Doctor Who: Father Time

Eighth Doctor Adventures #41

by Lance Parkin

The Doctor is living alone in a farmhouse, with his books, experiments and cats for company. He still doesn't know who he is, but the blue Police Box outside looks vaguely familiar.Giving private tuition to a dazzlingly gifted ten-year-old named Miranda, the Doctor learns that she and her family have fled the planet Klade. There was a bloody revolution there, in which all the imperial family was slaughtered, with the exception of the infant Miranda. Her nanny brought her to Earth, to save her from the atrocities of the Republicans, but the Imperialists are after her too.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Novels, Media Tie In, Doctors

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 15, 2001

About the author

Lance Parkin is an author who has written professional Doctor Who fiction since the 1990s. He is one of the few authors to write for both the 1963 and 2005 version of the programme — though much of his fiction has actually been based on the 1996 iteration. Indeed, he was notably the first author to write original prose for the Eighth Doctor in The Dying Days. He was also the author chosen to deliver the nominal 35th anniversary story, The Infinity Doctors, and the final volume in the Eighth Doctor Adventures range, The Gallifrey Chronicles. More recently, he has written for the Tenth Doctor in The Eyeless.

He is further notable for his work with Big Finish Productions, where he is arguably most known for writing the Sixth Doctor adventure, Davros.

Outside of Doctor Who, he has written things like Warlords of Utopia and (with Mark Jones) Dark Matter, a guide to the author Philip Pullman.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another strong instalment in the great 'Earth Arc' strand in the EDAs.

Obviously a novel set in the eighties I'd always going to appeal and seeing the plot split into three sections (each named after children's cartoons of the time) adds more scope to the adventure.

I really liked how The Doctor is introduced through the eyes of primary school teacher Debbie Castle.
He's subsequent meeting with Miranda and the chess sequence are great too.

There's plenty of action, whilst the dialogue is amusing and snappy. The author really captures this incarnation of The Time Lord well.
An emotional and entertaining read.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2092950.html[return][return]Years before Georgia Moffett sprang from David Tennant's thigh (or wherever), the Eighth Doctor had an adopted daughter: Miranda Dawkins, lost scion of a imperial family from the far future, growing up in the vividly recalled 1980s (reminiscences of Thatcherism rather appropriate for the moment), the target of youthful desire from her classmates and assassination attempts from her political enemies, and trying to get to grips with both. It's not completely clear to me that Miranda is actually a Gallifreyan; though she has two hearts and a lower body temperature, she ages at the normal rate for a human child / teenager, and her future Empire doesn't sound very Timelordish to me. Parkin's portrayal of the Doctor (still amnesiac as he has been for the last few books) as a loving but very absent-minded single parent is very compelling, and the final section in which the Doctor and his human companion Debbie steal a space shuttle to rescue Miranda is suitably bonkers.[return][return]I am not yet a convert to the Faction Paradox concept, but if this book is part of it then I am a few steps closer now.

[Numa Parrott · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A FANTASTIC STORY! I want so badly for Miranda to reappear in the story now!!! (edit: There is a picture of her in his wallet in Doctor Who: The Year of Intelligent Tigers apparently. But she needs to be in the show.)

Even though the pacing is a bit choppy and there's some teenage angst, it's a wonderful story overall with a few really cool new characters.

The Doctor still hasn't found his memories and you can really see the effect it's having on him. Good job, author people.

If you love the Doctor, read it!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a bit different from most of the other Doctor Who books I've read. In this story the Doctor has lost his memory of all of his previous lives, so he's living as a 'mostly' normal human being. This slows down the story a bit. However, just because the Doctor's forgotten who he is, doesn't mean that his enemies have forgotten him.

So join the Doctor as he: Doesn't have his sonic screwdriver, keeps his TARDIS in his backyard as a lawn ornament(since he has forgotten what it is, and what it does), saves a small town from an alien invasion, becomes a father, saves the Earth from an alien invasion, and builds his own sonic suitcase :)

The story takes place through a 10 year period of time, but it is interesting, well paced and well written. I really enjoyed seeing the Doctor stay put for awhile, and it was nice to have a look at what the Doctor's life could be like day to day. Also, you get to catch a look at the father figure/family side of the Doctor, which is cute, endearing, and sometimes hilarious.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super dense, highly immersive, epic DW tale. It was my first from Parkin, and I was impressed. The narrative was easy to follow, the characters had depth, and the Doctor was doing what he does best, solving problems and protecting others, right at the center of the story. He plays an amazing father figure who is trusting and protective to adoptive daughter Miranda, all while attempting to fend off her would-be attackers with temporary companion Debbie in tow.
Father Time is a story that takes place over the better part of a decade, separated into three distinct parts. It's clear that it takes place in the 80's, but the time placement isn't overdone like other books that beat you over the head with references.
I really enjoyed the villain here as well- Ferran is complicated and clearly torn between familial responsibility and his sense of morality, and that makes him interesting. The Doctor is also well in character, and becoming more like his old self the longer the story goes on.
Great story, even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, and very dense with story and imagery. I'd say this is a must-read for any 8th Doctor fan, and you can honestly enjoy it without knowing the overarching story.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor gets a daughter (!) in this unusual and engrossing story from Lance Parkin.

The plot is satisfyingly straightforward: alien forces want to kill Miranda, a young girl who happens to have two hearts, and the Doctor must protect her. This creates a lot of opportunities for characterisation, particularly where the Doctor is still stuck on Earth without his memories. Parkin keeps things fresh with a few dramatic time-jumps.

It’s exceptional stuff right up until the final third when he must finally resolve Miranda’s fate and the plot as a whole — sadly he opts for something average in both cases, rather than the earthy and emotional climax that the rest of the story seemed to hint towards. It’s not enough to spoil a great book, it just could have been better.

[Arrocete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by its 4/5 scoring, this piece is solidly mediocre at best. Has some fun stuff happening there but over all the writing is really dislodged and all over the place. Perhaps what unnerves me more is the Doctor's characterization, who clearly doesn't behave like Eight (despite past books of the same Arc showing his personality is very much there despite the memory loss). Miranda feels like a DeviantArt OC. And the way Time Lords are presented, as superhuman Kryptonian super geniuses, is not the way I envision them and I rather find the idea to be not only boring and uninteresting but also cringy.

Anyway, I can't figure out for the life of me why people like this book so much, you guys gotta read Seeing I and stop living like this.

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bizarre mixed bag. The broad strokes of the story are quite fun -- it's Eighth Doctor Accidental Baby Acquisition, it would be hard not to be -- but many details jar discordantly.

--The Doctor in his '80s businessman era is described as "Thatcherism personified" (ewwwww), and while this is said by an idiot and...somewhat disputed by the text, why is he in business anyway? Yes, he needs money for Miranda, but he's been kicking around Earth for over a hundred years, if he'd opened a bank account, or patented like two inventions, he'd be golden.

--I am not a prude (you all have met me, right?) but the way Parkin talks about teenage sexual activity is kind of gross.

--Too many Nazi jokes! (One is, in fact, too many.)

--If the Doctor is a famous businessman as "the Doctor" throughout the '80s, why did UNIT -- or Four, Five, Six, or Seven -- never track him down? This could have been solved so easily just by having this be a Dr. John Smith moment. Come on, guys!

--I hate when one of these books -- when any media, really -- opens an arc for a character, and then instead of resolving it, just abruptly kills them. RIP Debbie, you deserved better.

Thank god I'm about to get Fitz back.

[Richard Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Featuring Paul McGann's 8th Doctor, Father Time is one of a number of novels published by BBC Books when the series was on hiatus. It's also from halfway through an arc-plot, in which the Doctor can't remember who he is or what's happened to him. Accept that, and jump in. I'm sure there are additional references to that arc through the book, but I didn't spot them, and had no trouble enjoying the book in its own right. The story takes place over a decade, and finds the Doctor accidentally adopting a child with several striking abilities of her own, whose life has been marked by deadly enemies. It's a fun romp, extremely well written, but some of the more adult themes (the book range was at that time aimed at the previous television audience, who had grown up a bit since watching on the tellybox) might make it unsuitable for younger kids. Doctor Who, but not quite for all the family.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting, emotional, violent, poignant...there's a very 21st century series vibe to this classic series tale, and it's definitely one of the high watermarks of the BBC Books 8th Doctor amnesia arc. I found the ending to be a bit of a quick tie-up, compared to the build-up...but what a magnificent build-up it was. If only the first section of this arc ended here, and not with the less-than-thrilling "Escape Velocity"...but we can't have everything.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn’t call this a Doctor Who novel so much as Lance Parkin’s own original sci-fi concept with Eight’s name and physical description copy-pasted into it. The Doctor is not the Doctor, Time Lords are not Time Lords, and so much of the text about Miranda read as genuinely creepy. Weird and bad vibes all around!

[Jacob Licklider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Father Time is an experience of a novel. The penultimate installment of the amnesiac Eighth Doctor trapped on Earth and Parkin approaches this differently from any of the other novelists, instead of taking a single event, Parkin’s work spans the entirety of the 1980s where events on Earth drive the Doctor into adopting a daughter who is also a Time Lord stuck on Earth as a child with two human adopted parents who are killed when alien agents come after her. This is a dense novel, only coming in at 281 pages, but each page is packed with Lance Parkin’s lyrical prose making each word feel deliberately chosen to make the story work. The timescale of the entire 1980s makes the book and the arc it’s a part of feel for perhaps the first time, like the desperation the Doctor’s situation should be. The Doctor as an amnesiac here is where Parkin shines the most in characterization, as he captures this ethereal nature to the character, especially unique to the Eighth Doctor, the breathless romantic epithet not being used but embodied to a man who doesn’t understand himself but puts that aside when a little girl is in trouble and needs to be taken in and cared for. Parkin makes him feel small in an uncaring universe as while he has been having these adventures throughout history, he is becoming increasingly frustrated with the mystery of who he is, who Fitz is, and why the note asking him to meet Fitz seems to be from a woman. The opening chapters before the character of Miranda is introduced, puts the Doctor at the heart of this mystery where a man is injured, subsequently killed, and onlookers do nothing perplexing Debbie Castle, a woman who wishes to help this injured man.

The aliens here are from the Klade and Parkin imbues Father Time with the idea of the War in Heaven and its after effects on the universe. There is an intergalactic empire implied to be the remnants of the Time Lords and the last of the Time Lords is not the Doctor, but poor, young Miranda Dawkins who is just trying to grow up. The book is split into three sections corresponding to the early, mid, and late 1980s so the reader is in the seat of the Doctor as he watches his daughter grow up and strike out on her own, the second act climax having Miranda being forced to travel the world to escape Ferran, the books main villain. Ferran is essentially a horror film stalker attempting to kill Miranda and the Doctor (but mostly Miranda). He finds himself worming his way into Miranda’s social circle just to torment her and build up towards the kill just to make her squirm. There are some 1990s tropes used with this character which I find fascinating because Parkin uses them to his advantage in making the character feel slimy even if he doesn’t become the primary villain until about the halfway point, but when he does there is this real menace to the character. There is this subtle underplay of sexual desire towards Miranda, who is portrayed as a mainly asexual character which is important for what eventually develops. There is this predatory bent throughout the middle of the book which may put off some, but is done with taste from Parkin who never goes down an edgy, or dark and gritty route with this type of character.

The character of Miranda and her interactions with the Doctor are incredibly interesting. When she is introduced, there is a lot of discussion of Miranda as acting odd for a child. It never feels like Parkin is just writing a nerd, but a true alien who has been raised on Earth. Miranda is a character who develops over the course of the novel to be a woman who never quite understands why people act in the way that she does, and feels more at home with the Doctor, but ends the novel in a position of power because she can see herself doing good in this role which makes for an interesting development as the reader feels her growing up across this decade. The finds normal human thinking and activity to be odd, but still participates in society. As a child and teenager she has friends, friends she does care about even if she doesn’t always understand why they drink, smoke, and rebel as teenagers. She is incredibly empathetic and leaves the UK when the time comes to save her father. She leaves Earth in the end to become Empress which is an unexpected, but understandable development as Parkin teases brilliant ideas for where the Eighth Doctor Adventures can go from here. While Justin Richards’ The Burning which begun this arc could be a mission statement, it is Father Time that feels the most in line with any sort of mission statement for the Eighth Doctor Adventures going forward.

Overall, Father Time’s lyrical prose makes it a slower read, especially for a Doctor Who novel published by BBC Books, it is perhaps the best piece of Eighth Doctor content to come from this era, and may be the highest in any media for the character. It uses its page count incredibly well to convey this mystery about what it means now that Gallifrey is destroyed without ever really name dropping Gallifrey. The subtext is incredibly important and is what elevates the novel above what has already been an amazing run of books to bring Doctor Who into the 21st century by looking back at what led to the end of the 20th. 10/10.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father Time is an Eighth Doctor adventure set during a period when the Doctor is living on Earth with no memory of his past and no access to the TARDIS. The other books in the arc must have dealt with the Doctor gaining knowledge of his alien background and longevity, because by the time we meet him in this story he's basically the Doctor we all know, memory or not, but without the specifics (Time-Lord, TARDIS, etc...). Given the premise of the novel -The Doctor becomes a father to an unusual ("unearthy"?) child- I was expecting something a bit slower plotwise, than what I got. This isn't a character piece. That said, it's a heck of a good story. Father Time plays out over the course of the 1980s, giving everything a depth of time not seen in many Doctor Who stories. And it takes advantage of the unlimited budget of novels for some impressive set pieces (the tower block and the roses, to cite the obvious example). This one's got a little bit of everything.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, where to even start! This particular novel is set in the Earth Arc of the EDA range and while it’s the only book within the arc that I’ve read, I read a lot of good things about the book so I wanted to experience it. I’m so glad I did.

This is a fantastic exploration of the Doctor’s character and I loved the relationships between him, his “daughter” and Debbie Castle. A story which is full of great moments, great characters and some real emotion.

The villain of the piece is great as well. A real slimy git and just an all round maniac who is so hell bent on revenge and does show his violent side from time to time. Some really good moments between him and the Doctor near the end.

Overall a really good novel, one of my favourite EDA’s that I’ve read. Even if it is part of an arc I still found myself pretty much enjoying every moment of it. Great stuff!

[Miles Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

“'Time to go home’, the pilot told him. The Doctor looked out at the Earth, the terminator crawling over the Atlantic. Then he looked up at the stars. They were sharp points of light here, all distinct colours. The sky was pitch-black, the light here was harsh, pure. There were millions of stars, and around them were millions of planets. ‘I *am* home’, the Doctor said.”

A genuinely gorgeous book. A great sci-fi novel in and of itself, yet so quintessentially Doctor Who. It does the best thing that these spin off books can do in that it’s bold and risky and different, but continues to channel the spirit of the show. With brilliant one liners, cheeky references and packed with beautifully full blooded characters, it’s just one of the best out there. A very strong recommend!

[Ezekiel Thorp · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my very favourite Doctor Who books! An original adventure for the Eighth Doctor, and one which I gather begins an amnesia arc for him. Split into three parts, each of which has enough content to support a book on its own, it's very emotional, and deals with the prospect of the Doctor becoming a parent again with more depth than the TV episode The Doctor's Daughter could afford to give in its 45 minute runtime. Miranda is a great character, very worthy of the other adventures and spin-offs she's generated, and Debbie Castle really deserved to be a companion. Full five stars, 10 out of 10. Do not leave this book on the shelf.

[Paul Charles Radio Show · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started really promisingly and I enjoyed the first 3/4s of this book and on this basis this novel is one of the better additions to the series. This book, however, is let down by the preposterous ending which feels like it's from a completely different book and by Doctor Who standards is a bit far fetched!

Some good 80s references and the playlist of recommended songs is great.

Overall still worth checking out if you like this kind of thing!!

[Thomas A Costa]

Great story!

Really enjoyed it , had a 11th doctor feel but it was the eighth , such a well written story all the characters felt so real and relateable, really enjoyed it from start to finish

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book, not sure why they gave The Doctor amnesia. Makes no sense

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad story for the eighth Doctor who only appeared once on TV. However, the sonic suitcase is rather silly.

(Razor still thinks the Doctor needs a cat. 4 paws)

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this. Particularly the Doctor having Doctor moments where he’s the smartest person in the room but not making a big deal of it.

[Frank Normansell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant. One of the best Doctor Who novel I have heard / read.

[Basicallyrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of... bizarre but good. The Doctor as a sort of super business consultant kind of meshes with his traditional 'scientific advisor' role, and if it had been made clear that he viewed it all as an interesting exercise in problem solving that just happened to result in a lot of money, I'd have been happier than with Millionaire!Doctor (OK, I am biased - I remember reading this brilliant story where he, Fitz and Anji were playing Monopoly and Anji was getting incredibly frustrated with the Doctor's insistence on nationalising everything and letting people go rent-free, so I have a hard time buying the Doctor as a capitalist).

The assassin falling in love with his victim trope is fairly predictable, but I liked the way it played out in the end, especially the revolution on the spaceship and the Doctor hijacking the space shuttle, because damn, I love his crazy, never-should-work-but-does plans. Vaguely annoyed that Miranda ended up having ~feelings for Ferran, mainly because I was all excited to have a character specifically described as asexual, and then, well, she wasn't.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Father Time," a Doctor Who novel by Lance Parkin, delivers a captivating exploration of the Doctor's character, blending time-traveling adventures with emotional depth. Parkin's narrative skillfully weaves together various timelines, offering readers a unique perspective on the Doctor's relationships and the consequences of time travel. This was a reRead and there was plenty to pick up on all these years later.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor is now in the 1980s, he has some memories but is still not himself. He gets embroiled in an alien blood feud, and finds a child with similar biology to his own. This is a character driven piece, with the Doctor still trying to find himself, while becoming a father. There's still lots of questions about this novel, who is Miranda, and what happened to the Time Lords. A very good read.

[Stephen Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lance Parkin generally does a good job with his Doctor Who stories, and Father Time doesn't disappoint. It's a good tale, taking place over a decade, with lots of action and character development. And the Doctor gets (another!) a daughter to raise!

[Manosthehandsoffate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Doctor Who book I've read. I have a few more sitting on the bookshelf and after finishing this one, I'll be reading more.

Doctor who has a daughter? He doesn't use the TARDIS (or even know what it is)? He doesn't own a sonic screwdriver and he still saves the day?! Awesome!

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this book makes me a total nerd! But I like the sonic suitcase.

[Simon Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent twist in the Doctor Who universe. His daughter - Jenny, we're so far ahead of you!

[Adam Highway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely stunning, the pinnacle of what Doctor Who writing can be. Read it.