Doctor Who: The Taking of Planet 5

Eighth Doctor Adventures #28

by Simon Bucher-Jones, Mark Clapham

Twelve million years ago, a war touched the Earth briefly. Now, in Antarctica, an archaeological team has discovered the detritus of the conflict. And it’s alive.

Twelve million years ago, a creature evolved that was capable of consuming all life in the universe. Now someone, or something, is desperate enough to want to revive it.

Outside the ordered universe, things move. They’re hungry. And something has given them the scent of our space/time.

In the far future, the Doctor has learnt of the war and feels he must intervene -- but it’s more than just a local conflict of interest. One of the groups of combatants is from his own future, and the other has never, ever, existed.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, Media Tie In, Ebooks

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 4, 1999

About the author

Simon Bucher-Jones is a British author, poet, artist, and amateur actor, best known for his Doctor Who novels for Virgin and the BBC and as a contributor to the Faction Paradox spin-off series.

He is known for a hard SF approach. He has also written Cthulhu Mythos short stories. He also reviewed books for the Fortean Times, and for small press papers. He maintains a blog at http://www.simonbjones.blogspot.com where he is, among other projects, gradually turning all the Star Wars films into Shakespearean plays. He also markets a range of Cthulhu Mythos artwork t-shirts and mugs. He is also a major contributor of 'hidden cities' to the 'blind atlas' meme. His poetry has appeared in the Journal of the British Fantasy Society.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve now started to reach the EDA’s that I’d previously read around 2005/06.
I started buying every available title alongside the Past Doctor Range in The Works, it was quite evident that trying to read these Eighth Doctor books with gaps in the collection would be an extremely difficult task to follow along...

Finally revisiting them again and it fells like I’m reading a completely different book, everything is starting to make sense!
Particularly the Faction Paradox storyline whilst deep cut references to other stories add to the enjoyment of this series.
The Fendahl were a great inclusion!

The Doctor is really well written in this novel and I’m growing to like Compassion more this time around.

Having read four of these this month, the temptation to see how much I can recall from each entry continues to grow with each novel!

[Alex Sarll]

In which the Doctor gets involved in a war 12 million years ago, where Time Lords from his own subjective future are attacking the Antarctic city of the Elder Things from At the Mountains of Madness. Which the Doctor knows full well to be a work of fiction, written by his old friend HP Lovecraft. Obviously, given the title and the cover, the Fendahl is also involved, and there are definite traces of an Invisibles influence. This, in other words, is the good shit. It's also exactly the sort of thing you can't really do while the series is a mainstream TV hit, and not just because of the bit about "raping nanoknives". I recall reading Lawrence Miles somewhere, when he wasn't ranting about how Steven Moffat ate his hamster, saying that this is the sort of book he wanted to write if he weren't always so worried about being accessible. It's certainly one of the most out-there Who books I've read, and I've read a fair few.
I should also note, though, that all those Big Ideas and references to the continuity and such count for nothing in the wrong hands (mentioning no names, Gary Russell). I've read far too many books, and more comics, which pile ultimate weapon on ultimate-r weapon, tie together loads of disparate bits of backstory, and end up as a hollow spectacle. Here, though, the writing is deft enough (and I've no idea how that works in a collaboration - notwithstanding the above, this is a collaboration between Bucher-Jones and Mark Clapham) that every new revelation is deployed in such a way that it really feels like it matters. Best book I've read this year.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you ever wondered what would happen if someone decided to write a Doctor Who novel based on a scholarly paper on theoretical physics, I would point you to The Taking of Planet 5. If the theory of predator universes and "swimmers" wasn't complicated enough, the authors throw in multiple character perspectives, Time Lords from different eras in wildly differing bodies, and wrap the whole package in a Lovecraftian homage. I had to read every line of this novel, very carefully, to even begin to grasp the concepts and goings on.
That's not to say there aren't some great moments here- the Doctor plays a key part and at one point leads an army of slave Tardises to destroy a universe, Compassion finally comes into her own- rather like Ripley from Alien, and Fitz is slowly gaining more confidence and composure, and even plays a pivotal role in the finale.
The complicated nature of the story will probably turn casual readers of Who off. The villain monologue alone had my head swimming. As it stands, it's a fine addition to the Whoniverse, if a little pompous. Side note: I tried to find Bucher-Jones' paper on cosmo-biology that was quoted in the annexe. If anyone has a line on that, could they send it my way? I'd be interested in taking a look at it.
For those who have not read this novel yet, I actually encourage you to read the annexe first- it might help unravel the complicated nature and themes for you as you read the narrative itself.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

the more I delve into the books and audios of doctor who, and the various worlds within and connected to the brand, the more I realise how much has been taken from previous writer’s ideas, not created and invented for the reboot, as often thought by fans only aware of the tv show.

this book, and more generally a good amount of this storyline, basically does the whole time war thing, just in a much, much more complex, and I think, interesting way, than the show has ever done, despite rtd’s and moffat’s attempts in particular, especially as it actually draws on some very interesting, complicated science and ways to explore the time aspect of a time war. (similarly I have heard that some of the big finish stuff covering the time war does some of this too, but differently)
it also covers it 6 years before the new show and its time war even emerged, so definitely qualifies as the og version!

that said, this book is at times excruciatingly complicated (at least to me) and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I spent much time reading it scratching my head, utterly lost or nearing that state, particularly as it takes almost half the book’s length for the authors to set up everything they need to. a reread will definitely be needed at some point. the character development of fitz and compassion is pretty great too, with compassion in particular becoming more and more interesting the longer she’s here.
just occasionally, and mainly due to the sheer amount the authors are attempting to cram in here, they tend to do a bit more telling, than showing, which is something I do tend to find irritating usually..

but it makes up for it, as mostly, this book is pretty fascinating, occasionally very funny, and sometimes even pretty damn exciting.

[Numa Parrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh! Now this one was interesting!
Some good Gallifreyan shenanigans. The Doctor isn't a major character, but the story manages to be interesting enough anyway. The bit about the universe whales was trippy.

If you love learning random facts and the history of the Whoniverse, read it!

[Hidekisohma · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book. my god this book. Now, as this is the 28th EDA, i've become quite the veteran of this series, and this one, i don't know what it was about this one but it took me a LONG time to get through this one. Well, at least the first half.

This story is about a weird, concept devouring monster and the crew traveling back in time to stop it. sounds not that complicated, but this issue is with the other points of view in the story.

When the book focuses on the doctor, fitz, or compassion, it's actually a fun story. the dialogue the three have with themselves and each other is actually quite entertaining and any time they're on screen (or whatever the book equivalent is) i would find myself quite engaged. it's when it went away from them I just found myself zoning out and not caring. Between the scientists in antarctic or "one and two" being investigators, i just didn't care.

I think it might be because when it's not the MC's on screen, for some reason, the jargon becomes very complicated and the descriptions just overloaded my brain. It tended not to do that as much when the MC's were on screen so that helped as well.

Once you get to about the halfway mark, it definitely picks up though and the story is far less of a schlog to get through. I don't know what it was, but that first half was just absolutely a CHORE to get through. it was like i was unable to get through more than one chapter at a time. and i can't tell you why. I think it all boils down to how at least to me, the author wasn't able to keep my attention when the story turned away from the main cast.

Yes, it's hard to keep one's attention when the main characters aren't on screen and you're following randos, but it's your job as an author to do that and...honestly, at least for me, this is when the author failed. I at least thought the villain, motivation, and method was a little too complicated and found myself not enjoying it at times. Towards the end like i said, it picked up a little, but not enough to save it as a whole.

I liked Fitz and compassion in this one as they really came into their own and had some good moments. I really enjoy the dynamic between these two and want to see more of it. Compassion's quickly becoming one of my favorite female companions and Fitz is really hilarious and a good everyman.

That being said, this book is a 2.5 out of 5 but i can't in good conscience give it a 3 just because of the pure pain and schlog it took to get through. so i gotta drop it down to a 2. some of this is subjective i understand, but i just really didn't enjoy it enough to read it again, ESPECIALLY the first half.

2.5 out of 5 rounded down to a 2.

[Trin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who meets Lovecraftian horror with better results than I expected. This took me a bit to get into, as there are a few too many warring factions introduced at the start, plus one of the "he would not fucking say that" moments of all time -- I don't care how much he liked ice cream, the Doctor would not even contemplate inviting H.P. Lovecraft to travel with him on the TARDIS. Gimme a break.

But after about fifty pages this cracks open like a dull space rock to reveal a bunch of really interesting and character-driven ideas inside. Bucher-Jones and Clapham correctly make the connection between Time Lords and TARDISes and eldritch horrors; are they not all just different stops along a spectrum of monstrousness? I loved this quote from near the end, when the Doctor is contemplating regeneration as he is about to die from exposure to the vacuum of space -- until Fitz gets to play Big Damn Hero for once and rescue him:

There were old horror stories on Gallifrey about Time Lords forced into chain regenerations in alien environments, each step in the chain changing them further away from the accepted norms of their culture. Sometimes in the early days of the exploration of time and space, they would come back, only to be quietly killed, or walled up in their own TARDISes. He had wondered once if he kept regenerating in human company whether he would grow more and more like them...

There's also more fun stuff with explicitly sentient TARDISes, and lots of good Eight and Fitz banter. Oh, and Fitz sucks on an alien terror's tentacle because he thinks it's a cigarette. This guy would kill it on Tumblr.

A much better follow up to Interference than The Blue Angel, my beloathed.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans fondly remember the Eighth Doctor books for their unique and complicated storylines, interesting companions and a mature tone that was pulled off a lot better than it was with the Virgin New Adventures. "The Taking of Planet 5" is a part of The War in Heaven storyline that began with Alien Bodies, so if you haven't read the previous stories, please do so before giving this one a go.

An expedition in Antarctica has found an alien base within a snowy mountain. How did it come to be here and who is the mysterious girl who's just teleported in front of a group of awestruck and surprised explorers? Twelve million years ago, a group of Time Lords, who had genetically altered themselves, established this base to get a weapon that could win them the war. This base should never have existed and worst of all, what they're hoping to get will unleash a terrifying force upon the universe. The Doctor must stop them by any means necessary because if he fails, The Fendahl will return to the cosmos ready to feast upon every living thing inside of it.

Simon Bucher-Jones and Mark Clapham have written an incredible and engaging story that's not only a sequel of sorts to Image of The Fendahl but it also acts as a sequel to Alien Bodies with the return of two characters from that novel. It's an epic and high-stakes story that explores what the War in Heaven has done to The Time Lords of this future war The Doctor still doesn't know much about. It's a story with big ideas, plenty of violence and a really nice grasp of atmosphere and tension. A time travel story with Lovecraftian horror and many interesting, cool references to H. P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness", which actually contributes to the plot, but I won't say anything otherwise I'd spoil it.

Overall: An incredibly underrated novel that I absolutely adored. 10/10

[Mole Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Odd that you mention new words.' The Doctor's face was red now, capillaries swelling under the biomass probes of the stone. 'Gallifreyan's always been a static language, hasn't it? We go out into the universe and talk to everyone, but we don't take loan words back into our own tongue. TARDISes translate everything for us, or time rings, or things like your locket there. We don't have to integrate our experiences into words: they do it for us.' A vein in his neck began to pulsate, and next to it a warm glow spread through the blackness of the stone as if it were pleased.
A quick word of warning about this one. There's not anything too bad in it, but it is a very complex book. It ends with a "cosmobiological" paper. Perhaps you should read Alien Bodies and Interference first, although I didn't read those and understood most of what happened.
This is probably the best portrayal of the War in Heaven within Who. We feel the frenzy of the War-Time Lords, the pure frantic desperation which leads them to literally make deals with the Devil (for what is the Fendahl if not Doctor Who's version of Satan). You can also feel the raw fear and paranoia of the massive and unknown that the main villain of the piece.
I'd say that this is a good introduction to the arcs of the EDAs that come before it, but I was at least aware of most of them. At the very least, it explains Compassion and The Blue Angel pretty well.
If you enjoyed any of SB-J's other novels and/or enjoyed Hope, you'll probably enjoy this one.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

現実には存在しない空想の産物だけを展示する博物館の館長からドクターは1990年代の地球の南極点にある1200万年前にできたと推定される地底で調査隊がクトゥルフ神話に出てくるショゴスが映ったビデオを見せられる。クトゥルフ神話はフィクションであり古き神々も実在するはずがないにもかかわらず、はっきりと映像に映っていることに驚くドクター。しかし、映像の中にはセレスティスの技術で作られた黒い円球を見つけ、古き神々の出現はセレティスの仕業と推測する。セレスティスは予見されている未来に起こるタイムロードとの戦争をさけるため、物理法則が支配する宇宙の外側に小宇宙ミクトランをつくり引きこもった。彼らはマトリックスを自在に操ることができ、こちら側の宇宙への干渉も自在にできる。古き神々を実在のもとにするとタイムラインを書き換えることもセレスティスには可能だが、その理由がわからなかった。それを突き止めるため、ドクターはフィズとコンパッションとともに、古き神々が実在するようになった過去に飛ぶ。
ドクターはそこでまるでクトゥルフ神話に出てくるような異形のエイリアンで形成された軍隊と遭遇する。しかし、彼らは遠い未来のタイムロードの姿だった。彼らは戦争の真っ只中の時代に生まれ、戦闘に適した体にリジェネレーションしていのだ。軍を率いるのはクセナリア。彼女はドクターを視察にきた将軍と信じ、現状報告を行おうとするが、自分の未来にかかわることなので詳細を知ることはさけたいドクター。しかし、すでに世界はもともとフィクションであるクトゥルフ神話の異形の物たちの実在が前提で動き出しており、ドクターは傷口が広がる前にセレスティスの干渉を阻止しようと動くが。


感想
いろいろと興味深いのだがとにかくややこしい。話をややこしくするのはセレスティスの調査官ONEとTWOで、この二人がタイムロード軍や地球人の調査隊の隊員になりすましていくのもややこしいが、とちゅうからこの二人の目的が真逆であることが判明し、ますますややこしくなる。かたやミクトランが滅び、セレスティスの存在が消されてしまう原因と調べようとしており、途中で、片方の裏切りが判明し、ミクトランの内部にミクトランを滅ぼそうとする動きがあると判明。だがその陰謀の糸をひいていた黒幕は....と書き換えにつぐ書き換えというか、そもそも大元の書き換えはどちらが行ったのか、そのあたりきちんと明らかにされるのだが、その頃にはこちらが疲れ果ててしまっている。
一瞬、ファクション・パラドックスがまた絡んでくるのかと思ったが、そういうことでもなさそう……だが、最後の最後でまたその自信はゆらいでしまう。

もっともドクターのドラマチックな見せ場も多い。
ドクターのタイムロード観が独白されることから、ドクターが何から逃げようとしているのかその一端がほんのりとあかされたように感じる場面、未来で生まれたターディスとドクターのやりとり。一人ぼっちになることが何よりも大嫌いなドクターが、世界を救うためなら途方もない”孤独”の時間に身を置くことも厭わない場面であったりとか、ドクターがドクターらしさを発揮する場面はやはりググっと惹きつけられるものがあった。

英語読解力がもう少し上がったら、また読み直してみたい気もする一品

[Macey · Rating 4 out of 5]

it took me like honestly a million years to read this one which was weird bc i did actually have a paper copy of it but to be fair i did read two entire other books in the middle so.

really liked the concept of this one w the timelords foricibly regenerating themselves in the form of the (still fictional & from lovecraft within the story) Elder Things from at the moutains of madness i thought that was gas & just the right amount of disturbing. & i was thinking yo this is like at the mountains of madness before they said it so i felt intelligent lol. & then i stopped reading this to read all of at the moutains of madness lol. a little unclear as to what actually happened but oh well

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one takes ideas from H.P. Lovecraft, Lawrence Miles and Chris Boucher to tell a story set either side of a 12 million year gap, featuring various groups of disguised aliens all trying to possess a universal threat. It’s as complicated as it sounds, but there’s a sense of humour to it, plus occasional pit stops to explain what’s going on.

I didn’t find it very satisfying as it all seems to be in service of ongoing (read: not yet resolved) story arcs, and of the leads only Compassion really stands out. It’s busy and messy but there’s some cool stuff in it.

2.5

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved the weird shit. 10/10 weird shit

[Akiva ꙮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad considering this is an officially-sanctioned and entirely shameless Doctor Who/Lovecraft crossover.

My main complaint is that I just finished Doctor Who: Interference - Book One, which is queer-ly casual about gender. For instance, it contains this slightly infamous exchange:

‘Can I ask you something personal?’ he [the Doctor] said.
I.M. Foreman nodded. ‘I warn you, though. If it’s anything to do with how I got this body, the details are going to be messy. You’ve never been a woman, have you?’
‘I’m not sure I’ve ever even been a man. That’s not what I was going to ask.’

In Taking of Planet Five on the other hand, every alien has a somehow obvious and ineffable binary gender, even the Elder Things! Even the fucking TARDISes!!! There is absolutely no excuse for giving a bunch of spacetime machines human binary genders and a herd/harem structure with a dominant "bull." WHY.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was this designed as a tribute to the "Doctor Who" writing of the late Craig Hinton? It certainly feels that way...and I bet he wouldn't change a single word, had the fanwank master written it himself! A recipe that mixes HP Lovecraft, a time war that would never happen, gossiping TARDISes, and an idea for a sequel to 1977's "Image of the Fendahl" that is both audacious & worthy of copious amounts of appreciative fanboy screaming. One of those "Doctor Who" stories that is especially aimed at young boys who haven't grown up...and the girls who appreciate them.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor finds out that something exists on Earth that really shouldn't, and he goes to investigate. At the same time, time lords who are from the future and at war are also investigating the incident. They want to release Fendahl to help with the war effort.
This is a decent plot, and the war of the time lords is intriguing. It feels more like a prequel than a story in its own right. A good read.

[Simon Curtis · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those Who novels that I remember nothing whatsoever about!

[Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite EDAs so far.