Scream of the Shalka

"We have to bomb these people."

Writer: Paul Cornell
Format: Novel
Released: February 2004
Series: BBC Books Special

Featuring: Alternate Ninth Doctor

Synopsis

When the Doctor lands his TARDIS in the Lancaster town of Lannet, in the present day, he finds that something is terribly wrong. The people are scared. They don't like going out onto the streets at night, they don't like making too much noise, and they certainly don't like strangers asking too many questions.

What alien force has invaded the town? Why is it watching barmaid Alison Cheney? And what plans does it have for the future of the planet Earth?

The Doctor is helped (and hindered) by his new military liaison Major Kennet and his Royal Green Jacket troops. His old enemy the Master also plays a small part. During the course of this adventure he encounters a brand new race of ferocious alien monsters, and strikes up a friendship with his latest companion, Alison.

Verdict

Scream of the Shalka was a very good novel! This was probably the book that intrigued me most out of all of the titles available at my local library and even though I am still somehow yet to watch the animated story, I just had to give this a read! This alternate and thus discontinued ninth incarnation of the Doctor has always interested me and to get a chance to read the adventure in which he appears was fantastic. I thought the Doctor himself was rather interesting and I found myself wanting to know a great deal more about the circumstances that he found himself in. Why was he so dismissive of Earth and humanity now? How had he come to be travelling with the Master in an android form? When did he regenerate? I got the feeling that this was just intended to be the start of something, but then of course Doctor Who returned in 2005 with the true Ninth Doctor and this ninth incarnation quickly became defunct. I thought the story of his progress to accept and yearn for companionship again was lovely and that made Alison a really lovely character. She was brilliant throughout and the pain and torment she went through was quite staggering. It was clear that thinks were on the brink between her and Jason with them wanting different things and you knew early on that she was going to be the companion. That was good. The Shalka were very good enemies and whilst I found the Doctor never hearing of them despite them having 80% of the universe's planets in their empire a little hard to believe, they were really impressive. The scale of their devastation literally being worldwide was terrific but I thought the focus on Lannet was great. It was an intriguing place and I'm sure fans who are from there would have revelled in it. The screams being so powerful initially seemed like something I wasn't going to enjoy, but I really did grow to thinking it was very good indeed. The scream actually being a way of gaining control over the humans who heard it was intriguing and the thing that stuck with me most was that these people were under control, but they were fully aware of that fact. That was really frightening. Great stuff. The moment where Alison and Jason and co are leading the population of Lannet to the factory and a human ramp is made to get over the fence was just horrifying. It was really uncomfortable which was superb writing. My favourite passage of the book by a country mile. I was delighted when it was revealed that the Master was featuring in the story but sadly he didn't do much at all. I assume his android state was intended as a result of The Movie but I didn't like it as his character was so limited! The moment he was interrupted by the Doctor in trying to get Alison to obey him inside the TARDIS was humorous though. One thing that irked me with this adventure was how the screams of the Shalka managed to open the TARDIS doors, only for it to be forgotten about. I didn't like what was going on there at all. The ending was pretty well done though with the Doctor using the Shalka that was implanted in Alison's head to act as a microphone and become the means of sonic attack from the Doctor that resonated in such a way that the Shalka became mist. A fitting end. Kennet was a good character and his knowledge of the Doctor's history was good but more could definitely have been made of it. Alison joining the Doctor on his travels was a nice way to end and whilst things are non-canonical, I'd definitely be interested to read more from this TARDIS trio. Overall, a great read!

Rating: 8/10