The King of Terror

The King of Terror is a novel I read quite some time ago and I just don't have the time to read it again for this. It's Jay's fault I'm sure. But when I did read it when first published back in 2000 I do remember enjoying it immensely due to several factors:

- the inclusion of the Brigaider and UNIT in Los Angeles, set in roughly the same year it was written, and the Brigadier's novel way of tracking down the Doctor through the newspapers

- the Brigadier's reaction of mild disappointment when he realizes that it's the fifth Doctor, and his revelation that he has at this point in time met nine incarnations

- Tegan's friction-induced romance including one of those classic "he slaps her, she slaps him, they kiss" moments, plus Tegan's barely passable computer skills from 1981 making the internet of 2000 a real challenge for her

- Turlough being tortured

- the Doctor's easy manner when talking to the Brigadier, referencing their time in Devil's End (The Daemons) as the events of The Awakening parallel it somewhat

- the suggestion that it has taken the Doctor a month to return Will Chandler to 1643, the implication being that he was an impromptu companion for a while

Of course The King of Terror was written long after the "classic" series was concluded in 1989 and sixteen years after the episodes it is set between, but it actually has that seamless join to the series as a whole. That, of course, is the fine art of retro continuity done properly, when you could actually accept the story as belonging there through its use of proper continuity to previous episodes and even a few sly hints about the future.

Oh the plot of this story? Alien invasion. The usual.

NEXT EPISODE(S): FRONTIOS / EXCELIS DAWNS