bodies.
Aside from the great cover this book is fairly good. Benny comes off well. Chris and Roz seem a bit flat but are made more realistic by the racisim Roz encounters. This book is a bit more violent than some of the others. Aside from the WWI death and descrustion many of the characters resort to eating the enemy. One character gets her arm pulled off by some very hungry Ogrons. When our main characters have their minds altered it really was quite chilling. Overall the plot is great. The only problem seems to come form the characters attitude towards the mysterious 'recruiter' when the final confrontation occurs near the end of the book. This book reads quite well.

Stars: ***

Head Games

By Steve Lyons (Conundrum, Red Dwarf Programe Guide )

Stand by for an exciting new adventure with Dr Who and his companion Jason. once again, our time-hopping friends set out to seek injustice, raise rebel armies, overthrow dictators and beat up green monsters."

This sounds like a really odd adventure. Conundrum was a really neet story and Steve was the co-author on that, so look for plenty of plot twists.
Not as entertaining as his previous book, Head games still is quite interesting. Chris falls for a girl and the end of this is not at all satasfying. Why is it that every time someone falls in love there is never a happy ending in this series. Some sexual situations are also present early in the novel.
Stars: ***

The Also People 10-29-01

By Ben Aronovitch (Transit)

'Just how technologically advanced are they?' the Doctor frowned. 'Let me put it this way: they have a non-agression pact with the Time Lords.'

I have read a lot of mixed opinions on this particular book.
Upon finally reading it I was very entertained and ammused. The book is written on a grand scale, perhaps a bit too grand for the number of pages the book runs. Set inside a Dyson Sphere the advance race being visited by the the Doctor and company has a non agression pact with the Time Lords. Overall it is a very laid back murder mystery combined with a vacation. Only at the very end does it get tense. I think the tension works so well because, especially if you are reading it in one sitting, the beginning luls you into a false sense of security.

Be warned that this books contains MANY sexual situations!

Stars: *****

Shakedown

By Terrance Dicks (Timewyrm: Exodus, Blood Harvest)

This book was an extension of the Sontaran video of the same name which did not feature the Doctor, but did feature Carole Ann Fors (Susan, 1st Doctor) and Sophie Aldred (Ace, 7th Doctor). the book which deals with the endless war between the Sontarans and the Rutans, and the Sontaran's latest plan to crous thier enemy.

I must admit that this was a pretty good story. Unfortunately it seemed very rough and contrived around the video segment. The video segment (in the middle of the book) seem.. vell rather line the Terrance Dicks Target novels of old. All the information is there. It just seems rushed and vague. (Hey without this person I probably would not be here reading this series of novels and I am not saying anything bad about this book) The beginning and end of the novel expand very nicely on the video segment. It breathes new life into a few of the characters.

This book also features several pages of black and white photographcs of pictures from the video production. Another first from a Doctor Who novel.
Stars: **

Just War 9-02

By Lance Parkin (No previous Who books, but lots of fanzine stories)

A World War II story set in 1941. This book also has an appearnace with Mel early on as a bit of a flash back. Overall this is a great story. All the major characters have parts to play. Roz falls in love. Bernice acts as a spy behind enemy lines and gets caught. Her character faces some rather heavey handed torture at the hands of the Nazi's who have invented this plance which can not be detected! Good story all around. Lots of action. Very well written and thought out!

This story was adapted inot a Bernice audio adventure which I have not listened to yet. however it looks like Bernice plays here own part and her husband plays a combined roll of the Doctor and pershaps one other character.
Stars: ****

Warchild 10-16-02

By Andrew Cartmel (Cat's Cradle: Warhead, Warlock )

The third book in Andrews "Dark Trilogy" hey.. when did it become a trilogy? If you liked the first two Doctor Who Cyberpunk novls Cat's Cradle: Warhead and Warlock you will probably like this book as well. Personally I was hoping for a better and happier ending for Creed and his family. I really liked his character. I also felt rather sorry for the school headmaster in the story who was killed off for no apparent reason. One of the stars is for the incredibly well written scenes in the house whne it under attack by the dogs. You can really feel like you are part of the action during that sequence. Read this one if you liked the others!

"What is this fluid in the life support pod, Doctor?"

"It's life support pod fluid of course!"


Stars: ****

Sleepy 11-02

By Kate Orman (Left Handed Humingbird, Set Piece)

How come she gets stuck with all the awful covers. This cover is not as bad as Set Piece, but is still dreadful. Not to many covers had Chris on them, but still... this was really bad! The Doctor and companions visit a colony being devistated by a virus which unleashes hidden psychic powers. Kate points out that all of ther books have had pyramids in them also. So if you like books by Kate Orman which have pyramids in them you will probably like this one as well. The bits with the sentient computers are rather good. The local mainframes 'agents' are quite the characters. Some of the ideas in this books are quite catchy. The carvings being translated are interesting. The bit of time travel into the past to find out what happened is quite good and very interesting. Although many of the characters are sympathetic, I just never cared for them as much as I had in past Orman novels. However almsot all of them survive alive, which made for a nice change. One star just for that change!


Stars:**** ?

Death and Diplomacy (I an currently reading this one. My goal is to get to Christmas on a rational planet just before Christmas)

By David Stone (Sky Pirates)

More galactic intrague, bash the heck out of the lesser native species, space opera. David gets a rather nifty cover. How come Kate can't have one too? Currently this reads a lot like Sky Pirates (with a bit less humor). Hmm that is not reading right. It is just like a Douglas Addams book.. but it is better as it had Doctor Who in it too! (Yes I know he was story editor... and wrote scripts.. but he never novelized any of it!) Anyhow this is like his better work! This book was published back in 1996! Boy am I ever behind in my reading! The story introduces Jason Kane (Benny's future Ex-husband) and it moves around a lot. The three different races come off pretty good. I was happy to be reading another book by David Stone. Not quite as good as Sky Pirates though. The leaders of the three races come off as very real characters. The fact that each race's army was filled up with mostly spies from the other races made for some very funny moments indeed! Well I did not make my goal. I managed to finish this book by late January of 2003.

In this book you meet Jason Kane (Bernice's future ex husband)

Last Doctor Who book with color emblem on the side of the spine. Future books still bore the Who logo, but in the form of a B&W outline.
Stars: *****

Happy Endings The 50th New Adventure Book

By Paul Cornell (Love and War, Timewyrm: Revelation, No Future)

"You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mr. Jason Kane and Professor Bernice S. Summerfield, to be held in the village of Cheldon Bonniface in the year 2010"

Everyone is coming from Ice Warriors to UNIT vetrans! Even the Isley Brothers! this looks to be a very interesting book. This novel attempts to tie up plot threads from many previous novels. Includes one chapter written by many of the series' favorite authors.

Alos features a neeto cover painting showing the wedding party. The inside cover features a guide to who is actualy in the picture. The inside back cover features a larger version of the cover painting. There was also a shiny gold box on the front cover delaring this is the Fiftieth new Adventure. The back covers are now filled with a sepiatoned time vortex and the pictures ont he front are in letterbox format. The logo on the spine changes to a B&W Doctor Who logo.

Spoiler.......... Don't get to attached. the marrige does not last for many books! By the end of the New Doctor Who Adventures it is all over. Since I have not even read to this point I'm not sure how. I just hate when people lie to you. Anyhow the next book by this master of pulling heart strings is the first New Adventure Oh No It Isn't! That story was adapted into a Bernice Audio Adventure
Stars: ?

Godengine

By Craig Hinton (Two other Dr. Who books??)

The Ice Warriors are back. They seem to be having fun with the Doctor "Marching to Mars" Another history changing plot.
Nice story which demanded the Bernice companion to make sense of things. They lament her not being there several times. I don't want to say too much about the plot as it woudl give things away. Martian society must have been rather interesting. Stars: ***
Christmas on a Rational Planet

By Lawrence Miles (No pervious novels, but a finite number of cats)

Christmas is coming to town in 1799 and the end of civilization is follwing close behind. Overall not that great of a book. Some nice bits about Roz pretending to be a gypsy are rather nice. Rather abstract for a Doctor Who book. Some characters come across very strong. The sort of watchmaker plot was odd.
Stars: **
Return of the Living Dad

By Kate Orman (Left Handed Humingbird, Set Piece, Sleepy)

Is it just me or is each sucessive book since Sky Pirates getting slightly more bizarre in concept? Bernice Summerfield was seven years old when her farther disappered. They said he turned and ran from the Daleks in battle. So what is he doing five hundred years in his own past waiting for the Doctor to arrive?

Overall a pretty good book. The bits about the UFO people torturing the doctor and his freinds were not all that good. The beginning of this book is fantastic! It was great meeting Bernice's father in this book. He also maked an appearance in the Bernice CD Death and the Daleks. Well worth reading! Lots of fun!

The cover sill could be better. At least the colors on this one are good. What does the editor have against Orman that she gets all the crappy covers?
Stars: ****

The Death of Art

By Simon Bucher-Jones (another cival servant who like Doctor Who) 6-04

Set in 1880's France this novel features political intreague and a rip in time as well as a really fantastic cover featuresing two opressed creatures.
I am trying to remember a bit about this book I liked. I guess the part where Chris says he is the doctor and plays the doctor character for a few chapters was interesting. Overall the wost of the New Adventures. I guess the part about the descriptions of the alien lifeforms was ok.

I was too generous with this before. This was the single hardest Doctor Who book to read. Some parts of it were painful. Other bits were very well written, but not relevant to the story.
Stars: *
Dammaged Goods Last book with Doctor Who on the cover 7-26-04

By Russell T Davies (The creator of Dark Season (a neeto BBC kids show))

Thatcher's Brittian is suffering from a killer drug in 1987. People are rising from thier graves (as shown in icky detail on the most revolting and detailed Doctor Who cover to date) and what parrents won't do to protect thier children.
Hard hitting would be a good way to describe this novel. Grim might be better. This is another of 'most of the characters in the story die' episode of Doctor Who. Some of the writing at the end is very impressive. The scheming and plotting doctor bits come across very well indeed. You get to know some of the inhabitants of the complex very well. Perhaps in too much detail. It is quite sad when most are killed off at the end. Some of the characters come off 3 dimensional one second, and two dimensional the next. Overall an amazing piece of writing. What a shame this series of who bookes ended so soon after this. It woud have been great to see several more adventures written by this author.
Stars: **
So Vile a Sin First New Adventure

By Ben Aronovitch (Transit, The Also People) and Kate Orman (Left Handed Humingbird, Set Piece, Sleepy, Return of the Living Dad ) Ok this book was written by Ben, but evidently he had a big hard drive creash and lost some of it. Kate steped in and finished the novel based on notes and printouts of some chapters. This is the first time Kate ever got a decent cover

The Earth Empire is crumbling, Great houses scheme and plot revenge. the Doctor returns to the 13th century fearing a nightmare from his own past. This apreast to be a big Roz Forrester novel. Her last in fact. She dies on the first page!

Virgin Books logo in red replaces the B&W Doctor Who logo on the spine. At this point Doctor Who is still in the novels, but due to legal reasons, not on the cover! This book was published after Bad Therapy, but should be read first!
Stars: ?

Bad Therapy

By Mathew Jones (The 9 Day Queen in Decalog 2)

Looking for a rest after his trip to 13th Century the Docotr tries to rest in 1950's London. however a bloodthirsty driverless cab is staking the streets. My advice: Call in Kolchak and Jack McGee and let them sort the whole thing out in the tabloids!

Since this books was published before So Vile a Sin it has the Doctor Who logo and name on it. Read So Vile a Sin before reading this sotry!
Stars: ?

Etirnity Weeps

By Jim Mortimore (Lucifer Rising, Blood Heat, Parasite)

Turkey in 2003 where Bernice and Jason are trying to find Noah's Ark. While Chris gets a job at Nasa the Doctor has to unravel the authors meaning in these unrelated events. Probably a good book! Bernice is back!?!?!

back to the Virgin logo again.
Stars: ?

Room With No Doors

By Kate Orman (Left Handed Humingbird, Set Piece, Sleepy, Return of the Living Dad, So Vile a Sin)

Wow! A Kate Orman book with a good cover! Well at least a well drawn cover. the Doctor and Chris travel to 16th centuray Japan (I bet they fit right in there!) Even though this is the 6th book Kate has written it mentions that it is her fifth on the back cover. Perhaps she leaves out So Vile a Sin which she co-authored. Chris isn't sure he wants to be a hero anymore.
Stars: ?
Lungbarrow

By Marc Platt (Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible, and the episode Ghost Light)
Currently avaliable for free on the BBC's web site!

All is not well on Gallifrey. Chros Cwjel is having someone else's nightmares, Ace is talking to herself, and so is K-9. Leela has stumbles on a murderous conspiracy. The doctor is finally returning to his home which he left 673 years ago. Time's Crucible was a very interesting novel, so I look forward to reading how he treats the Seventh Doctors final story.

The final Seventh Doctor Who story!!
Stars: ?

The Dying Days

By Lance Parkin (Just War, MA Cold Fusion )
Currently avaliable for free on the BBC's web site!


This is an 8th doctor and Benny story set in the Dying Days of the 20th Century. British astronauts are walking on Mars. And a whole lot of other stuff happens which is seemingly unrelated. It is up to the Doctor and Benny to figure out the cause.

This book ends the Doctor involvement with The New Adventures series.
Stars: ?

The New Adventures

Virgin books evidently lost thier rights to produce Doctor Who books a few books ago and had been converting the series into a new series about the adventures of that famous traveling archeologist Bernice Summerfield. Strangely enough these books are still being published today and while boks bearing the name The New Doctor Who Adventures have been destroyed, these can still be, along with a few of the above titles without the words Doctor Who on them, ordered today. It is nice they found a way to tell you about the supporting characters after the end of the series. I hope this series will go for a long time, and it looks to be very interesting.

The Bernice series continues to this day. (December 2002) with books and audio adventures on CD's. Rather than continue to add to this page I am moving the Bernice stories to a new page starting today. You can go there by clicking here!

This ends the collection of The New Adventures and the New Doctor Who Adventures which currently resides on my bookshelf. As I get around to reading more of them I will add additional comments and information. The New Adventures of Doctor Who are now out of print. Grab these books while you sill can. The remaining copies in the warehouses have been destroyed by a legal order. Some of the reular characters introduced in this series are carying on with a series of books called The New Adventures. As long as they continue to publish these I will continue to include them on my list.

.

DOCTOR WHO GUIDE

William Hartnell (1963-1966)

1st Season:

  • An Unearthly Child (Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton & Barbara Wright)
  • The Daleks
  • The Edge of Destruction
  • Marco Polo
  • The Keys of Marinus
  • The Aztecs
  • The Sensorites
  • The Reign of Terror

2nd Season:

  • Planet of Giants
  • The Dalek Invasion of Earth (Susan stays on Earth)
  • The Rescue (Vicki)
  • The Romans
  • The Web Planet
  • The Crusade
  • The Space Museum
  • The Chase (Stephen Taylor)(Barbar and Ian return to London)
  • The Time Meddler

3rd Season:

  • Galaxy Four
  • Mission to the Unknown
  • The Myth Makers (Katarina) (Vicki leaves)
  • The Dalek Masterplan (Katarina and Sara both die)
  • The Massacre (Dodo Chaplet)
  • The Ark
  • The Celestial Toymaker
  • The Gunfighters
  • The Savages (Stephen leaves)
  • The War Machines (Polly and Ben Jackson) (Dodo leaves)

4th Season:

  • The Smugglers
  • The Tenth Planet

Patrick Troughton (1966-1969)

  • The Power of the Daleks
  • The Highlanders (Jamie)
  • The Underwater Menace
  • The Moonbase
  • The Macra Terror
  • The Faceless Ones (Ben and Polly leave)
  • The Evil of the Daleks (Victoria Waterfield)

5th Season:

  • The Tomb of the Cybermen
  • The Abominable Snowmen
  • The Ice Warriors
  • The Enemy of the World
  • The Web of Fear (features Colonel Lethbridge Stewart)
  • Fury From the Deep (Victoria leaves)
  • The Wheel in Space (Zoe)

6th Season:

  • The Dominators
  • The Mind Robber
  • The Invasion (First Unit Story,with Brigadier and Benton)
  • The Krotons
  • The Seeds Of Death
  • The Space Pirates (two episodes from this series are on the tape The Troughton Years)
  • The War Games (Jamie and Zoe returned home)

Jon Pertwee(1970-1974)
7th Season:

  • Spearhead from Space (Liz Shaw) (all 16mm film episode)
  • Doctor Who And The Silurians
  • The Ambassadors of Death
  • Inferno

8th Season:

  • Terror of the Autons (Jo Grant, with Mike Yates and The Master)
  • The Mind of Evil
  • The Claws of Axos
  • Colony in Space
  • The Daemons

9th Season:

  • Day of the Daleks (avaliable on laserdisk)
  • The Curse of Peladon
  • The Sea Devils
  • The Mutants
  • The Time Monster

10th Season:

  • The Three Doctors (Pertwee, Troughton, & Hartnell)
  • Carnival of Monsters
  • Frontier in Space
  • Planet of the Daleks
  • The Green Death (Jo leaves)

11th Season:

  • The Time Warrior (Sarah Jane Smith)
  • Invasion of the Dinosaurs
  • Death to the Daleks
  • The Monster of Peladon
  • Planet of the Spiders ("retired" Mike Yates last story)

Tom Baker (1974-1981)
12th Season:

  • Robot (Harry Sullivan)
  • The Ark in Space (all on video episode)
  • The Sontaran Experiment
  • Genesis of the Daleks
  • Revenge of the Cybermen

13th Season:

  • Terror of the Zygons (Harry Leaves, last Brigadier in UNIT)
  • Planet of Evil
  • Pyramids of Mars
  • The Android Invasion (Special UNIT appearance with Harry, Benton's last)
  • The Brain of Morbius
  • The Seeds of Doom

14th Season:

  • The Masque of Mandragora
  • The Hand of Fear (Sarah leaves)
  • The Deadly Assassin (Mutated Master)
  • The Face of Evil (Leela)
  • The Robots of Death
  • The Talons of Weng-Chiang

15th Season:

  • The Horror of Fang Rock
  • The Invisible Enemy (K-9)
  • Image of the Fendahl
  • The Sunmakers
  • Underworld
  • The Invasion of Time (Leela & K9 leaves)(K9 Mark II)

16th Season: (The Key To Time)

  • The Ribos Operation (Romana 1)
  • The Pirate Planet (Douglas Addams = no novelization)
  • The Stones of Blood
  • The Androids of Tara
  • The Power of Kroll
  • The Armageddon Factor

17th Season:

  • Destiny of the Daleks (Romana 2)
  • City of Death (appearance by Jon Cleese)
  • The Creature From the Pit
  • Nightmare of Eden
  • The Horns of Nimon
  • Shada (Unfinished due to strike) (avaliable on video)

18th Season:

  • The Leisure Hive
  • Meglos
  • Full Circle (Adric)
  • State of Decay
  • Warrior's Gate (Romana & K-9 leave)
  • The Keeper of Traken (Nyssa & The Master)
  • Logopolis (Tegan Jovanka)
  • K9 and Company (special featuring K9 III and Sarah-Jane)

Peter Davison (1981-1984)
19th Season:

  • Castrovalva
  • Four to Doomsday
  • Kinda
  • The Visitation
  • Black Orchid (historical)
  • Earthshock (Adric dies)
  • Time Flight

20th Season:

  • Arc of Infinity
  • Snakedance
  • Mawdryn Undead (Brigadier) (Turlough)
  • Terminus (Nyssa leaves)
  • Enlightenment T
  • he King's Demons (Kamelion)
  • The Five Doctors (special) (avaliable on laserdisk)

21st Season:

  • Warriors from the Deep
  • The Awakening
  • Frontios
  • Resurrection of the Daleks (Tegan leaves)
  • Planet of Fire (Turlough leaves, Kamelion destroyed) (Perpugilliam Brown)
  • The Caves of Androzani

Colin Baker (1984-1986)

  • The Twin Dilemma

22nd Season:

  • Attack of the Cybermen
  • Vengeance on Varos
  • Mark of Rani
  • The Two Doctors (Troughton)
  • Time-Lash (appearance by H.G. Wells HA!)
  • Revelation of the Daleks

23rd Season

  • The Mysterious Planet (Glitz introduced)
  • Mindwarp (Peri leaves)
  • Terror of the Vervoids (Melanie Bush) (the Doctor didn't wipe out the vervoids... he pocketed a bunch of vervoid seeds early in the show!)
  • The Ultimate Foe (Glitz. Cameo by Peri)

Sylvester McCoy
24th Season:

  • Time and the Rani
  • Paradise Towers
  • Delta and the Bannermen
  • Dragonfire (Glitz. Mel leaves and Ace joins)

25th Season:

  • Remembrance of the Daleks
  • The Happiness Patrol
  • Silver Nemesis (longer version avaliable on video
  • The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

26th Season:

  • Battlefield (Brigadier)
  • Ghostlight
  • The Curse of Fenric (longer version on video)
  • Survival