The Dimension Riders (novel)

The Dimension Riders (novel)

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The Dimension Riders
Doctor:	[[doctor::Seventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Ace, Benny
Main enemy:	The Garvond
Main setting:	Earth, England, Oxford, November 18, 1993 Deep Space, late 24th century
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Virgin Books]]
Writer:	Daniel Blythe
Release details
Release number:	20
Release date:	November 1993
Format:	Paperback Book, 341 Pages
ISBN:	ISBN 0426203976

The Dimension Riders is the twentieth novel in the Virgin New Adventures series. It was written by Daniel Blythe, and featured the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Bernice.

Publisher's summary

'Someone here has been playing with time, Ace. Like playing with fire, only worse - you get burnt before you've lit the match.'

Abandoning a holiday in Oxford, the Doctor travels to Space Station Q4, where something is seriously wrong. Ghostly soldiers from the future watch from the shadows among the dead. Soon, the Doctor is trapped in the past, Ace is fighting for her life, and Bernice is uncovering deceit among the college cloisters.

What is the connection with a beautiful assassin in a black sports car? How can the Doctor's time machine be in Oxford when it is on board the space station? And what secrets are held by the library of the invaded TARDIS?

The Doctor quickly discovers he is facing another time-shattering enigma: a creature which he thought he had destroyed, and which it seems he is powerless to stop.

Characters

• The Doctor
  • His current body is aging rapidly, the first time this has happened since The Tenth Planet
  • Likes almond slices.
• Ace
  • Still doesn't trust the Doctor.
• Bernice Summerfield
  • Lost her load of archaeological finds in the Doctor's original TARDIS.
• Professor James Rafferty
  • Is Professor of Extra-Terrestial Studies at the University of Oxford.
• Garvond
• "The President" (aka Epsilon Delta, The President of St. Matthew's College)
  • A Time Lord from the Ancient Time.
  • He left Gallifrey inspired by stories of The Master, The Rani and especially The Doctor.
• Captain Romulus Terrin
• Darius Cheynor
  • Second in command to Romulus Terrin.
• Lt. Albion Strakk
  • Gets hit with a time beam giving him 10 years to live.
• Amanda
  • Cybernetic android built by the President.

References

• The Doctor first read about the Garvond in The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey.

• The Doctor once thought about retiring to Florana.

• The TARDIS (from the alternate world) doesn't entirely trust the Doctor.

• Professor Rafferty knows the Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Ian Chesterton and Professor Travers, and is also an old friend of the Doctor's.

• Amanda mentions; the Zygon Gambit, the Shoreditch Incident, and the events of Auderly House.

• The Doctor mentions Skagra.

Notes

• This is the second novel in the Alternate Universe arc.
• A prelude to this novel was published in DWM 206.
• The Monk and Artemis make an appearance (behind the scenes) in the prologue and the epilogue.

Continuity

• The events mentioned by Amanda correspond to: DW: Terror of the Zygons (The Zygon Gambit), Remembrance of the Daleks (The Shoreditch Incident) and Day of the Daleks (Auderly House).

• There are a few references to DW: Shada / WC: Shada / BFA: Shada.

• Darius Cheynor reappears in NA: Infinite Requiem.

Timeline

• This story takes place after DWM: Final Genesis
• This story takes place before NA: The Left-Handed Hummingbird

External links

• Prelude to The Dimension Riders as published in DWM #206
• The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of The Dimension Riders
• The Discontinuity Guide to: The Dimension Riders at The Whoniverse