The Nightmare of Black Island

"Those monsters don't create the nightmares. The nightmares create the monsters!"

Writer: Mike Tucker

Format: Novel

Released: September 2006

Series: NSA 10

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

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 children's nightmares get worse, The Doctor and Rose discover an alien plot to resurrect an ancient evil...

Verdict

The Nightmare of Black Island was an excellent novel for the Tenth Doctor and Rose! This was a really great New Series Adventure and a book that had me hooked right from the off. I'm a sucker for a Welsh setting so I really liked the uniqueness of Ynys Du and that obviously translating into the Black Island of the title was really nice. Rose having a nightmare in the TARDIS was a strong place to start, and I loved that it seemed the TARDIS was also having the same dream! That clearly showed something was going on telepathically and the nightmare was pretty vivid with a little boy being taken and the death of the fisherman. That turned out to be Carl Jenkins who was targeted because he wouldn't be missed and the little prologue was quite sad in hindsight with him just wanting a holiday coming over the Severn Bridge and having a little escape. The description later of his fishing equipment just being bagged and thrown in the cellar was horrific. No remorse. The island was a dark place and nighttime was no place to be out in public. That meant the pub was full but it was from a usual jolly atmosphere. The reaction of the locals to the Doctor and Rose's arrival was great, and I liked how the former had no sense of being watched. We soon learned that creatures came at night and that being linked to children being asleep was terrific. I thought it was fun to use children's imagination to create nightmarish creatures, and Rose suffering the same fate and ensuring the brief creation of Daleks, Nestene and Slitheen was brilliant. I did appreciate the false herring of the Daleks as just for a brief moment it seemed like they might be responsible for events, but of course continuity with Series 2 just would not allow that. Ali was a really nice character and I loved the relationship she developed with Rose. She was a courageous child and a strong member of a gang that required completing a dare to get in. There was some nice childhood nostalgia there. I was a big fan of Morton as well as he was mysterious from the off. The Doctor and Rose putting him in an uncomfortable inspection was very good but I enjoyed how Morton knew the psychic paper told him what the Doctor wanted him to know. There was brilliant dialogue between the Doctor and Norton throughout, but for me the back and forth with Peyne in the penultimate chapter as the story unraveled was outstanding. Peyne as a member of the Cynog species was good as a villain and the description of the other members of her species having a mask and disguised as humans was great. Beth was a fun character as Ali's mum and the barmaid, and she was keen to help the Doctor and Rose where her husband was not. Bronwyn was a fun character too and her link with the past and Morton, along with losing her son Jimmy, all tied up well in the end. Balor as the god of the Cynog was a strong and powerful mythological figure and Peyne sending half a century in collecting the children that witnessed the crash where he was broken up and a part went in each child was extensive! The fact that the intelligence was in Bronwyn was a fun twist and really connected the puzzle in the end. Morton's reaction to finding out that his rejuvenation would come at the cost of every child in the village was telling that his intentions weren't all bad, but the fate of Peyne at his hands in biting her head off once he became the Morton creature was incredible. It was done so simply and effective. The role of Ali in turning off the transmitter at the lighthouse was good and having to fight sleep was excellent. Rose being asleep just as Ali succeeded was amusing, and I thought it was nice that Bronywn was the one that got rejuvenated at the end. Overall, a really great read!

Rating: 9/10