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{{title|''{{PAGENAME}}''}}
{{title dab away}}
{{Infobox Novel|
{{real world}}
novel name= Killing Ground |
{{Infobox Story SMW
image= [[Image:Ma-23.jpg|250px]] |
|image           = Ma-23.jpg
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[Virgin Missing Adventures]] |
|range          = Virgin Missing Adventures
number= 23 |
|number in range = 23
doctor=[[Sixth Doctor]] |
|number         = 23
companions= [[Grant Markham]] |
|doctor         = Sixth Doctor
enemy= [[Cybermen|The Cybermen]] |
|companions     = [[Grant Markham|Grant]]
year= [[Agora]]: [[2191]] |
|enemy           = [[CyberNomad]]s
writer= [[Steve Lyons]] |
|setting        = [[Agora]], [[2191]]
publisher= [[Virgin Books]] |
|writer          = Steve Lyons
release date= [[June]], [[1996]] |
|cover          = [[Alister Pearson]]
format= Paperback Book, ? Pages |
|publisher       = Virgin Books
isbn= ISBN 0-426-20474-3|
|release date   = 20 June 1996
previous story=[[The Sands of Time]]|
|format         = Paperback Book; 16 Chapters, 256 Pages
next story= [[The Scales of Injustice]] }}
|isbn           = ISBN 0-426-20474-3
|series          = [[Virgin Missing Adventures]]
|prev            = The Sands of Time (novel)
|next            = The Scales of Injustice (novel)
}}
{{prose stub}}
{{you may|Killing Ground (comic story)|n1=the comic story of the same name}}
'''''Killing Ground''''' was the twenty-third novel in the [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] series. Continuing on from the final events of author [[Steve Lyons]]' ''[[Time of Your Life (novel)|Time of Your Life]]'', it showed what happened when the [[Sixth Doctor]] gave [[Grant Markham]] his "one trip" in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] — a journey back to Markham's home of [[Agora]].
 
Unlike ''Time'', however, ''Ground'' featured Markham as a prominent narrative element, and the book jacket formally dubbed him a "[[companion]]". Still, it proved to be his final outing in a licensed work, despite the fact that it ended in a way that promised more adventures for Markham and the Doctor.
 
Notably, it was one of only three novels published under [[Virgin Publishing]]'s control of the ''Doctor Who'' licence to feature the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]]. The others were ''[[The Crystal Bucephalus (novel)|The Crystal Bucephalus]]'' and ''[[Iceberg (novel)|Iceberg]]''.


==Publisher's summary==
== Publisher's summary ==
''''Imagine that you can live forever and life is totally free from pain. You can see all things with clarity, unblinkered by irrelevant details. You will never fear, never sicken, never lose control. That is what the [[Cybermen]] are offering.''''
:"Imagine that you can [[Immortality|live forever]] and life is totally free from [[pain]]. You can [[see]] all things with clarity, unblinkered by irrelevant details. You will never [[fear]], never [[sickness|sicken]], never lose control. That is what the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] are offering."


[[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] takes his new companion, [[Grant Markham|Grant]], back home to [[Agora]] -- only to find a world in the thrall of some of his oldest and deadliest foes.
[[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] takes his new [[companion]], [[Grant Markham|Grant]], back home to [[Agora]] — only to find a world in the thrall of some of his oldest and deadliest foes.


The Cybermen have taken control and set up a breeding colony to propagate their own race. While the Doctor languishes in a cell at the mercy of the sadistic [[Overseers]], Grant joins up with a group of rebels and works on a desperate rescue bid.
The Cybermen have taken control and set up a breeding [[colony]] to propagate their own race. While the Doctor languishes in a cell at the mercy of the sadistic [[Overseer (Killing Ground)|Overseers]], Grant joins up with a group of rebels and works on a desperate rescue bid.


With time running out, the rebels move into action. But will their solution prove more deadly than the problem itself?
With time running out, the rebels move into action. But will their solution prove more deadly than the problem itself?


==Characters==
== Plot ==
*[[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]]
Ninety-one [[year]]s in [[Grant Markham]]'s past, the ''[[New Hope]]'' successfully launches from [[Earth]]. The [[Sixth Doctor]] and Grant observe the launch from inside [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]], which is [[orbit]]ing [[Mars]]. The Doctor comments that the ''New Hope'' will travel to the [[Centraxis system]], and its [[crew]] will establish "the most remote of the [[prototype]] [[Colony|colonies]]", which Grant immediately identifies as [[Agora]], his [[planet]] of origin. The Doctor comments that with [[human]]ity now beginning to expand into [[space]], the numerous [[alien]] threats that Earth's [[government]]s have kept secret for [[Century|centuries]] will be eager to exact [[revenge]] on humanity at a [[time]] in which humans will be less equipped to fight them. However, he confirms that the ''New Hope'' will arrive safely. Meanwhile, the majority of the ''New Hope''<nowiki/>'s [[Administrative Council]] [[Voting|votes]] in favour of establishing a more primitive [[society]] on their new [[home]], and eschewing the advanced [[technology]] of Earth.
**Contemplates suicide.
**Spends weeks in the TARDIS recovering from radiation poisoning sustained onboard the Selacian warcraft.
**Doesn't have much faith in his new companion.
*[[Grant Markham]]
**Has severe robophobia brought upon by early childhood memories of the Cybermen.
**Had a recurring nightmare about being hunted by robots which was cured in [[MA]]: ''[[Time of Your Life]]''.
*Jean Markham
**Was shot dead by the Cybermen as punishment for the colony.
**Was Grant's mother.
*Ted Henneker
**Leads the Agoran rebels.
**Helps create the Bronze Knights, cybernetically augmented volunteers designed to match a Cyberman's strength in combat.
*Maxine Carter


*ArcHivist Hegelia
In the midst of a [[rebellion]] on Agora, [[Ben Taggart]] flees from [[Population Control]], having been driven out, along with the other surviving rebels, by the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]]. Falling over in the [[mud]], he eventually gets up, believing the fighting to have passed him, only to be confronted by a Cyberman; the creature is shot [[death|dead]], however, by [[Arthur Lakesmith]], the [[leader]] of the rebellion against the Cybermen, who forces Taggart to accompany him back inside Population Control with a crude [[bomb]], with the intention of blowing up the entire complex and potentially the [[Cyber-ship (Killing Ground)|Cyber-ship]]. However, inside the complex, the duo are attacked by more Cybermen, one of whom brutally maims Lakesmith, forcing Taggart to take the bomb and detonate it himself. Taggart flees, but is trapped by two Cybermen within an [[Overseer (Killing Ground)|Overseers]]' rest area, preventing him from reaching the control centre. [[Fear]]fully contemplating that detonating the bomb, and [[Self-sacrifice|sacrificing]] himself, here, may end up being for nothing, he places the bomb on the floor and [[surrender]]s.
**Is an expert on Cyberhistory.
**Is one of the most respected ArcHivists from the Arc Hive.
**Undergoes the Cyber-conversion process to satisfy her curiousity in knowing what the process feels like. She looses all interest in the question and destroys her notes following her total conversion.


*ArcHivist Graduand Jolarr
''More to be added''
*Arthur Lakesmith
**Was the original rebel leader.
**Was mutilated as a warning to other colonists following a failed rebellion in 2176.
*Ben Taggart
**Surrendered instead of sacrificing himself to detonate a bomb in Population Control.
*Cybermen
**Are CyberNomads who were affected by the war with Voga and consequently have more organic components than any other model since the CyberMondasians.
**Periodically journey to the colony in a spacecraft similar to that seen in [[DW]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]''.
**Use artifical emotional responses to intimidate opponents.
**Can swim.
**Cyber-leaders can send out a disabling pulse to all Cyber-technology upon death.


==References==
== Characters ==
*Hegelia is from David Bank's [[Cyberman Tin|''Cybermen'']] book.
* [[Sixth Doctor]]
*Reference is made to [[MA]]: ''[[Time of Your Life]]'' several times.
* [[Grant Markham]]
*The [[Bronze Knight]]s' brutal crushing of Maddox's hands is a infamous reprise of Lytton's punishment in [[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]''.
* [[Jean Markham]]
*Grant comes face to face with his father in mid-conversion, a scene that brings to mind Natasha meeting her father as a glass [[Dalek]] in [[DW]]: ''[[Revelation of the Daleks]]'' and [[Lytton]] in [[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]''.
* [[Ted Henneker]]
*A [[Selachian]] warship has been pioneered by the [[Cybermen]] ([[PDA]]: ''[[The Murder Game]]'', ''[[The Final Sanction]]'').
* [[Hegelia]]
*The events of various Cybermen stories are mentioned. Namely [[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'', [[NA]]: ''[[Iceberg]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'' and [[DW]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]''.
* [[Graduand Jolarr]]
*Reference is made to [[the Valeyard]] seen in [[DW]]: ''[[Trial of a Time Lord]]''.
* [[Arthur Lakesmith]]
* [[Ben Taggart]]
* [[Vincent Madrox]]
* [[Maxine Carter]]
* [[Cyberman|Cybermen]]


==Notes==
== Worldbuilding ==
* This book notes the second and final official appearance of companion [[Grant Markham]] in official media.
=== Biologically modified species ===
* The cover by [[Alister Pearson]] contains the only official image of Grant.
* [[Ted Henneker]] helps create the [[Bronze Knight]]s.


==Continuity==
=== Cybermen ===
*The Doctor exiled himself to Torrok after the events of [[DW]]: ''[[The Ultimate Foe]]'' and was forced to leave when the [[Time Lord]]s revealed him to the Watchers in [[MA]]: ''[[Time of Your Life]]''.
* [[Hegelia]] is an expert on the [[history]] of the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]]. She is one of the most respected [[ArcHivist]]s from the [[ArcHive]].
*The Cybermen here are that of the post-Cyber Wars variant seen in [[DW]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'' and [[BFA]]: ''[[Sword of Orion]]''.
* Hegelia undergoes [[cyber-conversion]] to record a first-hand experience of the process.
* The Cybermen that have conquered [[Agora]] are [[CyberNomad]]s, a [[Cyber-subspecies]] that fought in the [[Vogan War]]. The [[Sixth Doctor]] recalls encountering them on [[Nerva Beacon]] as the [[Fourth Doctor]].
* According to [[Graduand Jolarr]], the CyberNomad attack on [[Nerva Beacon]] occurred three-hundred [[year]]s after the end of the Vogan War.
* Hegelia proposed a hypothesis that a group of CyberNomads travelled to [[Telos]] and re-opened the [[Cyber-tomb]]s. They subsequently merged with the [[CyberTelosian]]s inside to become the [[CyberNeomorph]]s, which proliferated throughout the [[26th century]].
* The CyberNomads have been severely weakened by the Vogan War, in numerous ways:
** They use more organic material than any variants of Cybermen before them since the [[CyberMondan]]s, which has also led to the CyberNomads regaining the CyberMondans' weakness to strong levels of [[radiation]].
** The cyber-conversion technology used by the CyberNomads is significantly more primitive.
** The CyberNomad reinforcements that travel to Agora following the first force's destruction arrive in a [[Selachian]] battle cruiser, rather than a [[Cyber-ship]].


==Timeline==
=== The Doctor ===
*Killing Ground occurs after: [[MA]]: ''[[Time of Your Life]]''
* The Doctor contemplates [[suicide]].
*Killing Ground occurs before: [[BFA]]: ''[[The Wormery]]''
* The Doctor spends weeks in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] recovering from the [[radiation poisoning]] he sustained onboard the Selachian battle cruiser.


==External links==
=== Individuals ===
*{{dwrefguide|who_ma23.htm|Killing Ground}}
* Grant has severe [[Grimwade's Syndrome|robophobia]], as a result of witnessing the Cybermen [[murder]] [[Jean Markham|his mother]] when he was a [[child]].
*{{whoniverse|MA23.php|Killing Ground}}
* [[Arthur Lakesmith]] was the original rebel leader and was mutilated as a warning to other colonists following a failed rebellion in [[2176]].


{{prose stub}}
== Notes ==
[[Category:Virgin Missing Adventure Novels]]
* This is the second and final appearance of companion [[Grant Markham]] in the ''[[Virgin Missing Adventures|Missing Adventures]]''. He would later appear in one more short story, ''[[Repercussions... (short story)|Repercussions...]]''.
* The cover, by [[Alister Pearson]], contained the only official image of Grant. Pearson based Grant's appearance on his own.
* The character Hegelia was from [[David Banks]]' book ''[[Doctor Who: Cybermen|Cybermen]]''.
* This story is set between ''[[Season 23 (Doctor Who 1963)|The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' and ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]''.
 
== Continuity ==
* The Doctor [[exile]]d himself to [[Torrok]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Ultimate Foe (TV story)|The Ultimate Foe]]'') and was forced to leave when the [[Time Lord]]s revealed him to the Watchers. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Time of Your Life (novel)|Time of Your Life]]'')
* The Cybermen are [[CyberNomad]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]'')
* The Doctor refers to the painful beginnings of his third [[regeneration]] in the TARDIS. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'')
* When discussing the subjects of government cover-ups with Grant, the Doctor mentions the [[Great Intelligence]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]'') the [[Auton]]s, ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space (TV story)|Spearhead from Space]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]'') the [[Axos|Axons]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Claws of Axos (TV story)|The Claws of Axos]]'') and the [[Zygon]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)|Terror of the Zygons]]'')
* Earth is still rebuilding after the [[2150s Dalek invasion of Earth]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)|The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'')
* Grant had a recurring [[nightmare]] about being hunted by robots, which was cured. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Time of Your Life (novel)|Time of Your Life]]'')
* The TARDIS has an emergency exit. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Original Sin (novel)|Original Sin]]'')
* The Doctor recalls his visit to [[Thoros-Beta]] in [[2379]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mindwarp (TV story)|Mindwarp]]'')
 
== External links ==
{{dwrefguide|who_ma23.htm|Killing Ground}}
* {{whoniverse|ma23|Killing Ground}}
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/kgro.htm The Cloister Library: '''Killing Ground''']
{{MA}}
{{Cyberman stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
 
[[Category:MA novels]]
[[Category:Sixth Doctor novels]]
[[Category:Sixth Doctor novels]]
[[Category:1996 novels]]
[[Category:1996 novels]]
[[Category:Cybermen novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in Mutter's Spiral]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2191]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2100]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Sol System]]
[[Category:Cyberman novels]]

Latest revision as of 02:42, 3 July 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub
You may be looking for the comic story of the same name.

Killing Ground was the twenty-third novel in the Virgin Missing Adventures series. Continuing on from the final events of author Steve Lyons' Time of Your Life, it showed what happened when the Sixth Doctor gave Grant Markham his "one trip" in the TARDIS — a journey back to Markham's home of Agora.

Unlike Time, however, Ground featured Markham as a prominent narrative element, and the book jacket formally dubbed him a "companion". Still, it proved to be his final outing in a licensed work, despite the fact that it ended in a way that promised more adventures for Markham and the Doctor.

Notably, it was one of only three novels published under Virgin Publishing's control of the Doctor Who licence to feature the Cybermen. The others were The Crystal Bucephalus and Iceberg.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

"Imagine that you can live forever and life is totally free from pain. You can see all things with clarity, unblinkered by irrelevant details. You will never fear, never sicken, never lose control. That is what the Cybermen are offering."

The Doctor takes his new companion, Grant, back home to Agora — only to find a world in the thrall of some of his oldest and deadliest foes.

The Cybermen have taken control and set up a breeding colony to propagate their own race. While the Doctor languishes in a cell at the mercy of the sadistic Overseers, Grant joins up with a group of rebels and works on a desperate rescue bid.

With time running out, the rebels move into action. But will their solution prove more deadly than the problem itself?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Ninety-one years in Grant Markham's past, the New Hope successfully launches from Earth. The Sixth Doctor and Grant observe the launch from inside the TARDIS, which is orbiting Mars. The Doctor comments that the New Hope will travel to the Centraxis system, and its crew will establish "the most remote of the prototype colonies", which Grant immediately identifies as Agora, his planet of origin. The Doctor comments that with humanity now beginning to expand into space, the numerous alien threats that Earth's governments have kept secret for centuries will be eager to exact revenge on humanity at a time in which humans will be less equipped to fight them. However, he confirms that the New Hope will arrive safely. Meanwhile, the majority of the New Hope's Administrative Council votes in favour of establishing a more primitive society on their new home, and eschewing the advanced technology of Earth.

In the midst of a rebellion on Agora, Ben Taggart flees from Population Control, having been driven out, along with the other surviving rebels, by the Cybermen. Falling over in the mud, he eventually gets up, believing the fighting to have passed him, only to be confronted by a Cyberman; the creature is shot dead, however, by Arthur Lakesmith, the leader of the rebellion against the Cybermen, who forces Taggart to accompany him back inside Population Control with a crude bomb, with the intention of blowing up the entire complex and potentially the Cyber-ship. However, inside the complex, the duo are attacked by more Cybermen, one of whom brutally maims Lakesmith, forcing Taggart to take the bomb and detonate it himself. Taggart flees, but is trapped by two Cybermen within an Overseers' rest area, preventing him from reaching the control centre. Fearfully contemplating that detonating the bomb, and sacrificing himself, here, may end up being for nothing, he places the bomb on the floor and surrenders.

More to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Biologically modified species[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cybermen[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

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