Nightshade

"Life seems to be stranger than fiction now."

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Format: Novel

Released: August 1992

Series: New Adventures 08

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis 

"I have done enough!"

Ace has never known the Doctor so withdrawn and melancholic. He is avoiding her company, seeking solace in the forgotten rooms and labyrinthine passages of his ancient time machine.

Perhaps he will find the peace he yearns for on his favourite planet, Earth, in the second half of the twentieth century – in the isolated village of Crook Marsham, to be precise, in 1968, the year of peace, love and understanding.

But one by one the villagers are being killed. The Doctor has to act, but for once he seems helpless, indecisive, powerless.

What are the signals from space that are bombarding the radio telescope on then moor? What is the significance of the local legends from the Civil War? And what is the aeons-old power that the Doctor is unable to resist?

Verdict

Nightshade was a brilliant novel to continue my way through the New Adventures books! It’s quite weird reading this knowing that the story was written over thirty years and the book cover must have looked a little odd considering I was reading most of this in the reading room at Doha’s Hamad International Airport! The New Adventures have long fascinated me and I’m liking that I’ve got past the umbrella title stories and into a singular adventure with more of a continuation theme than linked adventures. That format works well here and for the longest time it seemed like we would be saying goodbye to Ace! I thought she had a really strong story and was arguably her best from the range so far. The Doctor was acting rather grumpy and she wasn’t too keen on that, especially when she was just being ignored which didn’t feel right. It’s a little difficult to try and remember that at the time of publication, this was the only official continuation of Doctor Who following the end of the Classic televised series so it can play around with the characterisation of the Seventh Doctor. I’m certainly interested to see how far this will go as the ending of this book was certainly a surprise! The Doctor pondering on whether he could carry on with his position as essentially saviour of the universe on a consistent basis was intriguing. If he was nearly a millennium old, it’s not too much of a surprise that the weight of this task would be considerable. Did he have the right to continue to interfere? That certainly wasn’t the attitude of the Doctor I know! Ace having to buck him into gear and show that what he was doing, and all he had done, was for the good worked well and allowed her to shine. I really enjoyed the setting of 1968 and Crook Marsham! It was nice for Ace to be close in time to when she was from as she was wondering what her mum would be doing right about now. The village was also great and having it be cut off from people leaving was excellent. I did think the opening chapter was a little slow and was doing an awful lot of setup, but the benefit of that was felt as we got more accustomed to the main characters. The obvious standout was Robin who almost instantly hit it off with Ace. I was surprised that given the mature theme of this range we didn’t get mentions of them doing anything more than kissing, but it was clear that this was their relationship was heading! I thought Holly and Vijay were wonderful characters too and they had a deep-rooted connection, but that proving problematic when the former’s deceased fiancé emerged through the Sentience was terrific. I felt very sorry for Vijay as even though Holly had said she loved him, and he very clearly was mad about her, it was clear she yearned for her first love and actually claimed to still need him. That didn’t sit well with Vijay as at one point under the threat of the Sentience taking Holly over he just knocked her spark out! Well, that was a disaster and actually opened up a clear way for the Sentience to get in and brutally kill her. The Sentience were a really strong villain and I liked how they didn’t even know where or when they came from. They told the Doctor they just were and they had a constant need. Their feeding on past memories was good and I loved how all their victims and those suffering all saw people close to them. The moment the Doctor saw Susan after an earlier outburst to Ace in the TARDIS regarding her old Coal Hill school sweater was sublime. The Doctor missing his family and mentioning the likes of Jo, Jamie and Victoria as family, was heartfelt and I genuinely felt sorry for all of the loss he has endured. His comments about Ace and how he’s watched and help shaped her growing up were spot on too. She has come an awful long way since Dragonfire that’s for sure! The title of the book actually being an old BBC programme was a fun element of the story and Trevithick was a delightful character in his old age. With his show being repeated, he was enjoying a mini resurgence in fame! His sacrifice to help the Doctor and Vijay was admirable too and he was just a delight as the old Nightshade from television. The villagers used to stop and watch so they really liked his presence. Hawthorne was a less likeable character, in fact he was wholly unlikeable with his outright racism. The book was certainly written in another time as I’m not sure his unacceptable comments would fly these days even as the thoughts of a character. Residents of the village falling victim one by one to the Sentience was very good and the description of their fate was pretty horrific!  They decomposed almost instantly and the smell was horrific. That’s not a fun recipe! The Doctor seeking solace in the monastery was nicely done but even then the Abbott fell victim to the Sentience! The Doctor not being thrilled that he’d gotten involved again was a bit of a surprise given the timing of that statement late in the book, but he was doing all he could to prevent death which was surely good? Ace decoding to stay with Robin was far from a surprise and it seemed to all fit nicely with the Doctor’s sentiments about wondering if he was helping or hindering Ace. The TARDIS was the only home she had ever had, but now it was time to move on. The Doctor wanting her help for one last trip to see off the Sentience with the lure of the exploding star and then have it consumed by a blank hole was good, but the manipulation in not returning her to Robin was unforgivable! The epilogue was so sad as he had waited five months, but she was nowhere to be seen returned. That’s a shame as that would have been a worthy first sendoff for Ace, but in saying that I am incredibly excited to see how this impacts an already frosty relationship moving forward! Overall, a fantastic read.

Rating: 9/10