Forever Autumn
Page 16
‘I’m just a traveller, passing through,’ the Doctor said.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ asked Amanda.
The Doctor shot Martha a look: See? I told you it was easier to just leave.
A voice came floating out of the darkness, beyond the crater. ‘Sounds like we might be in for a spot of subsidence, thanks to you, Doctor.’
‘Etta!’ said the Doctor delightedly. ‘In the nick of time, as always.’
Tony shone his torch into Etta’s face.
‘Do you mind?’ she said, raising a hand.
‘Sorry,’ he said, and lowered the beam, lighting the way ahead for her.
‘My, what a big hole,’ she said. ‘My garden fence is down there somewhere. Mind you, I think I prefer it without the tree. Much more neighbourly, don’t you think?’
‘Er… yes,’ said Tony.
Etta was carrying a large plate, which she held out towards the group. ‘Who’s for a Halloween cookie?’
The cookies were in the shape of bats, coated with black icing, with red dots for eyes.
‘I think I’ll pass if you don’t mind,’ Martha said with a shudder.
‘Me too,’ said Rick, then caught a warning look from his parents. ‘Then again, maybe not.’
‘Lovely,’ said the Doctor, shoving most of a cookie into his mouth. He made exaggerated yum-yum noises, and grabbed another from the plate, then, after a moment’s hesitation, a third, which he dropped into his pocket.
‘Right,’ he said, ‘well, better go. Things to do, people to see. Goodbye all. Come on, Martha.’
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and strode away, leaving Martha smiling sheepishly round at the group.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘He doesn’t like goodbyes. Well, I’d better…’ She wafted a hand vaguely in the Doctor’s direction.
Etta smiled. ‘Go on, dear. You catch up with your spaceman. And tell him… thank you. On behalf of us all. Tell him thank you for saving our town.’
‘I will,’ said Martha, and raised a hand. ‘Well, bye everyone. Maybe I’ll see you again some time.’
She doubted she would, though. That was what life with the Doctor was like. Meet people, share extraordinary times, move on.
‘Wait up, Doctor,’ she shouted, jogging after his gangly silhouette. And although she wanted to, she didn’t look back.
Not once.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Justin for opening the door, to Paul and Mark for sharing the adventure, to Gary for the guided tour, to Russell and the gang for giving us the programme we always dreamed of, and to Mike Tucker, Graham Groom, Gareth Preston and Alan Richardson for feeding the geek.
Also available from BBC Books
featuring the Doctor and Rose
as played by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper:
THE CLOCKWISE MAN
by Justin Richards
THE MONSTERS INSIDE
by Stephen Cole
WINNER TAKES ALL
by Jacqueline Rayner
THE DEVIANT STRAIN
by Justin Richards
ONLY HUMAN
by Gareth Roberts
THE STEALERS OF DREAMS
by Steve Lyons
Also available from BBC Books
featuring the Doctor and Rose
as played by David Tennant and Billie Piper:
THE STONE ROSE
by Jacqueline Rayner
THE FEAST OF THE DROWNED
by Stephen Cole
THE RESURRECTION CASKET
by Justin Richards
THE NIGHTMARE OF BLACK ISLAND
by Mike Tucker
THE ART OF DESTRUCTION
by Stephen Cole
THE PRICE OF PARADISE
by Colin Brake
Also available from BBC Books
featuring the Doctor and Martha
as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman:
Sting of the Zygons
by Stephen Cole
ISBN 978 1 84607 225 3
UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN
The TARDIS lands the Doctor and Martha in the Lake District in 1909, where a small village has been terrorised by a giant, scaly monster. The search is on for the elusive ‘Beast of Westmorland’, and explorers, naturalists and hunters from across the country are descending on the fells. King Edward VII himself is on his way to join the search, with a knighthood for whoever finds the Beast.
But there is a more sinister presence at work in the Lakes than a mere monster on the rampage, and the Doctor is soon embroiled in the plans of an old and terrifying enemy. As the hunters become the hunted, a desperate battle of wits begins – with the future of the entire world at stake…
The Last Dodo
by Jacqueline Rayner
ISBN 978 1 84607 224 6
UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN
The Doctor and Martha go in search of a real live dodo, and are transported by the TARDIS to the mysterious Museum of the Last Ones. There, in the Earth section, they discover every extinct creature up to the present day, all still alive and in suspended animation.
Preservation is the museum’s only job – collecting the last of every endangered species from all over the universe. But exhibits are going missing…
Can the Doctor solve the mystery before the museum’s curator adds the last of the Time Lords to her collection?
Wooden Heart
by Martin Day
ISBN 978 1 84607 226 0
UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN
A vast starship, seemingly deserted and spinning slowly in the void of deep space. Martha and the Doctor explore this drifting tomb, and discover that they may not be alone after all…
Who survived the disaster that overcame the rest of the crew? What continues to power the vessel? And why has a stretch of wooded countryside suddenly appeared in the middle of the craft?
As the Doctor and Martha journey through the forest, they find a mysterious, fogbound village – a village traumatised by missing children and prophecies of its own destruction.
Sick Building
by Paul Magrs
ISBN 978 1 84607 269 7
UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN
Tiermann’s World: a planet covered in wintry woods and roamed by sabre-toothed tigers and other savage beasts. The Doctor is here to warn Professor Tiermann, his wife and their son that a terrible danger is on its way.
The Tiermanns live in luxury, in a fantastic, futuristic, fully automated Dreamhome, under an impenetrable force shield. But that won’t protect them from the Voracious Craw. A gigantic and extremely hungry alien creature is heading remorselessly towards their home. When it gets there everything will be devoured.
Can they get away in time? With the force shield cracking up, and the Dreamhome itself deciding who should or should not leave, things are looking desperate…
Wetworld
by Mark Michalowski
ISBN 978 1 84607 271 0
UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN
When the TARDIS makes a disastrous landing in the swamps of the planet Sunday, the Doctor has no choice but to abandon Martha and try to find help. But the tranquillity of Sunday’s swamps is deceptive, and even the TARDIS can’t protect Martha forever.
The human pioneers of Sunday have their own dangers to face: homeless and alone, they’re only just starting to realise that Sunday’s wildlife isn’t as harmless as it first seems. Why are the native otters behaving so strangely, and what is the creature in the swamps that is so interested in the humans, and the new arrivals?
The Doctor and Martha must fight to ensure that human intelligence doesn’t become the greatest danger of all.
Also available from BBC Books:
The Inside Story
by Gary Russell
ISBN 978 0 56348 649 7
£14.99
In March 2005, a 900-year-old alien in a police public call box made a triumphant return to our television screens.
The Inside Story takes us behind the scenes to find out how the series was commissioned, made and brought into the twenty-first century. Gary Russell has talked extensively to everyone involved in the show, from the Tenth Doctor himself, David Tennant, and executive producer Russell T Davies, to the people normally hidden inside monster suits or behind cameras. Everyone has an interesting story to tell.
The result is the definitive account of how the new Doctor Who was created. With exclusive access to design drawings, backstage photographs, costume designs and other previously unpublished pictures, The Inside Story covers the making of all twenty-six episodes of Series One and Two, plus the Christmas specials, as well as an exclusive look ahead to the third series.
Also available from BBC Books:
Creatures and Demons
by Justin Richards
ISBN 978 1 84607 229 1
UK £7.99 US $12.99/$15.99 CDN
Throughout his many adventures in time and space, the Doctor has encountered aliens, monsters, creatures and demons from right across the universe. In this third volume of alien monstrosities and dastardly villains, Doctor Who expert and acclaimed author Justin Richards describes some of the evils the Doctor has fought in over forty years of time travel.
From the grotesque Abzorbaloff to the monstrous Empress of the Racnoss, from giant maggots to the Daleks of the secret Cult of Skaro, from the Destroyer of Worlds to the ancient Beast itself… This book brings together more of the terrifying enemies the Doctor has battled against.
Illustrated throughout with stunning photographs and design drawings from the current series of Doctor Who and his previous ‘classic’ incarnations, this book is a treat for friends of the Doctor whatever their age, and whatever planet they come from…
Also available from BBC Audiobooks:
Abridged readings of the Doctor Who novels by cast members from the BBC TV series, with bonus author interviews!
Available now:
Sting of the Zygons
by Stephen Cole
Read by
Reggie Yates
The Stone Rose
by Jacqueline Rayner
Read by
David Tennant
The Nightmare of Black Island
by Mike Tucker
Read by
Anthony Head
The Last Dodo
by Jacqueline Rayner
Read by
Freema Agyeman
The Feast of the Drowned
by Stephen Cole
Read by
David Tennant
The Art of Destruction
by Stephen Cole
Read by
Don Warrington
Wooden Heart
by Martin Day
Read by
Adjoa Andoh
The Resurrection Casket
by Justin Richards
Read by
David Tennant
The Price of Paradise
by Colin Brake
Read by
Shaun Dingwall
Plus these exclusive titles:
Doctor Who at the BBC: The Tenth Doctor
Behind the scenes of
the recent series
Presented by
Elisabeth Sladen
Project: Who?
Exploring the launch of
the 2005 TV series
Presented by
Anthony Head
The Dalek Conquests
The complete history
of the Daleks
Presented by
Nicholas Briggs
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Version 1.0
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First published in 2007 by BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing.
A Random House Group Company.
Copyright © Mark Morris, 2007
Mark Morris has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
Doctor Who is a BBC Wales production for BBC One
Executive Producers: Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner
Series Producer: Phil Collinson
Original series broadcast on BBC Television. Format © BBC 1963.
‘Doctor Who’, ‘TARDIS’ and the Doctor Who logo are trademarks of the
British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
The Random House Group Ltd Reg. No. 954009.
Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at:
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781846075933
Series Consultant: Justin Richards
Project Editor: Steve Tribe
Cover design by Lee Binding © BBC 2007