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Doctor Who: Missing Adventures #23
Doctor Who: Killing Ground
‘Imagine that you can live forever and life is totally free from pain. You can see all things with clarity, unblinkered by irrelevant details. You will never fear, never sicken, never lose control. That is what the Cybermen are offering.’
The Doctor takes his new companion, Grant, back home to Agora -- only to find a world in the thrall of some of his oldest and deadliest foes.
The Cybermen have taken control and set up a breeding colony to propagate their own race. While the Doctor languishes in a cell at the mercy of the sadistic Overseers, Grant joins up with a group of rebels and works on a desperate rescue bid.
With time running out, the rebels move into action. But will their solution prove more deadly than the problem itself?
This adventure takes place between the television stories The Trial of a Time Lord and Time and the Rani, and follows on from the Missing Adventure Time of Your Life.
The Doctor takes his new companion, Grant, back home to Agora -- only to find a world in the thrall of some of his oldest and deadliest foes.
The Cybermen have taken control and set up a breeding colony to propagate their own race. While the Doctor languishes in a cell at the mercy of the sadistic Overseers, Grant joins up with a group of rebels and works on a desperate rescue bid.
With time running out, the rebels move into action. But will their solution prove more deadly than the problem itself?
This adventure takes place between the television stories The Trial of a Time Lord and Time and the Rani, and follows on from the Missing Adventure Time of Your Life.
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 20, 1996
3 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Steve Lyons
186 books105 followersSteve Lyons is a science fiction writer, best known for writing television tie-ins of Doctor Who for BBC Books, and previously, Virgin. The earliest of these was Conundrum in 1994, and his most recent was 2005's The Stealers of Dreams. He has also written material for Star Trek tie-ins, as well as original work.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 19, 2022
Killing Ground is a Doctor Who book I’ve wanted for quite a few years now and as soon as it arrived in the post a week ago I immediately began to read it. I’ve read a few books from Steve Lyons already and now that I’ve read this, I can definitively say he is my favourite author when it comes to Doctor Who books.
If you’re a fan of the cybermen then I can say you’ll absolutely adore this book. I really hope that this story gets adapted for television just like how Human Nature got adapted in 2007. It probably won’t happen but if any book deserves an adaptation then it’s this one. It could be one of the greatest cybermen stories of all time. That said, I still think it is one of the greatest despite being in book form.
I don’t want to delve too much into this as I want fellow fans to go out and enjoy this for themselves. Everything about this book is sheer perfection from start to finish. I usually go into a good number of reasons why I like a certain book but in this case, I just don’t want to say too much other than buy this book immediately (although that’s if you can find a good price for it) and sit back and enjoy it hopefully as much as I did.
Steve Lyons really understands the cybermen and in this book they are written beautifully and I can say the same for Colin Bakers sixth Doctor. I don’t think I have an actual negative for this book as for me, it’s completely flawless. Just an utter joy to read and one I recommend for any fans of the cybermen who are at their absolute best here.
10/10
If you’re a fan of the cybermen then I can say you’ll absolutely adore this book. I really hope that this story gets adapted for television just like how Human Nature got adapted in 2007. It probably won’t happen but if any book deserves an adaptation then it’s this one. It could be one of the greatest cybermen stories of all time. That said, I still think it is one of the greatest despite being in book form.
I don’t want to delve too much into this as I want fellow fans to go out and enjoy this for themselves. Everything about this book is sheer perfection from start to finish. I usually go into a good number of reasons why I like a certain book but in this case, I just don’t want to say too much other than buy this book immediately (although that’s if you can find a good price for it) and sit back and enjoy it hopefully as much as I did.
Steve Lyons really understands the cybermen and in this book they are written beautifully and I can say the same for Colin Bakers sixth Doctor. I don’t think I have an actual negative for this book as for me, it’s completely flawless. Just an utter joy to read and one I recommend for any fans of the cybermen who are at their absolute best here.
10/10
December 9, 2018
The human colony on the planet Agora in the late 22nd century is mired in repression and fear. Every three years, the Cybermen arrive to claim 500 healthy people for conversion. When the Doctor arrives with his new companion Grant, he is swiftly captured and imprisoned by the Overseers who rule in the Cybermen's absence, while Grant soon finds himself involved in the resistance. As the Doctor is interrogated about the whereabouts of his companion, two new time travelers arrive to witness the events of the Cybermen's arrival -- and possibly to even play a part in the history they have traveled into the past to observe.
While dozens of the Doctor Who "Missing Adventures" novels were published in the 1990s, surprisingly few of them drew upon the many iconic villains that had been developed over the years in the series' original run. In this respect Steve Lyons's book is an standout in its use of the Cybermen, one of the most famous of the many enemies the Doctor has faced over the decades. Yet Lyons chose specifically to employ the Cybermen faced by the Doctor during his fourth incarnation, one that is widely regarded as possibly their worst depictions ever. Nor is his book helped by his main focus on the Agorans rather than the Doctor or his enemies, leading to long stretches when neither of the central figures in the series appear in the book. Instead the reader is treated to the sort of rebellion-against-tyrant plot that was done a dozen times before throughout the show, only with too many plot conveniences employed to make for a truly engaging tale. The result is a disappointing entry into the series, one that wastes its few enjoyable traits in a mediocre storyline plagued by shallow characterization.
While dozens of the Doctor Who "Missing Adventures" novels were published in the 1990s, surprisingly few of them drew upon the many iconic villains that had been developed over the years in the series' original run. In this respect Steve Lyons's book is an standout in its use of the Cybermen, one of the most famous of the many enemies the Doctor has faced over the decades. Yet Lyons chose specifically to employ the Cybermen faced by the Doctor during his fourth incarnation, one that is widely regarded as possibly their worst depictions ever. Nor is his book helped by his main focus on the Agorans rather than the Doctor or his enemies, leading to long stretches when neither of the central figures in the series appear in the book. Instead the reader is treated to the sort of rebellion-against-tyrant plot that was done a dozen times before throughout the show, only with too many plot conveniences employed to make for a truly engaging tale. The result is a disappointing entry into the series, one that wastes its few enjoyable traits in a mediocre storyline plagued by shallow characterization.
November 27, 2017
This is one of the best Cybermen stories ever written, if not THE best. Dark, bleak and lots of body horror.
July 5, 2020
With his second or third novel, Steve Lyons still has not quite found what works for him. "Killing Ground" stays pretty close to Eric Saward - style Doctor Who. It's limited to a few tight locations, and plotted around various battles with linking scenes mostly meant to get the reader to the next battle. The Doctor spends most of the novel chained up and out of action. The main idea is not fully dealt with. Doctor 6 has decided rather off-handedly to take his new companion Grant Markham, from Lyons' previous novel "Time of Your Life," to his home world, which Grant had left when he was a small child. Agora, it turns out, has been made into a Cyberman breeding ground, with the natives forced to reproduce to provide material for Cyber conversion. There's a ragtag and hopeless kind of resistance movement using stolen Cyber technology to create a fighting force they are calling Bronze Knights. Also, this particular period in Cyber history is the subject of investigation for a pair of time-travelling historians, the elder of whom secretly wants to become a Cyberman (or woman, as it were). In typical Saward fashion, the story is quite violent and bloody, with the heroes continuously trapped and about to be killed when some kind of miraculous thing manages to get them saved. The incidents become increasingly frequent until in the last 40 or so pages that is all that is happening. Some questions remain at the end, such as why The Doctor chose to take Grant to Agora. Grant keeps wondering, but no answer is given. At the end, it seems that Grant will continue travelling in the TARDIS, though this turns out to be the last novel with him in it. Lyons does a very good job of writing a Saward-style story, very much in the spirit of 1983-4 Doctor Who.
September 13, 2025
August 2022
I think this might now be one of my favourite Cyberman stories. So often in Who they're the invaders, and making them a pre-established and long-lasting fact of the colony creates a completely different dynamic. I felt involved with the plot and characters, including Grant, which I was impressed by given that he's only appeared in one book before this. I was genuinely worried he was going to die at several points because I have very little idea what happens to him. Hegelia was another highlight, mainly because it's rare to find someone who actually wants to be a Cyberman. It wasn't perfect, and I'd've liked a bit more space given to the resolution of the Bronze Knights plot (as it is it felt a bit too neat), but it's definitely a series highlight for me, and miles better than Lyons' last VMA.
September 2025
Love this one still. A book in many ways defined by failure - Grant's to rescue the Doctor after he's captured, the Doctor to save those 500 people, the previous rebellion to kick the Cybermen out, the possibility hanging over them by the end that the Bronze Knights will go the way of the Cybermen. And yet it feels, to me, like it earns its dourness, and it is in many ways also a story about people trying to push through anyway.
I think this might now be one of my favourite Cyberman stories. So often in Who they're the invaders, and making them a pre-established and long-lasting fact of the colony creates a completely different dynamic. I felt involved with the plot and characters, including Grant, which I was impressed by given that he's only appeared in one book before this. I was genuinely worried he was going to die at several points because I have very little idea what happens to him. Hegelia was another highlight, mainly because it's rare to find someone who actually wants to be a Cyberman. It wasn't perfect, and I'd've liked a bit more space given to the resolution of the Bronze Knights plot (as it is it felt a bit too neat), but it's definitely a series highlight for me, and miles better than Lyons' last VMA.
September 2025
Love this one still. A book in many ways defined by failure - Grant's to rescue the Doctor after he's captured, the Doctor to save those 500 people, the previous rebellion to kick the Cybermen out, the possibility hanging over them by the end that the Bronze Knights will go the way of the Cybermen. And yet it feels, to me, like it earns its dourness, and it is in many ways also a story about people trying to push through anyway.
December 31, 2019
A Cybermen story and a good one at that. Well crafted, with a good sense of both the Sixth Doctor and the sort of story that he'd star (poor Doctor was so very jinxed in that incarnation), but it could be so much better if only the author had acknowledged that Agora was actually a chattel slave colony and as such the main rebels would be most oppressed people: women.
It's all men rebelling in Agora, even though it's also all men cooperating with the Cybermen, even though it's also only men being converted into cybermen. It just doesn't adds up that there were enough men left to rebel.
And that is the sort of thing that gets to me, because he was so close. He had two women as main characters and they were interesting and had agency, but they never actually speak to each other or other women. He wrote a story about oppression, rebellion and the prices people pay for safety or freedom, but seems to have forgotten women are people too.
It's all men rebelling in Agora, even though it's also all men cooperating with the Cybermen, even though it's also only men being converted into cybermen. It just doesn't adds up that there were enough men left to rebel.
And that is the sort of thing that gets to me, because he was so close. He had two women as main characters and they were interesting and had agency, but they never actually speak to each other or other women. He wrote a story about oppression, rebellion and the prices people pay for safety or freedom, but seems to have forgotten women are people too.
January 25, 2025
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/killing-ground-by-steve-lyons/
Features Grant Markham, a books-only companion, who the Doctor takes back to his home planet which is under attack from horrible metal creatures. It is a gritty tale of Cybermen; people who want to be like Cybermen; and people trying to fight Cybermen by becoming worse than Cybermen. Some chilling moments, and thought-provoking considerations of what it is that the Cybermen actually want and mean.
Features Grant Markham, a books-only companion, who the Doctor takes back to his home planet which is under attack from horrible metal creatures. It is a gritty tale of Cybermen; people who want to be like Cybermen; and people trying to fight Cybermen by becoming worse than Cybermen. Some chilling moments, and thought-provoking considerations of what it is that the Cybermen actually want and mean.
October 7, 2025
The best of a rather ropey span of books for the Missing Adventures. It's not sheer literary brilliance, but it's a jolly exciting adventure with Cybermen and exactly the sort of thing which the Sixth Doctor really should have got on TV but didn't. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
October 26, 2014
Many of the Missing Adventures series are good stories. Some are really good. This tale of the 6th Doctor rises above in its look at that much-maligned incarnation and showing what could have been done with the character. Colin Baker's Doctor was just poorly served by the writers, producers, and BBC management.
Killing Ground is not without its flaws. Like much of the Virgin line, it tends to spend too much time on less than stellar new companions and secondary characters in the individual story.
Where this story takes off is with some truly vicious Cybermen. Also, we have a truly haunted, post-"Trial of a Timelord" Doctor. Full of doubts and worried at the glimpse he's had of his possible future.
The Doctor's mission to the Cyberman's ship in the climax is one of the best bits for this incarnation of the Doctor ever. No, strike that, it's one of the best bits of Doctor Who ever. The particolored clown shows that, yes, indeed, he is the Doctor.
If only we had been given a full novel at that level, this would have been a strong 5-stars. Too many boring other characters drag this down a star.
Killing Ground is not without its flaws. Like much of the Virgin line, it tends to spend too much time on less than stellar new companions and secondary characters in the individual story.
Where this story takes off is with some truly vicious Cybermen. Also, we have a truly haunted, post-"Trial of a Timelord" Doctor. Full of doubts and worried at the glimpse he's had of his possible future.
The Doctor's mission to the Cyberman's ship in the climax is one of the best bits for this incarnation of the Doctor ever. No, strike that, it's one of the best bits of Doctor Who ever. The particolored clown shows that, yes, indeed, he is the Doctor.
If only we had been given a full novel at that level, this would have been a strong 5-stars. Too many boring other characters drag this down a star.
January 16, 2011
I have a friend who prefers his Doctor Who novels to be dark and soul destroying. Look no further than "Killing Ground" -- a novel that highlights (with considerable style and quality) everything that is horrific about the Cybermen, and the effect they can have on a civilization.
April 15, 2008
Great new companion, and a reminder that Cybermen are some scary guys. Too bad the Doctor doesn't get to do that much. Feels much more like it's Grant's book and the Doctor is the sidekick.
February 24, 2010
Love this one as it has a companion not from the screen - Grant Markham. I associate this book with The Bee Gees song 'Nights on Broadway'
September 27, 2012
More good 6th Doctor characterization and good plotting. Much of the book is way too slow, though, with the Doctor captive for most of it and Grant similarly helpless. It picks up at the end.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews