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Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures #31
Doctor Who: St. Anthony's Fire
'No time. They have come. They have come at last.'
The Doctor and Bernice visit Betrushia, a planet famous for its beautiful ring system. They soon discover that the rain-drenched jungles are in turmoil. A vicious, genocidal war is raging between the lizard-like natives. The ground itself is wracked by mysterious earthquakes. And an unknown force is moving inexorably forwards, devastating everything in its path.
Ace wanted out; she’s resting on a neighbouring world. But from the outer reaches of space, a far greater threat is approaching Betrushia, and even Ace may find it impossible to escape.
With time running out, the Doctor must save the people of Betrushia from their own terrible legacy before the wrath of St Anthony’s Fire is visited upon them all.
The Doctor and Bernice visit Betrushia, a planet famous for its beautiful ring system. They soon discover that the rain-drenched jungles are in turmoil. A vicious, genocidal war is raging between the lizard-like natives. The ground itself is wracked by mysterious earthquakes. And an unknown force is moving inexorably forwards, devastating everything in its path.
Ace wanted out; she’s resting on a neighbouring world. But from the outer reaches of space, a far greater threat is approaching Betrushia, and even Ace may find it impossible to escape.
With time running out, the Doctor must save the people of Betrushia from their own terrible legacy before the wrath of St Anthony’s Fire is visited upon them all.
280 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 1994
262 people want to read
About the author
Mark Gatiss
144 books782 followersMark Gatiss (born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock.
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Gatiss has written three episodes for the 2005-revived BBC television series Doctor Who. His first, "The Unquiet Dead", aired on 9 April 2005; the second, "The Idiot's Lantern", aired on 27 May 2006 as part of the second series. In addition, Gatiss was the narrator for the 2006 season of documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, additionally appearing as an on-screen presenter in the edition devoted to his episode. Gatiss did not contribute a script to the third series, but appeared in the episode "The Lazarus Experiment", as Professor Lazarus. After his submitted script for the fourth series, involving Nazis and the British Museum, was replaced at the last minute with "The Fires of Pompeii", he eventually returned to the programme in 2010, writing the (also World War II-themed) episode "Victory of the Daleks" for the fifth series, in which he also appears uncredited as the voice of "Danny Boy". It has also been confirmed that Gatiss will be writing an episode for the 2011 season of Doctor Who, although details about the story are yet to be revealed.[19]
Gatiss wrote an episode of Sherlock, a modern day Sherlock Holmes series co-produced by him and Steven Moffat. The unaired pilot was shot in January 2009 and a full series was commissioned. This was aired in August 2010 and consisted of 3 episodes. Gatiss also starred in these as Holmes' older brother Mycroft. A second series has been confirmed, but dates have yet to be decided, since both Gatiss and Moffatt have additional commitments.[20]
Gatiss also wrote and performed the comedy sketches The Web of Caves, The Kidnappers and The Pitch of Fear for the BBC's "Doctor Who Night" in 1999 with Little Britain's David Walliams, and played the Master in the Doctor Who Unbound play Sympathy for the Devil under the name "Sam Kisgart", a pseudonym he later used for a column in Doctor Who Magazine. (The pseudonym is an anagram of "Mark Gatiss", a nod to Anthony Ainley, who was sometimes credited under an anagram to conceal the Master's identity from the viewers.) The pseudonym was used again in television listings magazines when he appeared in episode four of Psychoville, so as not to spoil his surprise appearance in advance.
In mainstream print, Gatiss is responsible for an acclaimed biography of the film director James Whale. His first non-Doctor Who novel, The Vesuvius Club, was published in 2004, for which he was nominated in the category of Best Newcomer in the 2006 British Book Awards. A follow up, The Devil in Amber, was released on 6 November 2006. It transports the main character, Lucifer Box, from the Edwardian era in the first book to the roaring Twenties/Thirties. A third and final Lucifer Box novel, Black Butterfly, was published on 3 November 2008 by Simon & Schuster.[21] In this the protagonist finds himself serving Queen Elizabeth II, in the Cold War era.
Gatiss also wrote, co-produced and appeared in Crooked House, a ghost story that was broadcast on BBC Four during Christmas 2008.
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Gatiss has written three episodes for the 2005-revived BBC television series Doctor Who. His first, "The Unquiet Dead", aired on 9 April 2005; the second, "The Idiot's Lantern", aired on 27 May 2006 as part of the second series. In addition, Gatiss was the narrator for the 2006 season of documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, additionally appearing as an on-screen presenter in the edition devoted to his episode. Gatiss did not contribute a script to the third series, but appeared in the episode "The Lazarus Experiment", as Professor Lazarus. After his submitted script for the fourth series, involving Nazis and the British Museum, was replaced at the last minute with "The Fires of Pompeii", he eventually returned to the programme in 2010, writing the (also World War II-themed) episode "Victory of the Daleks" for the fifth series, in which he also appears uncredited as the voice of "Danny Boy". It has also been confirmed that Gatiss will be writing an episode for the 2011 season of Doctor Who, although details about the story are yet to be revealed.[19]
Gatiss wrote an episode of Sherlock, a modern day Sherlock Holmes series co-produced by him and Steven Moffat. The unaired pilot was shot in January 2009 and a full series was commissioned. This was aired in August 2010 and consisted of 3 episodes. Gatiss also starred in these as Holmes' older brother Mycroft. A second series has been confirmed, but dates have yet to be decided, since both Gatiss and Moffatt have additional commitments.[20]
Gatiss also wrote and performed the comedy sketches The Web of Caves, The Kidnappers and The Pitch of Fear for the BBC's "Doctor Who Night" in 1999 with Little Britain's David Walliams, and played the Master in the Doctor Who Unbound play Sympathy for the Devil under the name "Sam Kisgart", a pseudonym he later used for a column in Doctor Who Magazine. (The pseudonym is an anagram of "Mark Gatiss", a nod to Anthony Ainley, who was sometimes credited under an anagram to conceal the Master's identity from the viewers.) The pseudonym was used again in television listings magazines when he appeared in episode four of Psychoville, so as not to spoil his surprise appearance in advance.
In mainstream print, Gatiss is responsible for an acclaimed biography of the film director James Whale. His first non-Doctor Who novel, The Vesuvius Club, was published in 2004, for which he was nominated in the category of Best Newcomer in the 2006 British Book Awards. A follow up, The Devil in Amber, was released on 6 November 2006. It transports the main character, Lucifer Box, from the Edwardian era in the first book to the roaring Twenties/Thirties. A third and final Lucifer Box novel, Black Butterfly, was published on 3 November 2008 by Simon & Schuster.[21] In this the protagonist finds himself serving Queen Elizabeth II, in the Cold War era.
Gatiss also wrote, co-produced and appeared in Crooked House, a ghost story that was broadcast on BBC Four during Christmas 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 3, 2014
There are a two ways to follow up an acclaimed debut novel, all of which bring pitfalls to the author. You can choose a style and setting that reflects the first book, and run the risk of being seen to offer nothing more than reheated leftovers. Or you can choose a style and setting that’s so radically different from the first that people may not even believe it’s a work from the same author, but then run the risk of alienating people who expected something different. Mark Gatiss, in his follow-up to the well-loved ‘Nightshade’, well and truly avoided the first pitfall, but fell head-first into the latter.
To clarify, this is nowhere near as disappointing as its reputation might suggest. What’s clear to me in this, the second time I read it, is that Gatiss doesn’t want us to take it too seriously. It’s rather easier to see now, with the benefit of Gatiss’ brand of dark humour through his work with The League of Gentlemen, that this is where it’s pitched. But we didn’t know that in 1994, and without that knowledge it may look as if this is an uneven mess rather than a knowing wink to an audience.
There’s a decent central idea at this novel’s heart, which sees a civil war between different factions of a reptilian race whose disagreements around religious doctrine pale into insignificance when a humanoid race move in for the kill. Yes, here the Doctor and companions are on the side of the “aliens” in the face of an onslaught from a “human” monster.
And just in case we don’t realise these humanoids are thoroughly nasty, we’re treated to a scene in which one of them murders an innocent kitten. This is a scene resolutely intended to shock its audience. 20 years on, thanks to the aforementioned ‘League of Gentlemen’ this development wasn’t entirely unexpected since it’s the sort of thing that happened all the time in Royston Vasey. I must admit I had forgotten it from my first reading, and I don’t think it’s because I was so traumatised that I blanked it from my memory.
It’s an interesting move to subvert the usual expectations around humans vs. monsters, and the scenes towards the end of the book where the two reptilian factions unite to defeat a common foe are amongst its best. Less successful is the build-up to this point where there’s a hell of a lot of exposition about why the two factions hate each other so much, and a coup seems to be brewing in one camp. There’s a term for this sort of thing in ‘Doctor Who’ – “squabbling rubber”, and it’s apt. It’s hard for an audience to care very much about the argument between one two actors in a mask on television, and if nothing else this proves that the same is true in book form.
Ah, well. We’re all entitled to a misfire. This, I can confidently say, is the weakest link in the chain of Mark Gatiss’ work; the fact that it’s a pretty decent book despite its faults is testament to the supreme talent of the man. I liked the book the first time round, and I liked it this time as well. I am glad Gatiss has decided to stick to more earth-bound stories since ‘St Anthony’s Fire’ but at least he tried to do something a bit different with this one.
To clarify, this is nowhere near as disappointing as its reputation might suggest. What’s clear to me in this, the second time I read it, is that Gatiss doesn’t want us to take it too seriously. It’s rather easier to see now, with the benefit of Gatiss’ brand of dark humour through his work with The League of Gentlemen, that this is where it’s pitched. But we didn’t know that in 1994, and without that knowledge it may look as if this is an uneven mess rather than a knowing wink to an audience.
There’s a decent central idea at this novel’s heart, which sees a civil war between different factions of a reptilian race whose disagreements around religious doctrine pale into insignificance when a humanoid race move in for the kill. Yes, here the Doctor and companions are on the side of the “aliens” in the face of an onslaught from a “human” monster.
And just in case we don’t realise these humanoids are thoroughly nasty, we’re treated to a scene in which one of them murders an innocent kitten. This is a scene resolutely intended to shock its audience. 20 years on, thanks to the aforementioned ‘League of Gentlemen’ this development wasn’t entirely unexpected since it’s the sort of thing that happened all the time in Royston Vasey. I must admit I had forgotten it from my first reading, and I don’t think it’s because I was so traumatised that I blanked it from my memory.
It’s an interesting move to subvert the usual expectations around humans vs. monsters, and the scenes towards the end of the book where the two reptilian factions unite to defeat a common foe are amongst its best. Less successful is the build-up to this point where there’s a hell of a lot of exposition about why the two factions hate each other so much, and a coup seems to be brewing in one camp. There’s a term for this sort of thing in ‘Doctor Who’ – “squabbling rubber”, and it’s apt. It’s hard for an audience to care very much about the argument between one two actors in a mask on television, and if nothing else this proves that the same is true in book form.
Ah, well. We’re all entitled to a misfire. This, I can confidently say, is the weakest link in the chain of Mark Gatiss’ work; the fact that it’s a pretty decent book despite its faults is testament to the supreme talent of the man. I liked the book the first time round, and I liked it this time as well. I am glad Gatiss has decided to stick to more earth-bound stories since ‘St Anthony’s Fire’ but at least he tried to do something a bit different with this one.
June 15, 2021
I certainly think getting a kindle was one of the best things I ever did as its helping me fly through the vna range so far.
I don't know why people don't like Mark Gatiss writing, I find him quite imaginative and his writing style really click with me. Both here and in Nightshade and his on-screen works.
I actually really enjoyed this novel and I really enjoyed learning about the Betrushia lizard people.
It's a typical two races at war trying to wipe each other out but then they unite with each other to fight a bigger enemy.
The enemy kind of reminds me of the worm cat's cradle where they were eating everything but bigger.
Also, the church of St. Anthonys are a lot of religious nutters. TW for animal cruelty and well...general abuse.
The ending was a little bit sudden but I grew fond of Benny and Liso's relationship together and how they had to survive and Ren's reaction to the TARDIS.
Kind of did see few plot points coming but it didn't spoil the reading for me :)
I don't know why people don't like Mark Gatiss writing, I find him quite imaginative and his writing style really click with me. Both here and in Nightshade and his on-screen works.
I actually really enjoyed this novel and I really enjoyed learning about the Betrushia lizard people.
It's a typical two races at war trying to wipe each other out but then they unite with each other to fight a bigger enemy.
The enemy kind of reminds me of the worm cat's cradle where they were eating everything but bigger.
Also, the church of St. Anthonys are a lot of religious nutters. TW for animal cruelty and well...general abuse.
The ending was a little bit sudden but I grew fond of Benny and Liso's relationship together and how they had to survive and Ren's reaction to the TARDIS.
Kind of did see few plot points coming but it didn't spoil the reading for me :)
December 1, 2025
An odd novel with too much plot - the warring iguana armies who've both lost interest in fighting if only they communicated turn out to be pure padding - and too little characterisation - oh, it's the one with the twitch, the one missing an eye, acne boy and the is it a dwarf or a midget, make your mind up! There's some needless violence as we establish the baddy is bad because he kills a child and a kitten, goodness knows where he even got a kitten, and the Doctor is written as Pertwee. But there is a clever bit with the amnesiac bald lady that only works because you can't see her in prose.
July 18, 2013
Who could be the most suitable to write the book that sits exactly in the middle in the New Adventures series? Well, Mark Gatiss, of course. The most average Doctor Who writer of them all. And as with all things Gatiss "St. Anhony's Fire" is impossibly derivative and you have to examine it with a magnifying glass to find a single original idea. But eh, what can I say? It works and for a Gatiss story it's surprisingly gripping. It's a fast-paced read and I almost finished it in one sitting. Besides, it has an abundance of space lizard characters, and who doesn't like them? Space lizard characters are what SF is all about, baby!
Really liked this one!
Really liked this one!
April 13, 2022
Gatiss writes of aliens with sensitivity and a belief that they are, in their own way, people too. The villain in the book, such as it is, is the cult of St. Anthony. And here is where we see what Gatiss's concerns are. Cults, the military, nationalism, all are forms of bigotry because they rely on unthinking us vs. them mentality. When Ace is brainwashed by the cult of St. Anthony, that is an apt metaphor for how Gatiss sees these things - literally one gives up one's mind to the cause. The result is always tragic.
June 28, 2020
Well, uhhhh, St Anthony's Fire was... interesting - for the most part it was decent - and Gatiss doesn't write like he's swallowed a thesaurus like some of the other NA writers have had a tendency to do so that's nice too.
Sadly, it does do that thing that I deeply dislike where at times it kind of just goes too far and revels in being edgy and cruel which is a bit exhausting at this point in the run. On top of that I'm really not sure how I feel about the ending with Just a very strange choice from Gatiss, really.
But yeah, I think it's maybe just above average. There's enough going on that it isn't a total slog, but some of it is just... very questionable.
Sadly, it does do that thing that I deeply dislike where at times it kind of just goes too far and revels in being edgy and cruel which is a bit exhausting at this point in the run. On top of that I'm really not sure how I feel about the ending with Just a very strange choice from Gatiss, really.
But yeah, I think it's maybe just above average. There's enough going on that it isn't a total slog, but some of it is just... very questionable.
September 14, 2020
I have to admit when I started this, I didn't hold out much hope for it being any good. Ace was sidelined yet again, and she was portrayed as being a shadow of her former self, not wanting to get in on the action, which is totally out of character for her.
The story did pick up and develop into more than just another futile war over beliefs and culture. Some interesting guest characters emerged and as usual, the Doctor got himself embroiled in saving people and investigating a mystery.
Ace had a great plot line as well, which more than satisfied me.
I'm glad I enjoyed this because I like Mark Gatiss and I really didn't want to have to give a poor review to anything he's written.
The story did pick up and develop into more than just another futile war over beliefs and culture. Some interesting guest characters emerged and as usual, the Doctor got himself embroiled in saving people and investigating a mystery.
Ace had a great plot line as well, which more than satisfied me.
I'm glad I enjoyed this because I like Mark Gatiss and I really didn't want to have to give a poor review to anything he's written.
April 19, 2019
Another new to me VNA and whilst I had heard this one wasn't great, I didn't quite expect it to be THIS bad.
First of all I think as a general rule Doctor Who doesn't do well with religious satires or pirates. And largely for the same reason. These are complicated and need to be addressed with care, whilst anyone that wants to write has no interest in this.
Here warped versions of religions just mame and kill in a genocidal war because evil. And it doesn't go anywhere, the end is just standard explosions.
At the same time it is so overfilled with florid prose it feels like an 11 year olds creative writing class. May be in contention for the worst of the run.
First of all I think as a general rule Doctor Who doesn't do well with religious satires or pirates. And largely for the same reason. These are complicated and need to be addressed with care, whilst anyone that wants to write has no interest in this.
Here warped versions of religions just mame and kill in a genocidal war because evil. And it doesn't go anywhere, the end is just standard explosions.
At the same time it is so overfilled with florid prose it feels like an 11 year olds creative writing class. May be in contention for the worst of the run.
January 24, 2021
As might be expected, Gatiss delivers the goods with this book. It's an easy read, internally consistent and not too similar to anything that's been done before. I didn't guess the identity of the converted woman, although with hindsight there were a few clues. There were some nice links back to previous stories - as one might expect from a dedicated fan of the series - such as when the Doctor wishes he had his 'special' cricket ball from Four to Doomsday (ever so slightly ret-conning, since the ball is not explicitly special in the TV story).
This is by no means my favourite VNA, hence 3/5, but it's a very solid representation of the series as a whole.
This is by no means my favourite VNA, hence 3/5, but it's a very solid representation of the series as a whole.
January 29, 2018
I really enjoyed this book, the second one Mark Gatiss wrote for the new adventures, i re read it recently. The alien world is visually well realized and the reptile warring factions are interesting, the plot kept me turning the pages, i liked the religious elements in this as it added depth to the novel. i would highly recommend this to all Who fans 10/10
August 21, 2020
I liked the setting of the end of a civil war plus a fundamentalist cult, but the villain smacked way too much of Orientalism, plus there were a few bits that fell flat for me on top of that (like the fact that they just let the Doctor roam their ship freely at one point - I wasn't really convinced by the explanation for it).
December 13, 2023
Some excellent world-building and characterizations among the featured alien race, and an interesting threat to deal with. However, this also exemplifies some of the repeated flaws of the New Adventures line, mainly in the over-the-top edgy villains introduced midway through. If you can look past that, though, this is a fairly solid Seventh Doctor novel. (B)
April 14, 2024
I'm not a huge fan of Mark Gatiss's TV Doctor Who episodes, but I think his novels are actually very good. I wouldn't say this reaches the heights of Nightshade, but it was definitely a lot of fun. Well paced, interesting premise, fun characters- I got through this book much quicker than I normally do, and I attribute that to these qualities.
October 15, 2024
Even Gatiss dislikes this one, and there's little compelling reason to challenge that opinion unless you are really into utterly superfluous scenes of over the top animal cruelty (used to introduce one of the villains) and other such heavy-handed techniques. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
December 11, 2024
One of the best books in the New Adventures line so far. Mark Gatiss does a great job of capturing a sense of gothic horror, true to the tone of Doctor Who's Philip Hinchcliffe era with a very Catholic bent.
June 13, 2018
I adore Gatiss but his writing certainly does contain a lot of cheese.
May 1, 2010
Three stars feels a little harsh for what is a rather decent entry in the series. But whereas Terrance Dicks pulled off a story of two entirely disparate halves immaculately in Blood Harvest, Gatiss tries to make his two halves fit together and they just don't.
The main story on the alien world is excellent. The pointless war is very well evoked, and even the minor characters feel like they have proper backstories.
Meanwhile, the crusading Church is also excellent as an idea. But it just doesn't really fit, and isn't big enough to hold the climax of the story together, even if the reason for them in the main story is actually rather interesting.
I could see this making a rather good two-parter in new Who - just remove the need to have the companion involved with the Church; instead have them arrive as the cliff-hanger for part one and keep the enjoyable coup-countercoup farce stuff intact.
The main story on the alien world is excellent. The pointless war is very well evoked, and even the minor characters feel like they have proper backstories.
Meanwhile, the crusading Church is also excellent as an idea. But it just doesn't really fit, and isn't big enough to hold the climax of the story together, even if the reason for them in the main story is actually rather interesting.
I could see this making a rather good two-parter in new Who - just remove the need to have the companion involved with the Church; instead have them arrive as the cliff-hanger for part one and keep the enjoyable coup-countercoup farce stuff intact.
July 15, 2025
As usual Mark Gatiss is great at story telling. However this novel is not Nightshade. I quite enjoyed this warring society that was totally oblivious to the bigger danger at hand. I loved the set-up and pay-off for the planet’s rings and the creature. Not to mention the twist that Ace has.
The cult was a curious one. While it was thematically in keeping with the religious theme running throughout the book, I am not sure as a plot device it was necessary. It’s a shame they couldn’t have been tied to the previous civilisation that lived on Betrushia, just to bring everything closer together. Also I get the impression they were a bit too evil. “We’re evil for the sake of being evil”. The scene in which William eats a pickled baby’s cheek, was a bit over the top.
A good story that maybe could have been more polished.
The cult was a curious one. While it was thematically in keeping with the religious theme running throughout the book, I am not sure as a plot device it was necessary. It’s a shame they couldn’t have been tied to the previous civilisation that lived on Betrushia, just to bring everything closer together. Also I get the impression they were a bit too evil. “We’re evil for the sake of being evil”. The scene in which William eats a pickled baby’s cheek, was a bit over the top.
A good story that maybe could have been more polished.
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April 8, 2009http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1943995.html
An enjoyable book in the New Adventures series, with the Doctor and Bernice Summerfield getting involved in an ancient dispute between two groups of lizard-men and Ace embroiled in the external force which may destroy their planet. Benny gets some particularly good character moments.
An enjoyable book in the New Adventures series, with the Doctor and Bernice Summerfield getting involved in an ancient dispute between two groups of lizard-men and Ace embroiled in the external force which may destroy their planet. Benny gets some particularly good character moments.
August 15, 2015
This is the only one of Mark Gatiss' "Doctor Who" novels I'd call a disappointment. While there is nothing instrinsically wrong with the story, it reads as if the author's heart simply wasn't in it. The beautiful characterization of the 7th Doctor evident in Gatiss' first novel, "Nightshade", is completely absent...and the rest of the characters seem to veer between underwhelming & depressing. Consider this an aberration, and enjoy the rest of Mr. Gatiss' back catalogue.
May 21, 2008
Interesting aliens, decent characterization and not a bad story but the stuff with Ace and the religious fanatics felt very forced and tacked on. Almost like the author had two ideas for stories but neither was enough for a novel so he jammed them together.
July 31, 2012
A strong traditional book.
August 18, 2016
Pretty good. I liked the World War Iish setting.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews