Celestial Intervention – A Gallifreyan Noir

"We've got the CIA out there treating history like a game.."

Writer: Dave Rudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2018

Printed in: Twelve Angels Weeping 03

Featuring: Time Lords

Synopsis 

On every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a winter...

Many of the peoples of Old Earth celebrated a winter festival. A time to huddle together against the cold; a time to celebrate being half-way out of the dark.

But shadows are everywhere, and there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, lurking in the cold between the stars.

Here are twelve stories – one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas – to remind you that to come out of the darkness we need to go into it in the first place.

We are not alone. We are not safe. And, whatever you do: don't blink.

Verdict 

Celestial Intervention – A Gallifreyan Noir was an outstanding story to continue my way through the Twelve Angels Weeping collection! This really is shaping up to be a sensation volume of stories as the first three instalments have been consistently brilliant. Having a story focused on the Time Lords in a collection of adventures centred around villains is a bit of a bold move, but it works so well here as we explore Gallifrey in the immediate aftermath of the Doctor’s initial departure in stealing a type-40 TARDIS. That premise alone was enough to put a smile on my face and I am so in favour of further exploration of early Gallifrey. The Doctor doesn’t actually appear in the story but we do learn that his departure caused quite a ruckus on the planet! The first person storytelling narrative is not usually something I am a fan of in the slightest, but here from the perspective of Maris it worked tremendously well. There was so much to cover and him being a retired CIA operative added a lot to his background and character. Having him hired to investigate the Doctor and where in the universe he could be found opened up a serious can of worms! I loved the conflicting information surrounding the Doctor with the Virgin New Adventures acknowledged nicely with the Doctor being depicted as born to the House of Lungbarrow, whilst another said he was the product of a human and a Time Lord which captured what we learned in The Movie very well. It was really good to get an in-universe explanation for a lot of the conflicting information surrounding the Doctor and his origins, with it being said that the CIA had interfered in his timeline so much that who knows what even made sense anymore. That didn’t really conflict with The Timeless Children either which of course aired two years after this book was released. It’s always nice when that happens. I doubt that Chris Chibnall read this story! Maris was under considerable strain in trying to get some answers so having him confronted by a troublesome pair that we can safely assume was the Master and the Rani was terrific. The idea of encountering very early versions of these villains was magnificent and I liked how the goatee was described as being the sign of evil. The Master didn’t quite have it fully grown out yet, but we know he’d get there! The Rani experimenting with mines was also good to consider. I was a big fan of the discussion on different types of TARDIS and the one the Doctor stole being described as in terrible condition and not even worth stealing was wonderful. The concept of type-45 and 50s being able to disguise themselves as human was sensational and definitely I would want something more of in the future. There’s so much that could be done there! Maris being the subject of an attack and surviving thanks to a TARDIS was good, and said TARDIS being outraged that the Doctor didn’t take him to travel the universe was an unexpected twist! It tied up with what we learned in The Doctor’s Wife about the TARDIS potentially stealing a Time Lord rather than the other way around. I liked that a lot and it was genuinely saddened given all of the defects of the Doctor’s type-40. But he was too big for Gallifrey. He was out there exploring and timelines rewriting, seeing the universe as it should be. He wasn’t scared to change things for the better. Overall, a sublime read! Give me a Big Finish spin-off set during this time on Gallifrey please! 

Rating: 10/10