Doctor Who: Blood of the Time Lords

The Fourth Doctor Adventures #11.1

by Timothy X Atack

The book known as The Dischord Grimoire is an incredibly powerful tome, believed capable of altering the true passage of time itself. And the Doctor has it in the TARDIS.

Wanting to look into this mysterious opus further, he decides to take it to an old friend in The Recusary – a monastery-like retreat on a moon of Gallifrey.

But he’s chosen an inauspicious time to arrive. Something else is visiting the Recusary. And this something hasn’t brought a book with it... but death.

Genres: Doctor Who

Audiobook

First published March 16, 2022

Reviews

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set immediately after The Deadly Assassin, this sees the Doctor travelling alone to what's essentially a hospice for dying Time Lords to discover that there have recently been a spate of unexplained disappearances. For which, naturally enough, he gets blamed. This leads to a mystery story, although it doesn't take too long for identity of the villain to be revealed to the audience, if not immediately the Doctor. The setting is atmospheric, a vast library where the usual Time Lord technology is prohibited, even if the reason for building a hospice like this isn't entirely logical.

There are a few other problems too, with some of the characters being thinly drawn, in some cases little more than caricatures. There's also an unnecessary bit of fanw**k around the mystery of the Doctor's true name that adds nothing to anything. On the other hand, the companion stand-in, a librarian from the lower strata of Gallifreyan society, works well with a mixture of nervousness and determination that make her easily relatable. There's peeking about in darkened corridors, a brief appearance by a monster, a decent courtroom scene and, if the story is a little slow to get started, it builds to an effective conclusion as the villain's plans near fruition.

Flawed in a few ways, perhaps, but it works well if you go with the flow.

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens to a Time Lord at the end of their last regeneration? Where do they go to die? While these questions have been touched upon in other expanded media, this story offers the most definitive answer and can, in a way, also work in conjunction with other suggestions, such as those in Lungbarrow.

The first two parts feature fantastic worldbuilding and introduces us to great, well-written characters, but I found myself getting lost in the last two parts, with the Master having a very average and boring plan, played by an actor who didn't really do anything unique with the character unlike most others (and no, I'm not just saying that because of the controversy around James Dreyfus, I genuinely thought his performance was stale). Annette Badland features though, which is very welcome.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The doctor goes back to gallifrey to talk to an old friend but what he doesn’t know it’s the master in disguise.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This just feels very bloated. Gallifrey stories are just difficult stories to make balanced, enjoyable and not too confusing.

[Craig Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely cracking Fourth Doctor story. Anciwnt artefacts, Gallifreyan shenanigans, and a cracking villain.