Ten Stories - Seven Doctors - No Fixed Abode

Imaginatively entitled DECALOG 2, this is the second collection of Doctor Who short fiction.  And this time the theme is the Doctor's home - inasmuch as a peripatetic Time Lord can be said to have a home.

As before, the editors have gathered a galaxy of star writers to illuminate the theme.  Many of the contributors will be well known to the readers of the New Adventures and the Missing Adventures series of novels: Daniel Blythe, Paul Cornell, Andy Lane, David McIntee and Gareth Roberts are prolific Doctor Who authors.  And as before this volume also includes contributions from new writers.

In these stories, among many other unexpected occurrences, the Doctor meets a pretender to the English throne, Nyssa meets a ghost, Zoe gets lost in time, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is dismissed from UNIT, and K-9 is in electrifying form.  And the Kandyman is on Tara in a verse play in iambic pentameters.

Ten Stories - Seven Doctors - One Chain of Events

'The consequences of having the Doctor crashing around our universe can be colossal... The Doctor is a time traveller.  Never forget that, because it is central to an understanding of what makes him so terribly dangerous.  Most of us, in our tiny, individual ways are involved in the writing of history.  Only the Doctor is out there rewriting it.'

But even the Doctor may not see the threads that bind the universe together.  Perhaps, instead, he cuts right through them.  Who knows what events he sets in motion without even realizing?  Who knows what consequences may come back - or forward - to haunt him?

Ten completely new tales from the universe of Doctor Who.  Seven Doctors' lives, inexorably linked in a breathtaking chain of consequences.

As always, the editors have assembled a dazzling array of writing talent, from award winning TV script writers to acclaimed New Adventures authors.  And, as before, there are the usual contributions from talented new writers.

'He plans to destroy the world, next Tuesday.'
'How vulgar,' replied the Doctor. 'Nobody does anything of importance on a Tuesday.'

It's the sweltering summer of 1930, and Londoners are enjoying the heatwave. The Doctor, Romana and K-9 plan to take a rest after their recent adventures, but the TARDIS warns them of time pollution in the locality.

What connects the isolated Sussex resort of Nutchurch with the secret society run by the eccentric Percy Closed? Why has millionaire Hepworth Stackhouse dismissed his staff and hired assassin Julia Orlostro? And what is the truth behind the infernal vapour known only as Zodaal?

The Doctor's tribulations as he attempts to answer these questions will excite and enthrall discerning readers throughout the land.

Sakkrat.

Many legends speak of this world, home of an ancient empire destroyed by its own greatest achievement: the Highest Science, the pinnacle of technological discovery.

When the TARDIS alerts the Doctor and Bernice to the presence of an enormous temporal fluctuation on a large, green, unremarkable planet, they are not to know of any connection with the legend.

But the connection is there, and it will lead them into conflict with the monstrous Chelonians, with their contempt for human parasites; into adventure with a group of youngsters whose musical taste has suddenly become dangerously significant; and will force them to face Sheldukher, the most wanted criminal in the galaxy.

Born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Gareth Roberts has been variously a civil servant, a drama student, and a comedy writer and performer.  The Highest Science is his first novel.

Somebody's interfering with time. The Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack arrive on modern-day Earth to find the culprit and discover a Neanderthal Man, twenty-eight thousand years after his race became extinct. Only a trip back to the primeval dawn of humanity can solve the mystery. Who are the mysterious humans from the distant future now living in that distant past? What hideous monsters are trying to escape from behind the Grey Door? Is Rose going to end up married to a caveman? Caught between three very different types of human being past, present and future the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack must learn the truth behind the Osterberg experiment before the monstrous Hy-Bractors escape to change humanity s history forever.

Featuring the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack as played by Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and John Barrowman in the hit series from BBC Television.

'If anyone tries to interrupt this opening of Parliament, there'll be fireworks!'

London, November 1605. The TARDIS materializes at a crucial moment in British history. While Ian and Barbara set off for the Globe Theatre, Vicki accompanies the Doctor on a mysterious mission to the court of King James.

What connects the King's advisor Robert Cecil with the sinister hooded figure known only as 'the Spaniard'? Why is the Doctor so anxious to observe the translation of the Bible? And could there be some dastardly plot brewing in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament?

As a history teacher, Barbara thinks she knows what to expect when she encounters a man called Guy Fawkes. But she is in for a very unpleasant surprise.

'How do you kill someone?' asked the Doctor. 'Eviscerate them, crush them, reverse their particles. But do the dead always stay dead?'

The TARDIS brings the fourth Doctor, Romana and K-9 to the Rock of Judgment: a court, prison and place of execution built into a rocket-powered asteroid. There they become embroiled in an investigation by the system's finest lawman.

What connects the macabre gallery of artist Menlove Stokes with the slaughter of a survey team on a distant planet? Why is Margo, chief of security, behaving so strangely? And which old enemies of the Doctor are aboard the unmarked spaceship making its way towards the Rock?

Tomorrow, Tragedy Day.  Tomorrow, total control.

In Empire City on the planet Olleril, it's time for the annual Tragedy Day - when the privileged few celebrate their generosity to the masses.

But this year, something is different. Hideous creatures infest the waters around an island that doesn't officially exist. Assassins arrive to carry out a killing that may endanger the entire universe. A being known as the Supreme One tests horrific weapons. And a secret order of monks observes the growing chaos.

Five minutes after they arrive on Olleril, the TARDIS crew know they want to leave. But Ace is imprisoned in a sinister refugee camp, and Bernice and the Doctor are in the custody of a brutal police gang. There is no way out.

'Destroy them! Destroy them all - now!'

Barclow - an Earth-type planet on the fringes of space at an inestimably distant point in the future. Two factions have laid claim to it: humans from the nearby colony world of Metralubit, and a small group of Chelonian troopers. But in nearly two hundred years of conflict not one shot has been fired in anger, there are regular socials in the trenches and the military commanders are the best of friends.

The Doctor, Romana and K-9, arriving in the midst of these bizarre hostilities, find there's real trouble to come. A crucial election on Metralubit is looming, and K-9 is forced to begin a new career as a politician. Meanwhile, Romana meets an old friend and the Doctor discovers that a sinister hidden force may be attempting to alter the war's friendly nature.

What are the plans of Galatea, the leader of the beautiful robotic Femdroids? Who is killing soldiers on both sides of the battle lines? And will K-9's oratory save the day?

Just what is going on?

'Good morning. We're doomed. Would you like a cup of tea?'

On the far side of a break in the fabric of space is the planet Zamper, home of a secretive organization that constructs and sells the mightiest warships in the galaxy. It is to Zamper that the last warriors of the fallen Chelonian Empire have come in a final attempt to restore their race's glory.

Separated from the TARDIS, the Doctor and his companions are intrigued by the bizarre operations on Zamper. Why are accidents and power failures afflicting the planet? What is the true agenda of the mysterious Management? And what are the strange powers of the alien shipbuilders?