Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma

The Companions of Doctor Who #1

by Tony Attwood, Mark Strickson (Introduction)

Years after his exile, Turlough returns to his home world, Trion, only to discover great changes, including the appearance of the mysterious Gardsormr

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie In

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

For works of this author entered under other names, search also under: Catherine Christie and John Keats

British Library: Anthony Leonard Attwood, born 22 June 1947; has also written on careers and produced school texts; has also written as Catherine Christie and John Keats.

Author’s website, 30 Dec. 2005: Tony Attwood, C.Ed., B.A., M.Phil., F.Inst.A.M.; wrote a small number of novels incl. two "Blake’s 7" books and one based on "Doctor Who"; has been a composer of popular music and musicals; has written on school improvement, dyscalculia, and secondary school music

Tony Attwood (born 1947 in Southgate, Middlesex, England) is an expert in direct mail, who previously worked as a teacher and lecturer, and has written over 80 books on education. He currently lives in Northamptonshire.

Attwood was educated at what is now the University of Brighton, the Open University, and London University Institute of Education, where he gained an M.Phil for his research in music education. In 2006 he was awarded a Fellowship of the Institute of Administrative Management for his work in setting up the National Certificate in Educational Administration - effectively the first comprehensive training programme for school secretaries and administrators.

His books have been varied, ranging from a Blake's 7 programme guide and novel, a 1986 Doctor Who spin-off novel, a series of music education titles with Oxford University Press, and several works that introduced the notion of using pop and rock music as a serious topic in education. Later work includes The Improving Department, a radical re-working of school improvement ideas in the UK which challenged mainstream views.

In 1981 Attwood set up Hamilton House Publishing, a company which not only published his post-1981 work but also re-issued earlier work. Since 2000 much of Attwood's work has been in advertising and he has acted as copywriter for a number of national companies. As a result of this work he produced the web site http://www.theory.bz which sets out his theory of direct mail.

He continues to work with the School of Educational Administration, with the Hamilton Housegroup, and with Witchwood Records, (including in 2007 as a performer on one of the record company's albums).

Novels by Tony Attwood

Blake's 7 Afterlife (published WH Allen) Doctor Who: Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma (published WH Allen) Making the Arsenal (published Hamilton House) October 2009

Books on education by Tony Attwood:

The Improving Department Methods of Teaching From Failure to Excellence

"Making the Arsenal" by Tony Attwood published Hamilton House. Historical novel set in 1910.

Reference: Arsenal FC official programme 4 November 2009, page 82, article by Tony Attwood, states "contributor to fanzine Highbury High, the Arsenal player database on arsenal.com and the Arsenal History project for AISA."

Reviews

[Robert Morvay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much like the era of the show this book comes from, this tale is boring and as overly-complicated and detailed as it is uninteresting. Had trouble getting through this one.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting adventure, and what I believe was the first Doctor Who novel that was not merely an episode novelization. Now, I never sided with the majority in hating Turlough; in addition to being a companion stan in general, I also thought the premise for his joining the TARDIS crew to be one of the most interesting in the classic series. While his story line did suffer after his first three serials, it didn't really suffer any more than previous companions did once they joined the TARDIS, particularly ones who shared screen time with multiple other companions. So, when I read there was a novel that was all about what happened to Turlough after he left the Doctor's TARDIS and returned to Trion, I was excited to check it out.

The story has this strange factor wherein a lot happens and it's all interesting, but because things take off running in the story, the book feels much longer than its mere 227 pages. We're given small back story asides about the history of Trion and its status as the Home Planet, as well as with Turlough's history with his friend Jurus, but we're never really given time to sit with any of these details. It feels very much like a trial by fire -- we're given these stories and ideas while nuclear blasts are going off, while Jurus is trying to murder Turlough, while Trion is being destroyed, while humanity is rebuilding itself (all while staring at huge maggots a la The Green Death.) It felt very classic Who, but I was given no time to care about anyone other than Turlough because I had no time to figure out who any of these people really are.

I wish I could figure out how I feel about the Magician. It's said that he's supposed to be only a few years older than Turlough, physically at least, but with his speech, I kept picturing him as a middle aged man. Also, for 97% of the story he's a totally useless character. It felt like, in order for the story to work, we needed someone with the Doctor's level of intelligence. However, for obvious reasons, the writer couldn't use the Doctor, so he created another Time Lord to take his place. Attwood probably also realized that he couldn't just have the Time Lord show up at the very end of the story (as that would be WAY TOO deus ex machina), but it also meant that you have this character just kind of standing in the background, smiling creepily throughout the entire adventure. I kind of wanted Turlough to kosh him over the head one good time, just to get the smarmy look off the pretentious Time Lord's face.

The pros: the scientists talk like scientists. Turlough, as an Imperial Clansman, is an intellectual. In this case, he's a physicist who is really good at quantum problems. His friend Jurus is a gravity expert. When they discuss a scientific problem together, they talk like scientists who know what terms mean and are familiar with the theories of their field. While this doubtless makes this work a difficult one for a first time sci-fi fan, it can be reasonably well followed by anyone who has listened to the Doctor's talk about time on the show proper. This book does not talk down to its reader or assume its characters to be dumber than they are in order to have an excuse to explain a character's theories or thought processes. Even though it meant I had to slow down my reading to think through ideas, I appreciated not being treated like an idiot who could not follow scientific arguments (no matter how pseudo the science.)

In truth, this book gets a bum rep. While not the most thrilling adventure, it tells an interesting time based story and Turlough is written wonderfully. All of his faults are shown, as well as his better characteristics. And his friendship with the Doctor and how it changed Turlough for the better is showcased in a way that any fan of that friendship will appreciate.

[Dale Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the greatest Doctor Who book you'll ever read, but it's not the meritless dud some reviewers have found it to be. It is a very 80s book - the threat of nuclear attack is one of the main themes, and there's vague potshots taken at Margaret Thatcher - and certain sections of the book have dated badly, particularly Turlough's violence against the main female character, and use of ableist language in the chapter set on post-apocalyptic Earth.

But as a continuation of the Target novelisations, it does a lot of things that hadn't been done before: not only does the Doctor not appear, but it uses Time Travel and the ability to change history in ways that none of the other books did, and has an interest in real science that is rare in the range as well: at one point, the author even drops a reference to what I can only assume is the article he got most of his inspiration from into one of his character's thoughts:

Pg 71: "Turlough, with his near perfect memory, could even remember the journal in which he had read the piece - Physical Review, volume 9, page 2203" (although this is debatable, since Vol 9 of Physical Review was published in 1899 and so couldn't deal with the problems of finding a unified theory of everything, which only became an issue post-Einstein)

The prose style is functional and can veer into the expositional - the opening section where the two main characters explain to each other who they are despite having known each other since childhood is a particular low point - and often leans towards the dramatic over the believable: on Page 31, Turlough decides to visit an apparently dangerous part of his planet and declares he has a way in and out, but it will only work for him and no-one else - this then turns out to be using public transport, and he's met by an inhabitant who politely answers all his questions and waves him off on his way. Turlough in the book isn't entirely proactive either, as he is steered gently through the plot by a Time Lord character who already knows the story and what Turlough does in every situation.

But in its favour, the story does zip along. Every chapter gives you something new but makes sure that you don't forget about the two central mysteries driving the story: if you don't like one chapter, there's twelve others that are packed to the brim with ideas, mysteries and set pieces. The ending of the book is where all the memorable stuff happens, and it genuinely does go off in ways that you couldn't imagine any other book of the Target range doing at the time. At the very end, it ends up being just too overstuffed to finish satisfactorily and two characters have to explain what just happened to Turlough before they run out of word count.

The character of Turlough feels like the character of Turlough, to me at least: others have differed. He has the same inquisitiveness and self-interest that we know from his TV stories, but also a new desire to try and do the right thing for his people that he explicitly says he has picked up from the Doctor. He is strangely unconcerned about all the irrefutable evidence he gets that one character is trying to sabotage his investigation, but it all rattles along so fast it's easy to let that go.

You can see it as a first run at the New Adventures: pushing the Target format to be more novelistic, pitching at a teenage reader, more complicated and some "adult" content. It feels very much like what it was: Target trying to figure out how they would keep making Who when they ran out of TV stories. It isn't the best book in the range, but it isn't the worst: if you're a completist, you've probably already read it. But anyone who hasn't might find something to enjoy here if they set their expectations appropriately.

[John Bullock · Rating 1 out of 5]

Does this book deserve it's terrible reputation? Absolutely. I was going to give a brief summary of the plot, but when I looked through the notes I had made, I soon realized the convoluted plot actually makes little sense. A couple of examples, when Turlough originally meets the Magician on Regal, why does the Magician use animals that resemble those on the Slot island to attack them? Considering the Magician is trying to help Turlough why does he attack them at all? Why have the Gardsormr been kidnapping Trions and taking them to New Trion, if New Trion was a Nuclear test sight for Rehctaht, considering that the Gardsormr don't turn out to be the villains. The end doesn't really seem to make a lot of sense, So, this Turlough, an older Turlough, has gone back in time and is now on Trion at the same time as his younger self is still to be rescued in planet of fire, so eventually younger Turlough will return to Trion giving us Two Turlough's on Trion, but older Turlough is going to jump into Giants Drop killing himself and Rehctaht who is now possessing him. But to save Turlough the Magician Takes him out of his time line and puts him in Giants drop, where he is able to fight Rehctaht and banish her from his body. The magician then puts him back in the time line where Turlough has jumped to his death, he will be found and rescued from the bottom of Giants drop his rescuers Believing he has miraculously survived the fall. But surely that leaves the problem we started with, younger Turlough is still going to return at some point to Trion and we will have two Turloughs.
Tony Attwood is obviously trying to be clever with all the Unifying Theory stuff, but it just leads to a book full of boring techno-babble. The idea that Turlough realised Juras was actually Rehctaht because she corrected an equation he got wrong is frankly laughable.

Overall this is a very dull book, the plot is convoluted and at times makes little to no sense. The last 50 pages are more readable, and the revelation that the Gardsormr are actually an even older Turlough is actually quite good, but this in no way makes up for the drudgery of the the preceeding 170 pages. I don't think this is the worst Doctor who book I have read, but I definitely think it's the worst Target Doctor Who book.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are issues here, primarily motivation: (1) why is Turlough so obsessed with building some sort of time machine; (2) who exactly are the Gardsormr and why aren't they more developed/explained; (3) why is the visiting/observing Time Lord known as the Magician so interested in all of this...motivation questions galore. Combined with a love of technobabble and the exceptionally annoying nature of The Magician, the end result is a novel full of traits that leave one irritated and frustrated. That said, it's also an easy read, has a solid handle on Turlough's character, and possesses a style that wouldn't be out of place among the New Adventures of the 1990s. As the first attempt at original "Doctor Who" fiction, it has its problems, but it does successfully point the way to what was to come...and has enough positives to keep one entertained.

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3 stars - second time I've read this one (a long time since the first time), this time round I followed the plot a bit better, but it is still while interesting, quite dry with a lot of quite detailed scientific explanations given at various points, making it something of a slow read.
Captures the nature of Turlough quite well I think, but it is his nature that potentially helps lead to a somewhat dry novel :)
Some good twists and turns along the way, but does feel like it tries to create an in universe explanation for something that didn't really need explaining.
Overall, an enjoyable read, but nothing fantastic :)

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember not particularly enjoying this book when I first read it many years ago. This time I enjoyed it far more. It doesn't make for a very good Doctor Who target novel, but it is a pretty solid sci-fi novel and is probably more akin with the New Adventures range that came out a few years later. Certainly a more adult read in terms of style and theme than its contemporary target novels.

[Julian White · Rating 1 out of 5]

pdf with differing ISBN: 0426202368; 177 pages

Not quite as bad as I remembered (I now merely dislike it, as opposed to loathing it 34 years ago). Not well written, ignoring almost everything 'known' about the Doctor Who universe and even Turlough himself is poorly characterised (although Mark Strickson in his claims some input). Not an experience I care to repeat - and I have actually deleted the download!

[Brandon Clevenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1986, Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma, is one of only two releases by Target Books to feature original Doctor Who fiction. It is also the only example of original fiction outside of short stories and comic strips to be published before 1991 with the release of The New Adventures by Virgin Publishing. The other was Harry Sullivan's War, published the same year with the intention of a whole line of original fiction to follow, which ultimately did not come to light.
Because the two are linked in such a unique way I find it difficult to review one, without reference to the other. In this case comparatively, Earthlink is the better book for a number of reasons. The first reason is Tony Attwood. Though I do find Earthlink to be a bit long winded at times, there is a sense that the story is going somewhere, and the characters are more fleshed out than those found in Sullivan's War. The second reason is that the book feels like a Doctor Who story, where as Sullivan's War feels like it's trying to be a James Bond novel but not pulling it off by half.
The story follows quite naturally the character of Turlough shortly after his return to the planet Trion after traveling with the fifth Doctor. We are also introduced to the character of Juras Maateh, and a Time Lord who goes by the name, "The Magician." now I do think that the inclusion of a Time Lord in the story sort of goes against the established cannon of Time Lords keeping out of things, and mostly staying at home, this one fits in rather well, but only at the end of the story. Until that point he seems to be dead weight.
I was not expecting to enjoy this book as the character of Turlough was not one of my favorites. They did very little with the character when on the show until his very last appearance in The Planet of Fire, so I didn't really have much to look forward to. Upon reflection this lack of history provided Attwood with a blank slate to do with what he pleased. This freedom and what was done with it, was also a tough act to follow which is probably one of the reasons why there were not too many more Companion Chronicles published after this one.
The ending of the story is I will say rather satisfying. With Attwood's writing taking us all over the place, to strange worlds, and even alternate time lines, there are points in the book where I found myself wondering if the story could even lead somewhere, and that is as much a testament to Attwood as anything. By contrast the ending of Sullivan's War was contrived and dull.
Now I know it might seem like I'm getting pretty down on the much loved (and by me) Ian Marter who penned Harry Sullivan's War but not without good reason. I was rather excited by the prospect of reading a book about one of my favorite (one of the rare male) companions, and doubly so as the book was written by the man who played that character. As you might tell I was a bit disappointed, and by about half way through my read I was just waiting for the pages to run out. Most of my complaints deal with issues I have with Marter's characterizing (or lack thereof), which I was not aware of until I read other books he had written for Target in the Doctor Who line and which suffered from the same deficiencies.
The biggest fault with Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma, is that it is rather long. It s the longest Doctor Who story published until The New Adventures at 220 pages. For comparison the average Doctor Who Target release was about 130 pages. The length of the book I think was a symptom of the complex story and a certain epic ambition on the part of Attwood, but as a result there does appear to be some padding, and unnecessary and tedious description of some events.
Bottom line is though I really enjoyed it, I would only recommend this book to a Doctor Who fan of the classic series, but not to anyone else. Though the characters are strong, and the settings very sci-fi, there is too much hanging on the Doctor Who brand for anyone not familiar with the particulars to get everything from TARDIS to Time Lords.

[Alex Sarll]

Hard to believe now anyone who's even looked at the Doctor funny has their own Big Finish series, but back in 1986 this was the first Who spin-off novel. And one thing it has dead right: it chooses one of the best companions - devious malcontent Turlough - and unlike eg Torchwood, does not remove everything that made him appealing in the course of making him the lead.
But. Tony Attwood had never written for Who before (not even the novelisations - why Terrance Dicks didn't get this gig is beyond me) and it shows. Much of the time this feels like real old-school space opera, with all the charms and flaws that implies. But it also has some of the characteristic problems which result when a writer is set loose in a long-running setting and tries to run before they can walk. A book about the political upheavals on Trion surrounding the exile Turlough's return would have been fine. Instead, it's deformed by chucking in a new Time Lord (himself a bit of a prick) for him to pal around with, and a grand theory as to why Earth is so important in the Doctor Who universe, yet also so unusually backwards scientifically. As it happens, it's a pretty good theory; this just doesn't feel like a suitable venue for it.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1262193.html[return][return]It's not surprising that the 'Companions of Doctor Who' series of books was dropped; if anything it's more surprising that another two were published (Harry Sullivan's War by Ian Marter and Terence Dudley's novelisation of K9 and Company) after this very unimpressive start. The evil female leader's name is Rehctaht, which probably tells you all you need to know. The plot, such as it is, has Turlough, back on his home planet, reinventing the Tardis and trying to prevent nuclear destruction. There is much confusion of timelines, and too much material hastily thrown together. I think there are about three different novels in here, but it is difficult to tell if any of them would have been any good.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the idea of the Doctor's companions getting their own solo adventures, but this one was a weak story that had some good ideas, but no idea what to do with them.
It wanders all over the place and rather than let Turlough save the day several Dues Ex machinas are introduced to move the story along.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story with Turlough proving he can take center stage if needed. Provides insight into both Trion and into the importance of Earth in the grand scheme of things.