Doctor Who: The Ancestor Cell

Eighth Doctor Adventures #36

by Peter Anghelides, Stephen Cole

The Doctor's not the man he was. But what has he become? An old enemy -- Faction Paradox, a cult of time-travelling voodoo terrorists -- is finally making him one of its own. These rebels have a mission for him, one that will deliver him into the hands of his own people, who have decreed that he must die. Except now, it seems, the Time Lords have a mission for him too...A gargantuan structure, hewn from solid bone, has appeared in the skies over Gallifrey. Its origins and purpose are unknown, but its powers threaten to tear apart the web of time and the universe with it. Only the doctor can get inside... but soon he will learn that nothing is safe and nothing is sacred.

Shot by both sides, confronted by past sins and future crimes, the Doctor finds himself a prisoner of his own actions.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Fantasy, Time Travel, Media Tie In

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 3, 2001

About the author

Anghelides' first published work was the short story "Moving On" in the third volume of the Virgin Decalog collections, which led to further short stories in the fourth collection and then in two of the BBC Short Trips collections that followed. In January 1998, his first novel Kursaal was published as part of BBC Books' Eighth Doctor Adventures series on books. Anghelides subsequently wrote two more novels for the range, Frontier Worlds in November 1999, which was named "Best Eighth Doctor Novel" in the annual Doctor Who Magazine poll of its readers, and the The Ancestor Cell in July 2000 (co-written with departing editor Stephen Cole). The Ancestor Cell was placed ninth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelisation or TV tie-in novel" category of that year.

Anghelides also wrote several short stories for a variety of Big Finish Productions' Short Trips and Bernice Summerfield collections. This led, in November 2002, to the production of his first audio adventure for Big Finish, the play Sarah Jane Smith: Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre.

In 2008, he wrote a comic which featured on the Doctor Who website

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's quite an accomplishment to wrap up so many story strands during the early EDA's in this one volume, as the 'War' arc is finally concluded.

There's closure to the Compassion's journey whilst at the same time The Doctor must face Fraction Paradox one final time.

I could only imagine how impactful this novel must have been on initial publication.

It's important to have read the other books in the series, though the continuing continuity references help make this an enjoyable fast paced read.

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the Doctor Who Novels that should not be tread lightly as this is the Conclusion to the Faction Paradox Arc and the War in Heaven (Time War) arc that both of them started in the highly praised novel Alien Bodies

So, this novel is kinda fast-paced but there are some scenes that felt that they go longer than they suppose to. The writing is fine, nor I don't understand why this book needs over 50 chapters but I can't complain as it does make the reading quite of a breeze as I will say that this novel is rather a mess, It tries to do many things and it just got convoluted.

The further I have gotten to this Novel and I see the Parallels with NuWho and that is with the Time War, especially with the leading fate with the destruction of Gallifrey.

I also rather like that the Eighth Doctor is not the protagonist (He's not the antagonist either) in this book, that I can't explain it, it's more that you have to experience that for yourself.

So what I like is the Fitz and Father Kriener revelation, the Edifice in the structure of giant flower that hovers in the Skies of Gallifrey is the Doctor's TARDIS.

One thing I don’t like is the reveal of who The Enemy are that the Time Lords of combating against.

The Story is not bad, the conclusions to the arcs are not strong but this book does leave an impression.

[Corey Dutson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now THIS is how you write a Doctor Who book. Goddamned Epic, that's what this is.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

at times pretty interesting, at times quite exciting, at times impressively dark, and yet also deeply, deeply flawed..

of course the fitz/doctor/compassion stuff is very compelling and satisfying, with their characterisation being done very well. I especially enjoyed the doctor’s reunion with father kreiner, the angst!!

but there’s also a lot of pretty mindless sci fi technobabble and dull time lord lore to get through, plus some rather silly twists, and I rather hate the characterisation of romana here. #notmyromana

it is incredible how this book is just .. the time war though. I knew there were big parallels and similarities between the eda war and the new who idea of a time war, but this is the latter’s time war even down to the minute details, with the doctor deciding to destroy gallifrey as a ‘lesser evil’ because the war will turn the time lords into monsters, and in the hope of also destroying himself. that can’t be just a coincidence, surely?

[Gareth · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

I can hazard a guess why Lawrence Miles didn’t come back to resolve his many plot threads from Alien Bodies and Interference. I doubt even he’d be able to do a good job of it, however, as the intervening books have let many of these ideas lapse. The Ancestor Cell then has to resolve lots of things from a standing start: the result is a frenzy of half-baked resolutions with, at the very least, a decent amount of action and a constant pace.

It sends Compassion on her way; gets rid of Faction Paradox and the Enemy; sets up the next phase of the books (an amnesiac stay on Earth for the Doctor); and makes you generally wonder what the point of books like Interference even was, since apparently no one wanted to pick up the baton afterwards. It could have been less readable, but unfortunately it’s still a mess.

[Rae Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ancestor Cell is the thirty-sixth instalment of the Eighth Doctor Adventures and the climax of the Doctor’s altered timeline. The Doctor struggles to resist the Faction Paradox virus while trying to stop the Time Lords capturing Compassion to ‘mother’ a new generation of TARDISes. Meanwhile, a mysterious Edifice has materialised above Gallifrey, accessible only to him.

Character Development
The Doctor is both protagonist and antagonist in this novel. The Faction Paradox virus that infected him in Interference is revealed soon after he arrives on Gallifrey, and for much of the novel it remains unclear how much control it has—or whether he has already joined the Faction after meeting Uncle Kristeva. His mood swings, irritability, and unpredictability are more pronounced than usual, and combined with his frequent pain and the Faction’s satisfaction with his progress, they suggest he may indeed have fallen.

Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole exploit the trust both Fitz and the reader place in the Doctor, making it appear he has turned while neither wants to accept it. So when he finally appears to succumb, after confronting his future as the Grandfather Paradox, the moment is believable but still shocking.

Throughout the story the Doctor tries to avoid doing what either the Faction or the Time Lords want. The Faction seek his help spreading their anarchy, while the Time Lords want him to secure technology for the coming War—despite it being sentient and unwilling. In the end he chooses what he calls the ‘lesser evil’, destroying both sides and preventing the Time Lords falling further. He survives, but not unchanged, which feels appropriate given the cost of his decision.

Compassion functions as both companion and TARDIS, as she is the Type 102 the Time Lords want for the future War. Usually impassive, her fierce rejection of being used to ‘mother’ future TARDISes highlights how disturbing the plan is. Despite her importance to the plot, her actions ultimately have little direct impact on its outcome.

Fitz plays a larger role after becoming entangled with a group of Faction Paradox acolytes. True to form, he hides his fear behind sarcasm and ‘admires’ every women nearby, which prevents him grasping the danger around him—until he is captured and confronted by Father Kreiner, revealed to be the original Fitz, while the Fitz we know is reminded that he is only a remembered copy.

At first it seems obvious the remembered Fitz is more ‘real’, since Kreiner is so warped while Fitz retains all the original memories. Yet both ultimately display the same faith in the Doctor until that faith is tested—Fitz accepts the Doctor’s apparent betrayal, whereas Kreiner believes he is pretending.

Romana is perhaps the hardest character for fans of the original series to accept. While her first incarnation was aloof, this third Romana is almost unrecognisable. Her transformation is attributed to the pressure of ruling Gallifrey for one-hundred-and-fifty years while preparing for the War, yet so little of her former self remains that it is difficult to reconcile. Like many characters in the novel, she is driven primarily by fear to selfishly safeguard her position, while presenting her actions as necessary for Gallifrey’s survival.

Although most characterisation is strong, many of the Time Lords feel similar in outlook. Mali is a refreshing exception, judging events as they happen rather than acting solely out of fear of the future. However, her sudden emotional breakdown when Faction Paradox appear to win feels out of character for someone previously portrayed with limited emotional range. Likewise, the madness of both Greyjan and the Third Doctor’s ‘ghost’ is mentioned more than convincingly shown.

World Building
This novel concludes several long-running arcs of the Eighth Doctor Adventures series, most importantly Faction Paradox’s manipulation of the Doctor’s timeline and Gallifrey’s coming War. Even without reading the earlier books, the necessary background is conveyed through dialogue and internal reflection.

Locations reinforce the novel’s themes as well as serving as settings. The bone Edifice echoes the Faction’s bone masks while symbolising death and decay. Even the brief appearance of the Jadisary building reflects Time Lord society’s emphasis on appearance over practicality.

Earlier details about Time Lord society become important as Gallifrey’s history is gradually rewritten. The sides of the Panopticon and the number of Gallifreys, colleges, and suits all begin to diminish. The Edifice’s true identity is also foreshadowed before its eventual revelation as the Doctor’s old TARDIS.

Some inconsistencies remain. The Doctor regains his shadow inside the Edifice, allowing him to access it, but the mechanics are never explained—particularly as the shadow is implied to be of Faction Origin. The Omniscate is also mentioned without explanation, which may confuse unfamiliar readers.

Another potential inconsistency concerns the identity of the Enemy in the Time Lords’ future War. Earlier books suggest the Enemy originated from Earth, but The Ancestor Cell overturns this idea. While not technically contradictory—characters can be mistaken—it divides fans. The alternative explanation arrives late in the story and is not explored enough in detail for readers invested in the original idea to easily accept it.

Themes
The lesser of two evils is a dilemma the Doctor constantly tries to avoid, as both Faction Paradox and the Time Lords attempt to force him towards their version of it. This connects closely to ends justifying means, which both sides justify openly. Despite resisting these ideas, the Doctor ultimately must choose between joining the Faction or destroying the Edifice—an act that will annihilate everything near Gallifrey.

The novel also explores identity and authenticity, particularly through Fitz and Father Kreiner, and the Doctor and the Grandfather Paradox. Both storylines question what truly defines a person. Memory as identity is suggested through Fitz being a copy who retains the original’s memories, but this idea is challenged when the Doctor himself loses his memories.

Another disturbing theme is the effect of the War on the Time Lords and their resulting moral corruption. The Doctor realises his people have become little different from Faction Paradox, breaking their own laws to exploit the future and creating weapons fuelled by Time Lord lives. Their plan to breed a new generation of TARDISes from Compassion further highlights their exploitation of sentient life. Nearly every character is motivated by fear—the main exception being the Doctor, who experiences it without letting it control him.

Plot
The novel opens with an ambiguous chapter in which a woman encounters a disturbed man in her carriage. His dialogue later suggests this is the Doctor, confirmed when the closing chapter depicts the same train ride from his perspective.

Once the main narrative begins, the Doctor is constantly running—unable to escape either the Time Lords or Faction Paradox. Each attempt to avoid them only draws him deeper into conflict. Only after the Faction appear close to victory and the Doctor learns he is destined to become the Grandfather Paradox does he return to the Edifice and destroy it, believing he will die in the resulting explosion and in a way still running.

Meanwhile, the Time Lords attempt to secure an advantage in their future War while Faction Paradox rewrites Gallifreyan history. These storylines are engaging for most of the novel, though the climax becomes somewhat confusing due to the heavy use of paradoxes. One apparent contradiction concerns the bottle universe that is revealed halfway to exist in the space-time vortex, despite earlier indications that it had already been broken.

Despite the confusion, the overall plot remains compelling.

Writing
The novel uses limited third-person narration, with the perspective switching between characters—most often the Doctor or Fitz. Occasional chapters follow Faction agents or other Time Lords, while italicised interludes from an unknown Time Lord provide exposition about events from Interference.

Information is conveyed subtly through dialogue and observation rather than overt explanation. Symbolism appears throughout the novel in recurring motifs and details, with descriptions of location reinforcing themes and characterisation.

The main weakness lies in some continuity inconsistencies. Alongside those already mentioned, the lengths of certain presidencies seem to contradict previously established lore—though such inconsistencies are not unusual within the wider series.

Brief Quotes
‘You killed him when you stepped this side of the spiders. As you knew you would.’

‘Did I? That was just…’ The Doctor struggled for a justification, peering at the doomed Ressadriand. He could feel his eyes stinging. In the end he could only add feebly, ‘That was just coincidence.’

[…]

In his head, the Doctor heard him say, ‘You are Faction. There is no coincidence.’

[…]

The Doctor slumped against the hard bone wall of the corridor, covered his face with his hands, and began to weep. Within him he could feel his very nature altering, his priorities reordering, like a physical mutation. Like a regeneration, a fundamental change in the core of his own being.
—Chapter Thirty-one: The promise of impossibility, p. 186

Finally, the figure straightened, and she could see it clearly now. This apparition wore not bone but its own, cold face, the measure of its rank and stature. She took in the shaved head first, then the hooded, glittering glacier-eyes. The sallow skin, the cruel thin smile, aloof and alien.

She shook her hand free from the Doctor’s grasp. Unable to articulate words, she backed away.

‘My life ends as it began,’ the Doctor whispered, his face twisted between fascination and disgust at the sight of himself looking out from the podium over the Shadow Parliament. ‘Congratulations, Doctor. You’re a grandfather again.’
—Chapter Thirty-eight: Burnt-down days, p. 238

‘Just one bolt fired will drain off the last of the binding energy holding the Edifice together,’ he yelled. ‘The internal dimensions will collapse down to something the size of this stabiliser.’

The Grandfather stared back at him. ‘Gallifrey, Kasterborous… this entire sector of space will be torn apart, destroyed.’

The Doctor nodded, eyes welling with tears. ‘For ever,’ he said firmly. ‘But your entire fleet will perish along with it.’

‘You will die too.’

‘Just as well, I think,’ the Doctor said, gritting his teeth. ‘I’d never be able to live with the memory anyway.’

‘You will destroy all Gallifrey — wipe out millions of lives.’

‘I never thought I’d admit to choosing the lesser of two evils.’
—Chapter Forty-four: Ended, p 275

Summary
This may not have been the finale to the Doctor’s Faction-manipulated timeline that many fans hoped for, but it remains an enjoyable and suspenseful novel. The revelation of the Grandfather Paradox provides a memorable twist and a fittingly dark conclusion to the storyline.

Rating
Character development: ★★★½
World Building: ★★★½
Plot: ★★★½
Writing: ★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★★

Overall rating: ★★★¾ (3.7/5)

[Don Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPOILERS AHEAD
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This novel, the climax of the Faction Paradox and future war story arc, is epic but enormously sadistic. It makes the original series Doctor Who episode "Resurrection of the Daleks" look gentle. This is actually my second reading, but I evidently didn't read it closely enough the first time.

Comments, or aspects that interested me most:

The current incarnation of Romana, now president of Gallifrey, has no redeeming qualities. She is vain and arrogant (like the original played by Mary Tamm), but a cold, calculating politician. Her interaction with the Doctor in the story is actually fairly limited; but she feels no affection whatsoever toward him.

I believe many reviewers have noted this--the hero of the story is the TARDIS. Prefiguring the new series episode "The Doctor's Wife" but actually taking its theme further (while not presenting the TARDIS as a woman), the novel suggests the TARDIS intelligence loves the Doctor and would put itself to a great deal of suffering to save him.

The novel is poorly edited, with a few embarrassing typos; and the writing is just okay. For one thing, the book is full of not gratuitous pop-culture references (only a few, thankfully) but gratuitous restatements of famous lines from the original series.

Gallifrey faces not one but two enemies: Faction Paradox, and an unidentified "Enemy" the Time Lords have been preparing for with the handicap of knowing nothing about. The Enemy are revealed to be a race of extremely powerful alien organisms from outside the universe, believed to be the ancestors of all life therein.

Gallifrey's defeat is indirectly caused by what is essentially an accident. The Time Lords have a miniature universe in a bottle, which they had apparently stolen from someone else (in some previous novel) intending to use the miniature universe as an emergency bolthole from their unidentified Enemy. The bottle gets broken, and the energy released from it disturbs the Enemy (I have no idea why), who release an unstoppable energy wave that brutally destroys large numbers of people, crippling Gallifrey (already under siege by a fifth column of Faction Paradox-allied Gallifreyans) and allowing Faction Paradox to win the war.

Different authors have interpreted the Time Lords in different ways, but these authors' depiction of Gallifrey is implausible and inappropriate. In order to shoehorn their social criticism into a story it doesn't naturally belong in, the authors depict Gallifrey as having a highly pollutive industrial sector and rampant poverty and homelessness. That's absurd unless viewed as one of the time distortions caused by the Edifice: a society so advanced as to control time travel can't fulfill material needs and can't function without heavy industry?

This story very obviously influenced the Time War of the new series; some aspects of the Time War's conclusion are identical. The Doctor destroys Gallifrey in order to prevent Faction Paradox from taking over it and ruling time and space. But what happens in this book is much too violent to be be shown on television in its original form, only a massively sanitized version. The Time War replaced the Faction with the Daleks, for essentially commercial reasons.

There has probably never been a materially nastier, more graphically horrifying Doctor Who novel than this. I actually found Lawrence Miles' Alien Bodies even more unpleasant, but in a creepy and ineffable way I never understood. (I never finished it, and made no serious attempt to read Miles' postmodern filth Interference.)

Whovian readers have wondered why the editors chose to reset the novel's continuity with this book, purging it of the elements introduced by Lawrence Miles. The likely reason is obvious enough to me. It's almost certainly because Miles had made the series too postmodern; the editors' purge of the Miles elements was an attempt to pull it back in a somewhat more traditional direction while preserving the result they established in The Ancestor Cell: Gallifrey is gone, as it was in the modern television series until late 2013.

The novel may be disgusting, but I like doomsday stories, and got what I expected in this novel.

[Basicallyrun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, I had such a hard time deciding what rating to give this. On the one hand, the ideas behind it are really, really awesome (the Discontinuity Guide calls it a mess, but I disagree) and the last third or so just flew by. But. The first two thirds did seem to drag a bit as all the various players were introduced, and some of the writing felt horribly clunky to me, and oh my god, what the hell has happened to Romana? If she's had a lot of character development as President that I've missed, I can just about accept Romana the War Queen, but otherwise, dear god no.

But the good bits were *really* good. I may have said this before, but Angelhides does horror incredibly well (obviously I don't know exactly which bits are by Cole and which by Angelhides, but going on past form...) And one of them really seems to *get* Fitz as he seems in my head - wise-cracking and, yes, a coward, but not so utterly useless as he thinks. Also, I have no idea how to read the Fitz/Eight relationship as anything other than epic romance. 'You left me, I left you, but *we'll make it work*, Doctor'. (Slightly paraphrased.)

IDK. I feel bad giving this such a low rating, because the last third was excellent. But I'm not sure it was good enough to make up for some of the other bits.

[E.J. Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story very much - written in 2000, five years before the re-boot of the Television show, its an Eighth Doctor(Paul McGann)adventure, and very dark it is, too! If you haven't heard any of the Big Finish Audio adventures you might wonder who Fitz Kreiner is - briefly he is the longest-serving of the Eighth Doctor's companions and has appeared in many audio adventures and books...

The story (without going into spoiler mode) is quite convoluted and has a few twists and turns along the way - and a few surprises. It also features Romana, and mostly takes place on Gallifrey or its environs.

I can thoroughly recommend it!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally clears up the whole Compassion story line and the Time War. This is a must read, but should be read after reading others in the series. It particularly references Interference. It is a page turner, and having Faction Paradox as the bad guys really works. It is difficult to review this without giving away major plot points. Just be careful if you have a fear of spiders. A really good read.

[Jacob Licklider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawrence Miles created Faction Paradox with an intention to write stories involving the mythic War in Heaven against the future Enemy of the Time Lords. The earliest seeds of Grandfather Paradox were seeded in Christmas on a Rational Planet before Alien Bodies and Interference setup just what Faction Paradox is doing with the theft of the Doctor’s biodata, allowing Laura Tobin to become Compassion, and killing the Third Doctor on Dust. Since The Blue Angel and The Shadows of Avalon, Compassion has become a TARDIS and is being forced into becoming the template for the rest of the sentient TARDIS’s. This was meant to be a long story arc, but as Stephen Cole left the range editor and Justin Richards took over, Lawrence Miles vowed never to write for Doctor Who again, a promise which he broke by writing for Big Finish Productions as well as writing The Adventuress of Henrietta Street. To wrap up the Faction Paradox and the Compassion arc, leaving editor Stephen Cole teamed up with Peter Anghelides to write The Ancestor Cell, a book determined to end this particular era of the Eighth Doctor Adventures and bring in the new team, finishing up the Faction Paradox and human TARDIS storylines. This had the potential to be a complete disaster as it’s taking several threads and bringing them to a close all in one book. The book also may have one of the higher word counts for the Eighth Doctor Adventures, with the text being smaller than the standard to keep the page count to the approximate 280 pages of a BBC Books.

The Ancestor Cell sees the Doctor, Fitz, and Compassion split up with Compassion captured by the Time Lords, the Doctor by Romana, and Fitz taken by Faction Paradox. There is a bone flower growing in space out of the Doctor’s original TARDIS and Romana is attempting to win the War with the Enemy at all costs. Anghelides and Cole essentially take a Lawrence Miles style story and write it in the practical style of say a Target novelization making this an interesting read to say the least. There are also several horrific images such as spiders made of bone and the degradation of Fitz Kreiner into Father Kreiner. Fitz’s brainwashing by Faction Paradox is something incredibly slow over the course of the book and is really only saved by Compassion coming in and being compassionate. There is quite a lot of body horror and the voice of Father Kreiner is one of this jaded man, mad with power and an incredibly devious mind. Kreiner blames the Doctor for leaving him to die on the planet Dust, bringing back the fact that the version of Fitz we have seen is actually a clone. The modifications to Fitz throughout the book to slowly influence him into getting to become Father Kreiner. This becomes incredibly apparent when Fitz and Compassion have their final moment with the now amnesiac Doctor in the ruins of the destroyed Gallifrey. This is actually Compassion’s final story which makes it interesting as she doesn’t always appear throughout, but it makes her entrances into the plot and her contribution is her best appearance. This is the book that makes me actually really like where Compassion has been going and ends up here.

The reappearance of Romana III here is also incredibly important to make her a War Queen of Nine Gallifreys, each of which is slowly destroyed as several timelines clash. Romana blames the Doctor for starting the war, with the many Time Lord supporting characters having their own sense of madness which contributes to Romana’s madness. What makes things the most interesting is the flashes of the old Romana which are included here and there give the cold President something human and the flashes. Meanwhile Grandfather Paradox works as a cold and dark reflection against the Doctor, as a figure that the Doctor may be destined to become if he gives into the Faction. The Doctor is perhaps the most distraught as he loses everything and the climax where he is responsible for starting the War and ending Gallifrey, all while losing his memory is absolutely beautiful. Yes it has become a joke that the Eighth Doctor gets amnesia, but this is one of the few times where it has actual repercussions for future books. The Eighth Doctor is also at his most sympathetic as he just finds himself broken at the end of this book. There is an issue with the conclusion not really allowing him to react and respond, as well as essentially ending on a conversation.

Overall, The Ancestor Cell somehow manages to be a brilliant novel out of two authors who previously failed to entirely impress, making something great. This deals with the destruction of Gallifrey in one of those stories where it actually feels important, giving some emotional closure to the story arc and prepares to usure in something new. 9/10.

[Hidekisohma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yayyyyy finally done with this arc! and wow. This one was rough to get through.

So unlike the previous book, "Banquo legacy" which i got through in literally 2 days, this one took me 8. and why is that? is it because it was bad? well....no not really. It's because it was SO DENSE.

Normally when i read a book i'm at least able to do some light skimming. like my eyes can wander over some unimportant parts like descriptions or fluff. Not in this book. This book requires your complete and undivided attention. Because of just how much STUFF is going on. And the bad part, is that it's COMPLICATED stuff.

There's a lot of techno jargon and babble in this one and you have to use a lot of your brain power to focus on it.

Long story short, this is the book that wraps up the Faction paradox/doc's missing shadow/compassion arc. and boy howdy does a lot of lore relevant stuff happen in it. Is it all GOOD stuff? um... eh? was it interesting? yeah. were there too many characters and things going on at once? oh. absolutely.

Without getting into spoilers i'll say this is one of the few books in this EDA series that shakes up the status quo. having read 36 of these books now, i can tell you, if i had to give a cliffnotes version to somebody and say "these are the books you have to read in this series, i'd give you 'Eight Doctors', 'Alien Bodies', 'Longest Day' 'Seeing I', 'The Taint', 'Unnatural History', 'Interference 1 and 2' , 'Shadows of Avalon', and 'Ancestor Cell'. so out of all 36, only really 9 are mandatory reading. Now mind you i never said they were GOOD books in the series, just mandatory for the entire major story up until now.

There's a lot of Doc, Fitz, and Compassion in this one, as well as many MANY other characters. which explode of course. because random characters in who books need to die terrible deaths. it's just how it works. Speaking of which, that leads me to one of the things i didn't like about this book. the COPIOUS amounts of violence. If you like 'violence-light' doctor who, this is not a book for you. it's quite nasty at times with heads popping off, spiders eviscerating people, man, for a second i thought i was reading a Trevor Baxendale doctor who book.

The Time lords in this one are insufferable as always, including Romana who acts just as irritating as she did in 'Shadows of Avalon'. Not really a fan of what they did with her here, but... it was acceptable i guess.

I won't give any of the spoiler characters away or the ending, but i'll say that i'm intrigued to see where they go from here. The only thing i know for a fact is the next five books are the arc of "the doc by himself on Earth with no companions." So i'm interested to see what they do with that.

As for this book, as this is her last book, Am i sad to see compassion go? Well, i'll put it this way. To me, Compassion left when she became the TARDIS. I really enjoyed pre-tardis compassion. Blue Angel and Frontier worlds really had me laughing with her attitude and the way she worked. POST-Tardis Compassion was like the authors had NO IDEA what to do with her and kind of just had her fart around until they needed her for this book, either knocking her out or having her run away from the plot so she couldn't resolve it in five minutes. I've already been missing Compassion since the ending of Shadows of Avalon, so i really won't be missing this new version of her.

This was an interesting resolution to the whole Faction paradox thing and will be interested to see if and when they show up again. All in all, very densely packed story with a lot going on, even if the book at times felt like it would never end.

at the end of the day, i'll give it a 3 out of 5. Not great, not bad. Just a solid 3 out of 5.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is apparently controversial. Tasked with concluding the Faction Paradox arc in the Eighth Doctor novels, Stephen Cole and Peter Anghelides did a more than serviceable job with The Ancestor Cell. Controversial, because if I understand it, the arc was taken away from Lawrence Miles (who originated it in Alien Bodies) and is therefore repugnant to his fans (and certainly to him, as he is a very grumpy kind of fellow). Certainly, it doesn't give me the same "wow" feeling as Alien Bodies or Interference, despite all the loopy concepts. But the fact that The Ancestor Cell has to reference so many past story, going back YEARS, is part of the problem the line was trying to fix. I took a lot of things for granted because I couldn't exactly remember everything going back that far. So taken on its own, the Doctor's final battle with Faction Paradox has a lot to recommend (though perhaps not the new President Romana) and seems like a template for a lot of later Doctor Who, including all the Time War stuff, which seems heavily inspired by this. Fans of Big Finish's Gallifrey series would also find it familiar. I think it would be fair to say that it's all the big "Miles-ish" concepts mainstreamed to more basic, understandable versions. There's a lot of action, and plenty for Fitz to do. It's Compassion's last story and she's underused in that context, but I've long wondered if making her a TARDIS didn't make her impossible to write for. The unnamed Enemy is a disappointment after all this time, and even after reading it twice, I still don't understand how the Doctor beat his foe in the climax. So it's not perfect, by any means, but divorced from any kind of behind the scenes outrage, it's not terrible either.

[Nenya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faction Paradox rides again! I'd been looking forward to more of them and to the wrapup of the arc about Compassion and Gallifrey's obsession with their upcoming war, but I didn't realize it was going to be in the same book. I liked a lot of this, though I found much of the explanation for what exactly Faction Paradox were doing headache-inducing and nonsensical. I suppose that's part of the point. Less fun for me though.

Not exaaactly a zombie book, but, well, Faction's whole look with the bones and exposed skulls and ancient bodies held together by leather armor and servo-rotors...definitely hits a similar squick with me. Really liked the finality of the ending, though (of course they might still be back, but it was a good solid NOPE BYE for now).

I'm never too thrilled when Romana gets made evil, but she seemed to sort of be on our side again by the end? IDK. Love love LOVED that we get the real TARDIS again, though I won't say how. Can't WAIT to see her in action again, though I know I'll have to wait a couple more books because SPOILERS.

Oh, and Three in any form, ghost or not, can crash any Eight book any time ever. /continues shipping her tiny Doctorship

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5.
While the first 100 or so pages of this story are ridiculously convoluted in nature, the last 2/3 of the book falls into place and the action is fast-paced and much easier to follow. There are a lot of players in this one- Faction Paradox, Time Lords on Gallifrey, summoned entities, and our main cast.
The Ancestor Cell wraps up the narrative that began in Interference, and actually features more of the 3rd Doctor than that two part installment. You can see the influence that this novel had on the New Who TV series that began in 2005, and the story leading up to 9's meeting Rose (if you know, you know).
After getting into the flow of the story I liked everything that happened here, even if it was slightly depressing and quite dark. We're now off into a new series of adventures with the Doctor flying solo for awhile. It will give him an opportunity to recover from the events of this novel, and maybe discover who he really is along the way. I can't wait!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

8th ドクターの冒険。

ドクターの物語というのはこういうことだったのかと、これが最終回と言われても十分納得できる感動作。
なぜドクターがギャリフレイを滅ぼすことになったのか、50周年記念のドラマで語られた理由よりもはるかに納得できる理由をこの作品で知ることができる。
タイムロードとして、ドクターとして、この後に待ち受ける運命も過酷で切なすぎるほど切ないもの。
それでもその道を選ぶドクターはとてつもなくカッコいいヒーローだと思う。

ファクション・パラドックスという、タイムラインを思い通りに書き換えるタイムロードの真逆の存在の敵から、ドクターはリジェネレーションをする際、ファクション・ウイルスに感染させられてしまう。そのウイルスに感染すると細胞から存在をファクション・パラドックスに属するものに変えられてしまう。ウイルスに完全支配された時、ドクターはタイムロードではなくファクション・パラドックスに属する者に転じてしまう。自分の生体の変化に怯えながらも、ファクション・パラドックスのギャリフレイ侵攻を全力で止めようと奔走する。しかし、タイムロード議会は来るべき戦争に備え、ターディスをさらに進化させることを決め、そのために今やコンパッションと名乗り明確な人格を持つドクターのターディスを捕獲し、その機能を全ターデスに移植しようという計画が侵攻していた。

ドクターとターディス。
ドクターと彼のコンパニオンであるフィズ。
この関係性についても深く語られていて、とてもドキドキさせられる。
なかでもフィズのドクターへの思いは、もうとても一言では言い尽くせない。

これぞタイムトラベルものの真骨頂と言いたくなる名作。

[Barry Bridges · Rating 1 out of 5]

They say two heads are better than one but in this case two authors didn't help matters. It is clear that these novels (unlike canonical Who) are unable to be read in isolation and depend upon the reader having read the previous books in the series. I am clearly dipping in and out. The other trouble is that they were continuing a saga that the BBC has since re-commissioned making this story at odds with what we now believe to be reality. The third trouble is it's jargon filled, the prose is poor (quote: His bum felt as if) and there's no explanation as to what's gone before to get an understanding of where this novel fits in the big scheme. Others may enjoy it - I just couldn't.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be the most well written Doctor Who book I've read to date. It's simply a honest to God GOOD science fiction story, with a good flow, and great characterization. I'm not sure what The Interludes in it are supposed to be exactly, I must've missed the context clues, but I don't feel upset over it. It'll be something to figure out on rereading.

[John Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A big dumb mess.

All due respect to Lawrence Miles, who apparently lived so rent free in some Who authors heads that they childishly knocked over his ideas and concepts like a schoolyard bully kicks over sand castles.

[Akiva ꙮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as I was led to believe. Also, needs a massive TW for an important plot thread that's basically just continual rape threats against Compassion.

LIKES: Father Kreiner's arc. After all those years, he's still Fitz. I know a lot of people ship him and the Doctor; through that lens, Kreiner's death is really moving.

The Time War stuff is a mess, but if it was simple and understandable we'd never believe it was a Time War. The ideas were generally good, with one exception: THEY GOT KLEIN BOTTLES WRONG! A Klein bottle isn't closed in 3-space either, that's the entire point: it's only got one side, what's inside is also outside. Even within the plot, how do you expect us to believe that people who construct time machines out of pure mathematics would make a geometry mistake like that??

DISLIKES: Author is sexist as hell. All the female characters are described as lovingly assembled collections of curves, "inviting" lips, sexy legs and butts, pale smooth skin, etc etc etc.

President Romana's motivations NEVER make sense, she does whatever the plot requires of her and functions as a bad guy for no real reason. Why does everyone refer to her as Lady President? The male Presidents aren't Lord President, and I don't think Romana would put up with that unevolved bullshit. She's a classic woman-hating mean girl herself in this regeneration, who surrounds herself with doddering old men she can control with sex appeal, and honestly, why?

Everyone wants to "breed" Compassion like a time-traveling cow, and her humanity is constantly in question, even by Fitz and the Doctor, even though her personality hasn't changed at all. There is a truly horrifying moment when a technician thinks about running away with Compassion to travel the universe... and the first perk that occurs to him is that he can alter her appearance into his ideal sexy woman.

Compassion's "win" at the end doesn't do anything to counter the rampant misogyny. It comes across as "look, all these people tried to abuse and control her, and it turned her evil."

I was browsing my other EDA reviews, and oh look, the other Anghelides book I read, Frontier Worlds, was also full of misogynist tropes. Great.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the completion of a storylines that has been going on for a long long time.
First is the Doctors subversion by the Paradox Faction, they killed him in the past
and now he isn't supposed exist, but he does this apparently allows them control over
him. The second is Compassion and Rommana and the Time Lords want her in the future
war between them and the Enemy. The Third is Fitz himself

Compassion, The Doctor and Fitz have finally been cornered. They materialize in a strange
place and then The Doctor and Fitz are separated and arrive on Galifrey. Fitz in the middle
of a weird ceremony and the Doctor in the Panoptican. There is a large structure in the Galifryian
sky. Strange things are occuring, changes nobody notices. The Paradox Faction is taking over.
The Doctor has to take a drastic action to stop the take over.

The story was a bit to complicated and relied on actions that happened in books written
years earlier. Of course this ties up most of the plot threads that have been building
up over most of the previous books. The problem for me is that I have been reading the
books off and on since they came out so quite a few plots were lost on me.
Biggest problem is that this book was crushed under the weight of its own canon.
Hopefully this cleans the slate for the next book

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2018088.html[return][return]This is the first of the books setting up the Faction Paradox timeline which I have enjoyed. The Doctor and Fitz return to Gallifrey in Compassion-as-Tardis, and find themselves implicated in a power struggle between President Romana and one of her predecessors, resurrected by the Faction Paradox. It contains the seeds of numerous ideas which we have seen in later stories, particularly the Gallifrey audios (though they of course feature Romanas I and II, whereas here it's clearly another Romana), and ends with the original Tardis regenerating itself and the Doctor stuck on Earth with amnesia - both picked up more recently in Big Finish continuity. Most importantly it rounds off a significant story arc, going back to the start of the BBC Eighth Doctor series in some ways, and does so very satisfactorily. Sometimes Who stories playing with Gallifreyan drama and temporal paradoxes get too clever for their own good, but this is just about right. Very satisfying.

[Numa Parrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mind-boggling in the extreme. The writer does a good job of keeping a steady pace and making the Time Lords seem super brilliant.
Going to take a moment to brag that I figured out the whole Grandfather Paradox thing back in Doctor Who: Unnatural History. That was a fun puzzle to solve.
The imagery was fantastic, but be warned, it does get a bit graphic and gory. Scary spiders. Eeek.

This one is very important continuity-wise, as it finishes up several story arcs.

If you love the Doctor, you've got to read it.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a relentlessness to this novel that I find unsettling. Considering that Stephen Cole's Big Finish story "The Apocalypse Element" covers similiar ground with much more alacrity, I would recommend the audio adventure over this novel if you're looking for the ultimate invasion-of-Gallifrey story.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the part where it just barely made sense. No, really. I liked it.

[Simon Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, it baffled me a little. Another to revisit.

[Peter Camenzind · Rating 5 out of 5]

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