The Roots of Evil

"What's Chase gonna pay us for a dead plant?"

Writer: Steve Cole

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2024

Printed in: The Adventures Before 02

Featuring: Harrison Chase

Synopsis

Discover what happened before...

What did Osgood do the morning of The Day of the Doctor?

What happened to Tegan before Arc of Infinity, and why does it involve strange sentient lights in the Australian outback?

What was the Tenth Doctor doing in a hall of mirrors, right before Planet of the Dead?

Answers to all these questions lie in an incredible collection of new Doctor Who short stories that give a glimpse into the moments just before we saw the Doctor step on screen.

From Skaro to Apalapucia, from a shop front drained of colour to Rassilon's tomb, join a host of incredible adventures across the universe with Doctors, companions, friends and foes.

Verdict

The Roots of Evil was a terrific little short story to continue my reading through The Adventures Before set of prequels! After a very strong opener in the form of The Boy and the Dalek as a prequel to the legendary The Daleks, jumping forward to The Seeds of Doom is a great idea. It’s another iconic adventure to present a prequel for and this was done in something that I would describe as a traditional manner. There was no Doctor or companion present which on the face of it did feel like a missed opportunity given how the collection started, but once I’d finished I really appreciated what I’d read. It really compliments the televised story by giving some more depths to some familiar characters from the serial. It was really good to get that dynamic between Latz and Scorby and it was great fun to have them essentially trying to rob some alien artefacts from UNIT! The concept behind what was dubbed the Junkyard amongst the soldiers was good fun and the items within were exciting! A little more detail on what was within would have been good but at the same time whilst it was amusing to touch upon Day of the Daleks, it didn’t hamper the story to not reference more. I thought their discussions about UNIT were intriguing and in particular the talk about the events of The Web of Fear were fantastic. It was interesting to learn about the cover stories out there and it was good to know that UNIT was doing its job! I liked the floral theme within the story and the focus on the eloko in particular was very good. Harrison Chase was presented very well here and you could see the makings of a fine villain that would transpire on screen. He was devious and the right level of controlled deranged. It was nicely done. I thought the mention of Osgood was good continuity and I honestly wasn’t expecting such UNIT reference but I absolutely welcomed it. It rounded things out very nicely. I liked the threat that came from Latz being cut by the cactus and knowing what we know from the televised serial, he was pretty much doomed. Of course, there was no specific mention of Krynoid but seeing the mind of Chase tick when the plant took Latz’s form was brilliant. That evil flourish was there in just the right amount. I thought the build to the conclusion was handled very well and the pace was really good throughout. It was an engaging read from start to finish and finishing in literally explosive style was great stuff! I thought it was pretty emphatic to have both Latz and the Eloko blown up but it was a neat and tidy way to finish things off and set things up nicely for the televised serial. I thought Scorby’s reaction to his partner perishing in pretty gruesome style was fantastic because he literally didn’t care. He was just happy to take his partner’s share of the purse now! Setting things up there with having him in an employ agreement with Chase and them coming to an understanding was good stuff. It was a strong little setup. Overall, a great little read! 

Rating: 8/10