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Plague City was one of three Twelfth Doctor novels published in April 2017 as part of the BBC New Series Adventures line.
Publisher's summary
The year is 1645, and Edinburgh is in the grip of the worst plague in its history. Nobody knows who will be the next to succumb – nobody except the Night Doctor, a masked figure that stalks the streets, seeking out those who will not live to see another day.
But death is not the end. The Doctor, Bill and Nardole discover that the living are being haunted by the recently departed – by ghosts that do not know they are dead. And there are other creatures lurking in the shadows, slithering, creeping creatures filled with an insatiable hunger.
The Doctor and his friends must face the terrifying secret of the Street of Sorrows – that something which has lain dormant for two hundred million years is due to destroy the entire city...
Plot
Thomas and Isobel hear four knocks at their tenement door. They know what this means - their nineteen year old daughter, Catherine, would not live to see another dawn.
Catherine is suffering from the plague and the person knocking on the door is the Night Doctor. Thomas and Isobel are reluctant to allow the Night Doctor entry but they do so anyway. The Night Doctor inspected Catherine silently before leaving, only to return roughly two hours later to take her away with him. The Night Doctor carried Catherine away to an unknown location without giving her parents a chance to say goodbye.
Meanwhile the TARDIS arrives in Edinburgh, and Bill Potts excitedly exits the TARDIS into a dark alley only to be met with the smell of rotting vegetables. She is joined by the Twelfth Doctor and Nardole. The trio are caught by the 'old bailey' being out past curfew and give chase. The Doctor and Nardole, and Bill split up and Bill is taken in by an old woman called Betsy and her friend Agnes.
Characters
References
Culture
- Nardole wears a Tam O'Shanter, kilt and Sporran when visiting Scotland.
- A soldier suggests that Bill looks "Barbary" and "must have come off a ship in Leith".
People
- Nardole claims to have Scottish heritage, descending from the clan "MacNardole".
- With Sir John Smith already a real person in Edinburgh, the Doctor instead adopts the alias of 'Doctor Robert Louis Stevenson'.
Locations
- The Doctor points out the Heart of Midlothian and St. Giles' Cathedral
Cultural references
- Nardole is described as wearing a "Minnie the Minx" beret.
- The Doctor hints that he is involved in the creation of Hogmany and the Edinburgh Festival.
Notes
- This novel was released several weeks before Nardole joined the Doctor and Bill in the TARDIS as a regular companion.
Continuity
- Nardole uses Tarovian martial arts. (TV: The Lie of the Land)
- The Doctor is no longer blind during his travels with Bill and Nardole. (TV: Oxygen, The Pyramid at the End of the World, The Lie of the Land)
- The Doctor scolds Nardole when he attempts to mimic the regional dialect of the place they are visiting. (TV: Tooth and Claw, The Shakespeare Code, The Unicorn and the Wasp, COMIC: A Rose by Any Other Name)
- The Doctor compares the Psycholops's empathic nature to the Isolus (TV: Fear Her)
Audio release
to be added
External links
to be added