Timewyrm: Genesys (novel)

Publisher's summary

Mesopotamia -- the cradle of civilization. In the fertile crescent of land on the banks of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, mankind is turning from hunter gatherer into farmer, and from farmer into city-dweller.

Gilgamesh, the first hero-king, rules the city of Uruk. An equally legendary figure arrives, in a police telephone box: the TARDIS has brought the Doctor and his companion Ace to witness the first steps of mankind's long progress to the stars.

And from somewhere amid those distant points of light an evil sentience has tumbled. To her followers in the city of Kish she is known as Ishtar the goddess; to the Doctor’s forebears on ancient Gallifrey she was a mythical terror -- the Timewyrm.

Plot

Preface

A spacecraft, holding the mysterious Timewyrm drifts into Mutter's Spiral. The Timewyrm is possessing the crew, but kills them all when they frustrate her. She plans to set up a slave world on Earth, but soon realises the ship is falling apart. As she meets her apparent death, she can only see the irony in this.

Characters

The Seventh Doctor
- Has enhanced night vision.
Ace
- Gets temporary amnesia.
- Sings Irish folk songs.
- Drinks beer that tastes not quite unlike pig vomit.
Ishtar (aka Qataka)
Gilgamesh
- Has wandering hands; Ace consequently wears layers to protect herself.
Ninani
- daughter of King Agga
Utnapishtim
Agga
Avram
Belkeli
- priestess of Ishtar
Dumuzi
- high priest of Ishtar
En-Gula
Enkidu
- a Neanderthal
Ennatum
Gudea
Lagash
Puabi
Ta-Nin
Urshanabi

References

The Timewyrm refers to Earth's galaxy as Mutter's Spiral.
The Chronovores name the reborn Ishtar the Timewyrm.
The Doctor uses the his TARDIS's telepathic circuits to delete some superfluous memories, accidentally deleting Ace's; he gives them back but accidentally gives her some of Melanie Bush's also, allowing her to remember the events of Paradise Towers.

Notes

This is the first novel in the Timewyrm four-novel series.
Although there had been several original novels and novellas published based upon the Whoniverse but not featuring the Doctor, and also several novelisations of unproduced Doctor Who stories, this was the first long-form original publication to feature the Doctor himself since the publication of the novella Doctor Who and the Invasion from Space in 1966.
This is also the first officially licensed novel featuring the Doctor to ever exceed 200 pages in length. The only official Doctor Who-related novel to exceed this milestone before this point was Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma, in which the Doctor did not appear.
The book's adult content in terms of language and sexuality was initially controversial with fans.
Cover art by Andrew Skilleter.

Continuity

The Fourth Doctor gained knowledge of the Timewyrm when he was in the Matrix in DW: The Invasion of Time; he left a time-delayed message in the TARDIS for himself.
Ace still feels some of the after effects of the Cheetah Virus she became infected with in DW: Survival.
The Doctor consoles Enkidu (who believes he is the last of his kind) by telling him that another Neanderthal survives to the 19th century. (DW: Ghost Light)

Timeline

This story occurs after BFA: The Angel of Scutari
This story occurs before NA: Timewyrm: Exodus

External links

Template:Virgin New Adventure Series Box