At Childhood's End

"If we went back to those worlds we thought we'd saved, what would we find?"

Writer: Sophie Aldred

Format: Novel

Released: February 2020

Series: NSA 66

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham, Ace, Seventh Doctor 

Synopsis

'She lifted the jacket from its hook and slipped it on. It had been thirty years since she had last worn it but it felt like yesterday. It was time to put old demons to bed...'

Once, a girl called Ace travelled the universe with the Doctor – until, in the wake of a terrible tragedy they parted company. Decades later, she is known as Dorothy McShane, the reclusive millionaire philanthropist who heads global organisation A Charitable Earth.

And Dorothy is haunted by terrible nightmares, vivid dreams that begin just as scores of young runaways are vanishing from the dark alleyways of London. Could the disappearances be linked to sightings of sinister creatures lurking in the city shadows? Why has an alien satellite entered a secret orbit around the Moon?

Investigating the satellite with Ryan, Graham and Yaz, the Doctor is thrown together with Ace once more. Together they must unravel a malevolent plot that will cost thousands of lives. But can the Doctor atone for her past incarnation's behaviour – and how much must Ace sacrifice to win victory not only for herself, but for the Earth?

Verdict

At Childhood's End was an excellent novel! I have been waiting for far too long to read this book but just as I had it reserved from Cardiff Library which was in the vicinity of my work office, Covid struck and that was the end of that. Thankfully, I received this as a Christmas gift from my girlfriend and it's been something I've been keen to read as it completes (I believe) my blogging of everything available from the Thirteenth Doctor that is currently complete. Of course, the major selling point is reuniting Ace with the Doctor after a long time apart and bringing her into the modern series with the female incarnation was superb. I liked how we started with the focus on Ace who was now much older and going by Dorothy as the CEO of A Charitable Earth, an organisation we already knew about thanks to the Sarah Jane Adventures. The continuity there was marvellous and Sophie Aldred as author was very impressive. I thought her characterisation of Dorothy was terrific and it was fantastic to learn of what she has got up to since departing the Doctor, something in of itself that is open to interpretation. Addressing the seemingly multiple fates of Ace and how departed the Doctor was magnificent with references to the likes of Ground Zero from DWM, her fate on Gallifrey as part of the Big Finish spinoff and of course the New Adventures and what went on there with Benny. Now, I haven't actually blogged any of these yet but I will get in there good time. One reference that I thankfully was aware of was that of Illegal Alien with Ace mentioning the Cybermen in the Blitz and what the Doctor did there. Ace's memories of the Doctor being something of a mixed bag thanks to the seventh incarnation's constant scheming was really great and also quite sad because of all the good they did together. The moment where she saw the TARDIS on the UFO orbiting the Moon was a powerful moment and I absolutely loved that she encountered the companions first. Her calling for the Professor only to be greeted by the female Doctor in the TARDIS doors was wonderful stuff. The way the Doctor convinced her that she was indeed the same Doctor that travelled with Ace was excellent with a quick fact file on her former companion. Ryan's reaction to that was brilliant in claiming that she sounded awesome! I thought the interaction between the Doctor and Ace was very good and it was clear that this new incarnation felt remorse for how she'd treated her companion. Ace having to deal with the new quirky and enthusiastic personality of the Thirteenth Doctor was also an intriguing dynamic. I really enjoyed Ace's opinions on the Doctor's fam and her liking of Graham because she was also in older age was a lovely thought. One of the highlights of the book for me though was the relationship between Ace and Yaz. They both eyed each other with caution and the latter being a policewoman coupled with Ace's explosive creation was mangiciecnt. I thought that was really good and there was also a sense of jealousy on both of their behalf's. The book really was all about Ace for the much part and learning of her relationship with Will was really nice and it was good to know that she'd had a positive relationship and the pair were still on good terms. Their venture to the Moon was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the Squidget that got them there. It's ability to interact universally with controls was very beneficial! Ryan was able to shine with his relationship with Chantelle who despite being 37 he clearly fancied and flirted with unapologetically! They shared a kiss which I'm sure he would have enjoyed. Kim was a really good character as a conspiracy theorist podcast host and his hanging around the bins to catch a glimpse of the Ratts, who did actually transfer from rats, was great fun. Them being the hired mercenaries of Hologi-Kari was really good and the Doctor comparing them to the Quarks and Ogrons was some nice name-dropping. His status as an agent of Fenric was brilliant and the links the story had with Dragonfire and The Curse of Fenric was unexpected but wonderfully done. The continuity there was so good and also incorporating Ace's planet hopping from Survival was marvellous! I was a big fan. The time storm that swept Ace up in 1987 being on a bigger scale now was a good premise for the plot and the charitable nature of the Ratts taking children who felt they no longer belonged was irony at its finest. The interludes with the Seventh Doctor and Ace getting involved in the aftermath of the war between the Astinger and Wraiths was very impressive and worked well in potentially giving a confirmed farewell for Ace from the TARDIS. The letter in the Coda to close the book with Ace explaining how she would stay and sort things now that the Wraiths had realised peace was the only option after being locked away in the quantum realm was lovely and just a fitting end to her story for the moment. The Doctor challenging Hologi-Kari and taking on the time storm was also a shining moment. Overall, a terrific read!

Rating: 9/10