Doctor Who: Shada
The Lost Adventures by Douglas Adams
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4.4 • 27 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
From the unique mind of Douglas Adams, legendary author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, comes Shada, a story scripted for the television series Doctor Who but never produced—and now transformed into an original novel.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Imagine how dangerous a LOT of knowledge is...
The Doctor’s old friend and fellow Time Lord, Professor Chronotis, has retired to Cambridge University, where among the other doddering old professors nobody will notice if he lives for centuries. He took with him a few little souvenirs—harmless things really. But among them, carelessly, he took The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey. Even more carelessly, he has loaned this immensely powerful book to clueless graduate student Chris Parsons, who intends to use it to impress girls. The Worshipful and Ancient Law is among the most dangerous artifacts in the universe; it cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.
The hands of the sinister Skagra are unquestionably the wrongest ones possible. Skagra is a sadist and an egomaniac bent on universal domination. Having misguessed the state of fashion on Earth, he also wears terrible platform shoes. He is on his way to Cambridge. He wants the book. And he wants the Doctor...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Veteran Doctor Who writer Roberts channels Douglas Adams to novelize the long-running show's famous "lost serial." Conceived by Adams as the ultimately unfinished final set of episodes for the 1979 1980 season, this adventure sees the Fourth Doctor dusting it up with a renegade megalomaniac named Skagra while fighting over the fate of a legendary Time Lord artifact. Joined by Romana and K-9, the Doctor drops in on Cambridge, 1979, to visit Chronotis, a retired Time Lord masquerading as a professor. Postgraduate students Chris Parsons and Claire Keightley get sucked into a convoluted affair involving would-be universal domination, forgotten Gallifreyan history, mind control, and a sentient spaceship. Roberts clears up continuity errors while seamlessly meshing his original work with Adams's script, leaving the latter's trademark whimsy and snappy dialogue intact. The result is a near-perfect Doctor Who adventure in its blend of absurd humor and action.
Customer Reviews
Classic Adam's WHO
Being a Doctor Who fan for a long time, it was great reading a story that truly brings those classic Tom Baker era characters back to life. This book does have the feel, depth and quirky-ness of a real Douglas Adams' book. I would have enjoyed a little more 'why' of Skagra's monstorous creations, but all-in-all a great read and visually enticing story. Shada has now truly been brought to us Whovian fans.
Gareth Roberts finishes Douglas Adams "Shada"
Doctor Who fans will be familiar with the famously unfinished Tom Baker serial "Shada." The script was of course originally written by the late great Douglas Adams, but a strike interrupted its filming, and it was never completed. A incomplete video version with linking narration by Tom Baker was eventually released during the 1990s.
Then came Gareth Roberts, author of many Doctor Who works, including novels, shorts, and episodes of the new series. Mr. Roberts undertook writing a full novelization of the incomplete work, and doing right by the story as well as the legacy of Douglas Adams. He does a very respectable job of tying together the unfinished story elements, after doing a lot of research and soul searching as to what was intended by the original work had it been finished. He describes these struggles in an afterward to the novel.
It is a good Fourth Doctor story, with Tom Baker's recognizable character shining through. Romanna and K-9 are with the Doctor as he visits a retired Time Lord, Dr. Cronotis, who has decided to spend his declining years as a professor in Cambridge, England. It is at this time that the villain Skagra also comes to visit the professor, to obtain a very powerful and dangerous ancient book from Gaillifrey...
Must Read
I am an avid doctor who fan and I must say this book was a great read that kept me hooked. The doctor is true to the show and the story is interesting and contains lots of twists and surprises. If you like Tom Baker pick this book up you will not be sorry.