The Tunnel At The End Of The Light

Time Hunter #2

by Stefan Petrucha, Mary Tamm (Narrator)

Mary Tamm graduated from RADA, and made her television debut in the series The Donati Conspracy. Her early television credits include Coronation Street, Public Eye and Return Of The Saint, and on film she appeared in The Likely Lads and The Odessa File, before being cast as the icy Time Lady companion Romana, opposite Tom Baker, in Doctor Who. Since leaving the show Tamm's career has continued to flourish on stage and screen, encompassing such productions as Bergerac, Agatha Christie: Poirot, Heartbeat, Holby City, Jonathan ...

In the heart of post-war London, a bomb is discovered lodged at a disused station between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner. The bomb detonates, and as the dust clears, it becomes apparent that something has been awakened. Strange half-human creatures attack the workers at the site, hungrily searching for anything containing sugar…

Meanwhile, Honoré and Emily are contacted by eccentric poet Randolph Crest, who believes himself to be the target of these subterranean creatures. The ensuing investigation brings Honoré and Emily up against a terrifying force from deep beneath the earth, and one which even with their combined powers, they may have trouble stopping.

Part mystery, part detective story, part dark fantasy, part science fiction ... original adventures in time and space.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Horror

Audio CD

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Stefan Petrucha (born January 27, 1959) is an American writer for adults and young adults. He has written graphic novels in the The X-Files and Nancy Drew series, as well as science fiction and horror.
Born in the Bronx, he has spent time in the big city and the suburbs, and now lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, fellow writer Sarah Kinney, and their daughters. At times he has been a tech writer, an educational writer, a public relations writer and an editor for trade journals, but his preference is for fiction in all its forms.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Time Hunter series by Telos - I will admit that this book read (and sat with me) better than the first in the series. I guess I am still learning this whole Doctor Who spin off thing to be honest. However this book felt a lot more natural and the series is starting to develop its own character.

You see reading the story here not only did it feel that the writing style was settling in to its own rhythm but the characters too were becoming more rounded - it felt that along with our two protagonists learning and coming to terms with who and what they are but it felt like so was the author too. The story is helping the series stand on its own merits and not of someone elses name.

So what of the story - again a very short sharp read coming in at just over 100 pages this book (like I suspect so many other shorter stories) runs at a pace to get a full blown story between its covers. However it does admirably and although I have seen and read less than glowing reviews for this book I thoroughly enjoy it.

Now there are a number of books in the series and I suspect that not only will I be getting their own tales but I will be witnessing the characters get accustomed to their situation and no doubt rise to make the most from it. That in its own right is enough to make me want to read more - and yet they have all of time and space to explore.

[Bookcollector · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the time hunter series. It was originally published in 2004 and based on characters from a doctor who novella, the cabinet of light. When telos lost the rights to publish doctor who books they created the time hunter series featuring the two characters fom the original doctor who novella, Emily Blandish and Honorè Lechasseur. (Eighteen years later telos have reprinted the eleven time hunter novellas and as a bonus have presented an alternative cabinet of light as book zero, making twelve time hunter books.)
I enjoyed this novella a lot. It's very well written with good characters and an exciting story. I didn't read these at the time they were originally released and decided to read them after seeing they had been reprinted. A very enjoyable novella in a good series.

[Richard Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second story in this series and it's a bit odd. Felt like a sub-par X-Files episode (no offence to Stefan Petrucha who has written X-Files stories), the horoscope and demon stuff didn't sit too well with me. Did appreciate the little hints into Emily's backstory. Hope that keeps up as the series goes on but that it isn't rushed.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written addition to the Time Hunter Series, this novella presents some very interesting ideas and characters, asking questions about what makes us human, what is the nature of reality, what is the fundamental source of one's hopes and dreams and what happens when those hopes and dreams collide with reality. The climax of the book was a little bit of a letdown; the most interesting themes and plotlines get a bit sidelined for some standard monster run-around fare. An character from a previous novella resurfaces, but comes across as a pale imitation of the original. Despite these flaws, this is a fine read.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2162760.html[return][return]This is part of a less well-known Doctor Who spinoff series, the Time Hunter novellas published by Telos. I have to say that it left me rather unimpressed, basically a story of inhuman horrors in a post-Blitz London; I seem to have read a number of better eldritch London novels recently.