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Past Doctor Adventures #3
Doctor Who: The Ultimate Treasure
The seers of Gelsandor foretell the coming of many visitors to their planet, all in search of the lost treasure of the fabulously wealthy Rovan Cartovall, who vanished 5000 years ago...
An innocent shopping jaunt for the Doctor and Peri ends in violence and incarceration as they become caught up in a mysterious transaction involving the sale of co-ordinates leading to Rovan's hoard - the ultimate treasure.
The Doctor and Peri join the quest, but the Time Lord remains sceptical. What will they find - and why has it remained undiscovered for so long?
The resourcefulness of the travellers is tested to the limits as they each race to be the first to the treasure. And among a seemingly endless array of tricks, tests and traps lurk some deadly surprises.
An innocent shopping jaunt for the Doctor and Peri ends in violence and incarceration as they become caught up in a mysterious transaction involving the sale of co-ordinates leading to Rovan's hoard - the ultimate treasure.
The Doctor and Peri join the quest, but the Time Lord remains sceptical. What will they find - and why has it remained undiscovered for so long?
The resourcefulness of the travellers is tested to the limits as they each race to be the first to the treasure. And among a seemingly endless array of tricks, tests and traps lurk some deadly surprises.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 18, 1997
2 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Bulis
19 books21 followersChristopher Bulis is a writer best known for his work on various Doctor Who spin-offs. He is one of the most prolific authors to write for the various ranges of spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who, with twelve novels to his name, and between 1993 and 2000 he had at least one Doctor Who novel published every year.
Bulis' first published work was the New Adventure Shadowmind, published in 1993 by Virgin Publishing. This was the only novel Bulis wrote featuring the Seventh Doctor, and his next five books were all published under Virgin's Missing Adventures range: State of Change (1994), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1995), The Eye of the Giant (1996), Twilight of the Gods (1996), and A Device of Death (1997).
When Virgin lost their licence to publish novels based on Doctor Who, Bulis repeated this pattern writing novels for the BBC - with one novel written for the current incumbent Doctor as part of BBC Books' Eighth Doctor Adventures range, and then all of his other novels published as part of the Past Doctor Adventures range. Bulis' novels for the BBC were The Ultimate Treasure (1997), Vanderdeken's Children (1998), City at World's End (1999), Imperial Moon (2000) and Palace of the Red Sun (2002).
Bulis also wrote the novel Tempest as part of Virgin's Bernice Summerfield range of novels, and also a short story for Big Finish Productions' Short Trips series.
Bulis' first published work was the New Adventure Shadowmind, published in 1993 by Virgin Publishing. This was the only novel Bulis wrote featuring the Seventh Doctor, and his next five books were all published under Virgin's Missing Adventures range: State of Change (1994), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1995), The Eye of the Giant (1996), Twilight of the Gods (1996), and A Device of Death (1997).
When Virgin lost their licence to publish novels based on Doctor Who, Bulis repeated this pattern writing novels for the BBC - with one novel written for the current incumbent Doctor as part of BBC Books' Eighth Doctor Adventures range, and then all of his other novels published as part of the Past Doctor Adventures range. Bulis' novels for the BBC were The Ultimate Treasure (1997), Vanderdeken's Children (1998), City at World's End (1999), Imperial Moon (2000) and Palace of the Red Sun (2002).
Bulis also wrote the novel Tempest as part of Virgin's Bernice Summerfield range of novels, and also a short story for Big Finish Productions' Short Trips series.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 3, 2019
It’s been nearly 15 years since I first read all the PDA’s and I’ve recently had the urge to revisit them all again, partly so that I can add a review as a reminder.
With this one having such a lower average rating and not having any real recollection of the plot, I wasn’t exactly excited to read this one again...
In truth it’s not actually a bad book and it’s certainly not the worst in the range, it just feels like it’s missing something extra to make it good.
The story itself is fine, a fun little quest as the TARDIS team are caught up in the hunt for Rovan’s treasure.
I think where the book fails short is ultimately down to the fact that The Doctor and Peri don’t feature that predominantly.
It’s established that this adventure is set directly after Planet of Fire and I wanted to see more of the two of them together.
Bulis really captures them both perfectly too!
Overall slightly disappointing, the current average rating of 2.86 is about right.
With this one having such a lower average rating and not having any real recollection of the plot, I wasn’t exactly excited to read this one again...
In truth it’s not actually a bad book and it’s certainly not the worst in the range, it just feels like it’s missing something extra to make it good.
The story itself is fine, a fun little quest as the TARDIS team are caught up in the hunt for Rovan’s treasure.
I think where the book fails short is ultimately down to the fact that The Doctor and Peri don’t feature that predominantly.
It’s established that this adventure is set directly after Planet of Fire and I wanted to see more of the two of them together.
Bulis really captures them both perfectly too!
Overall slightly disappointing, the current average rating of 2.86 is about right.
February 13, 2024
This race-to-find-the-treasure adventure could just as easily be a Bernice Summerfield book as a Doctor Who one, or else some other sci-fi. That said, Christopher Bulis exercises enough imagination to keep the various traps and pitfalls interesting on the way to the finish line. It’s undemanding stuff, but I had a good time with it.
July 29, 2025
This is the first 5th Doctor I've read that hasn't been amazing. Again, it's not bad, but not nearly as good as the others. This would have made for a better TV movie or four part episode than it did a novel, but probably more expensive to make than BBC could afford at the time. We have a cast of characters all searching for the titular treasure, and the story mostly comprises of the trials and tribulations they endure to reach it. They are different enough to tell apart, but not interesting enough to remember, or fleshed out enough for us to care about.
There are monsters, traps, puzzles, angry locals, and troubling geography that 5 and Peri need to surpass to get to the treasure, and Kamelion even makes a cameo. Bulis keeps 5 and Peri well within character and you can imagine them speaking and acting the way they do here.
The ending and the true treasure is eye-roll worthy (I won't spoil it here, but you can probably imagine what it might be). In this case, it's the journey that's important, not really the ending.
Surprisingly, Bulis doesn't rely on his usual tropes of gore and mass death. This is something different for him, and for that alone, it might be worth a read if he's a favorite Who author of yours. As it stands, this 5 installment is just okay. Not worth a reread on my part, but certainly not an awful story.
There are monsters, traps, puzzles, angry locals, and troubling geography that 5 and Peri need to surpass to get to the treasure, and Kamelion even makes a cameo. Bulis keeps 5 and Peri well within character and you can imagine them speaking and acting the way they do here.
The ending and the true treasure is eye-roll worthy (I won't spoil it here, but you can probably imagine what it might be). In this case, it's the journey that's important, not really the ending.
Surprisingly, Bulis doesn't rely on his usual tropes of gore and mass death. This is something different for him, and for that alone, it might be worth a read if he's a favorite Who author of yours. As it stands, this 5 installment is just okay. Not worth a reread on my part, but certainly not an awful story.
September 7, 2017
A generally entertaining tale focusing on the hunt for a legendary treasure, through a series of challenges that felt akin to a Dungeons & Dragons adventure. This particular novel feels like it's more about the supporting cast than the Doctor and Peri themselves, however. (While this probably works for the frequently passive Fifth Doctor, I wonder if this novel might have worked better as a First Doctor story.) Of that supporting cast, the criminal group was the most interesting, though the others have their moments. There are a few unexpected developments throughout, but the quest ends in a not-entirely-surprising way (I'd been hoping for a grander twist). There's also a really random and unsatisfying return appearance of an earlier companion; I'm not sure what the point was. Overall this is fun enough to read, but not likely to be memorable. (B)
August 5, 2024
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-ultimate-treasure-by-christopher-bulis/
A story of the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Kamelion, and a quest narrative with a host of competing quirky teams and a prize at the end that turns out to be more symbolic than valuable. I’ll be honest, I didn’t care for it much; the plot has been done better elsewhere in both Who novels and other media (The Ghost Monument comes to mind), and there were some very annoying typos – “Van Gough” was the one that grated most.
A story of the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Kamelion, and a quest narrative with a host of competing quirky teams and a prize at the end that turns out to be more symbolic than valuable. I’ll be honest, I didn’t care for it much; the plot has been done better elsewhere in both Who novels and other media (The Ghost Monument comes to mind), and there were some very annoying typos – “Van Gough” was the one that grated most.
January 16, 2021
Really is an appalling book. I hate Peri.
April 24, 2025
this one doesnt seem to get a lot of love but i really enjoyed it. more of a fantasy novel with a 'quest' element with the ultimate treasure having five doctors vibes.
June 18, 2016
This book opens with Peri and the Fifth Doctor, on vacation at the world's biggest shopping mall. Actually, it's a planet-sized space station that IS a shopping mall. They are about to leave when Peri announces she wants a souvenir. The go to the lower, less respectable levels of the mall and end-up in the middle of a robbery and murder. But all this is mere set-up as the Doctor and Peri get caught-up in a big treasure hunt.
The treasure hunt consists of a series of mental, physical, and logical tests, as well as tests of character. Several other people also end up on the treasure hunt, with a variety of motivations. As with all novels of this type, after making their way through a number of tests, all the various characters have to make a very serious choice.
The story moved fast, and although some of the tests were familiar (the Doctor even jokes that he, "faced something similar on Mars," about one logic puzzle,) overall I found the short episodic nature of The Quest to be interesting. The final choices, which I won't spoil, made a logical sense.
Overall, it was a fun and fast read. This particular story wasn't the best Past Doctor Adventure I've read, but it certainly wasn't the worst, either. Recommended, if you can find it. Yes, despite it being very early in the PDA series, I only found a copy a year or so ago, it's well out of print.
The treasure hunt consists of a series of mental, physical, and logical tests, as well as tests of character. Several other people also end up on the treasure hunt, with a variety of motivations. As with all novels of this type, after making their way through a number of tests, all the various characters have to make a very serious choice.
The story moved fast, and although some of the tests were familiar (the Doctor even jokes that he, "faced something similar on Mars," about one logic puzzle,) overall I found the short episodic nature of The Quest to be interesting. The final choices, which I won't spoil, made a logical sense.
Overall, it was a fun and fast read. This particular story wasn't the best Past Doctor Adventure I've read, but it certainly wasn't the worst, either. Recommended, if you can find it. Yes, despite it being very early in the PDA series, I only found a copy a year or so ago, it's well out of print.
January 28, 2015
This novel is exceptionally frustrating. There are any number of excellent qualities on offer: the characterization of the 5th Doctor & Peri, the amusing gangster-ish members of the supporting cast, and a fascinating twist to the conclusion of the quest storyline. However, this is mitigated by (1) the remaining characters, all of whom are rather uninteresting; (2) two characters in particular -- Falstaff and Dynes -- who are interesting additions but simply arrive in the story without any suitable depth of explanation or motivation, barring some moments at the climax; (3) a quest storyline that, for the most part, is rather "seen it all before"; and (4) the surprise re-appearance of a character which feels as if Christopher Bullis is simply trying to pack far too much into a single novel. I can't shake the feeling that this is one edit away from becoming something truly epic...but as it stands, it's charming but unremarkable.
June 30, 2022
Doctor Five and Peri arrive at a supermall in space and shortly get forced into going on a quest. Christopher Bulis rather likes quests. The plot basically follows along the lines of "The Five Doctors." We have several parties converging on the same super-secret object that will grant its obtainer an impossible dream. Of course, the treasure is not what it seems. Bulis also likes to get the female companions out of the action, so Peri spends a large part of the novel captive to an outer space mafia goon. For genre writing with the emphasis on generic, Bulis is the man.
May 15, 2008
Not a bad story. Peri comes across pretty well, but the Fifth Doctor feels very flat, almost to the point where you wonder if the story would have been any different without him.
There's a guest appearance by a past character that, while a character I felt got a raw deal during his time on the show, felt awfully tacked on, and the big twist in the ending felt more forced and 'aren't I clever?' than dramatic.
There's a guest appearance by a past character that, while a character I felt got a raw deal during his time on the show, felt awfully tacked on, and the big twist in the ending felt more forced and 'aren't I clever?' than dramatic.
September 15, 2009
The Fifth Doctor & Peri. Between Planet of Fire & The Caves of Androzani.
The usually reliable Bulis fires a blank this time. The Doctor joins a deadly treasure hunt, along with a bunch of other characters, including a gang of baddies that would probably have been way too silly for Scooby Doo. Three books into the series and I'm already starting to get nostalgic about the Virgin range.
The usually reliable Bulis fires a blank this time. The Doctor joins a deadly treasure hunt, along with a bunch of other characters, including a gang of baddies that would probably have been way too silly for Scooby Doo. Three books into the series and I'm already starting to get nostalgic about the Virgin range.
February 8, 2011
Past Doctor Adventure (PDA) with the fifth Doctor, Peri, and a surprise guest. A pleasant read. An excellent Peri, and all the guest characters stand out with sharp personalities (unusual in Doctor Who original novels). However, one gets tired of homophone errors.
October 28, 2013
A fun little adventure story, featuring a combination of doctor and companion that didn't get very much time in the series. It's a little predictable, and a little gun-happy, but I could imagine this as being an actual set of episodes.
January 11, 2013
A 5th Doctor and Peri adventure. A treasure hunt with puzzles and obstacles to be overcome. It feels like it wanted to be a big budget tv show. A good read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews