Harry Sullivan and the Chalice of Vengeance

"The moon is now on a collision course with planet Earth!"

Writer: Mark Griffiths

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2025

Printed in: The Adventures After 05

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, Harry

Synopsis

Discover what happened after...

A remarkable collection of new Doctor Who short stories that give a glimpse into the moments just after the Doctor saves the world, and the credits roll.

The Doctor has had many adventures, visited many planets and made a whole host of friends (and some enemies). 

But if you thought it was all over after the TARDIS doors closed, and the time ship dematerialised, onto the next adventure, you'd be very much mistaken.

From Earth's past, present and future, to the furthest reaches of the universe, here are eight tales that give us a glimpse into the worlds the Doctor left behind. Sometimes triumph, sometimes tragedy (and always chaos) these are stories you'll never forget.

Verdict

Harry Sullivan and the Chalice of Vengeance was a very fun little story to continue my way through The Adventures After of short story sequels! We have now ventured into the modern era of sequels which is exciting because it opens up a whole new world for follow ons, and I think it’s a wonderful idea for the first sequel of a new era story to feature a Classic era TARDIS combination! I mean the name of the story itself is a dead giveaway on that but it’s just fun to have the Fourth Doctor tidying up something caused by the Tenth Doctor. I must say that when it comes to modern era sequels, I think The Christmas Invasion is ripe for a follow on because of the actions of Torchwood in shooting down the Sycorax ship as it peacefully departed after the Doctor sent their Leader packing. It seems that one member of the clan survived and ended up on the Moon in rather unconventional circumstances! I think the idea of the chalice and a way to mind jump for a member of the Sycorax is a little out there in terms of a survival mechanism, but it is intriguing to think that Kadvah Keggh was just having his mind or consciousness floating about until it locked onto the Moonbase and found the form of Reedmace Bodd. It seemed like she had initially quickly built a strong rapport with Harry and having Sarah Jane on hand to tease him about that was a delight. I love the dynamic between these companions and it’s probably why they have their own spinoff! They just work well and I think the first person perspective of Harry as the means of storytelling for the adventure aided that. I’m not usually a big fan of that format but it absolutely worked here as it was told perfectly to the strengths of Harry Sullivan. The only slight issue with it was that the Doctor didn’t seem like too much of a main character as we stuck with Harry while he was off fixing things on the Moonbase. I thought his reference to The Moonbase was marvellous as a fun little throwback and I also enjoyed how on the base Sarah had picked up an Ice Warrior gun as she’d remembered it from her adventure to the titular planet of The Monster of Peladon. Harry’s reaction to that in realising how well travelled she was as a companion compared to him was great stuff. I thought the threat of the gravitational shift and the Moon crashing into Earth was pretty good and I do like that Keggh was out for revenge. I think it would have been a little better and more impactful if he was in full Sycorax form instead of a woman he’d latched onto and was squatting inside her mind. It did allow a good resolution though in destroying the chalice and then the Doctor rigging up a way to get the Sycorax out of Bodd’s mind. That works well when it’s from Harry’s perspective and he’s not entirely sure of how things were put to rights. The use of the internal communicator was decent and it provided a sad moment at the end for Harry as he was invited for dinner by Bodd but before he could reply it dissolved into his bloodstream as the TARDIS dematerialised onto adventures new. Poor old Harry. Overall, a great sequel to continue the collection! A really strong read. 

Rating: 8/10