Doctor Who: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang

Doctor Who: Missing Adventures #25

by David A. McIntee

'They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step. If I'm right, then a journey of a thousand miles will take but a single step.'

The search for the fourth segment of the Key to Time brings the TARDIS to 1930s Shanghai: a dark and shadowy world, riven by conflict and threatened by the expansion of the Japanese Empire. Meanwhile, the savage Tongs pursue their own mysterious agenda in the city's illegal clubs and opium dens.

Manipulated by an elusive foe, the Doctor is obliged to follow the Dragon Path - the side-effect of a disastrous experiment in the far future.

But would two segments of the Key be on the same planet? Is the Black Guardian behind the dark schemes of the beautiful Hsien-Ko? And who is the small child who always accompanies her?

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie In, Mystery, Ebooks

295 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 1996

About the author

David A. McIntee was a British author who specialised in writing spin-offs and nonfiction commentaries for Doctor Who and other British and American science-fiction franchises.

Reviews

[Ian Racey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in high school, when it first came out. It was the first thing I'd ever read about Shanghai during the treaty port era, and it absolutely captured my imagination and started my love of that setting. So I recently reread the book to try and isolate what it was that had so enthralled me.

I was a bit surprised, therefore, to discover that this is a book written with next to no knowledge of Shanghai and the International Settlement. In the book's Shanghai, the United States, Germany and Japan somehow all have their own Concessions, while the actual, historical French Concession gets only a single passing mention; Nationalist Chinese police roam freely around the International Settlement, arresting and imprisoning Westerners whenever they want. Honestly my main takeaway is to be really struck by how much lower a standard of research we could get away with in the mid-1990s, before the sum total of human knowledge was made easily available online.

The Doctor Who elements of the story, on the other hand, are wonderfully done. McIntee has a perfect ear for the banter between the fourth Doctor and the first Romana, and it's very easy to read their dialogue in the voices of Tom Baker and Mary Tamm in your head.

This is, obviously, a sequel to the 1977 TV story "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". Back in the 1990s, fandom's consensus attitude toward Talons seemed essentially to be "it's a great, exciting adventure, though we do have to acknowledge its racist casting"; nowadays I think we have shifted more toward a view that its racism is so heavyhanded and undeniable that it overshadows whatever merits its storytelling has, and the story exists to Doctor Who's shame. It's therefore pleasant to be able to say that Shadow is largely free of the racial representation issues that so dog its antecedent. After the first chapter, every original character of any significance is Chinese, and they're well-realised, complex characters. Which isn't to say they aren't cliche: there's the dilettante playboy who disguises himself at night so he can roam the alleys and docks as a vigilante ensuring justice; the policeman who's a rule-obsessed martinet; the cold, mysterious beauty who's made herself queen of the macho, misogynistic secret society. (Okay, that last one is probably pretty racially problematic.) And I give McIntee great credit for making sure that not a single major character is quite what they seem.

What we've got here is a tribute to the pulp adventures of the first half of the twentieth century, written with obvious love for (and knowledge of) that genre. It's redolent of the Shadow and Doc Savage, both of whom are referenced repeatedly (given that it's a Doctor Who story, I was surprised there weren't also references to Captain Jack Harkaway), and it's a quick-moving pageturner of an adventure. Just, really, don't trust a single thing it has to say about treaty-port Shanghai.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a fantastic read. I love the television story The Talons of Weng Chiang and this book turned out to be a really good sequel. There’s so much to like about this book and that includes its pacing, it’s characters, plot, action, just everything! I can’t really seem to find any faults with this missing adventure.

The Fourth Doctor isn’t exactly one of my favourite doctors (shoot me!) but I still think he, Romana and K9 were characterised brilliantly. The supporting characters are brilliant as well and are all interesting. Mr Sin is even more deadlier than he was in Talons. If you’re a bit squeamish then I wouldn’t advise you to read this as there are some graphic deaths in this book!

Just a wonderful story that just keeps on moving. Highly, highly recommended if you’re a fan of The Fourth Doctor and Talons.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

After retrieving the third piece of the Key of Time, the Doctor, Romana and K-9 follow a telltale trace of chronon radiation to 1937 Shanghai. Instead of finding the next segment, however, they stumble into a dangerous conflict involving the Black Scorpion, a ruthless gang the Doctor last faced in Victorian London during their service to the time-traveling war criminal Magnus Greel. Now leading the gang is Hsien-Ko, the daughter of Greel's former lieutenant Li Hsien-Chang, who has been transformed after being irradiated by chronon energy and is embarking on her own dangerous experiments. With Hsien-Ko on the brink of realizing her goal, the three time travelers search for allies in the treacherous world of wartime Shanghai as they work to stop her before she fractures time itself in her quest for revenge.

In writing an adventure involving the most popular Doctor of the classic era that is a sequel to one of the best-received serials of his tenure and is set in one of the most tightly-plotted seasons of the original series David McIntee sets himself a number of challenges. It's a mark of his ability as a writer and his understanding of the Whoniverse that he pulls it off so successfully. His insertion of his story into the Key of Time quest is virtually seamless in its justification, giving both the Doctor and Romana (whose first incarnation is extremely under-utilized by the show's related media because of the nature of the season) a reason to address the problem while in the midst of a much greater mission. The underused setting of China (one to which he would subsequently return in future Doctor Who novels) also allows McIntee to expand the Doctor's scope and introduce story elements new to the long-established franchise. Yet none of this would work without McIntee's success in his characterization of both the well-established TARDIS crew and the people he introduces into the tale. It makes for one of the best of the Virgin Missing Adventures series, one that is well worth the time for fans of the franchise to seek out.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first actual book review on this app instead of a review for an audio story.

This manages to achieve its goal of being a sequel to the Talons of Weng-Chiang while also being its own thing. The time period of 1930s China is brought to life brilliantly with all its complexities, such as the European colonialism of Shanghai and the unprovoked invasion of China by Japan.

The story perfectly fits during Season 16 of classic Doctor Who, while also being a clever sequel to a story which on paper shouldn't have a sequel.

The story luckily avoids the racism that the original story had, but it is certainly a more violent story compared to anything that would have been allowed on TV in the 1970s.

Overall, it's a really compelling read.

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

My goodness! Poorly conceived, ridiculous action plot and somehow markedly more racist than the original twenty years on.
I only read this out of morbid curiousity, don't make my mistake. Avoid!!!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable Tintin-esque caper.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good Who novel that's humorously self-aware without being irritating or cute. The banter isn't perfect, but pretty good renditions of the Fourth Doctor and Romana (scarf-lassoing aside). It starts a bit slow, with a lot of unfamiliar characters to keep straight, but that develops into a strength as the intrigue progresses... It decenters the Doctor and focuses on the surrounding characters, as well it should. The characters are interesting enough to hold their own, and that's how these episodes worked. Plus doing it novel form means we hear their internal narratives, which helps make the story a bit less problematic (although the research level isn't really there).

The original episode is in a class of its own, but this is a pleasant revisiting, and the everpresent hints that Weng-Chiang may return keep you on the hook!

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting and satisfying follow-up to the Talons of Weng-Chiang, as it avoids the trap of slavishly following the tropes of the original tale. Apart from Mr Sin, we have an all new cast of characters in a brand new location, and no theatre in sight. This is a tale firmly set in an Asian world, where nobody is an all-out villain. People are misguided or have changed sides for what they consider to be good reasons. The reader can sympathise both with the 'villainess' and the chief 'helper', despite them both differing from expectations. The person who does the most harm is one of those hide-bound types who think they are right and act without real thought. K9 gets an amusing upgrade to climb stairs, although he is then faced with steps up a mountain! And Romana sings!

[Saoki]

At this point in my VMA read-through I have read the great majority of the series and can pretty much tell when I'm not going to enjoy reading a book from the first few pages. This is one of them. The problems?
1) This is a historical adventure, only the author choose not to be historically accurate. Not even a bit.
2) The writing drags a bit and I'm not in the mood to speedread.
3) The katana vs nunchaku fight. Really author? Really?
I didn't stuck around for long enough to tell if the Doctor and Romana are accurate or if the story feels like the 4th Doctor era. All I know is that reading more than I did felt like a chore.

[Arthur B · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Doctor makes a racist joke about Asian people eating dogs, and I think that's all I really need to say about this one. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

[Miss Zero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, tv series accurate dialogue, you really get sucked into this world and The Doctor and Romana’s Quest.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Shadow of Weng-Chiang is one of the Doctor Who Missing Adventures original novels published by Virgin publishing. It is also a sequel to the Tom Baker and Leela story, The Talons of Weng-Chiang. This original novel features Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor and the First Romana (as played by Mary Tamm).
After the last Doctor Who novel that I read and found truly, truly dreadful - I was very happy that this story was much, much better. It was an excellent story on it's own, and even manages to fix some of the issues with the original story produced by the BBC.
The novel starts with the Doctor and Romana in the TARDIS, having discovered the third segment of the Key to Time, they are ready to find the Fourth Segment. They are surprised when the TARDIS again lands on Earth, this time Shanghai, in China, in the 1930s. Romana uses the tracer to find the Fourth Segment, but the signal is weak and even disappears at times. She and the Doctor are confused, and the Doctor thinks it unlikely that the Guardians would have hidden two segments on the same planet.
Soon the Doctor and Romana figure out that the tracer is actually picking up Chronon Radiation. The Doctor and Romana investigate. A woman named Hsien-Ko has risen to leadership of the Black Scorpion Tong on the promise to bring back the "god" Weng-Chiang. Meanwhile, a cop named Li keeps arresting the Doctor and Romana, and, a club owner named Woo is also involved in what's going on.
Hsien-Ko was affected by Chronon Radiation from birth and can travel, unaided, via the Dragon Paths - shortcuts through space. She creates Geomantic compasses so her followers can also travel instantly between long distances. But her ambition is to also travel through time. To this end, she has a nuclear reactor built inside a mountain that also has naturally occurring quartz running throughout it. The reactor and quartz will be used to magnify power so she can obtain time travel. Her plan isn't as far fetched as it sounds in summary, given the Time Cabinet of Weng-Chiang.
Everyone assumes they know Hsien-Ko's plan - to return the "god" Weng-Chiang. But her actual ambitions are more complicated, more understandable, and much more dangerous.
Li and Woo also have deep secrets and hidden motivations.
The story is a quick read, but the characters are deeply complex, especially as no one's motives are what everyone else assumes they are. The characters reach past stereotypes, especially those that other characters in the book hold about them. This was something I really liked about the novel - though everyone's true motives aren't clear until the last few chapters of the book. I also found The Shadow of Weng-Chiang to be a very fast read and I enjoyed it very much!
This Doctor Who novel is highly recommended to fans of the program and also to fans of historical fiction.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

October 2022
3.5/5

Significantly better than the story it's a sequel to, if only because it actually feels like it's trying to be rooted in Chinese life rather than taking its cues from yellow peril fearmongering. It's not perfect in that (I could have done without the Doctor making a joke about the Chinese eating dogs...) but it's also not got much competition given the nature of its predecessor.
I don't think McIntee is the best 90s Doctor Who writer - there are points where he explains character thought processes in ways I find clunky, for instance - but there was some strong action in this, and I mostly liked the TARDIS crew interactions. Overall a solid but not a standout novel, and I was largely entertained.

September 2025
3.5/5
I mostly stand by what I had to say last time, namely that I appreciate the attempt to ground this book in a very specific historical setting rather than a pulp approximation of it that retains all the racism of those pulp books - I think it's at its strongest when it does that rather than when it's overtly referencing genre tropes. I'm also a big fan of McIntee's K9 characterisation, which leads to some funny moments. That being said: did we really need two sequels to racist Robert Holmes scripts to come out of the Missing Adventures?

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like other McIntee novels, "The Shadow Of Weng-Chiang" is strong on adventure and weak in characterization. It is better than the TV serial it follows in one respect - a more accurate portrayal of Chinese culture. As with "Lords Of The Storm," McIntee has done his homework to try to create a realistic culture based on some Non-European model. There it was India; here it is China. Set just prior to the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s, the novel effectively interweaves the historical background into the science fictional plot. McIntee has wisely not used old characters from "The Talons Of Weng-Chiang." The "Shadow" of the title is exactly that. As I said earlier, the weakness of the novel is mostly in the characterization, which is rather flat. Additionally, the plot is too conventionally whovian. Still, this is an entertaining read.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1191051.html[return][return]I was unimpressed with the last Doctor Who story I read with a Chinese setting, but David McIntee has done a lot better here, with the Doctor and Romana I drawn aside from their quest for the Key to Time to deal with the legacy of the Doctor's Victorian theatrical adventures in 1937 Shanghai, where Chinese and Japanese factions and agents are competing over various assets which turn out to include Mr Sin, a nuclear reactor and an attempt to divert Magnus Greel from his fate. Several pleasing nods to continuity, and I think he captures the Baker / Tamm / Leeson dynamic rather nicely as well. One of the better Missing Adventures.

[Christopher Stilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this book to be a little more like 'The Eleventh Tiger, ' although in hindsight the lessons from this appear to have been applied to the later work. This story is much less focused than most of McIntee's work, but as a pastiche of the classic pulp novel it is quite acceptable. However, it might have been nicer to have at least one character other than the nominal villain who was reasonably sympathetic.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice attempt to write a sequel to a classic Who story and try and do it in an unpredictable way. The action moves from Victorian England to 30's China.
Some of the various plot threads and political intrigue was laid on a little thick, but I liked the bits of Who history and the parts with K-9 were brilliant.

[Sean Homrig · Rating 3 out of 5]

It isn't remarkable or memorable in any means, but McIntee delivers a solid adventure story in the vein of some of his earlier work for the series ("White Darkness"). The novel's best feature is its sympathetic villainess and fabulous foreign intrigue, although for many it may fail to deliver as a sequel to the televised story. All in all, a fun romp.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a sequel that does everything BUT take the most predictable path. This a richly exotic, richly rewarding boy's own adventure story...except that Romana is there to mess up all the cliches. Moments of excitement and hilarity, side-by-side with moments of disturbing horror.

[Simon Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to The Talons of Weng-Chiang. What's not to like!

[RC · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel which perfectly captures the era when Mary Tamm was on the show. The story itself is better than the official Key to Time stories.