The Ambush

"The Yeti surrounded the truck. A strange mist shot out of the guns they held..."

Writer: Andy Frankham-Allen

Format: Short Story

Released: February 2015

Printed in: DWM 483

Featuring: Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart

Synopsis 

Prior to the arrival of a mysterious blue box in London's Underground, Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart and his cohorts are doing their best to thwart the invasion of the Yeti. 

Verdict 

The Ambush was a superb introductory prelude to the upcoming Lethbridge-Stewart novel range from Candy Jar Books! What a wonderful little idea it was to give us a prequel of sorts inside the pages of Doctor Who Magazine! As if the final instalment of the comic strip adventure The Instruments of War wasn't enough in terms of continuity stories, we get this terrific little bit of prose! I love how the story was set immediately before the Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria's arrival into the London Underground during The Web of Fear! I know the range is called Lethbridge-Stewart and the focus should firmly be on the character who would later become the Brigadier, but judging by this prelude it seems the stories will be from the point of view of Lethbridge-Stewart himself but not in the same fashion as James Goss's writing in The Blood Cell. I really didn't like that so hopefully that isn't the case here! I loved the mini interview with Shaun Russell, the head of publishing at Candy Jar Books (one of the main people responsible for this range), and I was excited to learn that they had secured the rights to all things created by Mervyn Haisman! This leaves us open to stories featuring the Yeti and it was confirmed that we'd get a return of a much upgraded Dominators accompanied by the Quarks! I really can't wait for that one, I love a return of a Classic villain no matter the format! It was pretty much confirmed that after the first batch of four books that'll hit stores quarterly starting in February, we'll get another four in 2016 with an exciting prequel to a Classic story promised. I like the idea of this range being released quarterly as it'll leave us anticipating the next release. I found the claim that these novels will be similar to the old Virgin range intriguing as they were just before my time in terms of release or me discovering this wonderful world of Doctor Who so I look forward to getting a taste of what they were like. Of course, I have delved into a couple of the novels and am yet to read my recently purchased copy of Transit, a book I believe to be from the Virgin New Adventures range. The little story we had here over three pages was very good and I loved the accompanying illustrations! They really were superb. The destructive nature of the Yeti was depicted really well and similarly to how they appeared on television in the serial that this story was set immediately before. The horror of the web was captured superbly and it just set up The Web of Fear magnificently. The arrival of the Doctor, though not named, was fantastic and I liked the mention of how this meeting would prove to be one of the most important meetings in the life of young Colonel Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. One he'd never forget. Overall, short but very sweet! I've certainly got a taste for this brand new range of novels now and that's exactly what the story was aimed to do. 

Rating: 8/10