What do you think?
Rate this book
Past Doctor Adventures #38
Doctor Who: The Quantum Archangel
In a university on planet Sweeney Earth, Paul and Arlene Cole have designed TITAN -- designed to penetrate the vortex and access the very foundations of reality. The Master, who is being pursued by the Chronivores, thinks that TITAN could be the perfect means of revenge...Mel's old friend Anjeliqua also works at the university and the Master charms her into giving him access to TITAN. He recalibrates its settings and locates the Quantum Archimage, the power source of the Chronivores. When this energy is channeled into Anjeliqua herself, she is transformed into the Quantum Archangel, the living embodiment of the Chronivores' power source. With her new-found power, her plan is to "make things better. For everyone".
If she goes ahead, reality will begin to fracture, as conflicting realities struggle to coexist. Otherwise, when the Chronivores detect the alternate timelines, they will consume every last bit of it. Can the Doctor intervene before the universe disintegrates?
If she goes ahead, reality will begin to fracture, as conflicting realities struggle to coexist. Otherwise, when the Chronivores detect the alternate timelines, they will consume every last bit of it. Can the Doctor intervene before the universe disintegrates?
282 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
298 people want to read
About the author
Craig Hinton
25 books7 followersCraig Paul Alexander Hinton was a British writer best known for his work on spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who. He also wrote articles for science fiction magazines and was the Coordinator of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. He taught mathematics in London, where he was found dead in his home on 3 December 2006. The cause of death was given as a heart attack.
Hinton first was known for his articles about science fiction television programmes, including Doctor Who and Star Trek. These brought him to the attention of the editor of Marvel UK's Doctor Who Magazine, who offered him the job of reviewing merchandise for the magazine's Shelf Life section. Whilst writing for the magazine, Hinton had his first novel published. The Crystal Bucephalus was part of Virgin Publishing's Missing Adventures range. The book - which Hinton often jokingly referred to as "The Crystal Bucket" - was originally submitted for Virgin's New Adventures, and 50,000 words of this version were written before the change was made.
This novel was followed by a further Missing Adventure, Millennial Rites in 1995, and then by Hinton's only New Adventure in 1996, GodEngine, which features the Ice Warriors as well as oblique appearances by the Daleks.
Following Virgin's loss of their licence for Doctor Who merchandise, Hinton began submitting proposals to BBC Books. In 2001 they published his novel The Quantum Archangel as part of their BBC Past Doctor Adventures range. This was followed in 2004 by Synthespians™. This had started life as a proposal for the Eighth Doctor before being adapted to a previous Doctor. An image of the television show Dynasty was used on the cover: the cover's creators had arranged for permission to use the copyrighted image, but had neglected to get permission to alter it. At the last minute a replacement cover had to be produced. It is this that appears on the cover.
Hinton's Doctor Who novels often contain references to or explanations of elements of past continuity. He claimed to have been the originator of the term "fanwank", which he applied to his own work.
Hinton continued to work with Virgin, writing pseudonymously under the name Paul C. Alexander for their Idol range. He wrote three books in the range: Chains of Deceit, The Final Restraint and Code of Submission. These titles were a major departure from his science fiction. They explored aspects of his sexuality only suggested in his other works.
Hinton wrote for Big Finish Productions' Audio Adventures. The play Excelis Decays was produced in 2002 for their Doctor Who range and The Lords of Forever in 2005 for their The Tomorrow People range. Hinton also wrote short stories for their short fiction collections.
Outside of the science fiction world Hinton was a noted IT journalist in the UK. He edited magazines in the mid-1990s for VNU Business Publications in London and moved on to ITNetwork.com shortly afterwards.
Hinton first was known for his articles about science fiction television programmes, including Doctor Who and Star Trek. These brought him to the attention of the editor of Marvel UK's Doctor Who Magazine, who offered him the job of reviewing merchandise for the magazine's Shelf Life section. Whilst writing for the magazine, Hinton had his first novel published. The Crystal Bucephalus was part of Virgin Publishing's Missing Adventures range. The book - which Hinton often jokingly referred to as "The Crystal Bucket" - was originally submitted for Virgin's New Adventures, and 50,000 words of this version were written before the change was made.
This novel was followed by a further Missing Adventure, Millennial Rites in 1995, and then by Hinton's only New Adventure in 1996, GodEngine, which features the Ice Warriors as well as oblique appearances by the Daleks.
Following Virgin's loss of their licence for Doctor Who merchandise, Hinton began submitting proposals to BBC Books. In 2001 they published his novel The Quantum Archangel as part of their BBC Past Doctor Adventures range. This was followed in 2004 by Synthespians™. This had started life as a proposal for the Eighth Doctor before being adapted to a previous Doctor. An image of the television show Dynasty was used on the cover: the cover's creators had arranged for permission to use the copyrighted image, but had neglected to get permission to alter it. At the last minute a replacement cover had to be produced. It is this that appears on the cover.
Hinton's Doctor Who novels often contain references to or explanations of elements of past continuity. He claimed to have been the originator of the term "fanwank", which he applied to his own work.
Hinton continued to work with Virgin, writing pseudonymously under the name Paul C. Alexander for their Idol range. He wrote three books in the range: Chains of Deceit, The Final Restraint and Code of Submission. These titles were a major departure from his science fiction. They explored aspects of his sexuality only suggested in his other works.
Hinton wrote for Big Finish Productions' Audio Adventures. The play Excelis Decays was produced in 2002 for their Doctor Who range and The Lords of Forever in 2005 for their The Tomorrow People range. Hinton also wrote short stories for their short fiction collections.
Outside of the science fiction world Hinton was a noted IT journalist in the UK. He edited magazines in the mid-1990s for VNU Business Publications in London and moved on to ITNetwork.com shortly afterwards.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 4, 2026
Craig Hinton’s well known love of continuity references is on full display in this messy sequel to The Time Monster, itself a pretty low-rent Classic story.
Hinton adds some big ideas into the mix including a great one about parallel realities, but it’s all tell rather than show, with characters standing around explaining things all the time or the prose just unspooling its lore right at us. The characterisation should be compelling but isn’t, with Mel having a very difficult decision to make and then just making it easily enough, and in the end you realise you’ve spent most of the book stuck in the TARDIS looking at big things happening on a screen.
It’s a frustrating mix of technical ambition and self-satisfied navel-gazing, and it’s generally pretty boring to wade through.
Hinton adds some big ideas into the mix including a great one about parallel realities, but it’s all tell rather than show, with characters standing around explaining things all the time or the prose just unspooling its lore right at us. The characterisation should be compelling but isn’t, with Mel having a very difficult decision to make and then just making it easily enough, and in the end you realise you’ve spent most of the book stuck in the TARDIS looking at big things happening on a screen.
It’s a frustrating mix of technical ambition and self-satisfied navel-gazing, and it’s generally pretty boring to wade through.
August 15, 2020
Kronos was the greatest of the Chronovores and 5,000 years ago the Priest Kings of Atlantis tried but failed to enslave him.
Now its London, 2003 the Doctor and his sidekick Mel have parted ways but they meet again when the Doctor must stop an old friend from making an awful mistake but the Doctor has fallen prey to the Master's influence.
Mel and the Doctor must work together to defeat both the Master and Kronos or the Quantum Archangel will rise and destroy the universe.
An inventive and exciting Doctor Who tale that will appeal to both Doctor and Sci fi fans.
Now its London, 2003 the Doctor and his sidekick Mel have parted ways but they meet again when the Doctor must stop an old friend from making an awful mistake but the Doctor has fallen prey to the Master's influence.
Mel and the Doctor must work together to defeat both the Master and Kronos or the Quantum Archangel will rise and destroy the universe.
An inventive and exciting Doctor Who tale that will appeal to both Doctor and Sci fi fans.
February 14, 2025
The more Doctor Who stories I come across, and the more confident I am that I've stamped out a favorite story per se, there's always another that manages to completely blow me away with its creativity, wonderful characterization, and scales out of this conceivable world, and 'Quantum Archangel' was that and more for me. The level of passion that Hinton has the ability to convey through what is only his sheer and absolute love for the series is so clearly visualized, and with the introduction of new worldbuilding concepts that would seem superfluous for an average writer, he has the capability to deliver when it matters—which, in short, signifies all that is great about this book. My favorite Doctor, the 6th, has just risen even higher than what I already had him initially; there's something so poignant about how he handles his emotionally turbulent circumstances with a multitude of different factors playing into it: the Valeyard, the Trial, and his torn relationship between goodness and immorality. We get to see more of what I love and value so much about him—his learned, compassionate nature, self-deprecating tendencies, and the abundant love for everything human that hides under the veil of brashness. Having the Master in the story as well, serving as not only one of the entities that the Doctor has to face off with, but also reason with and to understand once again why his wicked nature is as devilish as he constantly portrays.
Seeing a new light of the Master, with how weak and desperate he is for life, ironically both his mortality and immortality, and it being accentuated through how he alone can't accomplish anything on his lonesome and by merely needing the human ingenuity that he so obviously lacks, can he fulfill his wildest desires, and even still with it backfiring, down to his core he only deems the thought of conquest and domination as a necessary struggle in order to escape the shackles of death that had loomed over him ever since the UNIT era. The cast of characters was phenomenal, and with it being a sequel to 'The Time Monster' and seeing familiar faces like Stuart, Ruth, and Kronos, it made the TV story just even better in hindsight, which is definitely one of my favorite classical serials to this day. Hinton builds upon what is already laid as a foundation for this book, but also ramps up the scale of it to mind-blowing heights, the Six-Fold Realm, Eternals, Gods, and the Millennium War—solely grasping the amount of lore he has thrown into the whoniverse is rough even for the avid fan and serves as a statement for his creative genius.
The climax, the final showdown between 6th and the Trinity that encompasses the Archangel, was so beautifully done and serves as one of my favorite moments in the book, but also one of my favorite moments in the entire series, a battle of wills between two superior beings—a Time Lord ascended to godhood and Anjeliqua stripped of hers—a narratively fitting end to what is one of the best Doctor stories I've ever seen and one that will stand the test of time.
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟏𝟎/𝟏𝟎
Seeing a new light of the Master, with how weak and desperate he is for life, ironically both his mortality and immortality, and it being accentuated through how he alone can't accomplish anything on his lonesome and by merely needing the human ingenuity that he so obviously lacks, can he fulfill his wildest desires, and even still with it backfiring, down to his core he only deems the thought of conquest and domination as a necessary struggle in order to escape the shackles of death that had loomed over him ever since the UNIT era. The cast of characters was phenomenal, and with it being a sequel to 'The Time Monster' and seeing familiar faces like Stuart, Ruth, and Kronos, it made the TV story just even better in hindsight, which is definitely one of my favorite classical serials to this day. Hinton builds upon what is already laid as a foundation for this book, but also ramps up the scale of it to mind-blowing heights, the Six-Fold Realm, Eternals, Gods, and the Millennium War—solely grasping the amount of lore he has thrown into the whoniverse is rough even for the avid fan and serves as a statement for his creative genius.
The climax, the final showdown between 6th and the Trinity that encompasses the Archangel, was so beautifully done and serves as one of my favorite moments in the book, but also one of my favorite moments in the entire series, a battle of wills between two superior beings—a Time Lord ascended to godhood and Anjeliqua stripped of hers—a narratively fitting end to what is one of the best Doctor stories I've ever seen and one that will stand the test of time.
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟏𝟎/𝟏𝟎
May 6, 2024
3.5 stars, rounded up.
May 24, 2023
So recently I picked up Millennial Rites to give a read and quickly found I actually really like Craig Hinton's writing style, it has a combination between comfy Whovian fanwank and epic science fiction which to me both made for an exciting and engaging read. So I decided to pick up The Quantum Archangel and make my way to Time's Champion.
Under threat from Kronos, The Master is desperate to destroy The Chronovores for once and for all but with the energies he stole from Traken running out, it seems he may very well die before enacting his revenge. On the other side of the universe, The Doctor and Mel have failed to save a planet after miscalculating the idiocy of the violent forces. Mel has had enough however, she wants to go home. But going home is easier said than done, for her friends from her time in university aren't quite the go-lucky individuals she initially knew them as, and one of them Paul might very accidentally bring to life one of the most dangerous lifeforms in the universe.
Craig Hinton has achieved the impossible, a satisfying sequel to the infamous Third Doctor story, The Time Monster? What nonsense! But it honestly really works. He manages to one-up himself from Millennial Rites to create a cataclysmic universe-threatening story that honestly comes together in the most magnificent and yet fan wanky way possible, that it's nothing short of epic. The characterization here is solid, the threat is very well thought out and imaginative, whilst being combined with countless references to the show's past, with returning characters and all.
Craig truly is one of the very few authors to devise stories where the universe coming to an end on a massive scale could work so effectively in such a short amount of time. This story is filled to the brim with cameos and references from The Third Doctor, The Rani, The Monk, The Cybermen, The Eternals, and even the bloody Key to Time! And that's barely scratching the surface. It's a fantastic piece of fan wank written with such love and devotion that you can't help but admire it for what it is.
Overall: Read this one for yourself if you can, it's an incredible but heavily fan wanky novel like none other, it's filled to the brim with references, scientific gobbledygook, Gallifreyian lore, plenty of action, and an amazing finale. Don't miss out on this extremely underrated novel, it may be a sequel to The Time Monster but don't let that scare you, it's fantastic! 10/10
Under threat from Kronos, The Master is desperate to destroy The Chronovores for once and for all but with the energies he stole from Traken running out, it seems he may very well die before enacting his revenge. On the other side of the universe, The Doctor and Mel have failed to save a planet after miscalculating the idiocy of the violent forces. Mel has had enough however, she wants to go home. But going home is easier said than done, for her friends from her time in university aren't quite the go-lucky individuals she initially knew them as, and one of them Paul might very accidentally bring to life one of the most dangerous lifeforms in the universe.
Craig Hinton has achieved the impossible, a satisfying sequel to the infamous Third Doctor story, The Time Monster? What nonsense! But it honestly really works. He manages to one-up himself from Millennial Rites to create a cataclysmic universe-threatening story that honestly comes together in the most magnificent and yet fan wanky way possible, that it's nothing short of epic. The characterization here is solid, the threat is very well thought out and imaginative, whilst being combined with countless references to the show's past, with returning characters and all.
Craig truly is one of the very few authors to devise stories where the universe coming to an end on a massive scale could work so effectively in such a short amount of time. This story is filled to the brim with cameos and references from The Third Doctor, The Rani, The Monk, The Cybermen, The Eternals, and even the bloody Key to Time! And that's barely scratching the surface. It's a fantastic piece of fan wank written with such love and devotion that you can't help but admire it for what it is.
Overall: Read this one for yourself if you can, it's an incredible but heavily fan wanky novel like none other, it's filled to the brim with references, scientific gobbledygook, Gallifreyian lore, plenty of action, and an amazing finale. Don't miss out on this extremely underrated novel, it may be a sequel to The Time Monster but don't let that scare you, it's fantastic! 10/10
January 17, 2023
First Doctor Who of 2023 and a ripping great reread of a book that I was endlessly fascinated with as a younger whovian (despite not understanding nearly one goddamn word of it).
Like…is this dense as all hell? Absolutely. Is it also packed with nearly indecipherable tv series and wilderness era lore? You bet your Type 40 it is. But at the same time…it’s Doctor Who! And it’s just constantly swinging for fences you didn’t even know existed.
People have their problems with Hinton. I totally understand it. I also understand people’s aversion to Sixth Doctor stories, especially one that comes with crazy heavy baggage to other serials and shoutouts to other, even more insane things. Things that didn’t even happen anywhere NEAR television or anywhere where a causal fan would even accidentally run across it.
But all that said, I will never forget the feeling of seeing this in a Borders on a speech tournament trip, buying it on the spot, and then pouring over it the entire bus ride home quietly muttering “what IS THIS?!” Literally the entire time.
Bliss. Something you could only get some these wacky ass things. I’ll be chasing that forever.
Like…is this dense as all hell? Absolutely. Is it also packed with nearly indecipherable tv series and wilderness era lore? You bet your Type 40 it is. But at the same time…it’s Doctor Who! And it’s just constantly swinging for fences you didn’t even know existed.
People have their problems with Hinton. I totally understand it. I also understand people’s aversion to Sixth Doctor stories, especially one that comes with crazy heavy baggage to other serials and shoutouts to other, even more insane things. Things that didn’t even happen anywhere NEAR television or anywhere where a causal fan would even accidentally run across it.
But all that said, I will never forget the feeling of seeing this in a Borders on a speech tournament trip, buying it on the spot, and then pouring over it the entire bus ride home quietly muttering “what IS THIS?!” Literally the entire time.
Bliss. Something you could only get some these wacky ass things. I’ll be chasing that forever.
June 28, 2022
Craig Hinton is perhaps my least favorite of the Doctor Who novelists. And this is my least favorite of his books. The main problem is that Hinton tries to write big, really big. We are talking all the universe all of space and time big. But, his rather pedestrian approach to cosmic plots creates a huge dischord. I am always leary when mere mortals try to write about and in the point of view of gods or godlike beings. The earthly metaphors rarely match the immense powers that these beings are supposed to have. Furthermore, Hinton seems to be of the school of writers who presume that everyone whom the Doctor meets for any extended amount of time is made miserable by it. So our characters who return from "The Time Monster" all have had horrible lives. And Mel is furious at the Doctor for something that was not his fault. I thought the Doctor was supposed to be a hero. Flawed, yes, but heroic nevertheless.
February 10, 2020
A really ripping good Who adventure! This is paced liked the best Who stories because just as you think one problem has been solved, another quickly replaces it which is much worse. Adding to the chaos, and my enjoyment, was the return of the Master who is absolutely fantastically evil in this book!
A sequel of sorts to "The Time Monster" though it involves Doctor #6 and Mel, who really doesn't do to much in this book as she has walked out of the TARDIS and the Doctor's life. Several previous Who villains are mentioned in this novel and the biggest quick of all--the Doctor becomes God.
Action packed and perfect in characterizations, author Craig Hinton has written one of the best Who novels I've read!
A sequel of sorts to "The Time Monster" though it involves Doctor #6 and Mel, who really doesn't do to much in this book as she has walked out of the TARDIS and the Doctor's life. Several previous Who villains are mentioned in this novel and the biggest quick of all--the Doctor becomes God.
Action packed and perfect in characterizations, author Craig Hinton has written one of the best Who novels I've read!
April 9, 2015
Hmmm....not the best Doctor Who spin off book I have read maybe not the worst but a bit pedestrian anyhow.
Part way into the book I couldn't really understand why the Doctor doesn't act quickly and bring the problems that will inevitably arise to closure..it seems that this incarnation of the sixth doctor is quite happy to wax lyrical and get little done...then half way through the book ups the ante and gets a tad cerebral and at times confused...
Some bits work it's respectful of Doctor Who mythology and its fun to see the Master within the tale but all in all I felt this book moved pace midway through but ultimately meant less as it moved on.
Part way into the book I couldn't really understand why the Doctor doesn't act quickly and bring the problems that will inevitably arise to closure..it seems that this incarnation of the sixth doctor is quite happy to wax lyrical and get little done...then half way through the book ups the ante and gets a tad cerebral and at times confused...
Some bits work it's respectful of Doctor Who mythology and its fun to see the Master within the tale but all in all I felt this book moved pace midway through but ultimately meant less as it moved on.
July 24, 2016
The Doctor and Mel fall out. Meanwhile, the Master is needing power to keep existing. This is a direct sequel to 'The Time Monster', and expects the reader to be familiar with it. There's some really nice character set pieces, and some very decent plot twists. It has quite a lot of techno babble that slows the flow of reading. This is a shame as otherwise it would be a stand out book. This is a good Master story.
May 2, 2011
As controversial as the 1970s 3rd Doctor story from which it was spawned. Count me among the supporters. This sequel is just...WILD! A big & brash middle finger to all those who dislike "The Time Monster"...you don't know what you're missing.
January 3, 2022
Craig Hinton is the author most often credited with originating the term ‘fanwank,’ and while there are reviews of his three published novels in the VNAs and VMAs as well as the unpublished Time’s Champion from me, it is The Quantum Archangel which defines the term in the most negative of sense. It is one of those Doctor Who novels which on every page puts multiple references to television stories, novels, and even some of the early Big Finish audio dramas which would have been released at the time and Hinton’s prose becomes dense because of the references. A good reference should be something that the reader can quickly move over and not something that bogs down the story in the minutia of details, and the later is what The Quantum Archangel exemplifies. The first half is Craig Hinton writing a sequel to The Time Monster, a Jon Pertwee story which in the eyes of the fandom is one of the weakest of an otherwise brilliant run (though an opinion I do not entirely share). The idea of a sequel to The Time Monster is intriguing and is almost setup well with Stuart Hyde, the younger scientist from that story, now in his fifties has been continuing the experiments into interstitial time without the oversight of UNIT or even the Master. Stuart is a bit fun when he reappears, but there is the weird tendency to keep having him and the Doctor eat together, like a lot.
The problem comes in that Hinton doesn’t actually do anything with the fact that this is a sequel to The Time Monster for the first half of the story except to repeat events from The Time Monster. Most of the moments of that story is remembered for are done word for word here with little twist, from the first appearance of a Chronovore, to the Doctor making up a piece of advanced technology to slow the Master down out of bits of kitchenware, to the Master pretending to be a European professor whose name means Master (this time it’s Serbian), and even some of the dialogue is just taken directly from The Time Monster. The only difference would be putting the Sixth Doctor and Mel in the middle of that story, but Hinton who characterized them brilliantly in Millennial Rites, massively drops the ball. Mel is no longer the plucky, optimistic, computer programmer, but a woman jaded from travel and the Doctor acting like both a child and a mass murderer. The book opens with the Doctor finishing a genocide against a race of aliens that the audience never gets to see.
There eventually is an explanation as to why this is, but it’s meant to be our inciting incident for why Mel wants to go home and has become fed up with travel, but the only other story with Mel in the Past Doctor Adventures range to this point was Business Unusual which is her first story chronologically. Hinton doesn’t really justify this, and even lampshades the fact that this isn’t the first genocide the Doctor has committed with Mel present, and to add insult to injury, explicitly states that this is post-The Ultimate Foe for the both of them. Hinton attempts to make the Doctor seem to be spiraling into becoming the Valeyard, but he already explored that perfectly in Millennial Rites. Here it feels like something put in because that’s what the editors wanted. The second half involves the Quantum Archangel, basically God in the form of a human woman whom Mel went to college with. Anjeliqua is a perfect example of where Hinton goes wrong with characterization, mainly that there isn’t any. As the Archangel reality is almost immediately warped and the eventual climax revolves around a false prophecy a la The Armageddon Factor where a genocide has been implanted in the Doctor’s head for something that never actually happened. The entire plot is just an excuse for Hinton to rehash Millennial Rites which worked because it was set up so well through the first half and had incredibly likable characters to follow in the warped world. And it only focused on a single alternate reality while The Quantum Archangel focuses on like six at the same time. It means that there isn’t anything that gets enough focus to develop in the second half of the book.
Overall, there are a few things to enjoy about The Quantum Archangel, the Master is characterized nicely and the stuff that comes from The Time Monster is at least something that you might get something out of if you really like The Time Monster, but the book on the whole is one which hangs two flimsy plots in an outline of a novel which feels more preoccupied with shoving in as many references as possible into a novel. 3/10.
The problem comes in that Hinton doesn’t actually do anything with the fact that this is a sequel to The Time Monster for the first half of the story except to repeat events from The Time Monster. Most of the moments of that story is remembered for are done word for word here with little twist, from the first appearance of a Chronovore, to the Doctor making up a piece of advanced technology to slow the Master down out of bits of kitchenware, to the Master pretending to be a European professor whose name means Master (this time it’s Serbian), and even some of the dialogue is just taken directly from The Time Monster. The only difference would be putting the Sixth Doctor and Mel in the middle of that story, but Hinton who characterized them brilliantly in Millennial Rites, massively drops the ball. Mel is no longer the plucky, optimistic, computer programmer, but a woman jaded from travel and the Doctor acting like both a child and a mass murderer. The book opens with the Doctor finishing a genocide against a race of aliens that the audience never gets to see.
There eventually is an explanation as to why this is, but it’s meant to be our inciting incident for why Mel wants to go home and has become fed up with travel, but the only other story with Mel in the Past Doctor Adventures range to this point was Business Unusual which is her first story chronologically. Hinton doesn’t really justify this, and even lampshades the fact that this isn’t the first genocide the Doctor has committed with Mel present, and to add insult to injury, explicitly states that this is post-The Ultimate Foe for the both of them. Hinton attempts to make the Doctor seem to be spiraling into becoming the Valeyard, but he already explored that perfectly in Millennial Rites. Here it feels like something put in because that’s what the editors wanted. The second half involves the Quantum Archangel, basically God in the form of a human woman whom Mel went to college with. Anjeliqua is a perfect example of where Hinton goes wrong with characterization, mainly that there isn’t any. As the Archangel reality is almost immediately warped and the eventual climax revolves around a false prophecy a la The Armageddon Factor where a genocide has been implanted in the Doctor’s head for something that never actually happened. The entire plot is just an excuse for Hinton to rehash Millennial Rites which worked because it was set up so well through the first half and had incredibly likable characters to follow in the warped world. And it only focused on a single alternate reality while The Quantum Archangel focuses on like six at the same time. It means that there isn’t anything that gets enough focus to develop in the second half of the book.
Overall, there are a few things to enjoy about The Quantum Archangel, the Master is characterized nicely and the stuff that comes from The Time Monster is at least something that you might get something out of if you really like The Time Monster, but the book on the whole is one which hangs two flimsy plots in an outline of a novel which feels more preoccupied with shoving in as many references as possible into a novel. 3/10.
June 21, 2025
With The Quantum Archangel, Craig Hinton doesn’t just write a Doctor Who novel—he detonates a full-scale metaphysical fireworks display, fusing continuity deep-dives, classic monster callbacks, and enough quantum gobbledygook to fry a TARDIS console. This is Doctor Who at its most operatic, over-the-top, and unapologetically nerdy, tailor-made for fans who love their stakes multiversal and their lore layered thicker than Gallifreyan bureaucracy.
The Sixth Doctor (in all his bombastic brilliance) and his companion Mel are drawn into a nightmare born of hubris, time distortion, and reality-warping ambition. At the heart of the crisis is Anjeliqua Whitefriar, a brilliant and tormented woman whose experiments with reality manipulation attract the attention of beings far beyond comprehension—including the dreaded Chronovores (yep, the cosmic predators from “The Time Monster” are back and very hungry).
What begins as a simple mystery quickly escalates into a quantum war where timelines shatter, gods awaken, and the very fabric of existence starts to glitch. Hinton doesn’t hold back—he drags in elements from Classic Who deep-cuts, The Master, ancient Gallifreyan history, and the Matrix itself (the Gallifreyan one, not the Keanu one). The climax? A battle between the Doctor and the emerging entity known as the Quantum Archangel, a creature of almost divine power, born from trauma and twisted ambition.
What makes this novel sing—or scream—is Hinton’s sheer enthusiasm for the lore. This is Doctor Who as cosmic epic, soaked in references, delivered with drama, and layered with philosophical questions about power, identity, and fate. The prose is sometimes thick with technobabble, but it's driven by real emotion, especially in the tragic arc of Anjeliqua and the Doctor's deepening awareness of his own flaws.
And the Sixth Doctor? This is one of his finest outings in print—complex, courageous, deeply moral, and not nearly as grating as his TV version was unfairly remembered. His rapport with Mel is surprisingly warm, and their dynamic adds emotional weight to the chaos. This book gives his incarnation the grandeur and gravitas he was always capable of.
In essence, The Quantum Archangel is a turbo-charged fan’s love letter to classic Who—a tale of gods and monsters, science and myth, where the Doctor stands between total annihilation and one soul’s broken dream. It’s not for casual fans—but for the initiated, it’s a wild, gorgeous plunge into the mind of the Whoniverse itself.
The Sixth Doctor (in all his bombastic brilliance) and his companion Mel are drawn into a nightmare born of hubris, time distortion, and reality-warping ambition. At the heart of the crisis is Anjeliqua Whitefriar, a brilliant and tormented woman whose experiments with reality manipulation attract the attention of beings far beyond comprehension—including the dreaded Chronovores (yep, the cosmic predators from “The Time Monster” are back and very hungry).
What begins as a simple mystery quickly escalates into a quantum war where timelines shatter, gods awaken, and the very fabric of existence starts to glitch. Hinton doesn’t hold back—he drags in elements from Classic Who deep-cuts, The Master, ancient Gallifreyan history, and the Matrix itself (the Gallifreyan one, not the Keanu one). The climax? A battle between the Doctor and the emerging entity known as the Quantum Archangel, a creature of almost divine power, born from trauma and twisted ambition.
What makes this novel sing—or scream—is Hinton’s sheer enthusiasm for the lore. This is Doctor Who as cosmic epic, soaked in references, delivered with drama, and layered with philosophical questions about power, identity, and fate. The prose is sometimes thick with technobabble, but it's driven by real emotion, especially in the tragic arc of Anjeliqua and the Doctor's deepening awareness of his own flaws.
And the Sixth Doctor? This is one of his finest outings in print—complex, courageous, deeply moral, and not nearly as grating as his TV version was unfairly remembered. His rapport with Mel is surprisingly warm, and their dynamic adds emotional weight to the chaos. This book gives his incarnation the grandeur and gravitas he was always capable of.
In essence, The Quantum Archangel is a turbo-charged fan’s love letter to classic Who—a tale of gods and monsters, science and myth, where the Doctor stands between total annihilation and one soul’s broken dream. It’s not for casual fans—but for the initiated, it’s a wild, gorgeous plunge into the mind of the Whoniverse itself.
October 8, 2011
This features the 6th Doctor and Mel (Bonnie Langford), and the back cover says that it's set between "The Trial of a Time Lord" and "Time and the Rani". However, that doesn't really narrow it down too much, since the 6th Doctor regenerated at the start of "Time and the Rani" (and Colin Baker wasn't even in the episode), so what they're effectively saying is "This is one of the 6th Doctor's stories that took place during a big gap", and there are apparently several other novels set in that same period.
This book is very heavy on continuity. It's a sequel to a TV story that I haven't seen (The Time Monster), although a web search turned up a review which isn't very flattering. ("Despite a few redeeming facets here and there, the serial is mostly a mess of incomprehensible plotting, bad special effects, and corny dialogue, all with a tone that is often jarringly childish.") The Master is in this story, but he can no longer regenerate, and there are several references to the Source of Traken; doing some digging on the web, this is apparently based on events in The Keeper of Traken, another set of episodes that I haven't seen.
Still, those points are fair enough, if the writer specifically wants to use plot points that were introduced in those stories. It gets more frustrating when he clutters up the story with offhand references. For instance, at one point in the novel (pp30-31), the Doctor decides that he wants to get away from it all for a while, so he considers possible destinations. Here's one of his ideas: "Tempus Fugit, the greatest restaurant on Pella Saturnis, ice world of the Hroth... and the Doctor's home for five years. But what would Pfifl and Laklis say if they knew of the blood on his hands? Their adopted son a mass murderer?" Say what, now? I wasn't aware that the Doctor was adopted. I had a look at TARDIS (the Dr Who wiki), but that doesn't know anything about Pfifl or Laklis; if the people who run that site haven't documented these characters, they must be pretty obscure! Doing a bit more digging, I found The Crystal Bucephalus, a 5th Doctor novel written by ... Craig Hinton. Well, that would explain why he threw in a completely gratuitous reference to it, but if I have to go digging on the web to understand the story then there's something fundamentally wrong. By contrast, Avengers Forever (a comic by Kurt Busiek) demonstrates how to do this properly: Busiek put a bibliography at the end where he says "You shouldn't need to know any of this - but in case you're interested..." and then he cites his sources.
It gets worse when the writer decides to steal concepts from other stories (not related to Dr Who). For instance, when the Master attacks the Doctor: "The modulated beam of gravitons and Pym particles hit the Doctor squarely in the chest" (p262). In Marvel comics, Hank Pym invented Pym particles (hence the name), and he uses them to change his size, so that he can grow (Giant-Man) or shrink (Ant-Man). In this novel, there's no suggestion that the Master wanted the Doctor to change size, so it's just random gibberish but it threw me out of the story because I attach a meaning to it.
At the same time, for someone who's so keen on continuity, the writer has trouble keeping track of his own story. Part of the story involves cosmic beings (Eternals and Chronovores), and the prologue establishes that two of these beings have had a romance. "But Elektra was a god, and so was her concert. Prometheus. [...] She was of the Eternal caste: those who drifted mindlessly, seeking out other imaginations, other lives, to lead and to leach from. [...] She looked at Prometheus, radiant, magnificent... She found it hard to reconcile that with the conevant description of the Chronovores." (p2) These two have a child together, which causes a bit of conflict in their respective families. "It will be an abomination, anathema to the Ancient Covenants, protested Lilith, matriarch of the Chronovores, as she presented her petition to the Six-Fold-God. [...] And Elektra is your daughter, Matriarch." (pp253-254). So, apparently Elektra is now a Chronovore rather than an Eternal. The sad thing is that it doesn't actually make any difference to the story, which makes the whole thing rather pointless.
While I'm on the subject, the novel's title is a bit of a misnomer: the writer seems to have just chosen two words that sound cool and stuck them together. By contrast, look at the Weeping Angels from Blink - the aliens look like angels, and the Doctor describes them as "quantum locked". Speaking of titles, each chapter uses the name of an 80s pop song, e.g. "Holding out for a hero", which rapidly gets tiresome, because they don't really fit the actual content of the chapters. Again, I look to comics as an example of this being done right: one issue of Young Justice was titled "Sheik, Rattle, and Roll", which worked because the story involved an actual sheik (as well as being a pun on an Elvis song).
The only good thing I can say about this novel is that it offers an answer to the old question of "Why does God let bad things happen?", namely that if you choose the best possible world for everyone to live in then you're just running a puppet show. That's not a particularly new idea, but I like to see people explore it.
All in all, I can't recommend this book for anything other than rodent bedding.
This book is very heavy on continuity. It's a sequel to a TV story that I haven't seen (The Time Monster), although a web search turned up a review which isn't very flattering. ("Despite a few redeeming facets here and there, the serial is mostly a mess of incomprehensible plotting, bad special effects, and corny dialogue, all with a tone that is often jarringly childish.") The Master is in this story, but he can no longer regenerate, and there are several references to the Source of Traken; doing some digging on the web, this is apparently based on events in The Keeper of Traken, another set of episodes that I haven't seen.
Still, those points are fair enough, if the writer specifically wants to use plot points that were introduced in those stories. It gets more frustrating when he clutters up the story with offhand references. For instance, at one point in the novel (pp30-31), the Doctor decides that he wants to get away from it all for a while, so he considers possible destinations. Here's one of his ideas: "Tempus Fugit, the greatest restaurant on Pella Saturnis, ice world of the Hroth... and the Doctor's home for five years. But what would Pfifl and Laklis say if they knew of the blood on his hands? Their adopted son a mass murderer?" Say what, now? I wasn't aware that the Doctor was adopted. I had a look at TARDIS (the Dr Who wiki), but that doesn't know anything about Pfifl or Laklis; if the people who run that site haven't documented these characters, they must be pretty obscure! Doing a bit more digging, I found The Crystal Bucephalus, a 5th Doctor novel written by ... Craig Hinton. Well, that would explain why he threw in a completely gratuitous reference to it, but if I have to go digging on the web to understand the story then there's something fundamentally wrong. By contrast, Avengers Forever (a comic by Kurt Busiek) demonstrates how to do this properly: Busiek put a bibliography at the end where he says "You shouldn't need to know any of this - but in case you're interested..." and then he cites his sources.
It gets worse when the writer decides to steal concepts from other stories (not related to Dr Who). For instance, when the Master attacks the Doctor: "The modulated beam of gravitons and Pym particles hit the Doctor squarely in the chest" (p262). In Marvel comics, Hank Pym invented Pym particles (hence the name), and he uses them to change his size, so that he can grow (Giant-Man) or shrink (Ant-Man). In this novel, there's no suggestion that the Master wanted the Doctor to change size, so it's just random gibberish but it threw me out of the story because I attach a meaning to it.
At the same time, for someone who's so keen on continuity, the writer has trouble keeping track of his own story. Part of the story involves cosmic beings (Eternals and Chronovores), and the prologue establishes that two of these beings have had a romance. "But Elektra was a god, and so was her concert. Prometheus. [...] She was of the Eternal caste: those who drifted mindlessly, seeking out other imaginations, other lives, to lead and to leach from. [...] She looked at Prometheus, radiant, magnificent... She found it hard to reconcile that with the conevant description of the Chronovores." (p2) These two have a child together, which causes a bit of conflict in their respective families. "It will be an abomination, anathema to the Ancient Covenants, protested Lilith, matriarch of the Chronovores, as she presented her petition to the Six-Fold-God. [...] And Elektra is your daughter, Matriarch." (pp253-254). So, apparently Elektra is now a Chronovore rather than an Eternal. The sad thing is that it doesn't actually make any difference to the story, which makes the whole thing rather pointless.
While I'm on the subject, the novel's title is a bit of a misnomer: the writer seems to have just chosen two words that sound cool and stuck them together. By contrast, look at the Weeping Angels from Blink - the aliens look like angels, and the Doctor describes them as "quantum locked". Speaking of titles, each chapter uses the name of an 80s pop song, e.g. "Holding out for a hero", which rapidly gets tiresome, because they don't really fit the actual content of the chapters. Again, I look to comics as an example of this being done right: one issue of Young Justice was titled "Sheik, Rattle, and Roll", which worked because the story involved an actual sheik (as well as being a pun on an Elvis song).
The only good thing I can say about this novel is that it offers an answer to the old question of "Why does God let bad things happen?", namely that if you choose the best possible world for everyone to live in then you're just running a puppet show. That's not a particularly new idea, but I like to see people explore it.
All in all, I can't recommend this book for anything other than rodent bedding.
September 10, 2022
An ok book. This is probably the Doctor Who story with the biggest stakes - the entirety of the universe to be put to the grindstone of the Quantum Archangel. And yet it's... meh. There's an unusual conundrum in fiction - large scale events tend to be oddly less thought provoking than small scale events. Take Timelash v.s. The Tomb of the Cybermen. The immediate danger in one is the deaths of trillions by interplanetary war. The immediate danger in the other is the death of five. The Tomb of the Cybermen, however, is more well loved. While this may be because of better writing or many other factors it is interesting to note.
Overall, I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. An alright book.
Overall, I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. An alright book.
May 12, 2023
Fanwank. Absolute fanwank. But what glorious, enjoyable and wonderful fanwank.
June 14, 2010
Originally posted here at Anime Radius.
There has always been something about the idea of the Doctor and his companion leaving on uneven terms that has always intrigued me, despite the ugliness of the scenario – doubly so if it is the Doctor who causes the break up. At the beginning of The Quantum Archangel, this very thing is happening between the Doctor and Mel, and it colors the rest of the novel, adding a layer of depth to the Doctor and Mel’s respective scenes. What do you do when you’re a companion who is forced to leave the Doctor’s side and find yourself lost in a world that used to be your home? There are a mess of uncomfortable questions raised not only on the typical Doctor/companion relationship, but on the Doctor’s relationship with himself and what he may become; it seems that the specter of the Valeyard haunts his every action since the incident on Maradnias, maybe even since he left the space station with Mel.
Oh, you don’t know who the Valeyard is? How about the Rutans or the Vervoids or Minyos? Have you seen the episode The Time Monster, or the twenty-third season? If you haven’t, do yourself a favor and put the book down, watch said episodes, then come back. Then you will be well versed enough to get half the references. Once again, Craig Hinton throws a metric ton of Who history into his verse, which will delight hard core fans but possibly scare off those still dipping their toes into the Whoniverse’s intimidating amount of canon.
Despite all that, Craig Hinton’s writing style is one to be praised. It packs a punch with its emotional scenes, and always keeps readers’ attention riveted to the page during scenes of action and drama. I found it hard to put The Quantum Archangel down at times because the story was so gripping I just had to know what would happen next. The voices for the Doctor, the Master, and Mel are spot on, and I love the fact that this is a novel that gives Mel Bush the proper spotlight she deserves, highlighting her keen intellect and heart and not her screaming skills, thank goodness.
The story itself is a complex layered beast, and at one point it goes very wibbley-wobbley timey-wimey with its handling of multiple universes – but it does all this with a deft hand, never making the reader feel lost. Even the technobabble feels genuine amid all the drama and danger going on. In all, I really enjoyed reading this novel and it is certainly an honorable verse sequel to The Time Monster, especially given who makes a surprise cameo near the end of the book.
There has always been something about the idea of the Doctor and his companion leaving on uneven terms that has always intrigued me, despite the ugliness of the scenario – doubly so if it is the Doctor who causes the break up. At the beginning of The Quantum Archangel, this very thing is happening between the Doctor and Mel, and it colors the rest of the novel, adding a layer of depth to the Doctor and Mel’s respective scenes. What do you do when you’re a companion who is forced to leave the Doctor’s side and find yourself lost in a world that used to be your home? There are a mess of uncomfortable questions raised not only on the typical Doctor/companion relationship, but on the Doctor’s relationship with himself and what he may become; it seems that the specter of the Valeyard haunts his every action since the incident on Maradnias, maybe even since he left the space station with Mel.
Oh, you don’t know who the Valeyard is? How about the Rutans or the Vervoids or Minyos? Have you seen the episode The Time Monster, or the twenty-third season? If you haven’t, do yourself a favor and put the book down, watch said episodes, then come back. Then you will be well versed enough to get half the references. Once again, Craig Hinton throws a metric ton of Who history into his verse, which will delight hard core fans but possibly scare off those still dipping their toes into the Whoniverse’s intimidating amount of canon.
Despite all that, Craig Hinton’s writing style is one to be praised. It packs a punch with its emotional scenes, and always keeps readers’ attention riveted to the page during scenes of action and drama. I found it hard to put The Quantum Archangel down at times because the story was so gripping I just had to know what would happen next. The voices for the Doctor, the Master, and Mel are spot on, and I love the fact that this is a novel that gives Mel Bush the proper spotlight she deserves, highlighting her keen intellect and heart and not her screaming skills, thank goodness.
The story itself is a complex layered beast, and at one point it goes very wibbley-wobbley timey-wimey with its handling of multiple universes – but it does all this with a deft hand, never making the reader feel lost. Even the technobabble feels genuine amid all the drama and danger going on. In all, I really enjoyed reading this novel and it is certainly an honorable verse sequel to The Time Monster, especially given who makes a surprise cameo near the end of the book.
June 18, 2016
This story is a sequel to the aired Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor) story, "The Time Monster", which I re-watched prior to reading it. That was a good idea - several of the guest characters from that story re-appear in this one.
The Quantum Archangel features the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Mel. The book opens with the Doctor and Mel recovering from a disaster -- and Mel is so devastated she decides to leave the Doctor. But when he drops her off, not only is he off by three years, but he discovers "the son of TOMTITT" is causing universe-spanning troubles -- troubles that the Doctor, the Master, Mel, and several of Mel's college buddies are drawn into. Not to mention several guest characters from "The Time Monster".
The first half of this novel was slow and very confusing. However, it gradually built steam, and the conclusion was awesome. Overall, a worth-while read in the Doctor Who BBC Books Past Doctor Who range.
By the way, the author notes state the author is a fan of "American" comics -- and it shows, there are plenty of references to various comics, which is fun - in a rather grim book. The phrase, "With great power comes great responsibility" is used often. And Oa is mentioned. Anyway, theses references lighten up the book. There's also a lot of various Who references. And the entire plot has to do with computing and the search for a workable Quantum Computer, among other things. Enjoy!
The Quantum Archangel features the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Mel. The book opens with the Doctor and Mel recovering from a disaster -- and Mel is so devastated she decides to leave the Doctor. But when he drops her off, not only is he off by three years, but he discovers "the son of TOMTITT" is causing universe-spanning troubles -- troubles that the Doctor, the Master, Mel, and several of Mel's college buddies are drawn into. Not to mention several guest characters from "The Time Monster".
The first half of this novel was slow and very confusing. However, it gradually built steam, and the conclusion was awesome. Overall, a worth-while read in the Doctor Who BBC Books Past Doctor Who range.
By the way, the author notes state the author is a fan of "American" comics -- and it shows, there are plenty of references to various comics, which is fun - in a rather grim book. The phrase, "With great power comes great responsibility" is used often. And Oa is mentioned. Anyway, theses references lighten up the book. There's also a lot of various Who references. And the entire plot has to do with computing and the search for a workable Quantum Computer, among other things. Enjoy!
August 29, 2019
These are the kind of Doctor Who books I like!
Craig Hinton has taken an enormous amount of Doctor Who history and tries to see where he can fit bits of it together to form a whole. Then he takes a bunch more history and dumps it in because it would be cool to read about and ends up with this brilliant book.
It starts as a sequel to the 'Time Monster', not one of my favorite Third Doctor TV episodes. He then adds in the Master, some great characterization of the the sixth Doctor and Mel (who is so much better in the books than she ever was on TV) and creates a huge, cosmic epic that feels like a cross between the Ragnarok of the Norse Gods, Peter David's Star Trek novel 'Q Squared' and a really good TV episode.
The action is all huge fate of the universe stuff, but at the same time there are some nice human moments that make you care about the mere mortals involved.
I have a soft spot for Colin Baker's Doctor, as he got a raw deal on the show, so I'm always happy when he gets a good book, because he deserved them.
Craig Hinton has taken an enormous amount of Doctor Who history and tries to see where he can fit bits of it together to form a whole. Then he takes a bunch more history and dumps it in because it would be cool to read about and ends up with this brilliant book.
It starts as a sequel to the 'Time Monster', not one of my favorite Third Doctor TV episodes. He then adds in the Master, some great characterization of the the sixth Doctor and Mel (who is so much better in the books than she ever was on TV) and creates a huge, cosmic epic that feels like a cross between the Ragnarok of the Norse Gods, Peter David's Star Trek novel 'Q Squared' and a really good TV episode.
The action is all huge fate of the universe stuff, but at the same time there are some nice human moments that make you care about the mere mortals involved.
I have a soft spot for Colin Baker's Doctor, as he got a raw deal on the show, so I'm always happy when he gets a good book, because he deserved them.
November 10, 2015
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2552515.html
A sequel to The Time Monster, featuring the Sixth Doctor, Mel and the Ainley!Master, and a host of other references to other Who stories, the epitome of "fanwank" (a term Hinton himself invented). Actually rather good fun, which is impressive given how awful the original story is, with a high point being the splintering of the narrative into various potential parallel realities where the history of the universe has worked out differently. Hinton also does a good job of capturing the Sixth Doctor. The Home Secretary has the same name as a prominent Doctor Who fan, but when I checked with her she thought it must be coincidence (because she was not yet prominent when this was written). Above average, I would say.
A sequel to The Time Monster, featuring the Sixth Doctor, Mel and the Ainley!Master, and a host of other references to other Who stories, the epitome of "fanwank" (a term Hinton himself invented). Actually rather good fun, which is impressive given how awful the original story is, with a high point being the splintering of the narrative into various potential parallel realities where the history of the universe has worked out differently. Hinton also does a good job of capturing the Sixth Doctor. The Home Secretary has the same name as a prominent Doctor Who fan, but when I checked with her she thought it must be coincidence (because she was not yet prominent when this was written). Above average, I would say.
March 18, 2012
A good, solid romp that dials it up to 11: The Master, big cosmological super-beings, continuity references up the yahzoo. Hell, I'm a pretty sad Doctor Who fan as far as they go, and I got lost pretty quickly amongst all the shout outs.
But I liked it, in the end. Good stuff.
But I liked it, in the end. Good stuff.
March 9, 2010
Utter, brilliant fanwank!
January 20, 2012
Another excellent effort from Craig Hinton. Love this book because it's a sequel to a classic Doctor Who story and because once again Craig Hinton has made reading a Sixth Doctor story enjoyable.
February 8, 2014
It's a great book! I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews