Doctor Who: The Final Sanction

Past Doctor Adventures #24

by Steve Lyons

It is the second and so far final encounter between the Doctor and the Selachians, first introduced by Lyons in his previous Second Doctor novel, The Murder Game. The year is 2204. The Doctor is caught in human history. When the TARDIS is stolen and Zoe is kidnapped by a Selachian he is forced to intervene in a war. The Doctor most make a painful choice which is more important the flow of a time stream or the lives of his companions.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction

285 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2000

About the author

Steve 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.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Selachians were one of the most memorable villains to come from the Past Doctor series, it's a slight shame that they only appeared in two books.

It's a grim war story that somehow fits well with this TARDIS team in prose, being set near the end of the Second Doctor's era and the readers foresight in knowing this incarnations final fate probably helps.

With Zoe captured and Jamie willing to fight alongside the humans, it leaves the Time Lord concerned about preserving the web of time.
Lyons really captures the three main characters well and this gritty darker tale is a unique but fascinating take on one of my favourite era's of the show.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb command of the 2nd Doctor (no easy task in print), a fantastic moral & historical dilemma, and a civilization of space sharks you are actually FORCED to take seriously! One of the few Troughton-era novels that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Pietro Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you only ever read one Dr Who book, make it this one.

It shows the horror of war with humans v Selachians, with the latter being one of the better realised alien race. Not since the original Daleks or Cybermen stories or Ice Warriors have we had a vicious war like race with a tragic past, and rounded culture, that brings empathy, if not sympathy.

Added to this is a 'fixed point of time' on another planet. On Earth the Doctor worries about fixed points of time, anachronistic objects etc, but rarely bothers on other planets which surely must have histories. Not the case here as it's an essential part of the story. So we also get a race against time as part of the excitement.

Set in one of the programme's camper period, this is fantastically dark with 3-D characters, whether human or Selachian.

There's no cop-outs, good depiction of war and what it does to people, good origin of war between didn't know better v revenge for action. Brutally told.

[David Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since the Virgin novels days, Lyons has been working on the history of his pet monsters, the Selachians, the sharks of outer space. This is the final? book about them. In one sense it is, because it movingly and compassionately tells of the demise of their race. As with "Warriors of the Deep," the overall mood is not outrage at war, but sadness at the destruction, personal and social, that it causes. Lives are ruined in all sorts of ways. My one complaint is that this story may have been better not being Doctor Who, that is that the premise means that the Doctor is really not a major player in the events. Still, the book makes mighty good reading.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn. Here is yet another in the seemingly endless stream of books about the second doctor that sees the three protagonists separated and the companions tortured. Seriously if you read according to the chronological list roughly every other non-Target book has a variation on this plot. On the other hand it is better written than the tortured work of the mediocre hacks that is featured in much 'original' who fiction. Basically if you like war and torture and Doctor Who you will like this book. If you enjoy the fun, campy feeling of the old shows and the companions being well companions, not so much.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe land in the middle of a battlefield. Humans are fighting a shark like race. The Doctor knows his history, and that the war gets a lot worse. Can he justify changing history to save his companions? This is a fun, but harrowing adventure for the crew of the TARDIS. All the characters are incredibly well portrayed, and you could imagine this being a tv story if they had the effects of nowadays. Jamie's sense of honour, and his background as a soldier are well done. A good read.

[Kitty-Lydia Dye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. The main characters, especially the Doctor and Jamie, had really strong voices that fitted their TV versions, and I couldn't put this book down because I wanted to find out what would happen next. The Selachian-Human war was well told with perspectives from both sides, and there were lots of interesting scenes and side characters.

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steve Lyons brings back his Selachians — aquatic aliens in mechanical suits with sharks painted on them — in this surprisingly grim war drama. It’s another one like The Witch Hunters where a tragic historical event (this time fictional) is about to happen and the TARDIS crew are trapped within it. There’s a rather more obvious “war is hell” pathos to this one, with not enough time spent elaborating on what’s not so bad about the Selachians after all, but it’s exciting and often articulate, and it finds things to say with its well-characterised Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe.

3.5

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I love about this book is that it fits into the "historical" subgenre of "Doctor Who" stories, but it's set in the future and involves a battle against alien monsters. What makes it a historical is that the Doctor is familiar with the situation as a historical event, and he wrestles throughout the story with how he might prevent a terrible war crime from happening, and whether he ought even to try. It's a terrific concept, but difficult to pull off, and Lyons does a fine job.

I also like how this is very much a war story. "Doctor Who" stories often feature wars, but usually it just uses war as a setting or a backdrop for a tea time adventure serial. This story is different, and it's both fun and disconcerting to see the second Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe placed in a situation where their usual adventure serial tactics are inadequate as well as inappropriate.

There's a certain school of thought that Past Doctor Adventures should feel like they fit with the television stories featuring the same TARDIS team. That's fine, but this book doesn't do really do that. Oh, the Selachians feel right at home alongside classic monsters of the Troughton era, such as the Ice Warriors. But the story constantly subverts the easy morality of a typical humans vs. alien monsters story, and the contrast is extremely effective.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1436293.html

A fairly standard romp - Team Tardis get stuck in a space war, Zoe gets captured by one side, Jamie starts fighting for the other side, the Doctor tries to stop the war. But there are a couple of interesting points. First, the Doctor is trapped by his knowledge of the awful end of the war, yet fears punishment from the Time Lords if he interferes. Second, the full perspective of the war is well portrayed - this isn't just two random groups of people in a fight, it's an interplanetary conflict with a real strategic shape. So a cut above the average Who book.

[Denis Southall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the concept of shark monster aliens that formed one side in the war naff, but their characteristics, technology, environment and culture more interesting. Story plot around interfering with events and consequences, especially when these are huge, was entertaining. Doctor, Jamie and Zoe well written although I found that the Doctor in particular seemed to feature too little in the events unfolding. Enjoyed it overall though.

[Billy Martel · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be very clear, I did not finish this book. I read the first chapter and not a single thing happened that I hadn’t seen before in other, better Doctor Who stories. Just didn’t grab me.

[Simon Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to The Murder Game, excellent once more

[Debby Kean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely brilliant, this book displays the futility of war in the midst of a great adventure.