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Eighth Doctor Adventures #45
Doctor Who: Eater of Wasps
The TARDIS lands in the sleepy English village of Marpling, as calm and peaceful as any other village in the 1930s. Or so it would seem at first glance. But the village is about to get a rude awakening.
The Doctor and his friends discover they aren't the only time-travellers in the area: a crack commando team is also prowling the Wiltshire countryside, charged with the task of recovering an appallingly dangerous artefact from the far future — and they have orders to destroy the entire area, should anything go wrong.
And then there are the wasps... mutant killers bringing terror and death in equal measure. What is their purpose? How can they be stopped? And who will be their next victim?
In the race to stop the horror that has been unleashed, the Doctor must outwit both the temporal hit squad, who want him out of the way, and the local police — who want him for murder.
The Doctor and his friends discover they aren't the only time-travellers in the area: a crack commando team is also prowling the Wiltshire countryside, charged with the task of recovering an appallingly dangerous artefact from the far future — and they have orders to destroy the entire area, should anything go wrong.
And then there are the wasps... mutant killers bringing terror and death in equal measure. What is their purpose? How can they be stopped? And who will be their next victim?
In the race to stop the horror that has been unleashed, the Doctor must outwit both the temporal hit squad, who want him out of the way, and the local police — who want him for murder.
279 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 7, 2001
5 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Trevor Baxendale
84 books48 followersTrevor Baxendale is a novelist who has penned several Doctor Who tie-in novels and audio dramas. He lives in Liverpool, England with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 14, 2018
This the creepy me out cover of the year I hate wasps
A outstanding Paul McGan
A outstanding Paul McGan
June 24, 2025
Trevor Baxendale is an interesting Doctor Who author his works are either very generic or full-on horror stories that will have you rocking back and forth, feeling throughly disturbed. So what happens when you combine the two together? Well, you apparently get Eater of Wasps.
The Tardis Crew arrive in the sleepy English Village of Marpling in the 1930s. Unfortunately, the quiet and peace inhabitants, despite their xenophobic views, are about to be woken up when a device from the future effects a swarm of wasps, causing them to become an army of deadly creatures hellbent on taking over the human form. Anji's faith in The Doctor is waning, but unless he does something, the village of Marpling may very well not exist for much longer.
Trevor Baxendale has written a really fun and engaging Doctor Who novel that is nasty, violent, terrifying and action-packed. It's a very traditional Doctor Who story, but Baxendale adds plenty of terror, an interesting cast of characters and plenty of action to make this one of his strongest novels. The stuff with the Wasps is absolutely terrifying. I adored the horror and atmosphere of this novel, but I wouldn't have minded though if he leaned into more.
Overall: A really solid and great Doctor Who novel that kept me thoroughly entertained. 9/10
The Tardis Crew arrive in the sleepy English Village of Marpling in the 1930s. Unfortunately, the quiet and peace inhabitants, despite their xenophobic views, are about to be woken up when a device from the future effects a swarm of wasps, causing them to become an army of deadly creatures hellbent on taking over the human form. Anji's faith in The Doctor is waning, but unless he does something, the village of Marpling may very well not exist for much longer.
Trevor Baxendale has written a really fun and engaging Doctor Who novel that is nasty, violent, terrifying and action-packed. It's a very traditional Doctor Who story, but Baxendale adds plenty of terror, an interesting cast of characters and plenty of action to make this one of his strongest novels. The stuff with the Wasps is absolutely terrifying. I adored the horror and atmosphere of this novel, but I wouldn't have minded though if he leaned into more.
Overall: A really solid and great Doctor Who novel that kept me thoroughly entertained. 9/10
June 26, 2019
The plot is nothing to write home about, but it's enhanced by Trevor Baxendale's enormous skill in creating a dark, creepy, terrifying atmosphere...something I consider his greatest skill, and present in most of his "Doctor Who" novels. The kind of novel that will make you turn the lights on, and look for crawling, buzzing things in dark corners.
December 7, 2018
Brittisk mysdeckare + Doctor Who + EXTREMT OBEHAGLIGA GETINGAR
Välskriven och lyckas vara både mysig, rolig, spännande och obehaglig.
Kan vara så att jag bara var extremt på humör för en riktigt klassiskt mysig brittisk deckare, och den här är uppenbarligen menad att vara Agatha Christie möter Doctor Who (utspelar sig på 30-talet i en by som heter Marpling... HMMM)
Välskriven och lyckas vara både mysig, rolig, spännande och obehaglig.
Kan vara så att jag bara var extremt på humör för en riktigt klassiskt mysig brittisk deckare, och den här är uppenbarligen menad att vara Agatha Christie möter Doctor Who (utspelar sig på 30-talet i en by som heter Marpling... HMMM)
July 27, 2022
Let’s take a moment at the beginning of this review to discuss WASPs, that is White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. This is a specific term used to describe a subset of the population of the United States of America, the white, largely conservative or neoliberal, upper class. The term originates in the late 1800s but was most popularly used throughout the early and mid 20th century as a way to delineate the “proper” Americans from basically anyone who wasn’t a wealthy white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, and yes it does feed as a term into white nationalism and white supremacy, as well as the eugenics movement. Eater of Wasps is a Doctor Who novel that, whether intentional or not, examines WASPs in a specifically British context while writing the alien menace to be literal swarms of alien wasps that seep their way into the quiet English village of Marpling, first inhabiting and possessing the body of Charles Rigby, the village dentist, before spreading throughout the village, slowly picking off the population one by one. There are also rogue time agents which are being used to set up a future arc and future installments of the Eighth Doctor Adventures, the only part of the book that doesn’t fit as nicely into the theming. This is already a fairly basic setup for a base under siege, Marpling is a village that is isolated from the rest of the United Kingdom and is very, very white and very religious. The alien wasps can easily be read as an example of the desperation of WASPs to hold onto their power as it corrupts what could be otherwise nice and generally good people.
It is very telling that the Doctor, Fitz, and Anji on arrival in Marpling are immediately accosted by an old and angry white woman, Miss Havers, who accuses them of being foreigners including a Romani slur, no doubt due to primarily Anji’s position as a person of color. Havers is the prime example of racism in the novel, being the stickler for the status quo, going to the church and pastor in charge in an attempt to get the Doctor and company away from Marpling as soon as she possibly can. She is a woman terrified of outsiders, using her faith and superstitions to justify it, which only is turned back on her when the wasps begin to attack the village. It is also interesting to see that the Reverend, Ernest Fordyke, and Squire George Pink are the other major characters who represent the insidiousness of the racism and become victims of the wasps. The Reverend initially attempts to calm Miss Havers down to the strangers in the village, and while he never attempts to throw the Doctor and company out, he is an example of that subtle racism and bigotry that invades everyone. He entertains Miss Havers’ crazy conspiracy theories he does subtly imply that he agrees with them, especially since this book takes place in between the two World Wars and there are outsiders in the village who objected to the war and object to the continental turmoil that would eventually lead to World War II, and Fordyke is meaning to capitulate. Squire Pink is on the verge of being in the out group of the village due to his brother, Hilary, being an objector to the war and later revealed to being involved in an affair with a bastard son. The Squire is jovial and the one character in the book to conscientiously become better but not because of his class, but because his brother is killed.
Hilary Pink is the first real friendly face the Doctor, Fitz, and Anji meet and he is the only outright good person, he has his morals and has examined many of his biases. He doesn’t treat Anji, the novel’s only real person of color, any differently, despite having his own set of sins to contend with. He is an outsider, someone who because of being a conscientious objector has been set aside and this is why he’s able to provide the Doctor and company sanctuary at his brother’s estate. Of course being essentially the only morally good character means that he is attacked by the wasps and killed, a sign of the wasps going after everyone. Now the wasps themselves are alien and there are time agents which compose a subplot that doesn’t feel like it goes anywhere and is mainly disconnected from the book, but the horror and gruesome descriptions of how the wasps attack and kill are a highlight. The misshapen corpses, breaking out in bumps and boils due to the venom as well as the way that Baxendale calls attention to how a single wasp becomes an indicator of the horror creeping in slowly before it swarms. Pay close attention to the grace Baxendale uses as it’s important to dissect the aliens themselves.
Overall, Eater of Wasps is Baxendale’s first true triumph of a novel. After two books of rather mixed quality, this one delivers on the horror of a quaint English village and the double meaning of the idea of a wasp, transplanted from the United States to a British setting. There is an examination of the years in between the World Wars while the Doctor is perhaps at his most grim here which is wonderful, something McGann easily could have sunk his teeth into. It’s a fascinating examination of xenophobia in particular through a British lens that should not be overlooked. 9/10.
It is very telling that the Doctor, Fitz, and Anji on arrival in Marpling are immediately accosted by an old and angry white woman, Miss Havers, who accuses them of being foreigners including a Romani slur, no doubt due to primarily Anji’s position as a person of color. Havers is the prime example of racism in the novel, being the stickler for the status quo, going to the church and pastor in charge in an attempt to get the Doctor and company away from Marpling as soon as she possibly can. She is a woman terrified of outsiders, using her faith and superstitions to justify it, which only is turned back on her when the wasps begin to attack the village. It is also interesting to see that the Reverend, Ernest Fordyke, and Squire George Pink are the other major characters who represent the insidiousness of the racism and become victims of the wasps. The Reverend initially attempts to calm Miss Havers down to the strangers in the village, and while he never attempts to throw the Doctor and company out, he is an example of that subtle racism and bigotry that invades everyone. He entertains Miss Havers’ crazy conspiracy theories he does subtly imply that he agrees with them, especially since this book takes place in between the two World Wars and there are outsiders in the village who objected to the war and object to the continental turmoil that would eventually lead to World War II, and Fordyke is meaning to capitulate. Squire Pink is on the verge of being in the out group of the village due to his brother, Hilary, being an objector to the war and later revealed to being involved in an affair with a bastard son. The Squire is jovial and the one character in the book to conscientiously become better but not because of his class, but because his brother is killed.
Hilary Pink is the first real friendly face the Doctor, Fitz, and Anji meet and he is the only outright good person, he has his morals and has examined many of his biases. He doesn’t treat Anji, the novel’s only real person of color, any differently, despite having his own set of sins to contend with. He is an outsider, someone who because of being a conscientious objector has been set aside and this is why he’s able to provide the Doctor and company sanctuary at his brother’s estate. Of course being essentially the only morally good character means that he is attacked by the wasps and killed, a sign of the wasps going after everyone. Now the wasps themselves are alien and there are time agents which compose a subplot that doesn’t feel like it goes anywhere and is mainly disconnected from the book, but the horror and gruesome descriptions of how the wasps attack and kill are a highlight. The misshapen corpses, breaking out in bumps and boils due to the venom as well as the way that Baxendale calls attention to how a single wasp becomes an indicator of the horror creeping in slowly before it swarms. Pay close attention to the grace Baxendale uses as it’s important to dissect the aliens themselves.
Overall, Eater of Wasps is Baxendale’s first true triumph of a novel. After two books of rather mixed quality, this one delivers on the horror of a quaint English village and the double meaning of the idea of a wasp, transplanted from the United States to a British setting. There is an examination of the years in between the World Wars while the Doctor is perhaps at his most grim here which is wonderful, something McGann easily could have sunk his teeth into. It’s a fascinating examination of xenophobia in particular through a British lens that should not be overlooked. 9/10.
July 24, 2024
Lots of action, lots of body horror. The action sequences are classic and fun -- the Doctor has a fight on the roof of a train! The Doctor defuses a bomb! -- and I enjoyed the "small 1930s British village" setting. There's something a bit odd going on with the Doctor's characterization here, though -- Anji's feeling distrustful of him, and his seeming lack of caring and bursts of violence, while Fitz continues to be entirely devoted and faithful. The contrast is interesting -- gosh, I wonder what could be causing the difference in their feelings? -- but I hope this is building to something, along with the Doctor's still-present partial amnesia. (Eight as Amnesias Georg strikes again.)
December 27, 2020
The second of the doctor's adventures I have read. I liked this one. The drama was a bit more evident and the story flowed along at a good pace. The way it all came together made it seem a bit more plausible than the prior book I read. I know it is set in a different Earth reality and all that but I still get distracted by inaccuracies so I like when a book is solidly based on reality and doesn't completely veer off the path into absurd what ifs. This one did not do that, so yay!
July 3, 2018
A truly disturbing and scary monster, do not read if you really don't like wasps. The Tardis lands in a country village in the 1930s, wasps are starting to kill people.
This is the first book for a long time that I found disturbing. I think they wouldnt even try to put this on TV because of this. The story is decent, and there is a real feeling of danger all the way through. A very good read.
This is the first book for a long time that I found disturbing. I think they wouldnt even try to put this on TV because of this. The story is decent, and there is a real feeling of danger all the way through. A very good read.
February 20, 2023
Action heavy with some really good horror elements. Some of the characterizations suffer and Fitz and Anji don’t really do much the entire book. For the most part, all the characters seem to stand around twiddling thumbs until the Doctor does something. It is a very fast-paced book; however, and doesn’t really let up from beginning to end. A decent fun read.
April 17, 2023
Set in a quaint little English town, this book balances that classic Dr. Who feeling with that of looming dread and horror. The main characters are done brilliantly, and the rest of the cast are memorable as well. While not doing anything all too spectacular or groundbreaking, the book still leaves you on the edge of your seat as you flip the page.
October 23, 2025
Not sure why this took me a while to get into. It was a pretty solid read once I did. Lots of nice Doctor moments and I sympathized with Anji’s response to the seeming lack of concern for those who didn’t survive (although with this type of tale that’s only something that worries you if you’re allowed to become aware of it)
November 18, 2024
An absolute page turner. I loved it.
August 11, 2025
A piece of nostalgia from the "Doctor," that never was. An absolute belter. 1930s England, a displaced weapon of mass destruction and a temporal hit squad.
August 21, 2025
this shouldn't be 280 pages long
May 26, 2018
THIS should be made into a TV episode.
Creepy atmosphere, interesting antagonists and the Doctor is truly alien in this.
Certainly this is one of the better tie- in- fiction books.
Creepy atmosphere, interesting antagonists and the Doctor is truly alien in this.
Certainly this is one of the better tie- in- fiction books.
April 8, 2009
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2157753.html[return][return]A very effective tale of body horror here, with some similarities in central theme and historical setting to the later TV story The Unicorn and the Wasp but without the Agatha Christie bits and with more killer aliens. The Doctor is starting to behave all unsympathetically, though, and veers closer to cruelty than I would like. However the two companions, Fitz and Anji, have plenty to do and the wasps themselves are tremendously well visualised, as is the village which appears normal but is concealing horror and abomination.
March 25, 2013
This one spends a lot of time trying to creep you out with 'Ewwww gross bugs being gross!' and not much time on a plot.
There were some great moments with the futuristic SWAT team and the classy Englishmen. I was sad when people died. Lots of people died. It's one of those 'and then everybody died' stories.
The train scene was cool but ultimately a bit pointless. Nothing in the plot surprised me. Not even that obnoxious lady (who was basically the Wicked Witch of the West sans green face).
Anji and Fitz did a good job being themselves and so did the Doctor, although the author made him a bit too goofy and awkward for my liking.
If you love the Doctor, go ahead and read it.
There were some great moments with the futuristic SWAT team and the classy Englishmen. I was sad when people died. Lots of people died. It's one of those 'and then everybody died' stories.
The train scene was cool but ultimately a bit pointless. Nothing in the plot surprised me. Not even that obnoxious lady (who was basically the Wicked Witch of the West sans green face).
Anji and Fitz did a good job being themselves and so did the Doctor, although the author made him a bit too goofy and awkward for my liking.
If you love the Doctor, go ahead and read it.
August 30, 2016
A pleasant but undemanding read, that doesn't quite make good enough use of its setting or genre (an Agatha Christie-esque village, unsubtly named 'Marpling'). It is interesting how fallible and unlikeable the series had let Paul McGann's Doctor be at this point, although new companion Anji isn't a particularly strong foil (his other companion Fitz is much stronger but gets consistently sidelined). Still a rather cosy read, and very clearly as evocative of traditional Doctor Who yarns as Baxendale's other works (The Janus Conjunction, Coldheart), but a bit lacking in substance.
October 18, 2008
Quite a fun adventure with the Doctor and his companions arriving in a quiet English village in the year 1931. Predictably however things don't stay quiet for long. With a terrible weapon hidden in the village, mutant wasps and a commando team from the future, the Doctor soon has his work cut out trying to prevent armageddon.
A fun adventure but not for the squeamish, particularly those who hate wasps.
A fun adventure but not for the squeamish, particularly those who hate wasps.
May 28, 2016
Traditional Who with all the right elements in place. Fun, with just the right level of horror present. The Eighth Doctor is in his element in an adventure which merges the futuristic with the quintessentially British past. It was personally made all the more compelling by the fact that a wasp was caught in my bedroom late at night whilst I was reading. The juxtapostion of this event with the antagonists of the book immediately brought back childhood fears long thought buried!
March 2, 2010
Top class Who.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews