BBC Books / Penguin have confirmed the synopsis' and covers for the new series Doctor Who Target novelisations, due out in April.

In addition to the four, new series adventures, a fifth title, (The 4th Doctor adventure) 'City Of Death', will be released at the same time. City Of Death was one of only five stories from the original series (1963-1989), not to have been novelised for the Target book range.

Synopsis for each title are below, and the covers are in the right-hand column, with the exception of 'Twice Upon A Time' and 'City Of Death' which we will be adding very shortly. The covers for the range have been designed by Anthony Dry, in the style of Chris Achilleos, who provided the covers for the original Target range.

Audiobook releases of the titles will be released in June.

Rose
By Russell T. Davies

“Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!”

In a lair somewhere beneath central London, a malevolent alien intelligence is plotting the end of humanity. Shop window dummies that can move – and kill – are taking up key positions, ready to strike.

Rose Tyler, an ordinary Londoner, is working her shift in a department store, unaware that this is the most important day of her life. She’s about to meet the only man who understands the true nature of the threat facing Earth, a stranger who will open her eyes to all the wonder and terror of the universe – a traveller in time and space known as the Doctor.

+  Rose is released on 5th April 2018, priced £6.99.
+  PURCHASE this title on Amazon.co.uk!

The Christmas Invasion
By Jenny T. Colgan

Earth is under attack by power-hungry aliens. This is no time for the Doctor to be out of action.

When a British space probe is intercepted by a sinister alien vessel on the eve of Christmas, it marks the beginning of an audacious invasion of the Earth by the Sycorax – horrifying marauders from beyond the stars. Within hours, a third of humanity stands on the brink of death with not a single shot fired.

Our planet needs a champion – but the Doctor is not fit for service. He’s just regenerated, delirious in a new body and a dressing gown. Forced into his battered shoes is his friend, Rose Tyler, a girl from a London council estate. Will she save the world from this nightmare before Christmas – or see it destroyed?

+  The Christmas Invasion is released on 5th April 2018, priced £6.99.
+  PURCHASE this title on Amazon.co.uk!

The Day Of The Doctor
By Steven Moffat

When the entire universe is at stake, three different Doctors will unite to save it.

The Tenth Doctor is hunting shape-shifting Zygons in Elizabethan England. The Eleventh is investigating a rift in space-time in the present day. And one other – the man they used to be but never speak of – is fighting the Daleks in the darkest days of the Time War. Driven by demons and despair, this battle-scarred Doctor is set to take a devastating decision that will threaten the survival of the entire universe… a decision that not even a Time Lord can take alone.

On this day, the Doctor’s different incarnations will come together to save the Earth… to save the universe… and to save his soul.

+  The Day Of The Doctor is released on 5th April 2018, priced £6.99.
+  PURCHASE this title on Amazon.co.uk!

Twice Upon A Time
By Paul Cornell

Still reeling from his encounter with the Cybermen, the First Doctor stumbles through the bitter Antarctic wind, resisting the approaching regeneration with all his strength. But as he fights his way through the snowdrifts, he comes across the familiar shape of a blue police box, and a mysterious figure who introduces himself as the Doctor…

Thrown together at their most vulnerable moments, the two Doctors must discover why the snowflakes are suspended in the sky, why a First World War Captain has been lifted from his time stream moments before his death, and who is the mysterious Glass Woman who knows their true name. The Doctor is reunited with Bill, but is she all she seems? And can he hold out against the coming regeneration?

+  Twice Upon A Time is released on 5th April 2018, priced £6.99.
+  PURCHASE this title on Amazon.co.uk!

City Of Death
By James Goss

The key to Earth's destruction lies buried in its past.

Visiting Paris in 1979, the Doctor and Romana’s hopes for a holiday are soon shattered by armed thugs, a suave and dangerous Count, a plot to steal the Mona Lisa and a world-threatening experiment with time.

Teaming up with a British detective, the Time Lords discover that a ruthless alien plot hatched in Earth’s pre-history has reached its final stage. If Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth, cannot be stopped then the human race is history, along with all life on Earth…

+  City Of Death is released on 5th April 2018, priced £6.99.
+  PURCHASE this title on Amazon.co.uk!

[Sources: BBC Books; Amazon.co.uk]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Writer: Jenny T. Colgan

RRP: £10.99 (CD) / £8.99 (Download)

Release Date: May 2016

Reviewed by: Bedwyr Gullidge for Doctor Who Online

“Calibris. The spaceport planet where anything goes. Where anyone who doesn't want to be found can be lost, and where everything has its price. Where betentacled gangster Gully holds sway at the smugglers’ tavern, Vagabond’s Reach.

The alien Vacintians are trying to impose some order on the chaos. Soon the Doctor and Donna discover why. An illegal weapon is loose on the streets. A weapon that destroys lives… Slowly and agonisingly.

The Time Reaver."

If Technophobia was an attempt to recapture the atmosphere of 2008’s Series 4, Time Reaver steps out of the television set and into the Big Finish universe renowned for the limitless scope for storytelling. Set on a bustling intergalactic transport terminus, this story’s location would have proved tricky for a television production team to realise effectively, as would the key villain Gully and all his tentacles. Instead, through the excellent medium of audio storytelling and the assistance of a single image of the tentacled creature in question on the cover, the listener can fully immerse themselves into the fast paced action.

The plot of the story centres on the presence on the planet Calibris of a dangerous and valuable weapon, the Time Reaver. It has the ability to extend time potentially indefinitely, allowing people to savour precious moments for longer but sadly can also be used to provide agonising torture. Once again the realisation of a poor soul enduring this torment works incredibly well on audio, taking the listener into the mind of the subject and sharing the experience. It reminded me of a specific episode of American medical drama ER which guest starred Cynthia Nixon as a mother who had suffered a devastating stroke and the viewer witnessed the ‘locked in’ syndrome she was subsequently experiencing. Both are harrowing journeys and an excellent method of telling the story.

Gully is also very successful on audio, the rasping sliminess of a voice which shares similar tones to that of 1980’s villain Sil who first appeared in Vengeance on Varos, enhancing the skin-crawlingly grotesque creature. The bureaucratic Vacintians are however a bit bland and generic but Terry Molloy’s Officer Rone adds a relatable character despite those restrictions. Another triumph is Sabrina Bartlett as Cora, who sounds much younger than her years and delivers the story’s powerful emotional dimension.

Although a largely grim tale, Time Reaver’s extravagant setting helps elevate a simplistic story to the darkly atmospheric tale which tears through at a swift pace whilst taking the listener on a deeply emotional journey, feeling for the key characters affected by the Time Reaver and also those forced to endure it’s devastating power.

BBC Books have sent DWO the covers and details for the June 2015 book 'The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who'.

The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who
by Simon Guerrier & Dr Marek Kukula

The first official guide to the science of Doctor Who by acclaimed Doctor Who novelist Simon Guerrier and Dr Marek Kukula, the Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Doctor Who stories are many things: thrilling adventures, historical dramas, and science fiction tales. But how much of the science is real? And how much is fiction?

Weaving together authoritative scientific discussion with a series of new adventures by acclaimed Doctor Who writers including Jenny T Colgan, George Mann and Jacqueline Rayner, Simon Guerrier and Dr Marek Kukula explore the possibilities of time travel, life on other planets, artificial intelligence, parallel universes and more. From the dawn of astronomy and the discovery of gravity to the moon landings and string theory, the authors show how science has inspired Doctor Who, and how, on occasion, life has mirrored art, such as the 1989 discovery of ‘ice-canoes’ on Triton which were featured in the 1973 episode The Planet of the Daleks.

For example, did you know…

•  The creation of the Cybermen in The Tenth Planet in 1966 was prompted by two American neuroscientists who argued that astronauts’ bodies should be adapted to suit the conditions of space.
•  The failure of Beagle 2 to land on Mars on Christmas Day 2003 influenced the loss of Guinevere One at the start of The Christmas Invasion.
•  The many parallel universes that feature in Doctor Who, from Inferno to Rise of the Cybermen are inspired by a reaction to the Schrodinger’s Cat theory: that a new universe is created for each different outcome.
•  The startling resemblance between Amelia Pond and the Twelfth Doctor and two characters from The Fires of Pompeii isn’t simply due to the actors returning to the series: it might be grounded in science as well.
•  Time Lords aren’t the only beings able to regenerate – when the turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish gets ill, old, or faces danger, it can return to its childhood state as a polyp.

+  The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who is released on 4th June 2015, priced £16.99 [HB].
+  PREORDER The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who from Amazon.co.uk for just £14.98.   

[Source: BBC Books]

BBC Books have sent DWO some further information and covers for their new Doctor Who: Time Trips series.

Jake Arnott, Cecelia Ahern and Joanne Harris have today been confirmed to write for BBC Books' Doctor Who: Time Trips. They join award-winning writers AL Kennedy, Jenny Colgan, Nick Harkaway and Trudi Canavan for new Doctor Who digital shorts series.

The series will launch on 5th December with The Death Pit, a Fourth Doctor adventure by AL Kennedy. It then publishes monthly throughout 2014: the spring’s selections include Jenny Colgan’s Eleventh Doctor adventure, Into the Nowhere (Jan); Nick Harkaway’s take on the Tenth Doctor, Keeping Up with the Joneses (Feb); Trudi Canavan’s tribute to the Third Doctor, Salt of the Earth (Mar); and Jake Arnott’s Sixth Doctor adventure in April. Cecelia Ahern’s and Joanne Harris’s stories will publish later in the year.

Cecelia Aherne said:

"I’m so excited to have written a story for the Time Trips series and I enjoyed writing every word. Doctor Who is an institution and to be involved in the 50th anniversary is beyond a dream – it is an honour’"

Jake Arnott adds:

"Writing for the Time Trips series really was a trip – the chance to jump around in time, space and genre, to play around with a classic of popular culture and try to find a place in its vast universe – but most of all it was an opportunity to travel back all those light years ago when I was a kid, full of wonder, watching Doctor Who for the first time"

Joanne Harris says:

"I remember watching Doctor Who from a very early age, from a cushion fort behind the sofa. As I grew older I began to really understand and appreciate the show. When the series was revived I was thrilled to watch its transition into the 21st Century, just as I’m thrilled now to be contributing to this series of stories. Fifty is no great age (I tell myself this as my own fiftieth approaches!) and you’re never too old for stories. Happy Birthday Doctor Who. May your candles never go out"

AL Kennedy said:

"I was first introduced to Doctor Who when I was three or four and he has been a happy part of my life ever since. I am delighted to become in any way a part of his stories"

Jenny Colgan, also a lifelong Doctor Who fan, said:

"It is such an honour to be part of the prestigous Time Trips line-up, with so many excitingly fresh perspectives on the Doctor's life and adventures"

Nick Harkaway added:

"There is a list of calls you want and know you’ll never get. Joel Rubichon invites you to eat any time; Penelope Cruz needs a tango partner…and then someone calls and asks you if you want to write a story for a new BBC Books’ Doctor Who digital series. And that is the real thing and it feels every bit as fantastic as you would imagine. I’m sure the tango would be good too, mind you."

Publishing Schedule:

Doctor Who: The Death Pit
A.L. Kennedy
Published: 5th December 2013
+  PREORDER from Amazon.co.uk for £1.37! 

Doctor Who: Into the Nowhere
Published: 9th January 2014
Jenny T. Colgan
+  PREORDER from Amazon.co.uk for £1.37! 

Doctor Who: Keeping Up with the Joneses 
Nick Harkaway
Published: 6th February 2014
+  PREORDER from Amazon.co.uk for £1.37!

Doctor Who: Salt of the Earth
Trudi Canavan
Published: 6th March 2014
+  PREORDER from Amazon.co.uk for £1.37!

Doctor Who: A Handful of Stardust
by Jake Arnott
Published: 3rd April 2014

+  Time Trips launches from 5th December 2013 from BBC Digital and publishes monthly throughout 2014, priced £1.99 each.

[Source: BBC Books]

BBC Books has today announced Time Trips, an exciting addition to their hugely popular Doctor Who digital list.

Following the success of the three digital-only e-shorts published last Autumn and earlier this year (The Angel’s Kiss, Devil in the Smoke and Summer Falls, each of which tied into a particular episode),  as well as Doctor Who novels with Michael Moorcock, Stephen Baxter, Alastair Reynolds, Jenny Colgan and the estate of Douglas Adams. Time Trips is set to build on that success and expand the Doctor Who readership even further.

A new, long-term digital strand for the Doctor Who list, Time Trips will feature an exciting mix of high-profile commercial and literary writers, each of whom will write a 10,000 word adventure for their favourite Doctor. Authors confirmed so far include Nick Harkaway, AL Kennedy, Jenny Colgan and Trudi Canavan, with more to be announced shortly. From romantic fiction to high fantasy to high thrillers, there are a lot of Doctor Who fans in the literary world!

BBC Books Senior Editorial Director Albert De-Petrillo bought world rights in each of the stories. De-Petrillo said:

"Time Trips is a project I have long wanted to do. There’s a unique affection for Doctor Who amongst writers and readers across genres and I can’t believe our good luck to have Nick Harkaway, AL Kennedy, Jenny Colgan and Trudi Canavan on the launch list.  It’s a truly formidable line-up, with more to come. This series really is taking Doctor Who fiction to a new level and I can’t wait for people to read these brilliant stories"

AL Kennedy said:

"I was first introduced to Doctor Who when I was three or four and he has been a happy part of my life ever since. I am delighted to become in any way a part of his stories."

Jenny Colgan, also a lifelong Doctor Who fan, said:

"It is such an honour to be part of the prestigious Time Trips line-up, with so many excitingly fresh perspectives on the Doctor's life and adventures".

Nick Harkaway added:

"There is a list of calls you want and know you’ll never get. Joel Rubichon invites you to eat any time; Penelope Cruz needs a tango partner…and then someone calls and asks you if you want to write a story for a new BBC Books’ Doctor Who digital series. And that is the real thing and it feels every bit as fantastic as you would imagine. I’m sure the tango would be good too, mind you"

BBC Books plan to release the first in the Time Trips series at the end of the year, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, with further stories to be published throughout 2014. Each story will be priced at £1.99. A print collection is due for release next year. Additional authors will be announced in the coming months.

[Source: BBC Books]

AudioGO have sent DWO the cover and details for the forthcoming Doctor Who CD release of Dark Horizons.

On a windswept Northern shore, at the very tip of what will one day become Scotland, the islanders believe the worst they have to fear is a Viking attack.

The Doctor is just looking for a game on the famous Lewis chess set. Instead he encounters a people under attack from a power they cannot possibly understand. The islanders must take on a ruthless alien force in a world without technology; without communications; without tea that isn't made out of bark. Still, at least they have the Doctor on their side... Don't they?

A thrilling new adventure starring the Doctor, as played by Matt Smith.

Read by Neve McIntosh.

+  Dark Horizons is released on 5th July 2012, priced £13.25 (CD) / £12.29 (Download).

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com!

[Source: AudioGO]

BBC Books have sent DWO the cover & details for the July release of Dark Horizons by Jenny Colgan.

Dark Horizons

Written by: J.T. Colgan

On a windswept Northern shore, at the very tip of what will one day become Scotland, the islanders believe the worst they have to fear is a Viking attack. Then the burning comes. They cannot run from it. Water will not stop it. It consumes everything in its path - yet the burned still speak. 

The Doctor is just looking for a game on the famous Lewis chess set. Instead he encounters a people under attack from a power they cannot possibly understand. They have no weapons, no strategy and no protection against a fire sent to engulf them all.

Add in some marauding Vikings with very bad timing, a kidnapped princess with a secret of her own and a TARDIS that seems to have developed an inexplicable fear of water, and they all have a battle on their hands. The islanders must take on a ruthless alien force in a world without technology; without communications; without tea that isn't made out of bark. Still at least they have the Doctor on their side... Don't they? 

A thrilling new adventure starring the Doctor, as played by Matt Smith.

+  Dark Horizons is released on 7th July 2012, priced £12.99 (HB).

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com!

[Source: BBC Books]