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Doctor Who: Who Killed Kennedy
A “journalistic” approach to the Third Doctor era. Ranges from Spearhead From Space to just before The Sea Devils.
The shocking secret linking a Time Lord and a President
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on 22 November, 1963.
Now, the publication of this volume reveals frightening new information about the assassination, the real reasons why the President of the United States had to die and an incredible plan to save the man known as JFK!
These stunning revelations involve an ultra-secret military force disguised as a minor off-shot of the United Nations and an international terrorist leader who has twice brought the world to the brink of nuclear conflict.
For more than three decades the public has been fed lies, half-truths and misinformation. Now -- despite government attempts to halt the publication of this volume -- the complete, shocking story can be told. Read the book they tried to ban!
The shocking secret linking a Time Lord and a President
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on 22 November, 1963.
Now, the publication of this volume reveals frightening new information about the assassination, the real reasons why the President of the United States had to die and an incredible plan to save the man known as JFK!
These stunning revelations involve an ultra-secret military force disguised as a minor off-shot of the United Nations and an international terrorist leader who has twice brought the world to the brink of nuclear conflict.
For more than three decades the public has been fed lies, half-truths and misinformation. Now -- despite government attempts to halt the publication of this volume -- the complete, shocking story can be told. Read the book they tried to ban!
272 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 1996
4 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
David Bishop
141 books38 followersDavid James Bishop is a New Zealand screenwriter and author. He was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000.
He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.
In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.
In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.
He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.
In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.
In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 30, 2025
Possibly one of the best written Doctor Who books ever. Absolutely exceptional.
The book is an examination of the Pertwee era, from the view of a reporter trying to break the story on UNIT. So compelling!!
I challenge anyone to read the first 15 pages of this book… l’m confident you’ll want to continue.
The book is an examination of the Pertwee era, from the view of a reporter trying to break the story on UNIT. So compelling!!
I challenge anyone to read the first 15 pages of this book… l’m confident you’ll want to continue.
July 20, 2025
I came across this book quite by accident whilst doing a search on a JFK after watching a documentary. The title of the book just leapt out to me and sparked my curiosity into how the two could be intertwined. The writer has crafted an excellent original novel with just enough Dr Who nostalgia to not make it cheesy.
August 25, 2012
Hello sweetie. spoilers.
Well, this has definitely been on my list of books to read for the longest time. And despite what I thought it was gonna be like, it was very, very good. Ex specially for MA.
So, first off, lemme note, the this book is for classic-aware whovians only. You won't get anything in the book at least you have knowledge of The Pertwee era, the McCoy era, and a bit of the Hartnell and Troughton era's as well. Also note, that even though this book is set partly on the JFK assassination, it in no way contradicts Rose (tv story). In fact, the same site that shows the image of that (whoisdoctorwho.com) also references Stevens!
The best part of this story is, without a doubt, the continuity it uses. Sometimes, it's so subtle that you don't recognise it at first. Like, within the first chapter Stevens learns of a meteor shower, and seems uninterested, that is, until, he discovers that in the woods was discovered a man with non-human blood. He rushes off to the hospital, where he and multiple other reporters are told off by a brigadier (obviously he means THE Brigadier though). It took me some time to realise that this was the open to spearhead from Space, in which the Auton spears reined from the sky, and the Doctor was discovered in the woods. It got better and better. The terrorist attach which featured "at least a hundred" although twelve were found is obviously, once again, the Auton attach on England from Spearhead from Space. The failure of the Mars Probe is a reference to the Ambassadors of Death, and many others.
You may also notice some familiar face, including Isabel from The Invasion, the Brig from everything, Liz Shaw, and most notably, Dodo chalet, who is featured as a main character. Dodo is a weird choice for this novel, because she is a companion of the first Doctor's, while this book features the Third Doctor's era. Dodo shows great characterisation, and her and the main character begin living together. She is murdered however, my a puppet of the Master. Now, usually when a companion dies in a novel it is out of disrespect, however, in this case it is a very touching death. At her funeral, a short man looking very upset puts a flower on her grave, who is strongly suggested to be either the Second or Seventh Doctor (I personally think 2nd). When the Doctor meets Steven, he says that she used to be "a good friend," and that he still considers her his responsibility. It's all very touching and moving without seeming complicated.
Also great in this novel is the Master, appearing more evil then ever. The original really always outshines SIMM. One of my favourite lines is when he is trying to tick Stevens off, he states to him "what is that old saying? Dead as a Dodo!" I just love that line! It shows how evil, sinister, and cruel the master truly is and all in one sentence.
So really, if you get the time, read Who Killed Kennedy. It's a good read, has good continuity, awesome characters, and an awesome ending just waiting for you To see! Plus, it's a free e-book!
Well, this has definitely been on my list of books to read for the longest time. And despite what I thought it was gonna be like, it was very, very good. Ex specially for MA.
So, first off, lemme note, the this book is for classic-aware whovians only. You won't get anything in the book at least you have knowledge of The Pertwee era, the McCoy era, and a bit of the Hartnell and Troughton era's as well. Also note, that even though this book is set partly on the JFK assassination, it in no way contradicts Rose (tv story). In fact, the same site that shows the image of that (whoisdoctorwho.com) also references Stevens!
The best part of this story is, without a doubt, the continuity it uses. Sometimes, it's so subtle that you don't recognise it at first. Like, within the first chapter Stevens learns of a meteor shower, and seems uninterested, that is, until, he discovers that in the woods was discovered a man with non-human blood. He rushes off to the hospital, where he and multiple other reporters are told off by a brigadier (obviously he means THE Brigadier though). It took me some time to realise that this was the open to spearhead from Space, in which the Auton spears reined from the sky, and the Doctor was discovered in the woods. It got better and better. The terrorist attach which featured "at least a hundred" although twelve were found is obviously, once again, the Auton attach on England from Spearhead from Space. The failure of the Mars Probe is a reference to the Ambassadors of Death, and many others.
You may also notice some familiar face, including Isabel from The Invasion, the Brig from everything, Liz Shaw, and most notably, Dodo chalet, who is featured as a main character. Dodo is a weird choice for this novel, because she is a companion of the first Doctor's, while this book features the Third Doctor's era. Dodo shows great characterisation, and her and the main character begin living together. She is murdered however, my a puppet of the Master. Now, usually when a companion dies in a novel it is out of disrespect, however, in this case it is a very touching death. At her funeral, a short man looking very upset puts a flower on her grave, who is strongly suggested to be either the Second or Seventh Doctor (I personally think 2nd). When the Doctor meets Steven, he says that she used to be "a good friend," and that he still considers her his responsibility. It's all very touching and moving without seeming complicated.
Also great in this novel is the Master, appearing more evil then ever. The original really always outshines SIMM. One of my favourite lines is when he is trying to tick Stevens off, he states to him "what is that old saying? Dead as a Dodo!" I just love that line! It shows how evil, sinister, and cruel the master truly is and all in one sentence.
So really, if you get the time, read Who Killed Kennedy. It's a good read, has good continuity, awesome characters, and an awesome ending just waiting for you To see! Plus, it's a free e-book!
October 14, 2010
For sheer nerve, this book deserves five stars. The conceit is fantastic - a conspiracy theory non-fiction book about secret paramilitary organisations and unexplained mysteries, but based squarely in the "Whoniverse" as though all the nonsense that happened during the Pertwee years was real but seen from a semi-outsider's point of view. The downside being that for anyone who doesn't know the show, a lot of the hard work here will be wasted.
In the end, though, even for this long-standing fan, it doesn't quite work. Admittedly, part of the point is that it is sending up the whole game of retcon, but to do so it has to create a retcon of its own. Introducing familiar characters but then figuring out how to have them not tell the protagonist about the Doctor works fine once or twice but then starts to feel like a cheat. (Although I admit that Dodo worked exceptionally well.) And using another organisation to provide a feeling of menace was a tiny step too far for me. Early on, I sort of hoped that it was going to turn out to be a rogue element within UNIT which would have felt a lot more interesting; as it was, UNIT emerges pretty much squeaky clean.
A valiant experiment that almost works then. And anyone interested in experimental fiction should probably give it a go. But in the end it felt too much like self-indulgent fanfic (albeit an early example of such.)
edit: I like the comparison made in another review with "R&G are dead". That's exactly what it feels like.
In the end, though, even for this long-standing fan, it doesn't quite work. Admittedly, part of the point is that it is sending up the whole game of retcon, but to do so it has to create a retcon of its own. Introducing familiar characters but then figuring out how to have them not tell the protagonist about the Doctor works fine once or twice but then starts to feel like a cheat. (Although I admit that Dodo worked exceptionally well.) And using another organisation to provide a feeling of menace was a tiny step too far for me. Early on, I sort of hoped that it was going to turn out to be a rogue element within UNIT which would have felt a lot more interesting; as it was, UNIT emerges pretty much squeaky clean.
A valiant experiment that almost works then. And anyone interested in experimental fiction should probably give it a go. But in the end it felt too much like self-indulgent fanfic (albeit an early example of such.)
edit: I like the comparison made in another review with "R&G are dead". That's exactly what it feels like.
January 1, 2019
Doesn't really fit in with standard continuity, but still the best Doctor Who novel I've ever read.
May 24, 2023
We all know the Dr Who stories of the 1970s, right? I love how the book takes those familiar stories and characters and gives them a fresh, nastier, slant. The old adage about the lens of the press and how one person's hero is another's villain.
We follow the story of reporter James Stevens as he investigates UNIT and conspiracy theories everywhere whilst researching the story he's passionate about - the assassination of President Kennedy.
Cleverly interwoven into a narrative and also bringing back into the fold Dodo. At times it's very clichéd in the threats and their delivery. But it does open up the debate about perception. Through Dr Who we see UNIT as a force for good. Or are we trained to do so?
And then the answer to the book's question, who killed Kennedy? Despite being the title, this is more of a sub-story with the ending being slightly unsatisfying. 7/10
Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.
We follow the story of reporter James Stevens as he investigates UNIT and conspiracy theories everywhere whilst researching the story he's passionate about - the assassination of President Kennedy.
Cleverly interwoven into a narrative and also bringing back into the fold Dodo. At times it's very clichéd in the threats and their delivery. But it does open up the debate about perception. Through Dr Who we see UNIT as a force for good. Or are we trained to do so?
And then the answer to the book's question, who killed Kennedy? Despite being the title, this is more of a sub-story with the ending being slightly unsatisfying. 7/10
Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.
July 25, 2011
The assassination of JFK remains one of the greatest unsolved murders of all time. Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction series of all time and arguably the most popular. They seem like two separate things that couldn't possibly be connected. But to believe that is to be proved wrong. For author David Bishop has brought the assassination
of JFK and the Doctor Who UNIT stories together to present: Who Killed Kennedy.
What separates Who Killed Kennedy from the other Doctor Who novels is the fact that the Doctor is not the main character. In fact the Doctor barely features at all. Instead the novel features on fictional reporter James Stevens who serves as the narrator. Stevens is a
believable character who starts out as an innocent reporter investigating the appearance of a strange man at a country hospital (Spearhead From Space) and soon finds himself crossing the path of the mysterious group called UNIT.
The story itself has very little to do with the JFK assassination. Instead the majority of the novel is spent covering the several years Stevenms spending investigating UNIT. Little details from the UNIT stories pop up here and there including the cover stories given to hide each alien invasion. But the tension of the book comes from how much Stevens knows...or thinks he knows. There is a mysterious man helping him who seems to know all about UNIT and what it's really up to. In the end it all leads to the Doctor, his arch-enemy the Master, a brainwashed UNIT private, and to a tragic day in Dallas.
But what makes Who Killed Kennedy interesting is how it seeks to bring authenticity to the Doctor Who universe. While the UNIT stories were always grounded in some sort of reality, the novel brings focus to that by making the book feel not like a novel but like a conspiracy theorists book along the lines of Best Evidence by David Lifton. The novel is full of personal details and ideas that give it an air of authenticity that helps to bring some much needed reality to the story. Even in the finale set in Dealy Plaza, Bishop brings details of the assassination to life in new and exciting ways.
But the novel isn't perfect. It does have issues with the UNIT time line which as always been controversial. It does very little to back up its dating scheme though and this hurts when trying to make it fit into the series. Also while Bishop seems to have a good grasp of his own creations, he does have problems with bring familiar UNIT characters to
life. I also didn't like Stevens' relationship with Dodo. It didn't seem to work well in my opinion and seemed like an unnecessary add on and its resolution isn't very well handled.
Yet despite these faults, Who Killed Kennedy makes for an interesting Doctor Who based read. More spin-off then anything, this novel brings an outsider into the UNIT stores and shows it from the point of view of an ordinary person. That and an interesting answer to the crime of the century makes this a must-read for Doctor Who fans. Its a shame this book is now out of print and hard to find for it is an amazing look into the Doctor Who universe.
of JFK and the Doctor Who UNIT stories together to present: Who Killed Kennedy.
What separates Who Killed Kennedy from the other Doctor Who novels is the fact that the Doctor is not the main character. In fact the Doctor barely features at all. Instead the novel features on fictional reporter James Stevens who serves as the narrator. Stevens is a
believable character who starts out as an innocent reporter investigating the appearance of a strange man at a country hospital (Spearhead From Space) and soon finds himself crossing the path of the mysterious group called UNIT.
The story itself has very little to do with the JFK assassination. Instead the majority of the novel is spent covering the several years Stevenms spending investigating UNIT. Little details from the UNIT stories pop up here and there including the cover stories given to hide each alien invasion. But the tension of the book comes from how much Stevens knows...or thinks he knows. There is a mysterious man helping him who seems to know all about UNIT and what it's really up to. In the end it all leads to the Doctor, his arch-enemy the Master, a brainwashed UNIT private, and to a tragic day in Dallas.
But what makes Who Killed Kennedy interesting is how it seeks to bring authenticity to the Doctor Who universe. While the UNIT stories were always grounded in some sort of reality, the novel brings focus to that by making the book feel not like a novel but like a conspiracy theorists book along the lines of Best Evidence by David Lifton. The novel is full of personal details and ideas that give it an air of authenticity that helps to bring some much needed reality to the story. Even in the finale set in Dealy Plaza, Bishop brings details of the assassination to life in new and exciting ways.
But the novel isn't perfect. It does have issues with the UNIT time line which as always been controversial. It does very little to back up its dating scheme though and this hurts when trying to make it fit into the series. Also while Bishop seems to have a good grasp of his own creations, he does have problems with bring familiar UNIT characters to
life. I also didn't like Stevens' relationship with Dodo. It didn't seem to work well in my opinion and seemed like an unnecessary add on and its resolution isn't very well handled.
Yet despite these faults, Who Killed Kennedy makes for an interesting Doctor Who based read. More spin-off then anything, this novel brings an outsider into the UNIT stores and shows it from the point of view of an ordinary person. That and an interesting answer to the crime of the century makes this a must-read for Doctor Who fans. Its a shame this book is now out of print and hard to find for it is an amazing look into the Doctor Who universe.
March 11, 2018
http://nhw.livejournal.com/810487.html?#cutid4
An unusual spinoff novel this: investigative journalist James Stevens (fictional, though listed on the cover as a co-author) decides to write up The Truth about UNIT and the mysterious set of individuals going by the code name of "The Doctor". He ends up playing a very "Rosencrantz and Guidenstern are dead" role, as the man on the far end of the Brigadier's yelling at journalists in seasons 7 and 8; and Bishop explores what the TV adventures would have looked like from the outside point of view - how the authorities would have covered it all up. Dodo comes into the picture because the very first Doctor Who story set in the "present day", The War Machines, sees her brainwashed and written out of the series by being sent to the countryside to recuperate. Who Killed Kennedy? picks up her tragic story from several years later. Bishop describes her as "a late addition to the cast of the [book] and was originally only going to appear in [one] chapter, passing on information to Stevens. But once she appeared on the page Dodo wanted to stick around. It's a strange experience when a character takes charge of their own destiny while you're writing and Dodo was the first time this had happened to me." Certainly the relationship between Dodo and the narrator is a core element of the story, in a way that (as the author admits in his on-line notes) the actual assassination of JFK, which is after all the title, is not. Some would probably accuse this novel of too much "fanwank", ie obsessive references to continuity with the TV series, but I think that would be unfair; Bishop is actually doing something very different here, telling familiar stories from a different angle, and I think it largely works.
His commentary and notes for the online publication of the book seemed to me more engaging than any others I have read. I wonder if this is because Bishop, a native Kiwi, was writing for the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club, rather than for the BBC; so it's a letter home about the book that he wrote, rather than an extra element in the official website for the programme.
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2946666.html
Bishop has now rewritten the last chapter (still available on the New Zealand Doctor Who fan Club website) to give the book a different (and happier) ending, bringing in the Twelfth Doctor to enable the dénouement. I agree with him that it works better now.
An unusual spinoff novel this: investigative journalist James Stevens (fictional, though listed on the cover as a co-author) decides to write up The Truth about UNIT and the mysterious set of individuals going by the code name of "The Doctor". He ends up playing a very "Rosencrantz and Guidenstern are dead" role, as the man on the far end of the Brigadier's yelling at journalists in seasons 7 and 8; and Bishop explores what the TV adventures would have looked like from the outside point of view - how the authorities would have covered it all up. Dodo comes into the picture because the very first Doctor Who story set in the "present day", The War Machines, sees her brainwashed and written out of the series by being sent to the countryside to recuperate. Who Killed Kennedy? picks up her tragic story from several years later. Bishop describes her as "a late addition to the cast of the [book] and was originally only going to appear in [one] chapter, passing on information to Stevens. But once she appeared on the page Dodo wanted to stick around. It's a strange experience when a character takes charge of their own destiny while you're writing and Dodo was the first time this had happened to me." Certainly the relationship between Dodo and the narrator is a core element of the story, in a way that (as the author admits in his on-line notes) the actual assassination of JFK, which is after all the title, is not. Some would probably accuse this novel of too much "fanwank", ie obsessive references to continuity with the TV series, but I think that would be unfair; Bishop is actually doing something very different here, telling familiar stories from a different angle, and I think it largely works.
His commentary and notes for the online publication of the book seemed to me more engaging than any others I have read. I wonder if this is because Bishop, a native Kiwi, was writing for the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club, rather than for the BBC; so it's a letter home about the book that he wrote, rather than an extra element in the official website for the programme.
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2946666.html
Bishop has now rewritten the last chapter (still available on the New Zealand Doctor Who fan Club website) to give the book a different (and happier) ending, bringing in the Twelfth Doctor to enable the dénouement. I agree with him that it works better now.
July 1, 2015
A landmark book that, like many of the "Doctor Who" novels published by Virgin in the 1990s, has had a long-term impact on the series in general. Even when I first read it, almost 20 years ago, it felt bold, experimental, and ominous. It was very unusal at the time to look at the Doctor, UNIT, and other pillars of the series from points of view that were much darker, and much more suspicious. "Who Killed Kennedy" sows the seeds for all sorts of future plot points, especially the creation of "Torchwood". Yet it also doesn't forget to tell a spellbinding, if depressing, tale of one man's encounter with the "Doctor Who" universe. Something worth tracking down to read, fanboys & girls.
March 4, 2019
More like 2.75/5.00. Fun idea. Properly executed. Severely malnourished for something with such potential. Lots of things you see coming from miles away while the climax (well the epilogue really) is still pretty satisfying. This particular version would’ve been better served as a short story or novella. Really liked the way a lot of the classic Pertwee stories but they had no real significance other than as a “isn’t that clever” insertion. Would love to see a sequel (SPOILER) where the protagonist encounters other Doctors in the long wait for his fate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2022
What a wild book. Taking place throughout during the Jon Pertwee years, this book is styled as a non-fiction conspiracy investigation. And it is very easy to get lost in the details and forget it actually is set within the world of 'Doctor Who'. I really enjoyed it. As a "Doctor -lite" tale, it's a lot of fun.
Only in the world of Doctor Who could this book exist.
Only in the world of Doctor Who could this book exist.
October 8, 2024
I was very pleasantly surprised by this one! While I do think more could have been done on the Kennedy angle (and the author, David Bishop, agrees with me there in his afterword), I was riveted to this outsider's view of the events of early Third Doctor Era.
Now, I had been worried going in because I knew from references made elsewhere that First Doctor companion's post-Doctor life as shown in this book was TERRIBLE. And I'm a huge companion stan. I love all of them and, aside from the ones who died on screen, I always watch them leave the TARDIS in the hope that they live a great life, being the Doctor for whatever time and place they end up. That...did not happen for Dodo in this timeline of events, and I had thought my foreknowledge of that would dampen my enjoyment of this story. But it didn't. Reading how the relationship between main character Stevens and Dodo grows throughout the second act of this three part story is a beautiful thing and Dodo's ending is meant to be tragic, especially because we know that she never remembered anything about the Doctor, who is obviously one of the most important people she ever met in her life. And we see that the Doctor never forgot about her, showing up for her funeral in what (in my opinion, based on the description) was his second incarnation, and still talking to Stevens in his third incarnation about his friendship with her all those years before. While her death could very easily have felt like a plot point to drive home the epic manpain of the main character, it doesn't ever fall into that pitfall.
And if you read this book and Bishop's version of her endgame, you can always comfort yourself with the thought that DW novel canon is very lax and every viewer picks and chooses what happened for themselves and it can be true until the visual canon of the show states otherwise.
I must say that what drew me in to this story -- even aside from the brilliant hook of the prologue -- is the premise of a journalist writing a government/military conspiracy tell-all book. Back in early 2021, I started writing the history of DW through the lens of, if UNIT and Torchwood were real agencies, what would conspiracy subReddits have to say about them and the mysterious individuals all called the Doctor. And so I wrote a script for the webseries Buzzfeed Unsolved to talk about these "conspiracies" with some comedy mixed in. (I only got through Web of Fear, The Invasion, and Spearhead from Space in chapter one. And I really should get back to working on that because it was a lot of fun to write the dynamic of the BFU hosts...but comedy is hard to write. I do hope to get back to it soon though cos I have a lot of material to work through and I always love the excuse to rewatch classic Who episodes). This book is a lot like that fanfic I was writing, just with the comedy removed.
And man, from the outside, UNIT does look VERY shady. I wouldn't be as quick to assume that a group connected with the United Nations was the bad guy in all of these events, but that there was a lot of weird, questionable activity? Yeah. I can buy a journalist looking askance as our beloved Brigadier on some of these things.
I will say though that if you're not familiar with Third Doctor Era, you may want to give this one a pass until you've seen at least a bit of it because it would be easy to get lost. There is a lot of what Bishop called "fandom wank" in his afterword. (The meaning of that word has changed a bit over the years and now usually refers to group infighting in the fandom, i.e. wanker, but in the early 2000s when he was writing his postscript, it referred to grabbing at various fan lore references and shoehorning them in so that fans could "wank" over it.) There are name drops of various one-off characters from future plot lines post-Third Doctor Era, less talked about companions, and stories from the Virgin New Adventures novels and BBV videos. This is very much a book for the die hard fans of the classic series and not meant for newbies looking to get a deeper idea of who the Doctor is. (Honestly, the Doctor is barely in this and while he is important, it is very much a Doctor-lite story. If you watch modern Doctor Who, think of the Tenth Doctor episode Love and Monsters by Russell T. Davies. I wouldn't be surprised if this book was a bit of an influence on that idea.) If you're already a hard core fan, you'll enjoy this entry; if not, check the show out and then come back to this because it's easy to appreciate one you get all the references.
Now, I had been worried going in because I knew from references made elsewhere that First Doctor companion's post-Doctor life as shown in this book was TERRIBLE. And I'm a huge companion stan. I love all of them and, aside from the ones who died on screen, I always watch them leave the TARDIS in the hope that they live a great life, being the Doctor for whatever time and place they end up. That...did not happen for Dodo in this timeline of events, and I had thought my foreknowledge of that would dampen my enjoyment of this story. But it didn't. Reading how the relationship between main character Stevens and Dodo grows throughout the second act of this three part story is a beautiful thing and Dodo's ending is meant to be tragic, especially because we know that she never remembered anything about the Doctor, who is obviously one of the most important people she ever met in her life. And we see that the Doctor never forgot about her, showing up for her funeral in what (in my opinion, based on the description) was his second incarnation, and still talking to Stevens in his third incarnation about his friendship with her all those years before. While her death could very easily have felt like a plot point to drive home the epic manpain of the main character, it doesn't ever fall into that pitfall.
And if you read this book and Bishop's version of her endgame, you can always comfort yourself with the thought that DW novel canon is very lax and every viewer picks and chooses what happened for themselves and it can be true until the visual canon of the show states otherwise.
I must say that what drew me in to this story -- even aside from the brilliant hook of the prologue -- is the premise of a journalist writing a government/military conspiracy tell-all book. Back in early 2021, I started writing the history of DW through the lens of, if UNIT and Torchwood were real agencies, what would conspiracy subReddits have to say about them and the mysterious individuals all called the Doctor. And so I wrote a script for the webseries Buzzfeed Unsolved to talk about these "conspiracies" with some comedy mixed in. (I only got through Web of Fear, The Invasion, and Spearhead from Space in chapter one. And I really should get back to working on that because it was a lot of fun to write the dynamic of the BFU hosts...but comedy is hard to write. I do hope to get back to it soon though cos I have a lot of material to work through and I always love the excuse to rewatch classic Who episodes). This book is a lot like that fanfic I was writing, just with the comedy removed.
And man, from the outside, UNIT does look VERY shady. I wouldn't be as quick to assume that a group connected with the United Nations was the bad guy in all of these events, but that there was a lot of weird, questionable activity? Yeah. I can buy a journalist looking askance as our beloved Brigadier on some of these things.
I will say though that if you're not familiar with Third Doctor Era, you may want to give this one a pass until you've seen at least a bit of it because it would be easy to get lost. There is a lot of what Bishop called "fandom wank" in his afterword. (The meaning of that word has changed a bit over the years and now usually refers to group infighting in the fandom, i.e. wanker, but in the early 2000s when he was writing his postscript, it referred to grabbing at various fan lore references and shoehorning them in so that fans could "wank" over it.) There are name drops of various one-off characters from future plot lines post-Third Doctor Era, less talked about companions, and stories from the Virgin New Adventures novels and BBV videos. This is very much a book for the die hard fans of the classic series and not meant for newbies looking to get a deeper idea of who the Doctor is. (Honestly, the Doctor is barely in this and while he is important, it is very much a Doctor-lite story. If you watch modern Doctor Who, think of the Tenth Doctor episode Love and Monsters by Russell T. Davies. I wouldn't be surprised if this book was a bit of an influence on that idea.) If you're already a hard core fan, you'll enjoy this entry; if not, check the show out and then come back to this because it's easy to appreciate one you get all the references.
November 23, 2023
This is a book that is somewhat infamous, and for years I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to read it since it’s out of print. Then I heard about the 20th anniversary version that David Bishop allowed the New Zealand Doctor Who fan site to publish. It even includes informative commentary by him. I have read very few Doctor Who novels beyond the audio format, but out of those few, this is perhaps the most gripping, given its conspiracy thriller vibe.
The book was not completely what I expected. Going in, I kind of thought it would be like one of those books about Lemony Snicket himself, full of letters and photos on every page. Or like one of those Twin Peaks books of 2017 that had lots of photos and documents printed on the page. But this actually has a first person POV character in the form of journalist James Stevens.
To be honest, it’s often difficult to see him as anything other than a David Bishop insert. But this journalist investigates events taking place 1969-1971, mainly relating to Third Doctor serials in seasons 7 and 8. Whovians will know there’s some debate over when the UNIT stories take place, but the author chooses to have those stories take place close to when they aired. It does feel a bit disjointed, as the Kennedy element does not come into play very much until late in the narrative.
The more controversial element of the story is what happens with Dodo. If you don’t want any spoilers, I’d suggest you stop reading here. I know as a companion on TV, Dodo was not utilized as much as she could have. In fact, her departure happens pretty much offscreen. So it feels very odd to make her a love interest for James, who had previously cheated on his wife and lost the right to be with his son with whom his wife was pregnant. It also feels meanspirited to have put Dodo through the turmoil she recalls going through post-adventures with The Doctor, and then having her shot dead by The Master’s puppet while she’s pregnant with another one of James’ offspring.
James attends her funeral, where he sees one of The Doctors. In the commentary, Bishop seems to go back and forth on whether this is the Second or Seventh Doctor. While Seventh might have felt right given he was the most recent incarnation at the time this was written, I prefer the idea that it was the Second. He was described as small and disheveled much earlier in the narrative when it talks about him, Jamie, and Zoe during the invasion for which they were present, so it feels more purposeful to reuse that description if it’s him. Plus, I like the sequence of having the First Doctor travel with Dodo, then the Second attend her funeral (and not too long after seeing her, as it feels sadder for him to wait centuries before checking), and then the Third dealing with the loose ends in the aftermath of her death.
Of course, James realizes that an older version of himself with the Time Ring is the one who killed Kennedy, and the original version ended with this downer note in which he goes back to complete his destiny, believing he may not come back. This story with this depressing ending (I’m mainly upset with what happened to Dodo) I would have given a 3/5 at best. Maybe even a 2/5. But the additions to the ending in the 20th anniversary version have James make contact with the Twelfth Doctor. This is at least post-series 8, given the allusion to Missy. But I also like to think it’s post-series 9, as even if The Doctor doesn’t remember losing Clara, perhaps he has this feeling in which he wishes he could’ve saved her for good, and feels that again as James mentions wanting to save Dodo. I do wish he was a bit less standoffish, but he does help, and history is rewritten in a way that does not change the world but provides justice for Dodo. The narrative still has its flaws, but this ending makes it deserving of a 4/5. It was such a wild ride.
The book was not completely what I expected. Going in, I kind of thought it would be like one of those books about Lemony Snicket himself, full of letters and photos on every page. Or like one of those Twin Peaks books of 2017 that had lots of photos and documents printed on the page. But this actually has a first person POV character in the form of journalist James Stevens.
To be honest, it’s often difficult to see him as anything other than a David Bishop insert. But this journalist investigates events taking place 1969-1971, mainly relating to Third Doctor serials in seasons 7 and 8. Whovians will know there’s some debate over when the UNIT stories take place, but the author chooses to have those stories take place close to when they aired. It does feel a bit disjointed, as the Kennedy element does not come into play very much until late in the narrative.
The more controversial element of the story is what happens with Dodo. If you don’t want any spoilers, I’d suggest you stop reading here. I know as a companion on TV, Dodo was not utilized as much as she could have. In fact, her departure happens pretty much offscreen. So it feels very odd to make her a love interest for James, who had previously cheated on his wife and lost the right to be with his son with whom his wife was pregnant. It also feels meanspirited to have put Dodo through the turmoil she recalls going through post-adventures with The Doctor, and then having her shot dead by The Master’s puppet while she’s pregnant with another one of James’ offspring.
James attends her funeral, where he sees one of The Doctors. In the commentary, Bishop seems to go back and forth on whether this is the Second or Seventh Doctor. While Seventh might have felt right given he was the most recent incarnation at the time this was written, I prefer the idea that it was the Second. He was described as small and disheveled much earlier in the narrative when it talks about him, Jamie, and Zoe during the invasion for which they were present, so it feels more purposeful to reuse that description if it’s him. Plus, I like the sequence of having the First Doctor travel with Dodo, then the Second attend her funeral (and not too long after seeing her, as it feels sadder for him to wait centuries before checking), and then the Third dealing with the loose ends in the aftermath of her death.
Of course, James realizes that an older version of himself with the Time Ring is the one who killed Kennedy, and the original version ended with this downer note in which he goes back to complete his destiny, believing he may not come back. This story with this depressing ending (I’m mainly upset with what happened to Dodo) I would have given a 3/5 at best. Maybe even a 2/5. But the additions to the ending in the 20th anniversary version have James make contact with the Twelfth Doctor. This is at least post-series 8, given the allusion to Missy. But I also like to think it’s post-series 9, as even if The Doctor doesn’t remember losing Clara, perhaps he has this feeling in which he wishes he could’ve saved her for good, and feels that again as James mentions wanting to save Dodo. I do wish he was a bit less standoffish, but he does help, and history is rewritten in a way that does not change the world but provides justice for Dodo. The narrative still has its flaws, but this ending makes it deserving of a 4/5. It was such a wild ride.
May 31, 2024
In Marvels, Kurt Busiek looked at the Marvel Universe through the eyes of a journalist, showing how events appear to people on the street. Bishop acknowledges Marvels' influence on this book. It starts with a journalist investigating the events of the third Doctor's debut, Spearhead from Space (meteor shower, shuttered plastics factory, allegedly nonhuman man found in the woods) and wondering why a United Nations task force would be involved in a purely British manner? We proceed onward as Stevens investigates UNIT through the Third Doctor's run and wonders who these multiple science advisers known as "Doctor John Smith" are.
Dark in spots, but very well done. Not recommended if you're not into the series, obviously.
Dark in spots, but very well done. Not recommended if you're not into the series, obviously.
August 31, 2024
A wonderful, intriguing and often creepy novel that explores the world of Classic Doctor Who - specifically the time spent by the Third Doctor working for UNIT - through the eyes of an outsider, as the impact of those adventures (and others from outside of this period) upon humanity begins to impact upon the life of a single journalist, pulling him into the darkness that follows in the Doctor's wake. A brilliant and fresh take on Doctor Who, and a great read if you can find a copy (as it's sadly out of print).
June 11, 2025
Flawed (including what I consider personally to be quite a lazy use of Dodo), but I really liked the (what I found to be) unsettling ending, and the attempt to work out what role a journalist might play in the alien-invasion heavy Pertwee era was consistently engaging and fun.
July 24, 2025
Brilliantly inventive Doctor Who novel which manages to say some germane things about conspiracies, their appeal, and the conditions that foster them. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
July 14, 2023
A mess. Dodo, though not my favorite companion, deserved better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2024
This author did not like women very much I think. Great concept. The stupidest execution I've ever seen in my life.
June 8, 2025
Fun but flawed.
October 2, 2025
RIP dodo :(
November 2, 2024
I’m not rating this cause I didn’t finish it and I don’t think what I read was necessarily bad, just not to my taste.
I was interested in this book because I knew it had a lot to say about Doctor Who canon and I was interested in that. But in the first 15 pages the book spent sooo much time mythologizing and eulogizing JFK and I just couldn’t take it. I hate it when people try to mythologize or romanticize recent presidents. I find it gross.
But that’s just my two cents.
PS: I looked up what happened in the rest of the book that I skipped and it made me angry. I’m edited this review to give the book one star. I can’t abide the way some authors treat Dodo.
I was interested in this book because I knew it had a lot to say about Doctor Who canon and I was interested in that. But in the first 15 pages the book spent sooo much time mythologizing and eulogizing JFK and I just couldn’t take it. I hate it when people try to mythologize or romanticize recent presidents. I find it gross.
But that’s just my two cents.
PS: I looked up what happened in the rest of the book that I skipped and it made me angry. I’m edited this review to give the book one star. I can’t abide the way some authors treat Dodo.
August 3, 2022
David Bishop has concocted a good alternate look at the first two seasons of Pertwee-era Who. The novel is written as a memoir-exposé by a journalist, James Stevens, who was involved on the periphery of various adventures from the 1970-1 period of Doctor Who. From these vague contacts, he develops an obsession with UNIT as a top-secret organization of nefarious intent that uses another top-secret organization, C19, as its enforcer. His investigations ruin his life, but lead him closer to the answer to a secret, not the nature and purpose of UNIT, but unbeknownst to him to the answer to another of his obsessions, the question of who killed JFK.
The book reads partly as reportage, partly as political thriller of the John Buchan variety (innocent man caught up in deadly secret plots), and partly as apologetic autobiography. The plot holds together well. Bishop has cleverly used actual dialogue from the broadcast series. Though the regular Who characters make mostly small, even cameo appearances, with two notable exceptions, the book is still a Who novel because UNIT and the Doctor are so central to Stevens' motivation.
The two characters from Who that are more critical to the story are the Master and Dodo. The Master is the Master and never strays from the Delgado portrayal. The inclusion of Dodo is far more problematic. Given her role in the novel, this character need not have been Dodo. Also, Bishop proceeds on the tired premise that anyone who has the slightest contact with the Doctor lives a horrible life because of it. I do not see this as a logical consequence of spending time with the Doctor. The inclusion of Dodo, plus a few other little bits, seem to me to be throwing in too many nods and winks to the fans that detract from an otherwise well plotted story.
The book reads partly as reportage, partly as political thriller of the John Buchan variety (innocent man caught up in deadly secret plots), and partly as apologetic autobiography. The plot holds together well. Bishop has cleverly used actual dialogue from the broadcast series. Though the regular Who characters make mostly small, even cameo appearances, with two notable exceptions, the book is still a Who novel because UNIT and the Doctor are so central to Stevens' motivation.
The two characters from Who that are more critical to the story are the Master and Dodo. The Master is the Master and never strays from the Delgado portrayal. The inclusion of Dodo is far more problematic. Given her role in the novel, this character need not have been Dodo. Also, Bishop proceeds on the tired premise that anyone who has the slightest contact with the Doctor lives a horrible life because of it. I do not see this as a logical consequence of spending time with the Doctor. The inclusion of Dodo, plus a few other little bits, seem to me to be throwing in too many nods and winks to the fans that detract from an otherwise well plotted story.
April 8, 2023
Doctor Who meets conspiracy “non-fiction”. What more could you want? It’s a total love letter to the Third Doctor’s era. That period of Doctor Who history where the Doctor regularly worked with UNIT to prevent a variety of disasters on earth. But how would such a clandestine organization look to a total outsider? Would all their attempts at saving the planet look like something far more sinister? Of course it would.
Bishop’s book combines Cold War-era paranoid with the world of Doctor Who, and it’s a genuinely thrilling read. I’m not sure how approachable it is if you’re not already a fan of the Third Doctor’s era, but if you are a fan, you’re gonna eat this up. It’s a very quick-paced, tense read. And for the first 3/4, it’s pretty much everything you’d want from a piece of faux nonfiction examining UNIT. The problem is that the ending kind of goes off the rails. It’s as though Bishop couldn’t really find a way of tying his exploration of UNIT with the idea of the Kennedy assassination. He does his best, but it doesn’t really make sense and ends up feeling tacked on rather than a satisfying conclusion to the rest of the book.
Still, it’s a fun read - if for no other reason than its utter uniqueness compared to other Doctor Who books. Best suited for the most diehard of fans, to be sure. But we’ll worth a read nonetheless.
Bishop’s book combines Cold War-era paranoid with the world of Doctor Who, and it’s a genuinely thrilling read. I’m not sure how approachable it is if you’re not already a fan of the Third Doctor’s era, but if you are a fan, you’re gonna eat this up. It’s a very quick-paced, tense read. And for the first 3/4, it’s pretty much everything you’d want from a piece of faux nonfiction examining UNIT. The problem is that the ending kind of goes off the rails. It’s as though Bishop couldn’t really find a way of tying his exploration of UNIT with the idea of the Kennedy assassination. He does his best, but it doesn’t really make sense and ends up feeling tacked on rather than a satisfying conclusion to the rest of the book.
Still, it’s a fun read - if for no other reason than its utter uniqueness compared to other Doctor Who books. Best suited for the most diehard of fans, to be sure. But we’ll worth a read nonetheless.
September 19, 2011
I heard about this book over 10 years ago and I'm glad I got around to it.
One of the things that has remained universally true about the Doctor Who series throughout it's nearly 50 year run is that the normal humans who meet the Doctor have their entire world and lives changed forever. It's not always for the better, either. Meet James Stephens, a reporter from New Zealand that answers the phone and gets wrapped up in history of the 3rd Doctor's alternate Brittan. His entire life changes as he becomes entangled (sometimes intimately) with people we know as the Doctor's companions and, eventually, the Doctor himself.
If you like conspiracy books and you like Doctor Who you'll probably like this. Keep a web browser open to the Doctor Who wiki "The Tardis Index file" to look up the dozens of characters from the 3rd Doctor era (and a couple others) that make an appearance. The author shows solid research into both the Kennedy assassination as well Doctor Who continuity.
One of the things that has remained universally true about the Doctor Who series throughout it's nearly 50 year run is that the normal humans who meet the Doctor have their entire world and lives changed forever. It's not always for the better, either. Meet James Stephens, a reporter from New Zealand that answers the phone and gets wrapped up in history of the 3rd Doctor's alternate Brittan. His entire life changes as he becomes entangled (sometimes intimately) with people we know as the Doctor's companions and, eventually, the Doctor himself.
If you like conspiracy books and you like Doctor Who you'll probably like this. Keep a web browser open to the Doctor Who wiki "The Tardis Index file" to look up the dozens of characters from the 3rd Doctor era (and a couple others) that make an appearance. The author shows solid research into both the Kennedy assassination as well Doctor Who continuity.
July 16, 2014
Sheer bloody brilliance. This novel knits continuity together brilliantly, focusing mostly on events from the Third Doctor's era but occasionally offering teasing bits of foreshadowing for the Doctor's (and, indeed, Earth's own) future.
I was not altogether pleased with Dodo's eventual fate, but it was still a far more satisfactory ending for her than the TV series offered, and the scene in question was done very well.
A fabulous introspective novel about how the Doctor's actions on Earth send ripples through the lives of everyday people.
I was not altogether pleased with Dodo's eventual fate, but it was still a far more satisfactory ending for her than the TV series offered, and the scene in question was done very well.
A fabulous introspective novel about how the Doctor's actions on Earth send ripples through the lives of everyday people.
June 16, 2010
A hard-hitting account of one of the great tragedies of the twentieth century, looking at the involvement of the paramilitary organisation known as Unit, and its scientific advisor codenamed Doctor Who.
May 13, 2016
This one was kind of fun, showing an outside perspective of most of the Third Doctor's adventures with UNIT, with a little bit of JFK assassination conspiracy theories thrown into the mix.
October 27, 2016
I read this years ago. And though I can't remember enough to offer a detailed review, I do remember it as being one of my favorite Doctor Who books!
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