The Slyther of Shoreditch

"It was time to move the Hand of Omega to its final resting place."

Writer: Mike Tucker

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2019

Printed in: Target Storybook 08

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

In the middle of a Dalek civil war taking place on Earth, the Doctor sees a familiar face from his home planet. What starts as a cold beer soon develops as a mad dash through the streets of Shoreditch as a deadly Imperial faction Slyther hunts the scent of the Hand of Omega...

Verdict

The Slyther of Shoreditch was a very good little adventure to continue my reading through The Target Storybook! I thought this was a lot of fun and I love the idea of placing a mini adventure like this one during the events of Remembrance of the Daleks. That's such a pivotal serial for a large number of reasons and with there always being a lot going on with the two Dalek factions, Ace, the Counter Measures group and beyond, there's certainly enough room here for the Doctor to swan off temporarily and have an encounter with a Slyther! I think it's a really good move to bring back a Slyther and incorporate it into the Dalek civil war and I just love that it gets to return here, with some amusing illustrations at the start of the story, following the debut in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. That is such a good serial in of itself so connecting it here with Remembrance is just delightful. I was a little taken aback by the return of the Time Lord we saw instruct the Fourth Doctor to wipe out the Daleks at the beginning of Genesis of the Daleks so the encounter with the seventh incarnation here was magnificent. I think it was a missed opportunity to expand on this character and whilst we didn't necessarily need a name, a role in Time Lord society would have been welcomed. Nevertheless, there was certainly a history between him and the Doctor and the discussion of Time Lord interference in Dalek schemes and even their creation were beginning to have a retaliation. The Daleks being the ones to name the Time War was an intriguing move and something I thought was excellent. Of course, Remembrance ends with the Doctor sending Skaro supernova so that's quite a move against the Daleks on behalf of the Time Lords, but the fact that they were already planning a temporal war after learning of the Time Lord efforts to stop their creation was fantastic. The secretive nature of the seventh incarnation continuing here was good and I liked how he didn't want to reveal that the Slyther was hunting for the Hand of Omega. The Doctor questioning the Time Lord about being in the timezone and place was good and I loved how he was wondering if it had anything to do with his first incarnation and Susan who had of course recently ran away from their home planet. I thought that was a nice touch and a good reminder of the setting. I have to say that whilst it was a little bit silly to have the Doctor entering Donlevy's house to steal a pair of his long-johns, it was pretty perfect for the Seventh Doctor. It was a barmy image but one that was well suited and as they had been close to his skin, they could be used to lure the Slyther away due to their proximity with the Hand of Omega. That device being intelligent and cloaking itself to prevent it from being found was a good development as well and an idea I really enjoyed. The Time Lord having to drive a getaway from the encroaching Slyther was quite the picture and his reaction to getting involved in events was very good. It was quite an amusing little tale and the relationship between the Doctor and the enigmatic Time Lord was very well presented. The use of the electrical power from the National Grid to emphatically wipe out the Slyther was pretty decent and certainly a final end for the monster. It was nice of the Time Lord to be showing it some dignity even after its death as it wasn't its fault that it had been changed by the Daleks. Overall, a really good little story!

Rating: 8/10